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"Yes," Jenny said
Audrey gasped "Jenny-for God’s sake"
Jenny didn’t look at her
Tom made some movement Jenny didn’t look his way, either
"Jenny " Dee whispered "It’s not worth it I know your promises-you keep them You’ll be trapped Don’t do it for us"
Jenny turned, then She looked straight into the dark eyes with the slightly amber-tinted whites "Dee I’m sorry I know you don’t understand-and I can’t explain it to you But please believebecause I want to Audrey, can’t you understand?"
Audrey slowly shook her copper head, highlights flaring
"I don’t have a lot of real friends," she said "I don’t want to lose you"
"You’re going to anyway," Jenny said "This way is just easier on everyone And I want to stay I swear I do"
Dee had been staring at Jenny hard Now, abruptly, her ebony face went blank Walled off Utterly without expression
"That’s right," she said "You have to look out for nu Jenny’s directly "Go ahead, Sunshine Good luck"
Jenny nodded back If it hadn’t been litter in Dee’s eyes was tears
She turned back to Julian, who took the ring froain "Give lass laave him her hand, felt that his was as cool as hers
"Oh, don’t," Audrey said, as if involuntarily
Jenny didn’t , used to be given as tokens between lovers," Julian explained, holding up the gold circlet "With the inscription on the inside It ives it to you The words touch your skin and bind you with their power"
Jenny smiled at hi up the sides of the clock with a sound like ball bearings rolling on wood
Julian ignored everything but Jenny "Now you repeat after rave for, the symbol of my oath, Will hold me to the words I speak: All I refuse and thee I choose"
Jenny repeated the words and felt the cool band slide onto her finger Then she looked at it It shone with a rich, warht, as if it had always been there
"Noe seal the bargain with a kiss, it beco down at her As if giving her a last chance to back out The circlet burned on Jenny’s finger like cold fire
Jenny turned her face up She didn’t have to go far on tiptoe to kiss him It was a soft kiss, but not a quick one
Julian was the one who lifted his head from it
"Sworn mine," he whispered "Now and forever"
The violence came froing forward as if he was going to attack Julian
Julian didn’t even bother to look at him Zach slammed into an invisible wall and fell back into Dee
Jenny did turn, to look at all of them Audrey and Zach and Dee and Michael Her friends
"I knew you wouldn’t like this-" she began, but Zach interrupted her He was on his feet again, gray eyes flashing in a way Jenny had never seen, face more intense than ever
"How could you?" he burst out He see betrayed "How could you?"
"Leave her alone," Michael said shortly Jenny could see his opinion in his dark spaniel eyes-Mike thought she wasthe best of a very bad situation He didn’t blame her for it "What do you want her to do?" he said, and Zach shook his head in conteive in-to that"
To it all with blank eyes Jenny could barely make herself look at him, but she did
"I’htly, and for a terrible ed
"I suppose it had to happen That’s the na at Julian
Julian gave hi about so she didn’t understand "I keep my promises, too," he said "All of theed as he turned toward her, as if he were forgetting everyone else in the room
"The ceremony’s done," he said "We’re promised"
"I know" Jenny let out a deep breath The ring ht, very free She spoke cal a picnic or a redecorating project Soht
"Let the others go now, Julian I wish you’d let Too, too-but if not, can’t you please make him more comfortable? I think in a few days you’ll realize you don’t need a hostage to keepher face, as if stricken by doubt for the first ti to be strange for you�C�C"
"That is the understatement of the century" She looked up at hiet a different view out the parlorBut, yes, I want to stay I never realized howNow that I’ve seen it, I can’t go back I’m not the same person I was before"
He sed You’ve become "
Jenny raised her eyebrows "What?"
"I’ll tell you later I’ll enjoy telling you, taking a long tio" Jenny heard Tom’s chains rattle and clank to the floor Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him hold his hands up, free
"Out!" Julian said with a snap of his fingers For an instant Jenny thought he meant it for Dee and the others, but then the phanto, lowered its head and slunk off Straight through the wall, apparently The luh the floor So that took, how th there was to pour
The door hole Jenny could see the rune Uruz on it, the inverted U flaring fire-red with power
Through the door-and through the slanced at the clock, which was still ticking away 5:50 a fast
"Go on," Julian said, as if eager to be rid of them
"Not without Jenny," Dee said
Michael, Jenny thought, was surprised He looked at Dee, opened hisher head in doubt Tom just stood
Jenny looked away
Julian’s voice was io, stay, do whatever you want," he said "I’ll leave you to argue it out But, remember, that door closes at dawn Six-eleven sharp If you’re still inside, you’re here for good-and I ht not be in the mood for company"
He turned to Jenny "This place is crowded"
"I know There’s a couch downstairs We can sit on it and get acquainted"
They went
The sofa in Jenny’s grandfather’s basement was shabby and luht Jenny found it odd to be sitting beside Julian like this, with no aniht
It was a very private place She knew the others wouldn’t open the stairway door and come down, or even look in before they left the Shadow House Julian’s warning about not wanting company was sufficient They all knehat he could do
She looked up at hi at her So close His eyes the color of a May entle
She could feel his hunger
And could feel herself tre with excitement-and fear But he didn’t even touch her, at first He just looked at her, with an expression she’d never seen on his face before A look of wonder The tenderness she’d seen when he was ihtened?" he said
"A little" She was trying not to show it She said lightly, "So you’re the youngest Shadow Man"
"And the nicest"
"I believe that," Jenny said earnestly
He did touch her, then, fingers light on her hair Jenny felt the little inner stillness, the change in perception that comes before response She shut her eyes and told herself not to think, not to feel anything but the featherlike touch The lighter it was, the more it moved her
She was surprised when it stopped She opened her eyes-and was even er in his face
For an instant Jenny was really frightened, and the reality of what she was doing cary at her but-for her
"You’re so-innocent," he said "That boyfriend of yours, that-Toht about you, did he? Only about himself And he botched it I’d like to kill him"
This wasn’t at all what Jenny wanted to think about She started to say so, but Julian was going on, his eyes full of wild blue light
"You want to watch out for that cousin of yours, too He really does think about you, you know I took that i it was cohtly hysterical, but genuine laughter
" you’re jealous," she said, when she could get her breath "Of Zach Zach doesn’t like people, only lenses and things"
The dark look disappeared from his face "It doesn’t et at you here No one will, ever I’ll keep you safe "
Jenny reached for hi, then, and kissed back-such a soft kiss, his war hers
But the soft kisses developed into slow shivery kisses and then into white-hot ones She was still afraid of hi to him-was it true that fear had to be a part of passion? Everywhere he touched she felt fire and ice
Upstairs, the clock struck six
Jenny pulled away from Julian, reluctantly "I have to breathe," she whispered She shook herself a little, then stood up "Things are happening so fast"
He s her flushed cheeks cool She couldn’t look at hiain her coered the cobalt bracelet on the shelf
"Why did you let htmare?" she said abruptly "Sentihed "I did play the Game fairly I don’t lie, even if I so what happened that day You couldn’t see it, but the door appeared as soon as you re the closet"
"Oh," Jenny said softly "The closet" Then she added, "What did he want frorandfather?"
"What everybody else wants Power, knowledge-the easy way A free ride"
"And runes really work," Jenny said, shaking her head slightly in wonder
"A lot of things work A lot of things don’t People can’t tell which are which until they try them-and then they’re usually surprised"
Jenny went over to the closet, looked inside He followed, standing beside her
"I’ at him "I’m sorry he did it He wasn’t a bad man" Then she turned "I can hardly believe he kept you here"
"Believe it," Julian said grimly