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Snow began pacing the lush carpet "You can’t hide from me or yourself any In the desert, Montoya called on the Silver Zombie You called on me"

"No I didn’t I’d never ask you for help"

"Never? Why, Delilah? Why never?’

"Idon’t do that"

"Maybe you should try it sometimes Everybody needs help sometimes"

"Even you?"

"Especially me now that I’mdefaced"

Oh, kick me in the conscience, why don’t you? "I didn’t consciously call on you" I’d re to the heavens for help, to any force anywhere

"You did And I came"

Well, that was unfortunately too true, a few days before in Wichita

"I just wanted to save Ric He had the Silver Zo you had to butt in with the Seven Deadly Sins because of ain, tossed his long hair so the very ends sizzled across my skin "And only you can call ondown the power of the Silver Zombie that saved that situation in the Valley of Guadalupe"

"He survived it, Delilah We all need more than mere survival"

I recalled a favorite line: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"

Snow had certainly been thatdown the false front to reveal the new Metropolis he’d already built with a lot offor me I eyed the pulse in his throat and leaned forward to placeblue-purple bruise

"Why won’t this fade?" I asked

"Maybe a succubus coht to renew it Do you have any succubus tendencies, Delilah?"

"In your dreaed a smile

Sansouci’s mantra replayed in my head

Ric loves you

I want you

Snow needs you

And I needed, maybe wanted, all of the above

"You are the Silver Zonized my confusion and indecision and zeroed in "You are the bleeding-heart purity of Mother Maria and you are the hot-blooded teood despite themselves The Silver Zombie is celibacy and sexuality in one contradictory, addictive package Don’t think I don’t know all about that But you, on the other hand, know nothing of my curse"

"Curse?" That sobered ?"

A white eyebrow lifted above the black sunglasses A reporter soon learns nobody ever wants to tell you his or her age Especially nowadays