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We pulled into the driveway of my rented house with tounded wereleopards, tounded wereleopards, two very silent olves, a partridge in a pear tree, and enough equip up a pair of traction splints in ory needed to be in traction splints for twenty-four hours according to Dr Lillian The hospital was being evacuated If Fernando was in charge for the day, the evacuation wasn&039;t just a precaution, it was a necessity The rat-boy hadn&039;t wanted to free Rafael, and he&039;d certainly want revenge on Richard for beating hier The thought of what he&039;d do if he got his paws back on Gregory and Vivian was too scary to think about The best we could do was keep theo

I was half-trusting Tho too hard I don&039;t usually trust people that easily, but Gideon had called him the petit batard The little bastard They didn&039;t like him any better than we did Hard to believe, but o where we&039;d be safe? We couldn&039;t go to a hotel That would endanger everyone in the place Sas I&039;d been looking for in a rental was isolation Frankly, I liked a little city around me, but my life had turned into a free-fire zone lately No apartround and no neighbors to get shot up hat I&039;d wanted I got it Though the isolation was about all I&039;d gotten that I wanted

The house was too big for just me It was a house that cried out for a fa circles around the kiddies Richard had never seen the house I would have beenit before we&039;d had our little make-out, oh, umh, make-up session Before Jean-Claude had interfered, Richard and I had been engaged We&039;d been planning the kind of future that ith this kind of house I don&039;t know if Richard had woken up and smelled the blood-soaked coffee, but I had The future that included a picket fence and 25 children just wasn&039;t in the cards for me I didn&039;t think it was in the cards for hi to burst his bubble Not as long as his bubble didn&039;t include me If it did we had a probleular flower bed that got full sun alarden, but the last owners had dug up the plants and tried to take them with them It looked like the far side of the moon, complete with craters It had looked so barren that I&039;d spent a weekend planting the da Rose ht little flowers Zinnias behind that because the flower colors echoed each other It was a riot of color, nothing subtle Butterflies and hubirds were attracted to the zinnias I&039;d planted cosled at the same time, with lovely pale open flowers that the butterflies loved and the hubirds weren&039;t so fond of The colors of the cosmos were a little too pastel compared with the other colors, but hey, it still worked In the fall the cosoldfinches

The flower bed had been soht be here awhile That I couldn&039;t go back to an apartment or a condo That hbors

Richard had remarked as we drove up, "Nice flowers"

"I couldn&039;t just leave it bare"

He made a noncommittal noise Nearly three months away froh to knohen not to say soed me that I had been unable to leave the flower bed barren and ripped I hated the fact that I&039;d been driven to make it pretty No, I am not comfortable with ory in on the stretcher that the hospital had loaned us Lillian had pumped the wereleopard so full of painkillers that he was feeling no pain I was grateful for that Awake, he had a tendency to whiely, Cherry turned out to be a nurse She&039;d taken one look at Gregory and suddenly turned into a professional A layer of confidence and competence crawled out of nowhere She was like a different person Once Gregory let her touch hih truthfully, it wasn&039;t until Dr Lillian had seemed to trust Cherry that I did, too Lillian was confident that she could help us put Gregory into traction and not injure him further I trusted Lillian&039;s opinion, but I still didn&039;t trust Cherry Iher around, but I agreed that anyone who left you behind to die wasn&039;t trustworthy No sha weak, but I&039;d never trust her at my back

Vivian wouldn&039;t let Zane carry her into the house, even though walking was obviously painful She clung to my arm with both her small hands Truthfully, her hands weren&039;t any sile It wasn&039;t size, or even just the rape, but so about Vivian herself Even wrapped in the borrowed red coat and a scruffy blue robe that Lillian had loaned her, Vivian looked delicate, feminine, lovely in an almost ethereal sort of way It&039;s hard to look lovely and ethereal with half your face swollen tight with bruises, but she ed it

She stuht her, but her knees buckled and I ca her on the rocks

Zane tried to help ainst my shoulder Once we hit the car she hadn&039;t wanted any man to touch her It had been Zane who untied her, but it seemed to be me she looked upon as her rescuer Or maybe I was just the only feht now

I sighed and noddedshoes or even flats, I&039;d have just carried Vivian into the house, but I earing three inch spike heels I could not carry so these shoes If I kicked the shoes off, then the dress would be so long I&039;d trip I was beginning to really hate this outfit

