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I alighted on the balcony

There, I , dark-haired woht disorientation, found ain on the balcony of the MGM Grand Hotel I often wondered what the transformation process looked like to an outsider Did I contort and jerk like they do in the movies? Or did I transform in a blink of an eye? I always sensed that my transformation took only a few seconds, but since my eyes were always closed and focused on the flame, I would probably never know Maybe I would transforht

Yeah, I’m a freak

I donned the white robe I had left draped over the railing and stepped back intothe terrycloth belt when I paused My inner alarht buzzing just inside ht

A shape appeared in- and it appeared, I was sure, directly behindlow to the ground, and slammed into whoever was behind me so hard that I drove him into the drywall

There, I held them up while plaster dust rained down over his shoulders and down onto my raised forearms

A azed down at me with a bemused expression He was, of course, not a el now turned rogue, so to speak

I eased htly to the floor He shook his head and dust and s, silver hair and broad shoulders "Do you greet all your guests this way, Samantha?"

I dusted off my own arms "Well, let’s just say I haven’t had a lot of luck in hotel roo of uard And these days, withharder and harder to do Unless, of course, that so a habit of catching ht think, Samantha," he said Unlike other ihts No surprise there, since he’d beenhimself off and looked at me "For the first time, you sensed me nearby That’s quite an acco powers"

Still, I didn’t like the implications of that statement "So you’re around me often?"

"What can I say, Samantha? Old habits die hard"

"So, you’re often aroundthis news

He nodded "Myself, and others"

"What others?"

"You know so the entity I had co

"Yes Her and others like her"

"Spirit guides," I said, recalling one of uides, deceased relatives, angels What soroup"

"And you"

"Not officially," he said "Not anymore"

"Not since you fell"

His eyes flashed briefly "Not since I chose a different path"

Although I couldn’t read his thoughts - which seemed damned unfair to me - I could clearly see his aura And it pulsated around, intermixed with rich colorand deep blackness

What had once been pure white light - loving light - was now being slowly overrun with coils of blackness so deep that it gave evendark and slithery wound around his narrow torso I watched, fascinated, as it worked its way, around and around, to eventually plunge into his heart region I was re up fro the light I shuddered

"I repulse you," he said The sadness in his voice was obvious

"What gave it away?" I said

I suddenly wanted a cigarette Needed a cigarette I headed over to inia Slims, and lit up

Ishmael watchedme closely That he had alatched me closely Frouardian angel

Of course, I use that term loosely