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They walked back to the gas station quickly, their shoulders al Mary-Lynnette found
comfort in Rowan’s nearness, in her levelheadednessShe’d never had a friend before as
completelyher equal, who found it as easy to take care of people as to be taken care of
As they reached the gas station, they could see thatthe little group was now clustered around Mary
Lynnette’s car Jere under the hoodMark and Jade were back, hand in hand, but there
was no sign of Tiggy Kestrel was leaning against a gas pu to Jeremy
"So the alks into the second doctor’s office and he says, ’Doc, I think I have rabies’
And the doctor says "
So ht
Rowan, eyes shut and shoulders tensed, said, "Ash,that isn’t funny" She opened her eyes "I’m sorry,"
she said to Jeremy "He doesn’t mean it"
"He does, but it doesn’t ain He
replaced a cap with careful, even twists Then he looked up at Mary-Lynnette
Mary-Lynnette didn’t knohat to say What’s the etiquette when you’ve just discovered that
somebody’s a olf? And that it may be their duty to eat you?
Her eyes filled She was completely out of control today
Jerehtly His ht
you’d react this way Or I’d have told you o"
"You would?" Mary-Lynnette’s vision cleared"But-then you would have gotten in trouble
Right?"
Jeremy sht World law around here"
He said it in a normal tone of voice Ash and the sisters looked around reflexively
Mary-Lynnette said, "’We’?"
"My family They first settled here because it was so far out of the way A place where they
wouldn’t bother anybody, and nobody would bother theone now There’s only
me left"
He said it without self-pity, but Mary-Lynnette moved closer "I’m sorry"
Jade reen eyeswide "But that’s e came here, too! So nobody
would bother us We don’t like the Night World,either"
Jereave another faint smile-that smile thatshowed mostly in his eyes "I know," he said to Jade
"You’re related to Mrs Burdock, aren’t you?"
"She was our aunt," Kestrel said, her golden gaze fixed unwaveringly on hihtly He turned around to look at Kestrel directly "’Was’?"
"Yes, she astake," Ash said "Funny how that happens some
tiain He looked as if he were leaning against the car for support "Who
did it?" Then he glanced back at Ash, and Mary-Lynnette saw a gleam of teeth "Wait you think I did
Don’t you?"
"It did cross our minds at one point," Ash said "Actually, it see them Back
and forth Maybe we should put in a crosswalk"
Mary-Lynnette said, "Ash, stop it"
"So you’re saying you didn’t do it," Mark said to Jeremy, at the same time as Rowan said,
"Actually, Kestrel thinks it was a vaain, everybody looked around The street was still deserted
"There’s no vampire hunter around here," Jeremy said flatly
"Then there’s a vampire," Jade said in an excited whisper "There has to be, because of the way
Aunt Opal was killed And the goat"
"The goat? No, don’t even tellMary-Lynnette’s
hood shut He looked at her and said quickly, "Everything’s fine in there You should get the oilchanged
sometime" Then he turned to Rowan "I’m sorry about your aunt But if thereis a va hidden Really hidden Saured that out," Kestrel said MaryLynnette expected Ash to chi across the street broodingly, his hands in hispockets, apparently having given up on the
conversation for thethat could give you a due?" Mary-Lynnette said "We were going to
lookaround town"
He met her eyes directly "If I knew, I’d tell you" There was just the slightest emphasis on the last word
"If I could help you, I would"
"Well, co for the ride You can put your head out of the ," Ash said, returning to
life
That did it Mary-Lynnette rabbedhim by the arm, and said to the others, "Excuse us"
She hauled hias station "You jerk!"
