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Matt broke a lot of traffic rules on the way to the Saitous’street Meredith leaned on the console between the two front seats so that she could see the digital clock ticking down to ht, and so that she could watch the transformation of Mrs Flowers At last her recently sane, sensible mind forced words out of her "

"Yes, Meredith, dear Soe left for me Some of it is my oil - to return to the days when I was in ht, so I don’t y in it Fel ’s Church must be saved"

"But - Mrs Flowers - the people here - Well, they haven’t always been - exactly nice - "Matt stammered his way to a stop

"The people here are like people everywhere,"Mrs Flowers said cals wil be fine It was only when I’d let myself become a bitter, lonely old woman, always resentful of the fact that I had had to turn house just to an to treat "

"Oh, Mrs Flowers - and we’ve been such a bother to you!"Meredith found the words co of ine, he didn’t want to explain al his little differences to me, and I was suspicious of him But he was always cordial and respectful and Elena was like sunlight, and Bonnie like laughter Eventual y, when I droppedones I won’t say more about those who are present so as not to eood"

Matt ran another stop sign and cleared his throat Then, the steering wheel wavering slightly, he cleared his throat again

Meredith took over "I think what Matt and I both want to say isWell, it’s that you’ve becoet hurt This battle - "

"Is a battle for al I hold dear For al house was built - it was just a ho woh to be an old woman - Well, besides you children, I Stillhave friends like Sophia Alpert and Oriood at it We Stilltalk about different uses for my herbs"

Matt snapped his fingers "That’s another reason I was confused,"he said "Because Dr Alpert said that you and Mrs Saitou were such good people I thought she meant the old Mrs Saitou - "

"Who is not a ’Mrs Saitou’at all,"Mrs Flowers said, almost sharply "I have no idea what her naone bad Ten years ago, I didn’t knohat made Orime Saitou suddenly so diffident and quiet Now I realize that it began just around the time her

’ Isobel, but she suddenly became - aloof - in an unchildlike way

Now I understand And I aht for her - and for you - and for a town that is worth saving Human lives are very, very precious And now - here we are"

Matt had just turned onto the Saitous’block Meredith took a er seat "Mrs Flowers!"she exclaimed

This made Matt turn to stare in his turn and what he saw en Jetta parked by the sidewalk

"Mrs Flowers?"

"Please park now, Matt You needn’t cal me Mrs Flowers if you don’t want to I have returned to the time when I was Theophilia - when my friends cal ed me Theo"

"But - hohy - ?"Matt stuttered

"I told you I felt that it was tie An eneht has arisen I felt this back at the boardinghouse This is the ti for The last battle with the true enemy of Fel ’s Church"

Meredith’s heart actual y seemed ready to fly out of her chest She had to be calic many times She knew the look of it, the feel of it But frequently she had been too busy co Bonnie to take in what she was facing

Now, it was just her and Matt - and Matt had a stricken, stupefied look, as if he hadn’t seen enough ht crack

"Matt,"she said loudly, and then even louder, "Matt!" He turned, then, to look at her, with his blue eyes wild and dark

"They’l kill her, Meredith!"he said "Shinichi and Misao - you don’t knohat it feels like"

"Come on,"Meredith said "We have to make sure that it doesn’t kil her"

The dazed look passed froreed siether they got out of the car to stand by Mrs Flowers - no, by Theo

Theo had hair that hung almost to her waist; so fair that it looked silver in theand proud, with classic features and a look of quiet detered too

Instead of a coat covered with bits of paper, she earing a sleeveless white gown that ended in a slight train

In style, it reminded Meredith a little of the " to a bal in the Dark Dimension But Meredith’s dress had only nificent

As for the Post-it Note a had grown enore scrawls that wrapped around the white gown Theo was literal y swathed in haute couture arcane protection

And although she was reed slender, she was talTal er than Meredith, tal er than Matt, tal er than Stefan, wherever he was in the Dark Dirown sothe ground She had entirely overcoe’s present to her, was coiled into a circle attached to her waist, shining as silver as her hair

Matt and Meredith siine running for a quick getaway

They walked around the garage so that they could see the front of the house Meredith, not caring what she looked like or whether she seemed cool or in control, wiped her hands, one and then the other, on her jeans This was the stave’s first - and possibly only - true battle What counted was not appearance, but perforure standing at the bottom of the steps in front of the porch It was no one they could identify from the house But then the crimson lips opened, the delicate hands flew up to cover thehter came from somewhere behind the hands

For a moment they could only stare, fascinated, at this woman as dressed al in black She was ful y as tal as Theo, ful y as slender and graceful, and she was floating equal y high off the ground But what Meredith and Matt were staring at was the fact that her hair was like Misao’s or Shinichi’s - but reversed Whereas they had black hair with a crie on the bottom, this woman had crie al around it Not only that, but she had delicate black fox ears e sleek criasped in disbelief

"Inari!"Meredith snapped

The lovely creature didn’t even look at the at Theo in contempt "Tiny witch of a tiny town,"she said

"You’ve used nearly al your Power just to stand up to ood are you?"

"I have very sreed "But if the town is worthless, why has it taken you so long to destroy it? Why have you watched others try - or were they all your pawns, Inari? Katherine, Klaus, poor young Tyler - were they your pawns, Kitsune Goddess?"

Inari laughed - Stillthat chiers "I don’t need pawns! Shinichi and Misao are my bond-servants, as al kitsune are! If I have left theet experience We’l go on to larger cities now, and ravage them"

"You have to take Fel ’s Church first,"Theo said steadily "And I won’t let you do that"

"You Stilldon’t understand, do you? You are a huest star bal in the worlds! I am a Goddess!"

Theo lowered her head, then lifted it to look Inari in the eyes

"Do you want to knohat I think the truth is, Inari?"she said

"I think that you have co, but not immortal life I think you have dwindled so that at last you need to use a great deal of Power from your star bal -

wherever it is - to appear this way You are a very, very ancient woainst their own parents, and parents against children across the world because you envy the children’s youth You have even coe"