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"I’m sorry" I bowed o My father! TheI blinked back tears at the new/old ive thanks for your help I’ll provide protection as I’m able For now, may I knons the property behind the house and into the woods and swamp?"

"The property borders on the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, so the governh there is privately held land dotted all around here, like ue vamp had acres and acres to roam, and no one to stop him Except for me And this stern, delicate shaman "Thank you for your time," I said

"I offer o into battle ill prepared, you fight to lose I sense it has been so will help you, center you, let you find what you seek"

Soht of decades pressed onto ht with pain "I ie pursed her lips "You’re lying toWhy not?" She cocked her head, little bird fashion "Is it the same reason why you won’t tell me about yourself?"

I backed to the door,smile fir around any longer "Thank you, Grandmother, for your help and counsel"

She made a sound I hadn’t heard in years, but which was instantly faation It was very much a sound tied to The People, as "alors" is tied to the French, and "cool" is tied to generations of Ae’i," she said, and I stopped at the sound of my name "It isn’t a traditional name It means more than yellow rock, you know" When I lifted old--one reason why the Nation was stolen from the Cherokee, why The People were set on the Trail of Tears, so the white e’i from the earth of the Appalachian Mountains"

This time I didn’t react to the words, but I knew she still saw ain And I backed out her front door onto her stoop, into the heat and bright sun

I kick-started my bike and took off for home As I rode, I considered what I had learned, not aboutI chased Beast rong It wasn’t a liver-eater--I had seen it and it had no long fingernail It was a va vaone way bad An old, ood as Beast’s, I still had better olfactory senses than any hu in my backyard, I held the bit of cloth tothe pheromones and proteins that made up the four distinct scents, three of them human and heavy with fear, alive when their blood was spilled Perhaps Beast’s memory helped, but I could actually partition the human scents into one female and twoI was chasing I drew in its che va myself a small moment to relax at the certainty Whatever it was, it wasn’t a skinwalker gone bad

Returning to the bit of cloth, I isolated the differing che of the woht the s even fainter, that I hadn’t placed Or perhaps hadn’t reain, this tiue extended Chill bumps rose on my skin My breath stopped The scent of The People I sat down heavily, landing unsteadily on the steps to the back porch Is the rogue vaCherokee?

One hand on the top, supporting ht, I jumped the brick wall over to Katie’s at just after five, over at the spot where the security caht on one arm, I took a quick look No caone, and I therefore wouldn’t give ahat I was doing to whoever had put it there, I gripped the top of the wall and letstance I sniffed the site and was surprised at the coht, was the smell of the Joe Rick LaFleur He had removed the camera, likely at Troll’s command Beneath the Joe’s scent, however, was another, fainter scent, and the weird thing was, I recognized it The camera had been placed by Bruiser, the muscle orked with Leo Pellissier, the head of the vamp council in New OrleansWhy would Leo feel it necessary to keep an eye on Katie? It s surprise there I pushed off from the wall and landed softly Turned to the house and was surprised to see Troll standing in the open back door Hethe wall He was holding himself up with both hands on the door, his skin the pallor of old parchment, yellowed and brittle, especially the dull dome of his bald head

I stuckto look like every human could drop from a fifteen-foot ithout injury "You look like death warmed over," I said

"Anybody ever tell you that phrase is insulting to the h voice sounded even hed, feeling a bitet enough blood frory A va to like, and he wasn’t ticked off, so I had to be, right?

"Not enough from Rachael But Katie allowed er and disgust pinged through me Yuckers Troll stepped aside and I walked in "You still look awful," I said

"I’ll survive," he said "But you’re in trouble"