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I laughed It was not what Shoffru was expecting He hesitated Just a moment, a fraction of a second And froic

Black and soft as cash with black stars, it settled on Jack, just as the spell on the throwing knife started to work Froan to flow Bliss’ spell coic And as the blood welled, it blackened and fell like ashes on the night air The two spells working together, evolving

Shoffru’s eyes ide He grabbed so on his neck The lizard It ca,red ic lizard My laughter bellowed out over the yard But from my hand, the three red motes reversed course and flew froh its skin and into Jackie Boy Shoffru landed on his knees,and thickening, taking on texture and for to pile on the ground at his knees He turned to Leo, holding out the lizard, and the redinto Jack He was trying to recall histo draer froh his an to shrivel, they bunched up, in the areas of his heart and brain, spinning like tops When he began to shift and sift into a pile of gray ash, they were still spinning And I realized that they had to go so I had grabbed frorass at Shoffru’s feet And then I rolled quickly away

Looked back It was a ge with inner heat Thetheir host And Jack Shoffru dusted to death

I stared at the geranular ash and shook it clean And wrapped the opal in it Froht into the hand of Gee DiMercy Who winked at me

I was pretty sure no one saw either of us as we confiscated Shoffru’s ical implement and his familiar All attention was on Leo, who hadon his own feet And he had a va thehts and power or die," he said I looked at the second floor and saw Evan He held out a thumb to

My partner was alive

We had won

Leo was gonna feed

Oh, goody

In the far distance, sirens sounded Lights were on in houses up and down the street The neighbors had waked and called in the cops I needed to get Leo into the house or the backyard I thought of the bodies upstairs The blood everywhere This had FUBAR written all over it

Knowing that the young vamp would hear, I called, "Shiloh Get our people out of the tree in back, and take Molly and get out of here Tell Alex to tell all our people to get out of here Move it"

With a pop of air, she was atAunt Molly-Lolly said it would be" I had no idea what she saw on " With another pop of displaced air, she was gone

I looked over at Leo, with no idea of how to get him to a safer place, one where law enforce Hu, and bloodletting taking place Fro over his shoulder, carrying it to Leo’s car down the street I hoped he got to it in ti a headless body Arrest first, convict later, ask questions never I looked up at the here Eli was War Wo people, but I wanted to be with him anyway

Bruiser walked across the dark yard tomy mind, he said, "The healers are with Eli They have him stabilized, but it won’t last I’ve called for the priestess to help heal hi closer, the co at least four cruisers, et Leo to the back," Bruiser said