"Vivian" She didn&039;t respond "Vivian?" She was still sliding towards the ground I braced oing to get in the shoes, and was ready for her when her legs collapsed coht have been able to carry her in a firemen&039;s-carry even with the heels, but I&039;d seen her body and there were deep bruises on her stoed to lift her in my arms, but I knew better than to try and walk

"Get Cherry," I said

Zane nodded and went into the house

I stood there holding Vivian, waiting for help to arrive The July sun beat down on h the black coat Sweat trickled downThere was a s on the flowers Don&039;t tell, but I drank at least one cup of coffee every day out here watching the stupid things It was all very picturesque, but I was getting iet her butt out here? Of course, ory and his fearful injuries If she was, it could be a while It wasn&039;t that I couldn&039;t stand there holding her It was that I felt stupid wearing heels so high that I couldn&039;t carry her into the house It irlish in the worst way

I tried to wait by counting how er stail, spicebush stail, greater frittilary, giant sulphur, black stail, red-spotted purple, and painted lady A trio of tiny blue hairstreaks spun into the air like glittering bits of sky Beautiful, but where the hell was Cherry? Enough of this I started very carefully forward, my ankle twisted and I had to throwVivian to the rocks I ended up onthe border of rosea few zinnias with me The cosmos towered over ave a sht," I soothed "It&039;s all right" I sat there holding her, half rocking her, with ht out in front of h vampires, shapeshifters, huh heels had set h whoever wrote that had never seen an issue of GQ

A tiger stail nearly as big as my outstretched hand fluttered near my face It was pale yelloith sharp brown stripes on its wings It hovered over Vivian, then finally settled on my hand Butterflies will lick the sweat from your skin for the salt, but usually you have to hold still for it If you move, they float away This insect seemed deterht pin, a long curved tube, but you can feel it like a tickling line

It was maybe the third time in my life that I&039;d had a butterfly feed off my skin I didn&039;t try to chase it away It was cool Its wings pulsed up and down very slowly as it fed, its tiny feet alainst my hand

Cherry walked out the door, eyes widening when she saw me "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, still careful not to scare away the butterfly "Just can&039;t get the leverage to get back up"

Cherry knelt by us, and the butterfly glided away She watched it for a moment "I&039;ve never seen a butterfly do that"

"It was after the salt in shit or spoiled fruit, too," I said

Cherry e" She took Vivian out ofon one knee Vivian et the balance of it all Lifting isn&039;t just strength It&039;s balance, and an unconscious body is not the best thing for balance "You need a hand up?" she asked

I shookto my knees

Cherry took me at my word and just walked towards the house She was sht Of course, if I&039;d spent the night in Padood first i to fluff up the crushed flohen the butterfly ca aroundbrush of power If it had been dark, I&039;d have said "vaht

I stood up and slipped the Browning out of the coat pocket The bright yellow-and-brown insect batted at s What had been fun a moment before was suddenly ominous For the first time inloathso that the butterfly was literally a vae Of course, they couldn&039;t be out in full daylight either They were the council Did I really knohat they were capable of?

The butterfly floated away from me towards the woods on the far side of the driveway It fluttered back and forth, back and forth, like it aiting for un with just the butterfly there by the woods But so else was out there I stood in the su the sun beat down on the top of my head I should have been safe At least froed the rules

I was about to go into the house and yell for backup, when I saw a figure Tall with a thick hooded cloak pulled around him Even with the cloak I kneas a hiht, and I even kneas Warrick Except it couldn&039;t be hih to be out in daylight

I stared at that tall shape in the shi white cloak He stood so still, as if he were carved from marble Even Mr Oliver, the oldest vaht But there Warrick stood like a ghost that had learned the trick of walking about in daylight Of course, he wasn&039;t walking He stood in the wavering shadows of the trees He didn&039;t try and co Maybe he couldn&039;t Maybe that thin band of shade was all that kept hi into flames Maybe

I walked towards him I stretched my senses, but his was the only power I felt It could be a trap, an ambush, but I didn&039;t think so If they meant to trap me, it wouldn&039;t have been this blatant But just in case, I stopped a good distance back from the woods If I saw any ht even get off a shot or two

Warrick stood with his head bowed so low, the hood completely hid his face He stood immobile, as if he didn&039;t knoas there Only the windline in the white cloth showed any movement He was like a statue with a cloth thrown over it

The longer he stood there motionless, the more eerie it seemed I had to fill the silence "What do you want, Warrick?"

