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Holly’s Bal peace to troubled souls

I grabbed it, uncapped it, and poured the fluid on the surface of the red shieldand a white streak ran dohere it touched the red It had a glassy shine to it, and I yelled at Andy and pointed

He fired at it, and the hardened shellshattered Popped like a red blood bubble, leaving spatter on the walls and on our faces, and it smelled foul I wiped at it with my sleeve, but didn’t pause as I jumped the line

Lyons had one boot in his hand and was fitting it on his toes I al stoppedonand ready to strike If I touched it, it would own ht and kicked, hard I broke Lyons’s fingers in the process, ainst the far wall I kicked its mate over to join it

When Lyons tried to crawl after it, Andy stepped up, cocked his pistol, and put it to his head "I wouldn’t," he said As always, he sounded way too calm "Unless you want to see what’s on your rabbedThe pointed tips turned to face , a reptilian, vile face that stared back at o back to hell fast, because I kneas capable ofme

And if it did

I fu for; it felt hot to the touch, and I pulled the cap and threw it like a grenade, straight for the boots that were striding inexorably closer to ic, and I reeled back from the fireball as it explodedwhite-hot, a fury that held power of its own The color changed, from white to a clear, fierce blue, and inside it the boots jittered, danced, kicked, and turned into snakes that writhed and bit each other in a frenzy of rage as the fire ate theray, inert ash

"You bastard," Lyons whispered He eeping, but it wasn’t in grief--it was bone-deep anger "You fucking bitch I don’t need the boots I don’t need anyone else to take you down I’ll burn every witch in this town, every one in this country I’ll build a mountain out of your bones and piss on it--you hear me? I’ll end you!"

Andy took in a deep breath, then let it out "That turquoise you got there on your bolo? It ain’t deive you poere your knife, your boots, and your hate Guess I’ll leave you the hate You go out and try to s We’ll see ins in a fair fight"

"You’d better kill un "Mister, you ain’t worth the powder it’d take"

But he wasn’t above kicking Lyons right in the face when thein the fetal position on the floor with his broken teeth scattered around him

"Fine job," he said to ht of the potions box

"You ht just have to teach me to shoot for next tie," he said "What with you not needing me for much else but--"

I kissed him "But that?" I wiped some of the rotten red liquid froot de toup teeth, bubbling tears and snot, he just looked like an angry, beaten old man

Andy and I walked out into the clean, clear Austin evening, and drove hoone They’d left behind a lass, and spray-painted DIE, WITCH in red on our house, but none of thee door, and we parked the car Andy took the potions case inside, and I went out to survey the dahbor from across the street was on his porch As I started to pick up soain, walked over, and silently handed

He helped me clear it up Not a word spoken until the very end, when he said, "I’ll be over tomorrow to help you clear that paint off the door Can’t have that kind of thing in the neighborhood Leaves a bad iave hi back tears It was the briskest kindness I’d ever received, and the hbors," he said, and shrugged "You take care"

The next day, Pete Lyons was on TV, red-faced and sporting spectacular bruising andteeth as he spouted off an insane rant about witches He gained a fe fringe supporters; he lost the vastconsiderably less motivated

At the next election, he was voted out by a uy who advocated e

And Austin PD? Started using witches again for investigations Not right away, of course But Ed Rosen was the one who got it rolling He also bought a dealership for Holly’s Balm and became our top seller in the Austin area