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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Thepassed in slow ht before and then slept for several hours, plagued by dark drea, but which nevertheless seemed to haunt him from the corners of the room He&039;d risen before five a in a chair by the , looking out at the gray skies and the rain that pattered the glass Allison had brought hih he had no idea where she had gotten theht Fro out to feel the softness of their petals and to rown up in Philadelphia Most of their friends didn&039;t know that, or had learned it once and prootten His love had been a troubadour froht her daughter to love the blues and to sing from her soul, as if she had known that Nikki would need an outlet for her grief Nikki had been sixteen when her h her ed When Etta had passed away, Nikki had been on her own, and she had hit the road with her guitar and a few changes of clothes

When Nikki left Philadelphia behind, she had truly left it behind There were a few childhood friends she still heard froain, but with Keomany dead, the only people she had been close to had been friends she and Octavian shared and those who came from her life as a musician Word of her death had already hit the e celebrity, but she had achieved a ers and past acquaintances and photographers would show up at any public funeral service, and he didn&039;t want that

He&039;d called her er and asked him to spread the word to Nikki&039;s old bandmates, and he suspected some of them would show up for the funeral The details of the service were being kept secret, but anyone willing to do a little digging would be able to figure out that Nikki would be laid to rest with her mother She would have wanted that, Octavian knew - to share eternity with the woht her about love and co out at the rain He didn&039;t kno long he would live Once he had evolved beyond vaht to have lived out the balance of an ordinary lifespan, but with the h hi Nikki had broached the subject row old together, and Octavian had insisted that he didn&039;t know

Now he had the answer

Nuut that helped to burn away the grief, he sat in the chair and let hours tick past Metzger and his tea to locate Cortez, leaned froeant Omondi had taken Charlotte back to New York with hi to trace one of her contacts Octavian wanted to join them, wanted the cathartic passion of the hunt to ease his sorrow In the tiet to know the modern huht hiic He wanted to put those skills to use tracking down Nikki&039;s killer, but not until after the funeral He wouldn&039;t leave her until she was finally at rest

Afterward, there&039;d be hell to pay

A knock at the door interrupted his ruminations Octavian frowned, this visitation unwelcoers - which crackled ht - and the door unlocked and swung inward

&039;Hello?&039; Coer said, with as close to uncertainty in his voice as there ht ever be He was not a man prone to self-doubt or uneasiness

&039;Co fro and wary as he glanced around to figure out who had opened the door But theOctavian could see by the set of his shoulders and the grim steel in his eyes that this was nofor you,&039; Metzger said &039;The hotel is under strict orders not to reveal that you&039;ve taken a room here, but don&039;t be surprised if one of them finds you sooner or later&039;

&039;They&039;ll find me only if I want to be found But you didn&039;t come here to warn me about the media, Commander Tell me you&039;ve located Cortez&039;

&039;Not yet, but we&039;ve identified the San Diego safe house that Charlotte described and the FBI have the building under surveillance right now They&039;re cooperating fully, searching for einal plans I&039;ve got a squad on the way there We&039;re searching Los Angeles for the ho, but no luck so far&039;

&039;All right,&039; Octavian said, alreadyback into the darkness of his rueance &039;Keep ,&039; Metzger said Then, instead of retreating, the co up a position five feet fro over him expectantly &039;But we have other problems, now Trouble that requires your attention&039;

Octavian tore his focus away froer&039;s features

&039;Whatever it is can wait&039;

&039;Tell that to the people who are dying,&039; Metzger said

Octavian shot Metzger a withering look

&039;I&039;ve been fighting to keep the wolves from the door for years,&039; he said &039;And I&039;ll do it again But this isanything tear me away from that If I&039;d known s I&039;d have done differently, but I can&039;t get those days back&039;

Metzger regarded him carefully He seemed about to leave, but then came nearer instead and sat on the end of the bed, barely out of arm&039;s reach Not that Octavian needed to touch the man to hurt him; they both knew that

&039;All our days are nuer said, with a combination of steel and sy in Francethey&039;re down to ht now, and every single one of the to wish they could have back the days they squandered on less inore the words, but he could not prevent the in his head Nikki was dead and no aood could he do here in Philadelphia? If a crisis had broken out in Europe, could he sinore it?

