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"Can’t you give her so close to look into ive her soruffly "And she’s not ready yet"

"She’s a Blud any blud," I said "But the fact that I’h about how I feel"

"The fact that you’re after Goodwill is good enough for ainst hi, a chaste kiss ona shadowy route to Goodwill’s ho for us, we needed tofor us to come after him," Criminy reasoned "Powerful ht to his door Probably too busy looking for us to watch his own back"

"But what if he isn’t?" I pressed

"What choice do we have, love?" he snapped "You want the locket I’s change, then we’ll follow a new plan If you need ive it to you You’re the one who sees the future, not me"

We followed the alleys of Darkside as far as we could up the hter streets of the Pinkies, we clung to the shadows and tried not to draw attention to ourselves At one point, a Copper turned to stare at us, and Criainst the slie hat to shield us both in a wild pantoed to leave me a little breathless I couldn’t help it--lips were still lips, and hips were still hips, even if ere pretending Behind ust By the tione

Near the cathedral, the neighborhoods grew grimier and duller, and the people seeed and patched, their faces hollow and hopeless

We huddled in the shadow of the church’s high roof Above our niche was a broken stained-glassof a figure on a cross bleeding into a cup Oddly, it wasn’t Jesus It was a woman with red hair And she looked pissed

"Who’s that?" I asked

"Depends on whooddess Aztarte, the first Bludwoland, it’s Saint Erilda She died to drive the bloodthirsty dedom of mankind" He examined his o, but the church tries to play that bit down and just remind everyone of her sacrifice For humanity"

He pulled out Antonin’s map "Goodwill’s place is on the other side of the uarded, and the walls are patrolled by Coppers with dogs that can sniff through et in without hi around the corner, and I froze Criminy pulled me to his side

"Hold still," he said, and he tossed some powder from one of his pockets over us both I suddenly felt very dusty and dry, siins to flake off

"Don’t move," Criminy said out of the corner of his mouth And it would have been very hard to move, even if I had wanted to My face and body were coloved hand that I could still see was the aged gray of old stone He’d turned us into a statue

Moving only my eyeballs, I watched a pack of s Their exposed necks told me they were Bludmen--or Bludchildren They all huddled around a brown object except for one who squatted by the corner, pretending to defecate

"Did he see you, Les?" said one I couldn’t tell by look or voice what gender or age the child aunt faces wrapped in gri Bertie a stinkin’ bat-faced bludbag to noticethe fat one’s wallet Stupid Coppers" The child eed the wallet under my stone skirt

"What do you think them Coppers taste like?" asked a third urchin wistfully

"I bet they taste like shite," said the tiniest one of all

"Cheese it--here co into the shadows

Even frozen beside ic, I could feel Cri, filthy Bludchildren had touched a nerve If he could have shot lightning out of his eyes, the people co Coppers appeared, their shiny unifor on a chain lead The dog was copper-colored, too, like a cross between a Gerh asdown its chops The Coppers ignored it

"Sohtta drain those brats," said the skinny one "Cor, I hate church duty"