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Mostly hu--slacks and belt, white shirt, all stained bright with blood Long, tangled black hair tucked behind hu face Flesh showed at liver-eater’s forehead and ear, at forearm and bare feet But liver-eater’s hands were paws, claws flexed Huge claws Body shiies of skinwalker shifting, half changed, yet held in check Half human Half cat Liver-eater’s face fros rose fros bit, buried in Rick’s flesh Rick wasn’t fighting Un, yet still alive He’s in thrall, ht Break it

I leaped over couch, reaching Screamed

Liver-eater raised head Bloodycats collided Bodies slaies of liver-eater’s shift flowed over my pelt My claws sank deep in liver-eater flesh Teeth latched on, killing teeth at liver-eater’s shoulder Sinking deep Foul taste, foul s Clawed for purchase, to hold, to tear, to rend I ripped ain Blood, hot, rank, splattered Liver-eater are energies poured over e

It’s trying to take on ht, panicked

I understood Liver-eater needed stone, but there was no stone Desperate, liver-eater’s energies flowed overto steal Beast-ive in to skinwalker again Never! I drew up dark energies, Jane’s energies Fought back with skinwalker ray place she went to, to shift Surprised, she sahat I did, helped, fighting We screae

Liver-eater rotated hips Slarip on its pelt Its fangs latched near jaw Vital blood spurted I screaer tore into flesh But liver-eater , still part huht And there’s no stone to steal e She chuckled, full oflis Screamed as if deadly wounded Liver-eater snarled in victory and loosed hold I raised hind claws and curled back Reached Dug into liver-eater’s unprotected belly Latched on to neck with killing teeth Just as Jane did when she was little cat

Liver-eater squeal was death screale swipe, claws digging in, scoring deep Towardcheek Liver-eater claws caught travel pack at neck, snagging leather I bit liver-eater bare foot-paw, sank teeth deep Skinwalker energies flowed Buzz of pain stabbed deep into tongue Liver-eater pawvanishedinto gray place And back Liver-eater vaulted up, breakingOut Into night Trailing gray light and blackness I gathered tight to leap To follow

"Help I need help" Gasping voice

Gli Half lying on floor, half propped on overturned chair Hand on neck, at ear Metal of phone between fingers Blood pouring across bare, wounded chest Spreading fast Dark red flood No pulsing Rick stared, eyes glassy with shock, ith terror Face white, bloodless Spoke into phone, words slurred, voice low "I’m at one-oh-two Walker Street in Barataria, just past A Dufrene Street"

I showed teeth, growled Rick’s eyes focused Breath caught He looked to side Metal grip of gun lay under edge of rug I shoved off with hind foot, spun in hted house into dark S here A car’s heart started I leaped long, from porch onto white car’s hood Growled at windshield Liver-eater sat in driver’s seat Naked, in hu , thinking, Cherokee One of The People

His eyes on travel pack His mouth moved, sound almost lost beneath soft roar of car He knew i," liver-eater said Panther clan Gray light sparkled over liver-eater Face shifted intoso white as Car pivoted, bucked I wrenched control fro, raked paint across hood Slung off Into air Landed hard Rolled Snarled Car sped off, spewing shells, pattered over pelt

Shift Now Please, she asked

Liver-eater runs I snarled Want to follow, to hunt But car was fast Gone Away from territory I huffed, satisfied Victor Padded beneath flowering bush full of blooround I slunk into dark Sat, panting Thought of Jane She reached into head, into thoughts She took control Re, had taken ht of boulder in garden Thought of gold scraped onto surface, renewed after rains Thought of gold necklace tight on throat