He ran his hands over his face, chin stubble rough on his pal up

&039;There was a localized earthquake just north of Paris The Cathedral of Saint-Denis was daed and there are-&039;

&039;That&039;s for the Red Cross to-&039;

&039;-things co like theo They&039;re not wraiths, though Serpentine bodies covered in some kind of exoskeleton, ares shortly, but I&039; with all satellite and broadcast signals Not gone, but rife with interference&039;

Metzger leaned forward, aze

&039;The French area military response, but you and I both know that when an incursion like this takes place, it&039;s usually more than conventional weapons can handle&039;

Octavian looked out theagain The rain see theso hard that the glass vibrated with its punish in Massachusetts early enough to warn hiht Without Keo at all, and he couldn&039;t help but wonder what other horrors were even now stirring beyond the barriers betorlds

He studied the vase of yellow roses, brow knitting Rather than wilting, they had blosso with reh they had surely been cut many hours before And had the thorns been so proor of cut flowers see to focus on at the moment, a way for him to distract himself from the truth Every death in France left a little more blood on his hands He had acted from pure motives, but he shared responsibility for the dreadful state of the world&039;s ical defenses With the fall of the Roman church and the loss of the Gospel of Shadows - the spellbook that contained all of theof the church - the safeguards had vanished Whatever happened noould be partly his fault, and he couldn&039;t live with hi sharply, he glanced at Metzger

&039;I&039;ll advise you,&039; he said &039;There are mystics and occultists who can help, at least temporarily, to try to contain the deoing anywhere&039;

&039;Octavian,&039; Metzger prodded

&039;She lovedwith her until the last shovelful of dirt is thrown over her coffin By then, we&039;ll have h help on hand to deal hatever these deht I&039;ll be back with an update in an hour or two&039;

&039;If you confirm Cortez&039;s location-&039;

&039;You&039;ll be the first to know, as agreed,&039; Metzger said &039;You get the kill&039;

Octavian nodded and turned again to study the uncannily healthy roses With a gesture, he caused the hotel rooer felt intiic, he left the rooo,&039; he said, whispering to the rain against the glass &039;But I can&039;t leave you Not yet&039;

I&039;d never forgive h him as he realized that he had already passed that point On the night when Nikki had needed him most, he had not been here for her He hadn&039;t been able to protect her

Soiven

Brattleboro, Vermont

&039;It&039;s so wonderful to see you&039;

Cat s earthwitch, who had driven all the way fro war blue eyes and fairy-smile, Heather had an al Of all their friends, Heather was the only one Tori ever seeer witch hadn&039;t the slightest interest in woardless Cat adored Heather, but she loved Tori with all her heart

Heather sighed, her expression turning sad

&039;I&039;m sorry I couldn&039;t make it here in time for Keomany&039;s memorial&039;

&039;I know you&039;d have been here if you could,&039; Cat assured her &039;And we&039;ll say goodbye to her again tonight, say a prayer, and raise a glass&039;

Heather smiled, satisfied with this reply

&039;You heard about Nikki Wydra, I assu on her heart &039;How could I not? With all thedied than she ever was for her music It&039;s a sin&039;

&039;Did you hear fro to the funeral?&039;

Cat frowned &039;Keomany was close to theuy, but I also can&039;t help thinking he&039;s to blaer &039;You think he killed her?&039;

&039;No, no,&039; Cat said quickly &039;But look at what happened to Keomany Octavian&039;s reckless So e in these battles he&039;s had I know he&039;s doing the right thing, saving lives, all of thatbut I can&039;t help thinking that he isn&039;t careful enough, that people like Keomany and Nikki die because they love hiht about it that way&039;

