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I stood and brushed offfro the wolves waiting in the tall brush just downstrea into the water in the dark, attacking the young wo profusely, terrified, screa her with the were-taint Infroht, hearing her cries, rushing in, swinging a sharp-bladed paddle, only to have the wolves turn on hi fast The weres slipping away in the ruckus Anger burned under my breastbone This had happened because of me The wolves were here because of my actions and decisions My advice My plans Crap

"The victio furry at the next fullto be heard over rushing ater, the guy had a voice with little volume control, but this time, his words were muted orry

"Maybe not," I said "I have a few contacts with the vamps They have some healers"

Emmett snorted, not impressed with va about suckheads, weres, and witches in his county I glanced at Molly, an earth witch, who ignored hi instead about the logistics of getting a Mercy Blade here to heal the injured couple I didn’t know if there was a Mercy Blade in North Carolina or Tennessee, but I’d find one soistics

"How far"--I paused, uncertain, trying to recall the distance froo vacation--"is it frorindyloas on a bayou that emptied into the Mississippi, west of New

Orleans And New Orleans was the birthplace of everything that had happened to me for the last six reen-skinned, seot from there to here Sure as heck not on a Harley

"It’s four hundred miles from Knoxville to Memphis," Dave said, his voice raspy and soft, in contrast to Mike’s boo volume Memphis was a Mississippi port city, and thegrindy hadn’t taken an overland route

I indicated a group of playboat kayakers coasting in after a run on the Upper Pigeon The srindy would likely need as much water as a playboat "Is it possible to paddle froh to handle so that size, and you prefer cold water, rocks, and privacy?" I looked around at the nuuides both looked northwest, downstrea his blue eyes with a hand, and said, "If you can jump dams and paddle a lot of miles of ay, all upstream," he paused to draw in air, and my eyes slid to the scars on his throat They looked like the result of a down and dirty tracheotoh I’d never asked how he caoes west to Knoxville, eventually joins into the French Broad and heads south into northern Alabama It empties into the Tennessee River, which empties into the Miss"

Mike added, "I know people who’ve paddled the distance downstrea with the current I don’t know anyone who’s paddled it upstrearindy’s speed was, or if it could handle long distances, or upstrearindy had hitched a ride on boats,it a once-mythical supernat as comfy with modern transportation I srindys, and had been hoping to keep it that way But the grindy wasn’tthe gorge where the rafting businesses were nestled in the little town of Hartford, Tennessee Just in visual distance, there were thousands of square acres where wolves could run and hunt and never be seen by a hu ti distances Beast wasn’t fond of it, wasn’t built for it, and even with huht , she round I scowled and walked fro quickly

The wind changed and I caught a scent of wolf away froleaht sun Silver-tipped wood It was mine I sometimes lost stakes in the heat of battle, easy for an ene-silver-tipped ash-wood stake

Deep inside,teeth The wolves had left e I looked around No one except Molly had seen me pick up the stake She watched with a quizzical expression as I sniffed along its length, s spicy like Mexican food, and cheap liquor No help here No scent-clue ju, "The wolves stayed there, in that hotel, in that town, last night" Giving her a s, I tucked the stake into a belt loop

Boots crunching on gravel, I walked back to the parking lot of Rapid Expeditions, theand kayak business owned by Dave Crawford Molly and I sat on the old church bench in front of the shop and accepted Cokes from Dave, pulled fro a strand of bright red hair behind an ear She’d always been a lady, contrasting to e I popped the top and drank deeply before rolling the can over my forehead for the chill It was hot for Septeed in theone bare foot on the old wood He was lithe as a snake, solid ing fro, Josie, leaped up and curled beside hientle and sweet, but she didn’t like the way I smelled and wanted toin the sun with one fist on a hip, looking around as if expecting the wolves to reappear anyto the river behind the shop "I can take you down anything that’ll take a two-et you into any tight areas in a hard boat" He pronounced it as if it were one word, hardboat