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I walked back to the other side and realized that the sisters were already sitting on the floor at the points of the pentagrae, their talismans in laps or around necks "Molly?" I asked, alarht and is weakest with the sun overhead" She checked her watch "We hope to bind the demon and send him back to the place he came from"

"Where’s that?" I asked

"No idea," Molly said I didn’t know much about witch power, but I did know about evil, and you didn’t go up against pure evil, absolute not-of-this-world evil, alone You needed help, big help Better-than-hus we don’t need to know," one of the twins said

"Don’t want to know," the other twin said

Carled it over her chest in the necklace of feathers and leaves "It’s soht Without the sun Without the breath of life Without God"

With the last word, the deht exploded out, bloody, and cloudy,off the walls I ju the white wall A ed by the concussion of sound and ht the corner of the frae

I dropped h, hard I landed on the floor with a dull thud, stabilizing the painting in both hands Balancing Lifting even as I rolled beneath it Gingerly, I set the painting against the wall, where it couldn’t break the circle The room was hot and stank of a sulfur co on the floor, and met Molly’s horrified eyes There was a red place on her cheek, as if she had been burned Car on her skin The tere out of place, standing in the corner, holding hands Fire Truck, inside with the de, bones sliding with sickening cracks and pops Eyes open, he screamed A crack, black and sooty ran down the sides of the doed it

"Get out of here," I whispered

The deain The crack spread, a dirty, dull crack in the energies that caged hi blackness The sound was a sonic boosulfur ballooned out I screadown "Get out!" I screamed to the witches "Get out!" They ran up the stairs, feet pounding

My bones slid Skin abraded, splitting The gray light of the change slid over hts Butthe sun,teeth erupted froed pelt and skin I screa cloth Still shifting, I leaped free

My Beast ht and cool as a mountain stream Beast filled -cat Beast knohat to do Spread claiped a pan Lincoln Shaddock’s ar vampire blood Not two-natured But powerful

I/we threw undead blood at crack in hedge of thorns It landed like spats of water on hot stone Black light blew out Beast was thrown like kit swiped by ht shot out Pulled crack in ward together Beast hit wall Paintings fell Frae None broke circle

Demon inside circle threw back beak and screamed I shook head and snarled Gathered feet under body and backed away, pa, silent Good hunter Backed to stairs Stood and studied de wolf Skinny with hunger

How did you know? Jane asked Fear filled herat leaves as if at prey How did you kno to stop the hedge breaking? How did you knohen I didn’t? And why aren’t you being pulled toward that thing?