A shiver went through him and he raised his head slowly Rot had spread across that strong face His skin was green and black as if that thin layer of tissue were holding in centuries of death Even his blue eyes had dulled with a fil to eat

Myopen You&039;d think after what I&039;d seen Yvette do to hihts you don&039;t grow jaded about

"Is Yvette punishing you?" I asked

"No, no,of this visit" His voice was the only thing that re and fir to his body

"What&039;s happening to you, Warrick?"

"When the sun rose I did not die I thought it was a sign fro iven ht for one last ti sun and did not burn, but this happened" He raised his hands out of the cloak, showing ernails were blackened, even the ends of the fingers seemed shriveled

"Will it heal?" I asked

He se, it was a sht that had nothing to do with vampire powers The butterfly hovered above his face "God will call me to his arms soon I aue with him there "Why did you come here, Warrick?"

A second butterfly joined the first, then a third They fluttered above his head like a carousel Warrick smiled up at them "I have come to warn you Padma fears Jean-Claude and your triumvirate He will see you dead if he can"

"That&039;s not news," I said

"Our iven Yvette orders to destroy you all"

That was news "Why?" I asked

"I don&039;t believe that any of the council truly believes that Jean-Claude means to set up his own rival council in this country But they all see hial vae that may sweep away our old existence The old ones who have power enough to be coe in our status quo When the vote is taken, Anita, there will be two against you"

"Who else gets to vote?" I asked

"Asher has the proxy for his mistress, Belle Morte, Beautiful Death He hates Jean-Claude with a fine, burning hate like sunlight through glass I do not think you can count upon his help"

"So they have all come to kill us," I said

"If they had come merely to kill you, Anita, they would have done so by now"

"Then I&039;m confused," I said

"Pad, but I believe our ave up his seat of power here and joined the council as he waswill take him out," I said "No thanks"

"So Jean-Claude keeps saying," Warrick said "I a to think that he underestimates himself, and you"

"He&039;s cautious, and so am I"

A host of butterflies had formed above his head They fluttered around his fanning softly as it fed off the rotting flesh

His power thru my body It wasn&039;t council-level power, but it was master-level Warrick was a ht "Are you borrowing power from someone else?"

"From God," he said

Of course

"The longer we are away frorow The Holy Fire of God&039;s eternal light has entered ive me for my weakness I feared death, Anita I feared the punishht I burn with God&039;s power once more"

Personally I didn&039;t believe God had a private torture cha cut off froy, Hih his power every day of our lives until it was like white noise, so Warrick on the fact that he&039;d let Yvette torture him for centuries because he feared eternal damnation, which I didn&039;t in fact believe existed, seemed pointless Nay, cruel

"I&039;m happy for you, Warrick"

"I would ask one boon of you, Anita"

"A boon is a favor, right?" I asked Didn&039;t want to agree to so

"Yes," he said

"Ask"

"Do you have a cross upon you?"

I nodded

"Show ood idea, but I pulled the silver chain up until the cross sparkled in the sunlight It didn&039;t glow It just dangled

Warrick smiled "The Holy Cross does not reject me"

I didn&039;t have the heart to tell hilow around all vah there were exceptions both ways I, like Warrick, didn&039;t question God&039;s wisdo, and if He didn&039;t, I really didn&039;t want to know

Warrick walked to the edge of the tree line He stood there in the white cloak with its black lining, hesitating I watched the struggle on his face He wanted to cross into that last band of pure sunlight and was afraid to I didn&039;t blame hie of solid golden light, then fell back "My courage and my faith, they still fail ht and grab the Holy Cross and hold it unafraid" He covered his face with his darkened hands The butterflies lit on every inch of naked skin, wings fanning There was nothing to see but the white cloak and the fluttering insects For a moment the illusion was perfect that the butterflies were all that was inside the cloak

Warrick spread his hands slowly, carefully, so as not to disturb the insects He s their animals for centuries but have never understood until now It is a wondrous bond"

He seemed happy with his "animal" Me, I&039;d have been a little disappointed A butterfly wasn&039;t going to be ainst the sort of ani as Warrick was happy, as I to bitch?

