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Jade sat in the wing chair, holding Tiggy upsidedown on her lap, petting his sto but

reen eyes

"The other goat," Kestrel announced fro

not mentioned in polite society, "is just fine So you can let the cat out"

Jade didn’t think so There was soy safe

where she could see hioat, are we?" Kestrel asked Rowan dangerously

"Of course not Aunt Opal did because she was tooold to hunt" Rowan looked preoccupied as

she answered

"I like hunting," Jade said "It’s even better thanI thought it would be" But Roasn’t listening

she was biting her lip and staring into the distance "Rohat?"

"I was thinking about the situation we’re in You and Mark, for one thing I think we need to talk

about that"

Jade felt reflexive alar moods-which meant you could blink and

find that she’d rearranged all your bedrooon "Talk about

what?" she said warily

"About what you two are going todo Is he going to stay hue hi we’ve done this week is illegal,"Rowan said "And if they exchange blood again well,

it’s only going to take a couple of times Do you want him a vaht about it She thought Mark was nice the way he was Butto do with yours?" she asked Ash, as co slowly downstairs

"My what?" He looked sleepy and irritable

"Your soul to stayhu I’ve been worrying about," Rowan said "Have you thought at all, Ash?"

"I can’t think at this hour in theI don’thave a brain yet"

"It’s almost noon," Kestrel said scornfully

"I don’t care when it is I’m still asleep" He wandered toward the kitchen "And you don’t need to

worry," he added, looking back and sounding irl

and Jade’s not doing anything with the brother Because we’re goingho hard Ash ht act frivolous, but she saw the ruthlessness underneath She

looked at Rowan

"Is Mary-Lynnettereally his soulmate?"

Rowan leaned back, her brown hair spreading likea waterfall on the green brocade of the couch "I’m

afraid so"

"But then how can he want to leave?"

"Well " Rowan hesitated "Soulether So and all that Some people just can’tstand it"

Maybe Mark and I aren’t really soulood It sounds painful

"Poor Mary-Lynnette," she said

A dear voice sounded in her mind:Whydoesn’tanybody say "Poor Ash"?

"Poor Mary-Lynnette," Jade said again

Ash reappeared "Look," he said and sat down onone of the carved ht It’s not just ayou to come home I’m not the only one who knows

you’re here"

Jade stiffened

Kestrelsaid, almost pleasantly,"Youtold so with so And he was there

when I realized where you one He also happens to be an extremely powerful telepath So

just consider yourself lucky I convinced hiet you back"

Jade stared at him She did consider herself lucky She also considered it strange that Ash would go to

such trouble for her and Rowan and Kestrel-for any bodybesides Ash Maybe she didn’t know her

brother as well as she thought

Rowan said, very soberly, "Who was it?"

"Oh, nobody" Ash leaned back and looked"Just Quinn"

Jade flinched Quinnthat snake He had a heart like a glacier and he despised huht World law into his own hands if he didn’t think it was being enforced properly

"He’s co back on Monday to see if I’ve takencare of the situation," Ash said "And if I

haven’t,we’re all dead-you, me, and your little huot until Monday to figureso on us, he’s in fora fight"

Jade squeezed Tiggy to rowl

Mary-Lynnette had been sleeping like a stone-buta stone with unusually vivid dreahter than she’d ever seen and starclouds shihts She

dreae, Massachusetts, to register her clai the firstto see it with her wonderful new eyes, eyes thatshe

saw in a mirror-were all pupil, like an owl’s or a cat’s

Then the drea rush frolas

fir She seized a squirrel in her talons andfelt a surge of si felt so natural All she had to

do was be the best owl she could be, and grab food with her feet

But then a shadow fell over her from somewhereabove And in the dream she felt a terrible sick real

ization-that even hunters could be hunted And that so was after her

She woke up disoriented-not as towhere shewas, but as to who she was Mary-Lynnette or a hunter

being chased by soht? And even when she went downstairs, she

couldn’t shake off the sick feeling from her dream

"Hi," Mark said "Is that breakfast or lunch?"

