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"Please" Just don’t expect the sa me out But should we, I don’t know, join the on?"
"No!"
"Okay, okay Bad suggestion" Penny rubbed her slightly rounded belly "They just look like they’re having so much fun, and I feel like I’ve been without fun forever" Her tone istful "So what’s the plan? Just sit here and watch them?"
"Yep When the police arrive to arrest everyone in the vicinity for indecent exposure," she said, thinking fast, "we’ll have a better chance of getting away if we’re in the car"
"Uh, Mary Ann? I hate to disappoint you, but the police are already here See the potbelliedhis shirt in the air? That’s Officer Swanson"
"We’re still staying here" Bottoer The creatures see anyone, but that could change in a blink And what if someone sensed the baby Penny carried had a demon father? What then? Would they want to spill Penny’s blood? Would they want to destroy the baby?
She shuddered One thing she knew: different "ical" species were at war Like vampires and fairies And she had no idea which species liked demons and which didn’t
"Fine We’ll solve the mystery from here," Penny said, unable to hide her disappoint for duty"
"Good Welcome to the tearu fun, and we’re still sitting here watching"
"Sorry Five minutes, and then we’ll head ho new
Crap! Did the witch coht? If so, she’d have to nab the woman in front of a thousand potential witnesses
So as the best way to abduct someone from this crowded a place? she wondered The answers slid into place as easily as if she’d been a criminal her entire life First order of business would be noise control A scream would draw all kinds of notice
Second order of business would be carrying the resistant or unconscious body through theall kinds of notice Third order would be storing their cargo after the kidnapping
As her mind pondered the options and subsequent consequences, a strealed, and her sto" soothed her, intensifying the tingle yet chasing the groay, and she savored the sensations, wanting , she pulled herself fro toward Penny’s car, she realized, her steps intent
"Go," she shouted, slapping the dashboard "Go now!"
"What? Why?"
"Move!"
Penny threw the car in Reverse and stepped on the gas Tires screeched Gravel sprayed The car snaked a corner, and Mary Ann thudded against herThey straightened out, speeding down the road, the crowded square soon beco a distant speck in the rearview side them--and neither was Riley One had white fur, like snow, and the other brown and red Friends? Enemies? There was no time to reason it out The farther down the road they went, the farther away the wolves edged from the car Finally, Mary Ann couldn’t see them at all
"Okay What was that about?" Penny de physical
"I--I don’t know," she lied Da? Probably Now the witches knew she’d been there, watching What was the chance the witch would return to not to despair Guess she’d find out After she told Riley, Aden and Victoria what she’d done and they lectured her for her stupidity, of course
Penny was right This sucked
NINE
WITH HER HEAD HELD HIGH, Victoria led Aden down a long--long--line of richly dressed va the females, jewels of every color sewn into the fabric, and silk shirts and pants on thethe air, a scent that thickened as he made his way up a dais, where a throne of the deepest ebony rested A scent that thankfully canceled out his perfume
Weird symbols were etched over every inch of the throne, sy hi him in place as if manacles encircled his wrists and ankles
Victoria placed herself at his right and Riley his left, and the line startedforward Introduction after introduction was , old Too many nay condition
Soarded him hopefully, soe tapestry that hung along the wall He didn’t have to turn to knohat ie oven there; it was burned into his ry, determined mob They had pitchforks; he had a bloody sword At his sides were countless pikes--each with a human head perched at the top Was that what these vampires would expect from Aden?