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"What?"

But To for a while

Blue watched as the Butterball rocketed by her and slale of two-liter soft-drink bottles - the front bottle burst, sending a cola-brown eruption of foam across the floor by the ht circle a, "I own you, and you, and you," to each as he passed

Blue looked to Lash, and raised a cobalt eyebrow

Lash shrugged "It happens That’s e use diet soda It’s not as sticky" He had decided that they all needed to sober up so the shelves; thus the turkey bowling

"Can soa around trying to retrieve soda bottles even as Jeff Murray ar a Foster’s Fresh Frozen Hoot better pin action off the Foster’s because of the savory gravy packet stuffed in its center He claiy, and was, in fact, working on an oversized titanium turkey The other Animals were forced to point out to him that he was completely full of shit as they sprayed root beer on hiuys hunted vampires?" Blue asked Lash She had come back to the front with coffee for everyone just in time to hear Lash lay out the scenario for the Ani any questions until now A Fresh Frozen meat missile zipped down the aisle between them Lash didn’t even blink

"Yep We didn’t kill him We just blew up his yacht and took his art That’s where we got the ot that part It’s the vampire part I’, can’t-go-out-in-the-day, live-forever vaured he had to be at least six hundred years old," Troy Lee added, joining in the conversation "Blue, you wanna skid the buzzard?" He nodded to the end of the aisle, where Jeff was offering his spare Fresh Frozen turkey like a sacrifice

"So you guys, ork in a grocery store, have seen a vaht-crew leader, To with one of them"

"She was hot," Troy Lee added

"Vampire hunters?" Blue couldn’t believe it

"Well, not anymore," Lash said

"Yeah," Troy Lee said "Clint says that To to mess with him"

"Spawn of Satan!" Clint shouted from the end of the aisle

Dreho Blue had decided to think of as Doc, because he always carried the pot, ran down the aisle and shot-putted a twelve-pound self-basting at Clint’s head "Shut the fuck up!" Clint ducked and covered The turkey went over the meat counter and stuck in the drywall by theat the back of the meat department To Blue, Drew said, "Sorry, couldn’t be helped"

"Well, that’s gonna take all night to patch," said Clint

Lash looked at Troy Lee "Could you kill hi stance, before taking off and chasing Clint around the corner "Prepare to die, White Devil!"

"So," said Blue "You were saying?"

"Well, Clint says Too stake hi, but he’s one of us, so we’ve decided to pursue a policy of Buddhist tolerance"

Just then Troy Lee dragged Clint back around the corner in a headlock Despite being six inches shorter and forty pounds lighter than Clint, he’d studied martial arts since he was six and that took size out of the equation

"Should I hypnotize the chicken?" Troy asked

"Make it so," said Lash

Troy Lee adjusted his chokehold on Clint The largerfish out of water, and he went limp in Troy’s arms, who then dropped him in the puddle of diet soda on the floor

"He’ll come around in a second or two" Lash leaned into Blue to explain "We used to call it choke the chicken, but that sounded kind of gayish"

"Of course," said Blue That trick would come in handy in her work She’d have to ask Troy Lee to teach it to her

"And you think that your friend and this girl are really vampires"

"I suppose Clint said he heard it from the Emperor, and he was the one that turned us on to the old vauy in the first place Either way, they’re not our problem"

"What if I said they were?" Blue said Hermachine on crack It was insane, but for once she could see a future stretching out before her, welcoo after theon "Huh?" He looked at the other Anie of the conversation They stood there with frosty gobblers stearoup of headless infant snowmen

"Flood is our friend," Lash said

"I don’t want you to kill him," Blue said "Just catch him"

Lash looked to the others, who looked away - at the floor, at the cabbage and lettuce counter, at the turnips, at their frozen charges

"I’ll make it worth your while," Blue said

Jody lay on the bed watching Tommy turn slowly, back and forth in the air like a pale white-boy s with open, industrial-style bea, they had both ended up hanging from them Jody dropped to the bed after she caht side was that with the exception of the set of shredded sheets upon which she lay, they had kept the destruction to a one a couple of lifetiood," Jody said "Hardly anything broken"

"You think that monkeys really do it that way?" To that as an expression" She’d thought she could re to stay in control - to enjoy it, but to use it, as it were - but since Toed, it wasn’t like that anymore She lost herself in it, she didn’t just irl It was good, but disconcerting She had liked being in control

"You look ale," Tohtbulb," Jody said, grinning at hiet wood, Thoet wood, do you hear me?"

"You sound likeand covering her eyes

"E," To what he had just said and about what and whom

He dropped to the bed and bounced "Sorry Quick, put the self-tanning lotion on me, we only have a few ht, go"

Jody took the lotion and squirted soet your back"

"But - "

"Just point that thing the other riter boy, you have had all the ht" She said it, but she didn’t o another round if he wanted, if they had time before sunrise Then she remembered

"Did you say you found us ato start toet us an apartment Told her e needed"

"Her?"

"Yeah, you restore?"

Jody stopped rubbing, grabbed his shoulders, and spun hiave our deposit money to a nine-year-old?"

"She’s not nine She’s sixteen"

"Still, Toirl?"

"She already knew"

"Yes, because you let your fangs show like soht You could have explained that soain"

"Look, she’s smart, and she’ll be loyal I prootten us killed"

"What would you have done? Huh? You have to trust someone"

"But a sixteen-year-old kid?"

"I’reat minion Besides, she thinks I’m her dark lord"

"Did you even tell her about me?"

"Of course, she knows all about you Knows that you’re my sire - that’s what they call the vampire who made you I even told her that you were older, that you had vast experience"

"Vast? Vast experience sounds like I’m a slutty old divorcee How old does she think I areat for five hundred I ot my attention Do my front"

"Do your own front" She threw the lotion bottle at him and he snatched it out of the air

"Love you," Tooo all over his face and chest

"I’ to lock the bedroom door," Jody said as the alar ten otten the alarive her keys, did you?"

"Not to the bedroom"

"Great What if she finds Williaiven our key to a Buffy wannabe - "

"This stuff is supposed to take like eight hours to work, so by sundown I’ll be sexy bronze"

"There’s a bronze vao ask hi out for him?"

"He’s impersonal bronze, not sexy bronze like I’ll be"

"Come to bed And put on a T-shirt I don’t want a sexy bronze stain on the sheets, even if they are torn up"

Tommy sniff-tested a half-dozen shirts, finally decided on one, cli when the sunrise put them out