"Oh, look
"Shut upl"She jabbed a finger at his throat It didn’thiave her another reason to want to kill hier when
you kept shouting through it
"You have to be the center of every drama, don’t you? You have to be the center of attention,
and act smart, and mouth off l"
"Ow," Ash said
"Even if itsomebody who’s only had rotten
breaks all his life Well, not this tiuys think all olves are low class And you knohat that is? Where I come
from, they call that prejudice And humans have it, too, andit is not a pretty picture It’s about thein the world I’m ashamed to even stand there while you spout it off" Mary-Lynnette realized
she was crying She also realized that Mark and Jade were peering around the edge of the gas station
Ash was flat against the boarded-up , aresture of surrender He looked at a loss for
words and ashaht
"Should you keep poking him that way?" Mark said tentatively Mary-Lynnette could see Rowan
andKestrel behind him and Jade They all looked alarmed
"I can’t be friends with anybody who’s a bigot,"she said to all of theave Ash a jab for
emphasis
"We’re not," Jade said virtuously"Wedon’t be lieve that stupid stuff"
"We really don’t," Rowan said "And Mary-Lynnette-our father is alwaysyellingat Ash for visiting
the wrong kind of people on the Outside Belonging to a dub that adolves
for friends The Elders all say he’s too liberal about that"
Oh "Well, he’s got a funny way of showing it," Mary-Lynnette said, deflating slightly
"I just thought I’d mention that," Rowan said"Noe’ll leave you alone" She herded the others
back toward the front of the station
When they were gone, Ash said, "Can I move now, please?" He looked as if he was in a very bad
ave up She felt tired, suddenlytired and emotionally drained Too much had happened
in the last few days And it kept happening, it never let up, andwell, she was tired, that’s all
"If you’d go away soon, it would be easier," shesaid,slightly
"Mary-Lynnette" There was so inAsh’s voice that she’d never heard before "Look
it’s not exactly a o awayThere’s so
on Monday His nao back with him, the whole town is in
trouble If he thinks anything irregular is going onhereYou don’t knohat the Night Peoplecan do"
Mary-Lynnette could hear her heart beating distinctly She didn’t turn back to look at Ash
"They could wipe Briar Creek out I s like that, to preserve the secret
It’s the only protection they have from your kind"
Mary-Lynnette said-not defiantly, but with si to leave"
"Then the whole town’s in trouble There’s a rogueolf, three renegade la around soht
World This is a paranor silence Mary-Lynnette was trying very hard not to see "things from Ash’s point of view Atlast
she said, "So what do you want me to do?"
"Oh, I don’t knohy don’t we all have a pizza party and watch TV?" Ash sounded savage "I
haveno idea what to do," he added in more nor
about it The only thing I can coo back with h our teeth to Quinn"
Mary-Lynnette tried to think, but her head was throbbing
"There is one other possibility," Ash said He saidit under his breath, as if he wouldn’t mind if she
pretended not to hear him
Mary-Lynnette eased a crick in her neck, watchingblue-and-yellow ies of the sun on her shut
eyelids "What?"
"I know you and the girls did a blood-tie cereal, but that’s beside the point
You’re part of the reason they don’t want to leavehere"
Mary-Lynnette opened her mouth to point out thatthey didn’t want to leave because life had been
unbearable for theht World, but Ash hurried on "But maybe if you were-like us, we could
work soirls back to the island, and then in a few o someplace where nobodywould know us Nobody would suspect there was anything
irregular about you The girls would be free,and you’d be there, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t be
happy Your brother could come, too"
Mary-Lynnette turned around slowly She exaht out hidden war blond somewherebetween Jade’s and Kestrel’s His eyes were shadowed,
soantas ever, but with one hand in his pocket and a pained
expression on his face
"Don’t frown; you’ll spoil your looks," she said "For God’s sake, don’t patronize mel" he yelled
Mary-Lynnette was startled Well Okay
"I think," she said, more cautiously but with emphasis to let hiht to be upset, "that you are suggesting changing me into a vampire"
The corner of Ash’s mouth jerked He put his other hand in his pocket and looked away "That was the
general idea, yes"
"So that your sisters can be happy"
"So that you don’t get killed by soht People going to kill e ely "And if we can get away from here clean, they
wouldn’tAnyway, as a va them"
"So I’ I love here so your sisters can be
happy"