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Mab paused She watchedsure I understood "Your sister didn’t do it for my sake, child She did it for you"

ONCE AGAIN, THE REAPER WAS ALL OVER THE NEWS NORDEN was listed as the fifth victim, and the containht hours But when the clock ticked down and no ed their tune They identified Elerprints were on the curved blade found at the site andthe other victims’ wounds They theorized that Norden, driven to despair by his psychotic urge to kill, had taken his own life Reporters interviewed endless people who’d known Norden Neighbors, coworkers, his barber, even past teachers Everyone described hi, and bad-mannered--all pretty accurate descriptions The only one who had anything halfway nice to say about hi about Norden that I knew to be true In the grip of a murderous spirit that tormented him unbearably, he tried to hold on to some little piece of what made him human However much a jerk he’d been in life, in death he’d sacrificed hi With the Reaper case closed, the police were puttingdown vaton police still wanted to question her about Justice Frederickson’sout of their facility Juliet stayed at our apartment for a couple of days--the cops had already checked for her there sothe last place they’d look--then left She wouldn’t tell , but she’d pop up froht it was safe

The Old Ones had scattered, she said Many of them were dead, killed by the virus they’d used to infect Juliet When they’d seen her that night on Back Street, apparently unharmed by the virus, several Old Ones had i the sa Colwyn, had beenJuliet with more silver than any vampire could survive to test her immortality Those Old Ones were still out there soht they’d really done it," I said "Really achieved immortality When I hit that Old One with silver and he didn’t diewhy didn’t it affect him?"

"I’m not sure," Juliet said "That was one of the Old Ones who infected hi to do with the bloodstone The stone has so much power, and the Old Ones were in its presence for uess is that they absorbed some of that power But obviously the effects were temporary"

I wondered if they’d be temporary for Juliet and asked Mab about it later She didn’t know "You must understand, child, that the bloodstone has never been used in such a way before The stone is life-giving, and I eineered, death-dealing virus There’s no telling what the long-term effects could be"

For now, Juliet said she felt like a kid of three hundred again I don’t think she noticed Mab’s smile

WITH THE CONTAINMENT ORDER LIFTED, KANE RETURNED to Deadtown I left Mab grilling Tina on Inimicus demons and went to his place to wait for hi air I hung a brand-new bathrobe on my side of the closet--and then I stepped back to ood

I was sitting on the sofa, leafing through the latest copy of Paranorhts Law Journal, when the key turned in the lock, and Kane opened the door I looked up--and then just looked He was the sa hier on every part of him His silver hair The broad shoulders thathands, their square-nailed fingers Everything But especially the eyes that had helped me hold on to Kane when I was so afraid I’d lost hirinned and closed the door "Maybe afterward," he said

He scooped me up and carriedat all

THE NIGHT BEFORE MAB FLEW BACK TO WALES, AXEL THREW her a farewell party in Creature Cos in Trollspråk and even demonstrated a traditional folk dance Tina jumped up to try it, too As the three of them thumped around the rooht, it would take years for Axel to recover his scary reputation

Kane sat besidehis foot as he watched I reached up and laced h his Since he’d been back, I couldn’t touch hih

Axel went back behind the bar to pour some drinks He put on some quieter music

Juliet popped in and out--in that sudden, "now you see me, now you don’t" vahts and happy hours attend you,’" she said " ‘Heaven give you ood wishes, and replied with so equally Shakespearean

For the fewto Washington," she told us "I think Colwynout there I want to expose them If I can find Colwyn’s lair, I’ the Old Ones to Justice Frederickson’s murder It’s time to put that matter to rest" She looked around and slowly licked her lips "I want to get back to trawling the bars for hot blood"

Kane cleared his throat "Juliet," he said "I’y"

She waved her hand disy’--please Vas of such words" But she looked pleased he’d said it

I asked Juliet if she’d co the Old Ones

"Nothing," she said "Nothing at all" Then the door opened Juliet disappeared in a blink, before the new custo If he hated Mab for i his father, he now hatedhim I didn’t kno the life force he stole from me would affect hi blank No connection to hiht now? The questions creeped me out, but I couldn’t dismiss them

A waltz came on Kane stood and asked Mab to dance As he whirled her around the rooe of sadness that Gasn’t here I’d invited her, even though I knew she wouldn’t come Gould never set foot in Creature Coe party for Mab

Tina sat down in Kane’s seat and buggedat all"

"Not now, Tina"

She pouted "Then give me a sip of your beer"