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The sirens were alhts splashed across the Berkeley Street intersection I lifted Mab into ripped my wrist, and ran

24

AT THE CHECKPOINT BACK INTO DEADTOWN, THE ZOMBIE guard eyed Mab’s ID He flicked a glance toward her face, then blinked and stared hard He looked at the ID then back to Mab ID, Mab ID, Mab He typed into his coers on his desk, until the coain Once more, he coed "You should update your photo,"It will prevent future delays at the checkpoint" He handed both IDs back to me

The photo on the card in hter of the wo aler’s hump had sprouted between her shoulders, and her spine curved like a shepherd’s crook She clutched my arm with ropy, liver-spotted hands She could barely walk; I picked her up again so I could carry her through the streets of Deadtown She turned her face to h, she insisted I put her down "I’ll walk across the lobby ed, to a thin, tremulous, almost-whine

Clyde cahn?" he asked, offering Mab his arnity "We met yesterday I’m Vicky’s aunt, Mab"

Poor Clyde nearly choked on his hed, sed, opened his ize"

Mab harruht," I said "She’ll be better toht be listening that it would be so

Mab harru her whole weight on Clyde and me

"Would you likethe elevator button

"No, thank you, Clyde We’ll be fine," I said

"Very good" When the elevator door opened, he helped Mab inside, then stepped back out into the lobby The doors closed on his puzzled face

"Alave hed The sound seees "This place, child, is very, very far from home"

IN MY APARTMENT, KANE CIRCLED MAB, SNIFFING, GIVING et Mab to bed, and he backed off as I helped her into my bedroom Once she was settled under the covers, Kane ca at my aunt She lay back with her eyes closed There’s little tiht now, she looked like solass Kane lifted histo catch the scent of what had happened

Two people I cared about, both so drastically altered Tears pressed at my eyes, and I pinched myself to ure out what to do

"Myrddin stole Mab’s bloodstone," I told Kane He cocked his head, asking what exactly that meant I wanted to know more, myself, but noasn’t the tientle hand on my aunt’s arm "Mab?" Her eyes fluttered open They were cloudy with cataracts "What can I do to help you? Are there herbs I can get? Roxana--the witch--should I bring her back?"

"No, child None of that would help"

"Can you shift? Would that bring back your strength?" But even as I asked, I knew that the feeble old woy for a shift Mab merely shook her head

"Well, et so I’d ever said inwe could do

"I taught you better than that, child," Mab’s thin voice ad Unless you can retrieve the bloodstone, I’ives out"

"I’ll get it back" But how? I didn’t knohere Myrddin’s safe house was, and I didn’t know if I could face Myrddin--and his ar I’d get the bloodstone back felt likeBut I needed to try to comfort Mab "I won’t let Myrddin" I couldn’t finish the sentence

"Won’t let him what, child? Kill me? If only that were all he had in mind" Her rheumy eyes closed, and her voice, barely audible, tre me to the very end of life, to the point where death is the only thing still desired And then he’ll use the bloodstone to io"

MY HEAD SPUN WITH QUESTIONS, BUT I COULDN’T TROUBLE Mab with the buzzed fro-roo those snores Each one meant another breath

I checked the splint I’d put on my wrist My kind heals quickly--the pain had already diether Keeping the wrist ih, I had oogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>