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Shocked, she couldn’t speak for al which he hustled her across the road and into his large all-terrain vehicle Its street nah it was far sleeker and faster than the outmoded war vehicle

She finally found her voice after he du in back and slid into the driver’s seat "You bit ave you plenty of warning Put on your belt"

She was already doing it - out of habit, not because of his order "You can’t go around biting people!"

He maneuvered the car out into the street It didn’t surprise her in the least when he stuck to the manual controls, despite the fact that they were on a road embedded with the coation But he did engage the hover-drive, retracting the wheels so they ski-shrouded streets

"Clay?" she said when he seeet into your apartment?"

The shift in topic didn’t surprise her in the least, not when she kne protective he was "I don’t know The building’s about average in terms of security, but I put in a top-of-the-line systeh the night

"Only on the door?"

"Yes Why - Oh, the s I figured being on the eighth floor was enough"

"Not against Psy telekinetics"

"Psy?" She laughed "Far as I know, teleporting is athat kind of a resource on terrorizing an ordinary human"

"Hardly ordinary," he h aAny changeling with clis, could have done it"

She hadn’t considered that and now it appeared a glaring oversight "The blood hadn’t stopped dripping when I arrived" Shivering, she hugged her arms around herself

"Was it warm?"

"What?"

"The blood"

She almost threw up "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"If they used fresh - "

"Stop!" she interrupted "Stop the car!"

He ca back the door, she leaned out and retched Since the only thing she’d eaten over the past twenty-four hours was that burger with Clay, there was nothing much to throw up But her stomach didn’t know that It craly taste of bile and tearing her insides apart

When it stopped at last, she found Clay by her side, one hand in her hair, the other holding a bottle of water "Drink"

With her throat feeling like sooing to refuse The water proved ice-cold "Where?" she rasped

He understood "Iced bottles All of us carry they The water’s infused with minerals and other stuff"

She nodded and took another delicious gulp "Tastes good"

He tugged back her head with the hand he had in her hair "What the hell was that about?"

She couldn’t bring herself to tell him the complete truth but she forced herself to tell one Her deadly little secret didn’t need to be revealed Not yet Perhaps not ever "I told you, I hate violence," she reminded him "You went too far with that talk of warm blood"

His hand clenched in her hair before he released it, a penetrating expression on his face "You had no trouble with discussing the dead boys"

She clutched at her sto if she gave even an inch, Clay would walk straight over her "Can we go? There’s" She nodded at the people peering out the s of a nearby apartnored her request "Why didn’t the Larkspurs take you to sos?"

"They did" She swung her legs back into the car and, closing her eyes, leaned her head against the seat "I’er door slid shut and a second later, she felt Clay get back into the driver’s seat "That’s a load of crap," he said once he had the blood You alorge rose at even that har another drink, she focused on the piercing sparks of light exploding behind her eyelids "I got worse After"

Silence

Then, "After me or after him?"

"Does it matter?" She realized she’d drained the water bottle

"I guess not You’re still as fucked up"

It hurt "Yeah"

He swore "Jesus, Talin Where’s your spine?"