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Maggie held Sylvia gently Or at least, she knelt by her and tried to hold herasbest she could without disturbing the piece of broken spear that wasstill lodged in Sylvia’s body

It was all over Where Hunter Redfern and hise scorched crater in the earth Maggie vaguely recalled seeing a few people running for the hillsGavin the slave trader had been a theround zero when the blue fire struck, and nowthere wasn’t even a wisp of red hair to show thathe had existed

Except for Delos, there weren’t any Night Peopleleft in the courtyard atall

The slaves were just barely peeking out againfroht," Jeanne was yelling "Yeah, youheard erous Notto us, anyway Co behind that pig?"

"She’s good at this," a griie looked up and saw a tall, gaunt figure,with a very sirl clasped to her side

"Laundress!" she said "Oh, and PJ-I’ht But, Laundress, please "

The healing woman knelt But even as she did, alook passed between her and Sylvia Sylvia’s facewas a strange, chalky color, with shadows thatlooked like bruises under her eyes There was alittle blood at the corner of her ood," she said thickly

"She’s right," Laundress said bluntly "There’snothing you can do to help this one, Deliverer, andnothing I can do, either"

"I’ie said Tearsprickled behind her eyes

"You could have fooledhere, and I see allthe slaves over there, free You came and it happened-the prophecies were fulfilled If you didn’tdo it, it’s a strange coincidence"

The look in her dark eyes, although as unsentiie’s cheeks burn suddenly She looked back down at Sylvia

"But she’s the one who saved us," she said, hardlyaware that she was speaking out loud "She deserves sonity"

"She’s not the only one who saved us," a voicesaid quietly, and Maggie looked up gratefully atDelos

"No, you did, too"

"That’s not what I meant," he said, and kneltwhere Laundress had One of his hands touched Maggie’s shoulder lightly, but the other one wentto Sylvia’s

"There’s only one thing I can do to help you," hesaid "Do you want it?"

"To becoative "No And since there’s woodnext to ht now, I don’t think it would work anyway"

Maggie gulped and looked at the spear, whichhad cracked in the confusion when the guards ran "We could take it out - !"

I wouldn’t live through it Give up for once, will you?" Sylvia’s head ie had to adth to be nasty Witches were tough

"Listen," Sylvia said, staring at her "There’sso I want to tell you" She drew a painfulbreath

"About your brother"

Maggie sed, braced to hear the terrible details "Yes"

"It really bugged me, you knoould put on o out and then he’d talk about you"

Maggie blinked, utterly nonplussed This wasn’t at all what she had expected "He would?"

"About his sisterHow brave she was How sie kept blinking She’d heard Miles accuse her of lots of things, but never of being sain and her throat swellpainfully

"He couldn’t stand to hear a bad word about you," Sylvia was saying Her purple-shadowed eyes narrowed suddenly, the color of bittersweet nightshade "And I hated you for that But hi much weaker Aradia knelton her other side and touched the shi," she said quietly, as if giving a warning

Sylvia’s eyes blinked once, as if to say she understood Then she turned her eyes on Maggie

"I told Delos I killed hiie felt her eyes fly open Then all at onceher heart was beating so hard that it shook herentire body

"You didn’tkill him? He’s alive?"

"I wanted to punish him but I wanted himnear ie She bentover Sylvia, trying not to clutch at the slender shoulders All she could see was Sylvia’s pale face

"Please tell me what you did," she whisperedwith passionate intensity "Please tell ed" The musical voice wasonly a distant murmur now "Made him a shapeshifterand added a spell So he wouldn’tbe huain until I wanted "

"What kind of spell?" Aradia prompted quietly

Sylviathat you need to deal with,Maiden Just take the leather band off his legHe’ll always be a shapeshifter but he won’t be lost to you"

Suddenly her voice swelled up a little stronger,and Maggie realized that the bruised eyes werelooking at her with so like Sylvia’s oldmalice

"You’re so sure outwhich anie sound caie had never heard beforeSo told that itht then

The body in the green dress arched up once andwent still Sylvia’s head fell back Her eyes, the color of tear-drenched violets, were open, staringup at the sky, but they seemed oddly flat

Aradia put a slender dark hand on the paleforehead

"Goddess of Life, receive this daughter of Hellewise," she said in her soft, ageless voice "Guideher to the other world" She added, in a whisper,"She takes with her the blessing of all the witches"

Maggie looked up alure who had surrounded Aradia like anaura would come back But all she saas Aradia’s beautiful face, with its smooth skin the color of coffee with creaently gie clenched her teeth, but it was no useShe gasped once, and then so violently, unable to stop itBut Delos’s arms were around her, and she buriedher face in his neck, and that helped When she gotcontrol of herself a few minutes later, she realizedthat in his arms she felt almost what she had inher dreaing, utterly

As long as her soulht

Then she noticed that PJ was pressed up againsther, too, and she let go of Delos to put one ar body

"You okay, kiddo?" she whispered

PJ sniffed "Yeah I alad it’s over"