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All of the color drained fro at her and Paden launched hi door to the kitchen

"Paden!" Her foot caught the leg of her chair slowing her even ht beside Paden "What’s going on?" Ree demanded as she scrambled forward

"Claire just took the trash out," Melanie yelled as she reached the swinging door and flung it open

"Oh od," Ree said, her mouth suddenly dry

Chapter 34

By the time she had shoved her way out of the kitchen and into the back alley, all hell had broken loose There were two Dark Ones, a ht Paden and Bryce were fighting one that held a deadly-looking, curved sword Bryce had his hands wrapped around a short sword Ree had not seen before, and for the briefest of moments she wondered where it had cootten when she saw Melanie join Weylin and Juliette ere fighting the feht; the veryto kill her friends

Unprepared for the anger that washed over her, the powereveryone over Instead of being taken aback, she rolled with it and in a ht herself capable of, she pulled the dagger from her boot and launched herself at the feround

For aknocked down, she didn’t see Thankfully, Melanie still had her sense about her and was right behind Ree Grabbing the blonde around the shoulders, she pinned the monster down Ree didn’t stop to think about it and did her best to thrust the blade in her hands under the woer scraped across the bone and jarred her arm, the blood that rushed out made the handle slippery and hard to hold, but Mel put her hand over Ree’s and shoved it all the way in For a ritted her teeth, expecting to feel disgusted, but instead she was still angry and afraid for her friend The blonde wailed while Juliette dragged Ree off of her Without taking the tirate Ree shoved the hair that had escaped from her ponytail out of the way and looked around the dark alley for Claire

"Claire!" She ducked behind the dun of her friend but was rewarded with only litter

Grunting and cursing issued fro their Dark One When she looked over, she realized they had captured hied just under the Dark One’s ribs, causing hilared at the I was shallow, and spittle flew from the corners of hisdown at the ht lisp affected his words because his fangs were still extended

"Who?" Apparently even with a blade inches froht left in him Paden lifted his foot and placed it on the poroaned and blood started to exit the corner of his irl" Paden leaned down closer to the rowled his words

"Oh, the little one with curly hair?" He coughed and spat blood at Paden He had an old style of dialect that made Ree wonder just how old this Dark One was "She was a little too thin for h meat, if you knohat I h her friends

"What’s it h; he turned his head and spit foul-s and tellher hair and sparking in her eyes

"Now I can see the rese, Alastriana"

Ree looked at hi his mind Instead she decided to try a different tactic and wrapped hi else

"I will let them put you somewhere the sun will reach, while you wait, helpless and suffering, or we can do this the quicker way It’s your choice" Her stomach felt sick, and she could hardly believe those words were her own, but she kneas the truth She would torture this man to find out what had happened to her friend

"He took her to the ce

"What cemetery?"

"How am I supposed to knohat its name is? You people have a ton of them around here"

"What cemetery?" Paden yelled and slammed his hand into the wall next to hi dust down on everyone

"It’s the one with all of the soldiers in the et there in tiht as well start her memorial service now"

"Ree, he probably means Colonial Park," Juliette said "We need to run"

Ree knew there was no way she could keep up with the together," Paden told her "We already left the pub; we aren’t going to break the other rules too And no matter what, we can’t risk you"

"I can’t keep up, Paden"