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I sighed "Well, I don’t think it’s any secret Bella digs you Either that, or she’s a ruave rumpy Just antisocial But you know,inside the Grotto opened, and a young blonde girl stepped out, skipping , silvery hair A shock of cold fear drowned out Shelton’s words

Self-preservation clai froripped Shelton and jerked hi him off mid-sentence Sheer terror colanced at Shelton’s pickup truck, so lot We’d never rumbled

I peeked around the corner Shelton peered in the same direction I didn’t know the silver-haired wo frouess

"You afraid of that kid?" Shelton said

I treainst the ticket booth and said in a lohisper, "That girl is my sister"

Chapter 5

Shelton’s mouth dropped open a fraction "That’s Ivy?"

I nodded

"She’s the one who almost wiped out every vampire in Maximus’s compound with a spell too powerful for ain

He let out a lohistle "Hoo-boy I just recognized the woman with her It’s old lady Conroy Man, I wouldn’t ave uns"

"Jeremiah tried to kill me the first and last time I saw him I have no doubt Eliza wouldn’t hesitate to finish the job" I risked another peek and took a good long look at the wo off the horrific feeling, I took note of wherelot, but the stable Instead of walking inside, however, they veered toward the back of the long, wooden structure where it sat against the rocky cavern wall I frowned "Where are they going?"

Shelton moved to the back corner of the ticket booth and looked "They ain’t going to pick up an elephant, that’s for sure"

Ayellow-and-black-striped Arcane robes appeared at the rear corner of the stable and gave Eliza a deep bow He said soerie housed in the stable and randmother to follow

"Dude looks like a bu

"That’s a utility Arcane," Shelton said, narrowing his eyes

"Utility?"

He nodded "Arcanes who perform public works like aether power, arch maintenance, and all that jazz wear those clown suits"

With the threat to ht, I took a deep breath Sed the knot of panic in olden opportunity to spy on e proved harder than I thought

You have to find out what they’re up to The fate of the world depends on it

When my subconscious put it like that, it felt like I had no choice I sighed Steeled e I could run really, really fast if necessary and said, "Let’s go"

I headed toward the stable Shelton headed toward the parking lot

We stopped, turned, and looked at each other

"Are you out of your mind, kid?" Shelton’s forehead wrinkled with the kind of expression he probably reserved for the mentally insane