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I stood up and let go Turning to hi on behind his glazed eyes So I called upon every iota of womanly instinct I had and pulled back ht have given hiain, as he suddenly seerabbed him by the shoulders to focus his attention on ood if he chose that e, and s all over the hall We had to get out of there, tout suite

"Hey, buddy," I said, loud enough so he could hearto keep my voice calm at the same time "What’s your name?"

"Ed," he said, nonplussed "Where am I?"

He started to look around but I put aze on mine "Ed," I advised "We’re soet out of here, okay?" I took his hand and tried to pull hi

"There was a woman," he started to say

"Yes," I interrupted "There was a wo Like now," I added,to crack froht and creatures were launching the

I pulled harder on his hand, and he looked into et up I backed away, signaling for hiot to his feet resolutely, leaping away frooing," he said, and I had just started to turn when I felt soainst ed, very slowly, from one of determination to one of confusion We both looked down, equally astonished at the sight of the blazing sword protruding froht died from his eyes as he cru

A movement from behind the man’s body drew my eyes It was Jiotten in the way or at the et hi standing between e

I backed away, fighting Ji I’d had the chance to call ht of it--I’d been too swept up in events to put uess people in their twenties don’t nor their affairs A ain--quite literally

And just think, a few days ago you orried about living forever, I thought, as Ji face came to within an inch of mine He obviously wanted to look er Ji could reachprofusely fro his left leg, but he still round and away from me The knife was knocked aside and Ryu took that opportunity to begin pulverizing Ji that I was still not exactly safe, and not wanting to see anyone ground into a bloody pulp no matter how much I disliked them, I left Ryu to it With one last look at the dead huh the door

I found myself in another of the Alfar Compound’s interminable hallways This one was narrow and lined with dark stone, and only a few doorways appeared to interrupt its flow I gave ht before I set off down the hall After a few seconds I heard a noise that gave me pause, until I realized that the sound was one of ht’s various shocks reverberating uncontrollably through , I decided not to worry about the tears