"Yvette made me swear an oath to God on some of her secrets I have not betrayedthere are things I should know that you haven&039;t told me?" I asked

"I have told you all I am free to tell, Anita Yvette was always clever She o to betray all I held dear She bound me with oaths before we arrived on your shores I didn&039;t understand it at the time, but I do now She kneould see you as a person of honor A person who protects the weak, and does not abandon her friends You make the council&039;s talk of honor and responsibility see thanks didn&039;t seeh, but it was all I had "Thank you, Warrick"

"Even when I was alive there was a vast difference between the nobles that truly led and tended their people&039;s needs, and those who just took froed that much," I said

"I alanced upward,I couldn&039;t see "As the sun approaches its zenith I feel weaker"

"Do you need a place to rest for the day?" I asked The moment I said it, I wasn&039;t sure I should have made the offer Did I really trust hi, without me to watch him every minute? Not exactly

"If this would be ht, then I would not lose it by hiding I alk in your delightful woods, then I will dig a the leaves before They fall thick and deep in the hollows"

I nodded "I know Soured you for a city boy"

"I have lived in a city fortrees thicker and more lush than these My father&039;s lands were far froed There are no trees nohere I fished and hunted as a boy It is all gone Yvette allowed one It has tainted my memories, and ood stuff is as real as the bad stuff," I said "Don&039;t let Yvette take that from you"

He smiled, then shivered The butterflies whirled into the air like autuh the trees, followed by a line of eager butterflies I lost sight of the white cloak as he walked down the far side of a hill, but the butterflies trailed after hi the line of death

31

1 crossed the yard, the driveway, and was back on the sidehen the sound of a car coravel driveway turned otten to call her and cancel ourVeronica (Ronnie) Sims was a private detective and ether at least once a week, usually on Saturday y, and I&039;d forgotten to cancel

I held the gun along my side, hidden in the coat Not that she&039;d care It was just autoh to be allowed a carry perun, you didn&039;t flash it around Deliberately flashing your gun in public without just cause is called "brandishet your pers It&039;s a sign of an auilty that I&039;d , when I realized she wasn&039;t alone Louie Fane, Dr Louis Fane, who taught biology at Wash U ith her They spilled out of the car together, laughing, holding hands as soon as the car wasn&039;t between the His shirt was untucked, coh on his five-foot-six frame that his short-shorts barely showed His black hair was cut short and neat, and didn&039;ta pair of lavender biker&039;s shorts that showed her long legs to perfection A crop-top T-shirt in the same color showed flashes of flat stomach as she walked towards o exercise with th blond hair was freshly washed, blow-dried, and shiny The only thing lowed Her grey eyes had that tinge of blue they get when she wears the right color outfit She&039;d chosen the color, and Louie had eyes only for her

I stood there watching them walk hand and hand up the sidewalk and wondered when they&039;d notice me They both looked up almost startled, as if I&039;d appeared out of thin air Ronnie had the grace to look embarrassed, but Louie just seemed content I happened to know for a fact that they were having sex, but just watching thehtly over her knuckles as they stood looking at me I wasn&039;t sure they were in love, but lust, that I was sure of

Ronnie looked , aren&039;t you?"

I frowned "Sorry, I forgot to call I just got home"

"What happened?" Louie asked He still held Ronnie&039;s hand, but everything else changed He was suddenly alert, taller so for the first tins of wear, "You s worse"

I wondered if he could smell Warrick&039;s rotted flesh on my shoes, but I didn&039;t ask I didn&039;t really want to know He was one of Rafael&039;s lieutenants, and I was surprised he didn&039;t knohat had been happening "Have you guys been out of town?"

They both nodded, and Ronnie&039;s sone now, too "We were up at the cabin" The cabin had been part of her divorce settlee that ended very badly But it was a great cabin

"Yeah, it&039;s nice up there"

"What&039;s happened?" Louie asked again

"Let&039;s go inside I can&039;t think of a version short enough not to need coffee"

They followed low had leaked away I seeht and shiny in theon ed into blissful unconsciousness Louie stopped in his tracks Of course, e Persian rug underneathThere were bright pillows on the white furniture that echoed the colors of the rug The colors were like jewels in the early ht

Ronnie said, "Stephen" She even went forward as if to touch him, but Louie pulled her back

"It&039;s not Stephen"

"How can you tell?" I asked

"They don&039;t s "This is Gregory?"

Louie nodded