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"Oh" With the sheet still pulled close, I grabbed my silk robe fro it around the waist "Better?"

The wolf part of me wasn’t shy about nudity But I respected that Holden ca a conversation with a lady as naked would be unheard of

I also kneell enough that he wasn’t always this shy when it ca up close and personal o on the robe protected his sensibilities or subdued his desires

"Thank you" He turned to faceme sleep the sheet hadn’t been pulled up at all, but I let hiht away?" The clock on rowl in my belly told me I needed to eat before I went

He ht nod

"They requested I bring you at nightfall Do you have food or will I need to take you to the Oracle?"

I looked at the clock I had enough food in iven the events of the last twenty-four hours I wouldn’t mind a visit with Calliope

Calliope, better known a the paranormal community as the Oracle, was the fourth and final person who knehat I was She owned a large mansion in the middle of the city, which existed on a plain outside hu into the Starbucks on West 52nd and 8th in genuine need of help would find their way into Calliope’s home She insisted the location was arbitrary, but I knew she had a sweet tooth for carains

Calliope was a true immortal Vampires used the phrase ie, disease or random accidents the way huht or, as I often demonstrated, a bullet to the brain could all kill thehter of a fairy queen and a god

I had laughed in her face when she’d told me that the first time She had politely ree as well Gods, she’d explained, at least in the Greek, Roman and Norse tradition, were not as divine as they’d have mortals believe

There was a level of truth to most of the popular ions She told me that in the ancient years of Earth’s history, true immortals were not as publicity shy as they became in later centuries They used their power and influence to achieve a godlike status and began to believe they truly were as divine as humans believed them to be This delusion of divinity led true i after polytheistic religions fell out of popularity

Fairies, on the other hand, prized their privacy They existed in a separate reality, only deigning to cross over when soht their curiosity or they found babies or women to steal

Fairies never stole men

Calliope’s mansion was a border station between human reality and the real and terrifying place to visit Calliope herself was part of the appeal She had once lived a the center of attention to its full advantage

She had taken over the life of a sirl who had died without anyone’s notice, and reinvented herself as the ultilamour icon When she’d had her fill, she left the body without further explanation It rereatest mysterious Hollywood deaths

To see Calliope now, she looked exactly like the icon once painted by Andy Warhol, only her hair was no longer short and blonde but restored to a long, sure was bodacious, her pout still as alluring I did a double take whenever I saw her

Looking the way she did it was strange to hear her tell me what my future held True to her title, Calliope was an oracle and could see the future of those around her Her visions were often vague, but she was always right

She also dealt in blood Food for va to hunt without being dangerous The council sent all sanctioned newborns to live in Calliope’s care until they could be trained to behave