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"No runaways, no losses, no disappearances"

"Good health and happiness Fro, and when the others repeated the phrase in unison, "Good health and happiness!" I kneas--a blessing for fas, words spoken with purpose and power

"As clinked theether

"Janie, you want the usual?"

I craned around looking for the speaker and said, "Yes, please," inI’d never be heard But a rasher of black-pepper maple bacon, cut thick, fried crisp, and a half loaf of seven grain bread appeared on the table as if by witches’ conjure A pot of fresh tea followed One sister took Little Evan, and I started eating, knowing I wore a goofy ss as for the food Everhart sisters’ hips crushed against s scrambled hard and a stack of pancakes with blueberry syrup found places between the ar food and drinks flowing to custoure out what Angie’s drea off the four other ical, Celtic,pile Blood and bones No horned ones Not a Celtic thing"

"A warning?"

I couldn’t help with dream interpretation If I drearinned wider and dug in as one sister upended a canister of whipped crea a mountain on top of the pancakes and another poured on blueberry syrup The New Orleans French Quarter had nothing on the Sassy Sisters’ rew as customers departed and the sisters settled in for a visit The baby’s car seat landed in the -snoring-bald-toothless way And rown up with a family, this hat I would have wanted it to be like: noisy and loving and deht in the irlish exuberance, soed I felt it, like a heated breeze across my skin, a warm, rosy intensity from the doorway Crap Fork in hand, I half rose and craned to the entrance

Evangelina stood there, outlined byjeans and boots, a tee with a long purple scarf, a stylish cotton jacket And a murderous expression Beast rose and hit y I leaped over the table Landed No weapon but the fork

Evangelina’s face instantly morphed into a beautiful smile I stopped, blinked Had I seen that--that whatever it was? She advanced, arms out to elina had seldom been happy to see me She also looked pretty, slender, as if she had lost twenty pounds, and, er Kill, Beast hissed Danger I tensed, confused by Beast’s reaction, not sure why I was standing there holding a fork Evangelina pulledfoolish, I loweredfelt fine Good Normal She released me and pulled me to the table, my left hand in hers I ith her Retook , my left hand still over my head, lifted back over the booth seat behind ood I stuffed several mouthfuls in at once Sweet Fruity Fabulous Oh My God Flavor flooded o of low ripped away, slashed with a claw-strike I gasped, heart racing, and started to sit up Beast heldthe fork to my mouth The food in my ain Eating Eyes on elina notice that the spell she was using was no longer working on ainst witch-law, but the dang witch had spelled low spell she had used before, the ti wild, crazy, hot, out-of-control sex with Bruiser in er, flavor, and the intense joy of fa Evil Evie, overon her every word Evangelina was telling about the cookie baking class she was planning Spelling us

Little Evan, who had been passed fro my meal, crawled across the table to elina, as listing the cookies she wanted to teach the locals how to bake: sugar, lemon-lavender, snickerdoodle Evan Jr pushedwith the clumsy, belly-and-diaper-in-the-way hs and stared into ht I had never noticed that his were bluer than a Carolina sky after rain I had never noticed his hair was more fiery than either of his parents’ I had, in fact, never noticed Little Evan except as a funny little kid And if it was possible for a toddler to be worried, he was

"Aun’ Jane," he whispered, putting his cheek againstfor months, I had heard him say less than ten words And he had never said rabbed low dissipated from my mind "Aun’ Jane! He’p!" I puton for dear life Choking me He wasn’t spelled And he kneasn’t spelled And he knew his mother and aunts were "Heee-yup! Pwease"

This was bad Evangelina had ensorcelled her sisters She was putting out soy that spelled nearly everyone sheherself Beast’s claws pushed into htened my arms around Little Evan and whispered in his ear, "I know It’s okay I’ll fix it" Soainst ed him hard and passed hi at hiainst Mol’s hold Beast settled her claws into rass between us And the feeling of sudden, violent ht Ambush