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I opened ulared in my field of vision Slowly, it resolved itself into my kitchen floor I was facedown on the tile, arms stretched out,in eyes The purple snake was gone The water-ht on one hand The circle was broken, ed the salt when I passed out But there had been no explosion of wild energies, no fire, death, and destruction The loft was unchanged, bed stripped, clothes hanging froht, I spotted one difference There was a purple hue to every stone in the apartlow It wasn&039;t overpowering; it was, in fact, so faint a stranger ht not notice

I looked at my hand "Seraph stones," I cursed under e flesh has a pearly peach sheen, even to huuely purple I wasn&039;t sure what had happened, but it couldn&039;t be good

Skirt bells jingling, I stood and found my breath and my balance, and looked down at myself I was dry and clean, and the salt was still in an almost perfect circle, broken in two narrow places where h it But the salt was pale lavender "Habbiel&039;s pearly, scabrous, decayed, putrid toes!" I said, fury rising with each word

"Thorn?" A knock sounded at the door

"In a ain, but he didn&039;t go away, either I could al on the other side of the wood

Movements jerky, I swept up the salt and put it in a fresh plastic bag, not wanting to conta with a big black X, and below it, in smaller letters, wrote, DANGER PURPLE STUFF

I looked at ain, and realized that the purple didn&039;t ee-flesh, butcolor where once had been pure, bleached-out white I cursed so foully that I&039;d have been branded on both cheeks and forehead had a kirk elder heard

"Thorn?" The voice was tentative, and I realized I was still shouting I breathed deeply, pulling in the calm that had always been part of my home The peace was still there, untainted by the lavender electricity I expected I breathed several times, each breath slower than the last When I felt like ain, I looked down The purple in low Even as I watched, it continued to di Maybe the rey in the amethyst had now expended itself With a final breath, I tookit so I could pull a blade if needed

The bells onthere alone, black hair pulled back, dressed in unrelieved navy Around his neck was a prined, tiny white pearls and silver beads interspersed between seven large, faceted blue tigereye stones and slivered white shells, like long teeth: like fangs I stared at the shells and blue tigereye, re the serpent&039;s eyes and wide-open mouth

"Saints&039; balls," he breathed "You look" He didn&039;t finish the sentence Rupert had never seenSoaze

I had been hiding in the human world because I knew - I believed - that no human would allow me to live Until recently I hadn&039;t even trustedhis eyes, I looked down at ht spilling froer and traced the crisscrossed scars on my cheek "You&039;re beautiful" I felt a flush rise I would never be beautiful, but the coed, Rupert took the cloak and draped it acrossit "Keep all this hidden, even your skin, until the right moment"

"When will that be?"

"You&039;ll know Anyone who can wear this in public? You&039;ll know" He waved his hands over o away till then too Okay? All at once, when the tiht, throw off the cloak with a flourish, like a bullfighter And let your skin do this glow thing It&039;ll stop them in their tracks"

"Too bad you can&039;t do it for me You have a better sense of the draht woay e-clothes my size, I&039;ll start a new style that will take the human world by storm"

I rolled my eyes "I&039;ll see what I can do"

"If you two are finished with the mutual admiration society," Audric&039;s voice cao"

Audric was not dressed for practice, but for war A tight-fitting, black dobok was thickly padded against devil-spawn, his weapons secured in loops or fastened in place, his katana and wakizashi sheathed at his waist Audric was a savage-chi and savage-blade master A war ax was strapped across his back, the blade painted scarlet, feathers floating froled fro blades were strapped in plain sight at wrists and calves S weapons adorned his chest, hips, and upper thighs

"Oh," Rupert breathed It sounded like ecstasy "Even if I were straight, I&039;d turn gay at the sight of you" I was pretty sure Ilike a man in uniform

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Audric had not revealed to the town that he was a half-breed "There&039;s no reason to"

"I ahts with the ArchSeraph Michael I have been charged with your protection" He bowed deeply, the forht the sadness underlying his tone Audric had never wanted to be bound to a seraph He wasn&039;t happy with his status, would never be happy serving another, not even a being of Light ould call him to battle "It is e ht, his sigil of office rested on his chest, and his skin ith the soft tones of the second-unforeseen Not as bright as enes

"Nice touch," I said, uncertain "But don&039;t risk it if you don&039;t have to"

Audric laughed, the deep ru in the cold stairwell, his dark eyes hot with scorching brightness "If the day is auspicious, the hulory call to me today," he said with all the formality of his kind His hands rested on his swords "The blood of huainst the seraph&039;s chosen"

"Hey Huh of the blood and glory"

"If they attack, stay to Thorn&039;s right," Audric co a scarred battle cloak over his shoulders and dobok Tapping his lightning-bolt pendant, he dae attributes, and checked e-tempered steel showed before I re-sheathed it

"Okay," I said "If you&039;re sure"

When we reached the bottoht of the shop Fro area of Thorn&039;s Geave it a shake Yards of velvet slinked doith a whisper of sound, taking the shape of a cloak He held it to Rupert "I bought it for your birthday, but it seems appropriate for today"

"Sweet seraph It&039;s wonderful" Rupert took the cloak, stroking the dark blue velvet, so fine it scattered the light The lining was quilted scarlet silk He shook the wrinkles fro a rakish pose, he asked, "Well?"

"You look perfect," I said "It brings a blue sheen to your eyes, and makes your hair look even darker" I&039;d have added it was lovely, except it wasn&039;t; it somehow carried a sense ofhis shoulders look broader, his for

"And there&039;s this," Audric said From the counter, he lifted a cloth-wrapped object and extended it to Rupert A leather-wrapped hilt with a dark blue stone set into the pommel protruded from the end "It&039;s a bastard sword It was specially undy, tooled-leather sheath, Rupert roan, but way ht a se or a half-breed," he said, "but stronger As your skills increase, that strength will make you a forth hilt is perfect to capitalize on that strength" Rupert pulled the blade fro the hilt in both hands, he swung the double-bladed, four-foot sword experi the feel of its balance "Don&039;t start a swing that you aren&039;t totally coht It won&039;t be easy to stop in battle"

"Is it named?" he asked