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She’d been sure she would last at least a year or two

As soon as Peyton saw that slayer sit up, he knew there was trouble And then there was the flash of the dagger blade over the undead’s shoulder, that grotesque, gape-rin of hatred

It was forever and an instant at the same time

He did not need precise arc oing to end up, and there was no stopping the inevitable The weapon did its duty, ih her bulletproof vest, finding ho off at point-blank range rang loudly in his ears and he ju strong and sure, doing her job: Her precisely put bullet blew apart the back of the slayer’s head, bits and pieces of it falling like confetti, the black blood beco a fine rain that landed like soot on the white snow

Except the fucking lesser fell forward, instead of back, going lier

As the blade penetrated even deeper, she jerked, her hands flopping, her legs kicking And then nothing about her ed forward and pulled the lesser off "Call the fucking--"

"I have hi cut in

Peyton weaved on his boots as he saw the hilt of the dagger down tight to Novo’s leather jacket The blade was in so deep, none of the steel showed She was going to die--if she wasn’t dead already

And this was all his fault Thanks to his went out from under him, he was only aware of the structural failure of his lower body because his vantage point changed froistered--no physical sensations, that was Emotionally…he was in a firestorm

Meanwhile, Zsadist jumped over and stabbed the rea, and as the pop! and flash of light faded, everyone else got in close to Novo, crouching down, settling on one knee or both in the bloodstained snow Peyton couldn’t seeone of her hands while Phury checked for a pulse and Boone settled in at her boots

Oh, God, that dagger Sticking right out of her chest

Peyton sed through a dry throat "Novo? Is she alive?"

Stupid fucking thing to say Then again, anything fro up behind hi around, he looked to the source of the fresh attack Except, no, there was no one there; it was his heart beating in his chest, the panicked rhyth in his ears with pressure

Peyton raked his hand across his mouth and jerked open his leather jacket in the vain hope it would ease the suffocation in his lungs Where was the fucking surgical unit?

Standing up, he leaned in to see over the heads of the other fighters…and nearly wished he hadn’t Novo was as white as the snow, her eyes open and fixed on so the Fade?

Come back to us, he wanted to screaoddamn it, he hated the slayer blood on her face He wanted to wipe it off her too-pale skin, cleaning her of the war, of his mistake, of these consequences

With a curse, he paced around, gripping his hair, pulling, pulling, pulling at it His brain told hih, and picture hi when he’d made the bad call, he could somehow implant hi to protect Paradise

And then they could all be still fighting--orbeen won, they could be standing around in a flush of buzzy, trippy victory, preparing to find the next battle

"Is she alive," he said roughly "Is she…"

Novo started to cough, and the red blood that caain Lowering his head, he braced both hands in front of hiot ready to vomit But nauseous as he was, he didn’t throw up

The ru around the corner was like a choir of angels singing, and to make way, Peyton pushed himself across the snowpack until his back hit the wall of the nearest building As the RV punched to a stop, Manny Manello burst out fro in his hand, a stethoscope around his neck