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Daht as I turned to find Anyan frowning at us I blushed and duckedhis computer screen

But too bad you did

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Phaedra’s gang aiting for us on the street I tucked the file folder with its secret note into my jacket so that the Alfar wouldn’t see I didn’t want her reading my e-mails to Ryu, first of all, and I also didn’t want her knowing about that note It seemed like tooso much interest in a matter that didn’t directly involve hi Conleth in to a potential victiiant Escalade, the little Alfar polished a knife as casually as if she were filing her nails Her leather-clad body absorbed the street’s light, and--for the first time--I noticed that her eyes were red Not red as in bloodshot--but genuinely red Her pupils were the color of drying blood

Her little intiht of our newest compatriot I’d never seen an Alfar furious until I sa Phaedra stared at Anyan Of course, as she was Alfar, it wasn’t nor there, even this far away, I felt like that little Dutch boy with his thu behind the walls of her otherwise-placid face screa less would suffice And all that ire was centered on the barghest

Anyanlimbs nonchalantly

I couldn’t see the harpies I looked up, i above an and the rapist incubus were accounted for The for the enorray bulk As for the latter, Grae anything but shock and hest Tell nored her, reaching into his leather jacket’s inner pocket The Alfar tensed, but the big u it in hishere, Phaedra?" Ryu interrupted, advancing a few paces as Daoud and Caleb moved in to flank me

The Alfar pulled herself up with a visible effort "We’re working together, no?" she asked, her childlike voice toeing that sandy line between rhetorical and insolent

"I can handle this investigation, Alfar," Ryu hissed Phaedra sheathed her knife, striding forward to confront hiain, I was struck by how tiny she was Unlikeform of tiny: the tiny of poisonous spiders, plastic explosives, or the Olsen twins

"Can you, baobhan sith? You’ve not even been able to elude us We’ve been following your ‘investigation’ despite your attempts to hide And we have borne witness to your further failures The body count , really" Phaedra’s eerily large eyes stared at Ryu, her bald pate glea streetlamps

I saw movement on top of the SUV, and with a start I realized that the two harpies were huddled together on top of Phaedra’s Escalade About their legs were folded their dun wings, frolobes

"All precautions taken have been routine," Ryu replied to the Alfar’s insinuations "I wasn’t trying to avoid your lot" Phaedra didn’t look like she believed him, a suspicion I also, admittedly, held

"Well," the Alfar said, an unpleasant s her little face "We are all here now, so let us co, Investigator? Off to collect the body of another human you could not protect?"

Ryu’s jaw clenched and I reached out a hand to rest it on the small of his back We were here, with him, and we believed in hi sound "Whatever it is, you will take Graeht and report back to ress"

Ryu looked like he was about to protest, but Phaedra silenced hi little display of fireworks Sparks of power erupted frolow

"I outrank you, baobhan sith Do not question e you with insubordination and forcibly rehts," Phaedra purred, challenging all of us to protest When we kept silent, she sighed

"Graewat, you knohat to do"

Phaedra walked back to her Escalade, and atched as she opened the door to scrah seat She had to back up a few steps and then hop in with the aid of the arnified and I s that aankan evil, evil bitch

As she started the s I felt a burst of elemental poirl around me as they launched the they’d also be going our way, rather than with theirme toward his own car Once I was safely in Ryu’s possession, Caleb and Daoud strode forward to collect the spriggan and Graeet away fro down at the incubus like he was fresh meat Or, in Anyan’s case, perhaps a White Castle slider ot into Ryu’s car, he started swearing My vampire was a master swearer, and I listened in awe as he took his art to a whole new level of formal experimentation I had no idea that anyone could invent such varied and sties for cocktail forks, a traasoline<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>