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SEVENTEEN

OUT ON THE RUNWAY, Christian stood near the entrance to the plane, along with a few of the other guardians Lissa ran off to talk to hi me and Dimitri alone He hadn’t said a word the entire way back fro and silent were typical behaviors for hi about his mood struckabout what Rhonda said? That woman’s a total sca not far from where the others stood A sharp wind blasted us all in the face, and I hoped we could board soon

"Because she didn’t tell us anything! You should have heardthe obvious Lissa had a better fortune," I ad that profound Rhonda said she’d be a great leader I ure out?"

Diiven you a ood" When he just laughed, I asked, "But you’re taking it seriously Why? You really believe in that kind of stuff?"

"It’s not so much that I believeor that I don’t believe" He wore a black knit cap over his head today and tugged it down to better cover his ears "I just respect people like her They have access to knowledge other people don’t"

"She’s not a spirit user, though, so I’e I still think she’s a con artist"

"She’s a vr?jitoare, actually"

"A" I wasn’t even going to touch that one "A what? Is that Russian?"

"Romanian It meanswell, there’s no real translation ’Witch’ is close, but that’s not right Their idea of a witch isn’t the same as an American’s"

I had never expected to have a conversation like this with him I just didn’t think of Diht that if he could believe in so like witches and fortune-tellers,soainst it I wouldn’t have had a chance to say anything anyway because Dirandmother was like Rhonda," he explained "That is, she practiced the same kind of arts Personality-wise, they’re very different"

"Your grandmother was av-whatever?"

"It’s called so She used to read cards and give advice too It was how she "

I bit off any coht? In her predictions?"

"Sometimes Don’t look at me like that"

"Like what?"

"You’ve got this look on your face that says you think I’"

"Delusional’s kind of harsh I’m just surprised, that’s all I never expected you to buy into this stuff"

"Well, I greith it, so it doesn’t seee to me And like I said, I’m not sure I buy into it 100 percent"

Adrian had joined the group by the plane and was protesting loudly about us not being able to board yet

"I never thought of you as having a grandmother, either," I told Dimitri "I mean, obviously, you’d have to But stillit’s just weird to think about growing up with one" Contact with h, and I’d never evena witch grand to cast spells if you were bad?"

"Most of the time she just threatened to send me to my room"

"That doesn’t sound so scary to me"

"That’s because you haven’t"Is she still alive?"

He nodded "Yeah It’ll take h She was actually a guardian for a while"

"Really?" Much like with Auardians, and blood whores were getting ave it up to become a - uh, to stay with her kids?"

"She has very strong ideas about family - ideas that probably sound kind of sexist to you She believes all dhauardians, but that the woether"