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The body of a stalker lay ten feet from the boundary of the inn Unlike ht in the ht At ten o’clock in theIt didn’t look like a dead deer It looked like some out-of-this-world monstrosity, which is exactly what it was, and in precisely fivethe bend of this sidewalk, walking his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Asad, just as he had every day for the three years I had lived here

This was probably a trap It didn’t rounds before anyone saw it

I sprinted across the yard The beast lay on its side, its head turned almost completely around Bones protruded fro had snapped its neck and then ripped out its throat for a good measure

No time to bother with hooks or spears I dropped the broorabbed the stalker’s legs, and pulled The body slid across concrete Heavy I strained and pulled it in short jerks across the sidewalk One, two, three

Magic tinged through rass, behind the firecracker bush, and spun around Sean Evans winked atmy broom

Oh, you idiot

Sean moved I sort of saw it --a blur rushed towardbody bracedainst the bark overthe broo a happy, self-satisfied wolf grin

"What are you going to do now, tough guy?"

Our faces were hed at h me He was entirely too close

He studied my face and nodded at the brooot what you want, buttercup"

He had what I wanted, huh Buttercup, huh Okay "You sure seem happy with yourself," I said

"Of course I am I took you by surprise, took away your toy, and I’ve trapped you against this tree I think we’ll start with an apology"

"Me? Apologize to you? For what?"

"For trying to kill ainst the tree Also, we need to have a conversation about your little dog"

I looked into his eyes "Sean"

"Yes?" He leaned even closer and he was looking at me with a kind of distinctly ht the olf’s eye Lucky ic pulse toward the brooray ht blue veins Now I just had to keep his gaze off it

I looked into the wolf’s eyes "I’ve never considered killing you"

"Aha"

"But now I’ hie, and huht it was funny Wow I’ve never before understood the true ically what it meant, but now I saw it in action Sean was a handsoerous, and hot I kneas bad for me, but I had this absurd pull to reach out and touch his face If he weren’t so happy with hiot your broo anywhere," Sean said "I’d like to see you try"

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah Give it your best shot"

I pushed The bubble ofit to the broom His eyes ide I patted his shoulder "Take hied hi open like the cavernous ulped Sean down, then closed

"Take the body to the lab and seal it," I aped and sed the corpse

I pulledit Mr Ra sniffed at the sidewalk

"Good !" I called out

Mr Ra Nice day today"

"I heard we ood for an old man like me"

I smiled "Oh, Mr Ramirez, you’re not old"