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Her fingers tre for us He’d put the blankets and pillows back on the bed, not that we’d sleep again It o hours before dawn; I figured we’d leave at first light

I asked the unspoken question "What happened back there?"

Kel shrugged "My guess? A trigger spell Powerful sorcerers can set a curse that will be set off only if certain conditions are met"

"Like a henchman about to betray el jefe," Shannon said around a at

"Exactly," he answered

"He definitely recognized the caster and he feared hihed "Unfortunately, it leaves us back at square one In Laredo, we had a list of his properties, but he’ll have sold theed the leak Esteban exploited to get the info in the first place"

Shannon asked, "Who’s Esteban?"

I gave her the short version of how I’d read a necklace for the guy--he worked for a rival cartel--and told him why his sister disappeared years before Esteban had been so grateful he’d produced the inforo after Montoya in his ain--and as we’d realized earlier, e found Montoya, he’d have this new sorcerer at his side Not Good

She nodded, thoughtful "We need help froher up the food chain this ti to happen; I didn’t know any cartel bosses In Mexico, it was bad news to evince curiosity about doings near the border Living in the interior in a safe neighborhood was a different world from Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, or Tijuana

We needed to o

Kel had been quiet I glanced over and saw his eyes were closed For all I knew, he was coel, and was about to dump us for new orders I didn’t kid ard, he sat forward in his chair "There was a woman who helped you before In Texas"

I shook ot to be eight "

"Not Eva"

For a moment I couldn’t think of any other woht, he’d been shadowing me, so he had probably trailed me to her house I knew that because he saved s were siht he wanted to kill me

"Yes She may have contacts we can use"

"To do as Shannon suggested?" Surely he wasn’t endorsing the idea that we join forces with a rival cartel That was like using a rabid dog to kill a few rats The whole thing put me in mind of the old lady ed the spider; this idea had a snowball-rolling-downhill feel to it

"I have been watching the possible outcomes," he said softly "And that may be your only hope"

The words dropped into the room like lead shoes, so when Shannon crumpled her candy wrapper and Butch whined, the sounds see rasped in my ears Kel alone appeared un covered his muzzle with his paws and burrowed deeper into my arms

"Why do you say that?" I asked

In answer, he clicked on the television; I judged theremote stilled Kel left it on a news channel I didn’t understand why, but atched for five minutes in silence And then the presenter answered my questions in the worst possible way

I translated the Spanish mentally and came up with: Firebomb in Mexico City As yet no terrorist factions have claimed responsibility Luckily there was only one fatality and the blaze did not spread to adjacent buildings Police suspect itviolence on the rise--Kel muted the television before the man could complete the sentence

"No," I breathed

Stop, I mentally commanded the announcer I don’t want to see--

Oh Before the ies came up on-screen, I knew It was my shop Kel had known before the news ca a bulletin in his head Froht have even known I’d never see the place again, and I hated him for his distance, his surety, and his cal the truth made it no easier to bear Burned plaster and chunks of ce around, they showed scavengers picking through the rubble Once again, I was homeless, reduced to what I could carry Chance had sents, treasures Señor Alvarez had--

One fatality It sunk in at last, above my own misfortune Oh God Oh my God He died because of me First Ernesto, and now Señor Alvarez Sick, I wondered how ht live At what point should I stop running and take the bullet?