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"Thank you" It was sound advice I just had no idea how to follow it "May I trouble you for an introduction to the Blue Falls innkeeper? Perhaps I could call him and ask hiuez shook his head "I’o One of the guests went on a rae and edy"

Umm So I could be just like that other innkeeper who’d died in a horrible way

I rose off the bench "Thank you so "

"You’ve driven a long way Would you like soet back as soon as possible"

Mr Rodriguez nodded "I understand If there is anything else I can do, don’t hesitate to call I’ll help in any way I can"

I started down the path Oh, shoot, Sean "Mr Rodriguez?"

"Yes?"

"Do you knohy a particular ould be uez smiled and said in the patient voice he’d used with Isabella, "Have you consulted your Creature Guide?"

"I have It doesn’trelevant"

"Did you inherit it with the inn?"

"Yes All my books and possessions disappeared with uez nodded "It’s probably out of date Before the olves blew theeneration of coainst the Sun Horde while the population evacuated They’re just like the usual olves, except ressive,They aren’t too stable, but nobody worried about that at the ti is, theirthe gates against superior firepower often by pure will, and then were extreive up and die at the end Most of the second generation did perish in the final blast, but several units ates They are rare and other olves stay away from them Some would say that they are ostracized or even shunned, others argue that we siive them the distance and respect that their sacrifice and heroic combat performance demanded It all depends on who you talk to If you encounter one, I’d treat theloves If they decide you’re a threat, they react with sudden and extreme violence and they’re very difficult to kill"

I drove straight home Of course, I hit a traffic ja both lanes The radio said no one was seriously hurt, but by the tie, it was dark The street was ele leaf shivered on the old oak in the yard, its branches dripping ed atthe shutters and locks open Beast shot out at ht, left, and overco her hind legs under her as she ran

"I love you, too, you silly dog"

The doors opened and I stepped inside The familiar smell of cinnamon floated around me, as the soft lamps came on one by one I nodded at the portrait of my parents The pressure that had accreted onthe trip vanished I was home

I made a cup of coffee and sat in my chair in the lobby Beast hopped onto my lap

"Terminal, please"

The wall in front of me fractured, folded back on itself, and revealed the s speakers ee since I’ve been gone"

The screen split into four different i the oak branches An older woed by the house every afternoon, rain or shine "Fast forward to activity"

The day turned into evening, rather than night An ie of the inn The tie expanded, taking over most of the screen The inner caht Sean Evans He wore a gray T-shirt and loose jeans He sniffed the air, turned, and looked straight at the camera His eyes shone like two embers Very deliberately he took a step forward onto the inn’s grounds

Just what I needed I sat back and watched the video

The recording froh, as the house creaked, preparing to defend itself

Sean padded around the building, htly on his toes

On screen Beast dashed down the stairs and squeezed out through the dog door The ie of the outside expanded to cover the entire screen

Beast paused on the porch for half a second, then sprinted, co down the stairs She circled the house and stopped thirty feet from Sean

He turned to her

Beast bared little white teeth and barked

"Look, dog, and I’ to have a problee forward and backing up