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Tho wound on the back of her neck "What happened?" he asked, gentlythe cool, wet cloth over her shoulders and down her back She sighed and tried to relax, but her whole body was tensed as if to run, her breathing fast and high For all the animals Frannie had dealt with in the bounds of the shop, creatures exotic and angry and scared, she had never feared one before, not even the venomous asp But of these kittens--turned to blud creatures by some diabolical hand, and in her own house, no less--she was truly frightened

"I came to feed them, and they attacked me The rest of the shop is fine But how is it even possible? They’re the saed"

"It’s unnatural"

She handed Thohtly his fist turned white Re the bottle she’d kicked earlier, she hunted around under the butcher’s table in the center of the roolass, except the residue of an opaque pink substance around the mouth Frannie sniffed it, careful not to touch it

"Milk and ic and blood? Or blud? Someone’s been here" She took a deep breath andthe locks as her face went red with anger "Someone’s been in my house Someone did this toback fro the twine from its drawer Around and around she wrapped it as the kittens tried to claw and hiss their way out of the gunnysack prison She tied it off with an overabundance of knots and set it on the floor, then turned the kittens’ crate over on top of it Then, for good measure, she fetched the iron doorstop and put that on top of the crate

"D’ye think leaving the wee beasties alive is safe?"

"I don’t have the heart for the alternative It’s not their fault I’ll drop thee tomorrow and let the university study them I can’t keep them here, but I won’t see the, and she est-hearted creature I’ve ever known"

She nuzzled into his chest and flinched when he caressed her back

"You’re hurt, Frannie"

"I’et the kit"

He held her away, his hands warm on her shoulders and thunder in his eyes "No, Frannie No It’s tiine why, but they’ve been here, and you can see the lengths to which they’ll go to haro next door or, at the very least, an inn I can’t keep you safe here if your eneed out fro suddenly tender and wounded and past exhaustion All the panic and strength drained out of her, and she thought of the loose kitten, waiting in the shadows and licking her blood from its teeth As she pulled the first aid kit froht carefully about how to proceed with theThis place is my life The animals are my livelihood This house is all I have left ofwill drive et in anywhere They can follow ht the to die, I’ on my terms"

Thom rubbed his eyes tiredly and handed her the wet handkerchief stained with red "Don’t mistake bravery for foolishness, ht for ye, but I fear your stubbornness will kill us both" He leaned against the doorway, his head against the wood and his ht "What is it you want ofyour little knife, and lock my door, and tend my wounds, and keep ht of tolance at the crate on the floor, the bag writhing with hisses underneath it With a deep sigh, he scooped Frannie up and carried her up the stairs, just as he had carried her home from the theater

"If a kitten kills et what you deserve"

15

So sound, and a threatening one, breaking through her drealed to sit up, but Filbert was curled up in the crook of her neck, and Thom rapped around her like a winter blanket, his bare chest and ht Shrugging out fro the kitten at Thom’s shoulder, she realized what had woken her

The sound of tiny claws, scritching under the door

By the tirab the lost white bludkitten and stuff it into her ewer, the cheeky thing was already gone The door across the hall was open, and Casper stood there, looking even more debauched and beautiful than usual, his shirt undone down the front and his breeches unbuttoned Frannie tried not to stare and failed