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Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Me," Murphy said, and Edward threw the knife

The old man never waited around for explanations Which was probably why he was still alive

Without Murphy, I didn’t want to be I threwhiround The knife stuck in my shoulder with a thunk

"Ouch!" I turned to Edward, but he was glaring at Murphy, as glaring at me

"Dammit, Cassandra" Murphy jumped to his feet "You could have exploded"

But I hadn’t What the hell?

Without warning, Edward yanked the knife frorab his wrist as it descended toward Murphy

"What are you doing?" I demanded

"Diana discovered that only a knife made of black diamonds could end the life of a wereleopard"

Edward’s voice cale for possession of the knife I was no longer strong enough to take it from him, and I wasn’t sure why I wouldn’t be able to hold Edward’s wrist away froer

Murphy must have sensed this, because he plucked the knife, blade first, from Edward’s hand "Black diamonds Those must be pretty rare"

"Extreh more common in Brazil" The old man scowled at him "You are not a wereleopard at all"

"No?" Murphy tossed the gory knife into the fountain

"You touched the blade without burning" Edward turned his frown on me "And you did not explode"

"No lance around the courtyard His gaze stopped when it reached the pile of ashes "Mezareau?"

"Yes"

He met my eyes "You?"

I j erked my thumb in Murphy’s direction

"H soft touched my back Murphy had taken off his shirt and pressed it to oing to need stitches

"Tell me what happened," Edward demanded

"She needs a doctor"

Edward pulled out his gun and pointed it at us both I told hi

"Only a wereleopard can raise the living dead" Edward set down the gun and picked up the dia the fountain "With a little help from the stone"

"Yes, sir"

"And the bokor cursed you to becoht"

"That’s the rumor"

Edward’s lips twitched I wasn’t certain if I annoyed or aht now I didn’t care

"However, the black dia to you"

"Is there a point to this?" Murphy deot so much blood to lose"

"I’m concerned," the old man murmured "Cassandra has always had more power than she realizes That, coe and the near immortality of a shape-shifter…" He spread his hands "I cannot allow her to walk freely in this world"

"You’ve got nothing to say about it!"

"There you are wrong" Edward snapped his fingers, and the courtyard filled with people Froer-Suchers

"Hold on," I said, fighting waves of nausea, pain, and dizziness "The knife didn’tin the blink of an eye Let me see if I can shift"

The sound of several rounds being chauns "Little jumpy?"

"You think we’ll let you shape-shift and tear out our throats?" Edward asked

"I doubt you’ll letof the kind," I muttered

"But hoe stop you? Silver doesn’t work on wereleopards; the black diamond doesn’t work on you"

"So I’m supershifter Lucky h the crowd Her electric blue dress and snazzy black stilettos were both out of place and right in fashion She carried no weapon, but then she didn’t need one

Elise was a olf

You ht think it odd that the hter who turned furry; I know I had However, the story of Elise and Edas long, involved, and not exactly pleasant

I’dthe incident with Henri We nodded a greeting, but I wasn’t in the ash in the shoulder can do that

"She seems exactly the same as she did when I met her the first time," Elise murmured "If she’s evil, I can’t see it"