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"You h I’ll haveup my front room I’m for bed, and if Stenton sends anybody else ht hours, I may turn him into a toad"

"The client or Geoff Stenton?" I wondered

"Both?" The witch laughed as I paid her, counting out the cash "Mind you, use those within forty-eight hours The spell won’t hold its charge forever"

"We’re on our way to the airport," I assured her

Shannon roused on the first try; it took longer to wake Kel, as in his trancelike sleep "Come on, you two We have a plane to catch"

The earliest flight left just before five in the , and ere only three away from that now In short order, I hurried theave our final destination I wished I could’ve spent longer in the UK, but there were pressing issues elsewhere In the taxi, I borrowed Shan’s phone again to e for Laredo Given travel times, it will be late to story Tell you when I see you Would mean a lot to him if you throw a party Invite all your friends and relatives Trust me when I say he has reasons to want to be surrounded by people Including our arrival tiive us a ride froe for a tiny phone keyboard in a s so far, I hit send and gave Shan back her phone

She stared at me in bemusement "You seemwired Manic, almost"

"I feel a little frantic," I confessed softly

There was no way I could confess aloud what I truly feared--that Booke would pass away in transit But I think she knew She put her hand onyour best"

"Hope it’s good enough," I muttered

The rest of the journey passed in a blur of lines and waiting For the sake of efficiency, we got Booke a chair, which he hated But itthe main security line for one more handicap friendly We flashed our passports multiple times, but the real test of the charm around my neck would come e entered the US He didn’t need a visa, as British citizens could visit for up to ninety days on a tourist form Given Booke would be lucky to have a ration would pose a problem

By the time the pretty, polite stewardess settled us on the plane, I was running on fu him o Maybe it was a relief for him to be able to tell his stories I mean, if he had tried that with anyone on the Internet, they’d have been like, sure, you were in the Blitz Because people that old didn’t knoork the Internet machine Actually, there probably were some, but randparents on either side

Kel took theseat, leaving me on the aisle I didn’t mind I was surprised, however, that he hadn’t poofed on me But then, if he went back to report his failure to recruit me, Barachiel would order my death That was another co else My whole life was a wreck; gods only knehether the work my shop Tia was old and frail I had Chance’s apartment to deal with too Fortunately, he’d paid the rent several months in advance, but who knehen those payments ran out? I hoped to hell the landlord hadn’t put all his things in the street At the very least, I owed it to Min to collect the about adventures that they never put in fairy tales? They screwed up your life in a royal fashion Real-world business went unattended; bills didn’t get paid My freaking El Camino had been abandoned on a remote mountainside in Oaxaca True, I didn’t pay much for it, but I’d put money into repair work, and there was no way in hell I’d ever see that car again In the first week of my sojourn in Sheol, I’d bet that iven that it was a solid car, so it around without the title In a s

To my left, Kel’s hands were clenched on the armrests as the attendants went about their business They handed out es In the back of the plane, which I dubbed steerage, they were probably deploying the cattle prods A ten-hour flight, like the one from London to Houston, would be absolutely miserable in coach My inner skinflint had caviled a little at the cost of four first-class tickets, but I had the money I was just reluctant to touch it, especially for such a fleeting experience

Seeing Kel’s tension reether "LetI can do"

"It would help if you distracted me at least until we’re in the air"

"What did you have inworks"

"The only thing we have to discuss is how I’ on for your boss’s cause Did you tell him yet?"

"I did," he said quietly "And he’s ordered e your mind I have clearance now to discuss your role, if you wish"

If Barachiel truly thought I’d sign on with no information, like a dazzled Joan of Arc, he’d lost touch with huive Kel a fair shot, so I said, "It’s not at the top of o away So go for it"

It was unlikely in the extree my mind, for obvious reasons--for the first time, I had a clear picture of what I wanted for my future--but if it would take his , then I’d listen Unlike most of ht, this parting had been bittersweet but aht try to kill me the next time I saw him Gods, if there wasn’t even a small possibility I’d be reunited with Chance, wherever the hell he was? Then I’d let Kel do his job But ultimately, that would be selfish, and he’d have to carry my death as he did Asherah’s

"Barachiel wants you to rally soldiers to his banner Your lineagethe people to rise up against demonkind"

Okay, what the hell

"You ? The New Church of Soloel doesn’t call it a cult, of course, but how did you know the name?"