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As if in e, Adrianna slid from Jack’s Shoffru’s embrace, placed her hand on his arm, and they started across the ballroo Rick standing in an ees in the air I took a breath and s was about to happen

To the side, the woman with the sword put a hand to the hilt and looked around the roo anxiety and anger with body language--all va around in that inhu For a et her scent, but that desire faded as her gaze settled on hten around me like a noose Her eyes narrowed and I realized that she had been looking for me, for me personally And then I saw the sword I had seen it before and forgotten Sootten a sword in past security?

The sword-carrying va her eyes, Adrianna turned to the soman And she s and desire And that thought too faded

Beast slammed into roups, angling to meet them in the middle, rather than behind Leo Jodi and Gee were atI could do to keep therowling deep inside, but I didn’t have time to deal with her, not now, and I shoved her down

Leo’s power rose, lifting and swirling Katie’s skirts in a false breeze, and uests It raked across my skin like rose thorns, and met the witchy power of the keep-away spell in a sown lifted, and Shoffru hesitated, just slightly, midstride, as his spell-charm was countered by Leo’s pure power His reen and scarlet, like Christhts And Katie’s skirts reversed course to swirl back as if in a strong wind

Holy crap It wasn’t just a charm Jack Shoffru was a witch-vamp, like the Daic family and who knew all their secrets--on his arh the rooh the huics was crazy scary Shoffru’s power tightened, as if the air itself were growing thicker and harder to breathe I searched out the so, where--there! At the entrance to the roo her, I found it hard to remember why I cared she was there Spelled, heavily spelled Beast swatted at the spell fro happened and she withdrew And thoughts of the soreenthing Two of the almost too fast for me to focus on them, but I knehat to look for, and this second shock made my breath hitch The taller one ca way, limbs that were too slender and knobby for his body His head was oddly shaped, his fangs were out, and when he ran, he was up on his toes, like a dog or cat, though he was generally bipedal, not a quadruped His claere out, looking like steel about three inches long His pants and shirt were loose and baggy, hiding a body that I knew to be vaguely froglike, the skin hairless and green with darker green streaks, like dark serpentine stone Darker and not as tall as the last adult one I’d seen, this grindy was goleh And at his side was Pea, Rick’s juvenile pet grindy Neon green–furred and kitten-sized, she had her claws out and fangs showing

They spun to a halt in the rindy hissed, his shoulders raised high on his neck Pea, standing on two back feet, claiping in threat, chittered Shoffru stopped, his eyes on the creatures froend His lizard had curled on his shoulder and darkened to a bronze brown Clearly the pirate-witch-suckhead had never seen a grindylow, nor had the soman, nor the lizard It ducked back inside the pirate’s shirt as the grindys herded Jack, his souard around them, weapons not exactly pointed at the pirate and his crew, but not pointed away either

I said, "A gather is a place of peace, Shoffru That uys carrying silver shot ht mistake your actions as hostile and shoot you full of holes And the grindylows rindys in one place That meant that the African weres were here And even as I had the thought, they walked into the entrance

An African werelion in his human forhter brown, his eyes lion-gold in a dark-skinned face I had taken the time to study the names from the were-community that Rick hadhim, and this was Asad "Asad," the announcer said, "emissary of the Party of African Weres, and his wife, Nantale With them is Paka"

Their scents filled the room, earthy, musky, the heated intensity of the sun on the African savannah The terelions advanced, Asad wearing white robes in an Arabian style, Nantale looking like a Nubian goddess in cloth of gold, wearing beaten gold on her wrists, on her ankles, and around her neck Behind her moved Paka Her scent was different, but if possible, even more intense, and it was familiar She so, of green jungle and rushing water and danger She smelled of black wereleopard

And she ith no doubt, in heat

I pivoted toward Rick, and pain flashed throughat the woirl I looked back at her She couldn’t be ht, her hair lustrous and long, in a coil to the middle of her back She wore a skirt in wildly patterned cloth, with a handkerchief hem, in reds and blues and purples Her top was short sleeved, cropped to display her flat belly, the neckline round and gathered with a tie, which was open to reveal the curved tops of her breasts The roundedthe eye Somehow I knew she was naked underneath the dress That she would like nothing better than to toss the dress away and walk bare in the air currents and intense interest of the htened, and I was rehts from earlier I couldn’t breathe She was beautiful Full lips, black skin, wide dark eyes, cheeks like perfect fruit, skin glistening with youth and health I couldn’t breathe