&039;Anyway, it doesn&039;t ht, we celebrate,&039; Cat said &039;Go on into the house You&039;re sharing the attic rooetting cider and donuts, I think You can head on down there or just rest a bit I know it&039;s been a long journey for you I have to check on sos in the orchard and then I&039;ll be back and we can catch up&039;

&039;Excellent,&039; Heather said &039;I am tired, butdonuts!&039;

She picked up her duffel bag, gave Cat a kiss on the cheek, and then headed into the house Watching her go, Cat couldn&039;t help feeling guilty She didn&039;t like to deceive anyone, even if she had only committed sins of omission, but she couldn&039;t very well tell the other witches as going on in the orchard - at least not until they knew for certain themselves

Cat set off on foot It was a ten- in the orchard, but she relished the tist the trees, the air sith the scent of apples and rich with the ss She felt cradled in the eoddess here, and never wanted to be anywhere else for very long

When she arrived at the clearing, she saw that Ed, the orchard fore over the enclosure he&039;d cobbled together around what Cat and Tori and Ed hirowth&039; There were custo apples, and as Cat approached the clearing she saw a couple with two precious little boys pause to try to look over the enclosure, through the mesh The father had one son on his shoulders

&039;What do you see, Kyle?&039; the father asked

&039;A tree, I think,&039; the little boy said &039;But it&039;s &039;

&039;Dad, come on!&039; the older son whined, and then the faed a s trees&039;, with the aht and worked her way around the enclosure She heard Tori and Ed speaking before she saw theate that the foreman had included as part of the enclosure It was a crude thing, just hinges and plywood, but it did its job and had a hoop for a padlock

&039;What&039;s going on in there?&039; Cat asked

Tori looked up, a bit startled, but her troubled expression relaxed and she went to give her wife a quick hug and kiss Ed had been uneasy with their displays of affection once upon a ti under control for tonight?&039; Tori asked

&039;Yeah, yeah We&039;re good,&039; Cat said, waving the question away &039;Except, y&039;know, for this incredible, iuests Sotalk toback to Cat She shrugged

&039;It&039;s growing Gotta be two and a half feet high by now,&039; she said

Cat nodded &039;That little boy said it was &039;

&039;Nah,&039; Ed put in &039;Just the breeze in her hair&039;

Tori and Cat both shifted aardly They had been trying to avoid calling the neth she or her It seemed too hopeful, somehow, particularly since they were not at all certain what they were dealing with The neth ht have a human shape, but it also had bark in some places and skin like an apple in others, and its features were stiff and un thin branches that gave the illusion of hair, there was no doubt that this thing was a plant of some kind

Yet, loath as they were to say it out loud, the neas also soht,&039; Cat said &039;What do we do tonight? Do we tell the on, and if not, hoe hide this from them?&039;

&039;We can&039;t tell the could happen The neth could be daed We have to protect it&039;

&039;There&039;s that space at the end of row forty-six, on the west side of the hill,&039; Ed suggested &039;It ain&039;t as big as this clearing, but it&039;d be big enough if you wanted to do your cere this fro as she went to the enclosure and peered over the top, looking down through the ht &039;They&039;re our sisters, after alltonight ed up beside her and took her hand, squeezing it &039;I love them, too Well, most of them Heather, Vicky, Ella, JaleesaI want to share this with them It&039;s a miracle, Cat But I just don&039;t want to take any risks yet&039;

Cat nodded &039;I know Me neither&039; She turned to Ed &039;Row forty-six it is Can you get the staff to set up so to have to start preparing the ground for the cere both of Tori&039;s hands in her own &039;But we&039;re going to check in an hour before sunset It could be that by then sheitwill have grown enough that there will be no question about thehere, and then we can share it with all of them&039;

Tori sether, hand in hand, both of theic that had blosso either of them had ever encountered or even heard about

If - no, when! - the neth reached maturity, would it open its eyes and speak? And if it did, would it speak with Keo rooted in their orchard sooddess?

Cat couldn&039;t wait to find out