"Both," Mary-Lynnette said, sitting down on the faranola bars

Mark atching her "So," he said, "have you been thinking about it, too?"

Mary-Lynnette tore the wrapper off a granola bar with her teeth "About what?"

" Youknow"

Mary-Lynnette did know She glanced around to make sure Claudine wasn’t in earshot" Don’t think

about it"

"Why not?" When she didn’t answer, he said,"Don’t tellwhat it

would be like To see better, hear better, be telepathicand live forever I mean, we could see the year

three thousand You know, the robot wars, colonizing other planets Come on, don’t tell me you’renot

even a little curious"

All Mary-Lynnette could think of was a line frohtw re

alive with light, with a throbbing, thrilling flame

"I’m curious," she said ’But there’s no point in wondering They do things we couldn’t do-they

kill"

She put down her glass of h-and wasn’t that the

probleht of killing, of drinking blood from a

warm body

Instead, she was scared Of as out there inthe world-and of herself

"It’sdangerous,"she said aloud to Mark "Don’tyousee? We’ve gotten ht

World-and it’s a place where bad things can happen Not just bad like flunking a class Bad like "

white teeth in thelolleddead," Mary-Lynnette said "And that’s serious, Mark It’s not like the

at her "Yeah, but we knew that already" His tone said "What’s the big deal?"

And Mary-Lynnette couldn’t explain She stood up abruptly "If we’re going over there, we’d better get

," she said "It’s almost one o’clock"

The sisters and Ash aiting at Burdock Farm

"You and Mark can sit in the front withat Ash "But I

don’t think you’d better bring the cat"

"The cat goes," Jade said fir in "OrI don’t"

Mary-Lynnette put the car in gear and pulled out

As they cas on Main Street, Mark said, "And there it is,

don Briar Creek in all its glory A typical Friday afternoon, with absolutely nobody on the streets"

He didn’t say it with his usual bitterness MaryLynnette glanced at hi to And Jade was looking around with genuine interest, despite the cat’s claws embedded in her

neck

"Somebody’son the streets," she said cheerfully "It’s that boy Vic And that other one, Todd

And grown-ups"

Mary-Lynnette slowed as she passed the sheriff’soffice but didn’t stop until she reached the gas station at

the opposite corner Then she got out and looked casually across the street

Todd Akers was there with his father, the sheriff and Vic Kimble was there with his father Mr Kietting into the sheriff’s car, and they all see on the sideatching as they left

Mary-Lynnette felt a twinge of fear This is what it’s like when you have a terrible secret, she thought

You worry about everything that happens, and wonder if it’s got soet you caught

"Hey, Bunnyl" she called "What’s going on?"

Bunny looked back "Oh, hi, Mare" She walkedunhurriedly-Bunny never hurried-,acrossthe street

"How’re you doing? They’re just going to check out that horse thing"

"What horse thing?"

"Ohdidn’t you hear?" Bunny was looking behind Mary-Lynnette now, at Mark and the four

strangers ere getting out of the station wagon Suddenly her blue eyes got rounder and she

reached up to fluff her soft blond hair

Noonder who she’s just seen, Mary-Lynnettethought ironically Who could it be?

"Hi" Ash said

"We didn’t hear about the horse thing," MaryLynnette said, gently pro

"Oh um, one of Mr Kiht That’s what

everybody was sayingthisBut just now MrKimble came into town and said that he didn’t think

it was barbed wire after all He thinkssomebody did it on purpose Slashed its throat and left it todie"

She hunched her shoulders in a tiny shiver Theatrically, Mary-Lynnette thought

"You see?" Jade said "That’s why I’y"

Mary-Lynnette noticed Bunny eyeing Jade "Thanks,Bun"

"I’ve got to get back to the store," Bunny said,but she didn’tat

Kestreland Rowan

"I’ll walk you there," Ash said gallantly Withwhat, Mary-Lynnette thought, -the-moves-onaround here"