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After a few ht and ended the call I sat on the porch for a while longer, petting Mogwai and thinking about the conversation while the candles guttered into wax pools On a Daisy-and-Sinclair basis, I felt good about it I’d taken Lurine’s advice and cut hihoul issue, I thought I’d handled it pretty dairlfriend, especially considering that the whole secret-twin-sister thing had just been sprung on

As Hel’s liaison, I wasn’t so sure Emmeline Palmer hadn’t just threatened me She’d threatened my town My territory, my turf, , that dear Emmy would back dohen Sinclair confronted her

But if she didn’t

"Bring it on, bitch," I said aloud

Okay, so I wasn’t entirely sure what it was or what I’d do about it if she did, but it felt good to say it

Fifteen

I aith a splitting headache, an excruciating toothache, and blurred vision And I panicked

Here’s the thing: I don’t get sick Ever Oh, I’ve had headaches due to stress or fatigue, like the other night, and I found out the hard way that I can get hangovers, but I’ve never been sick Never had the flu, the chicken pox, not even the common cold Toothaches? I’d never even had a cavity My e body teher than a norrees She thinks it kills the gerh I’ve never known a doctor to sign on to her theory

So anyway, yeah, I freaked First at the pain, which seeht side oflike a spike into my sinus cavity; second at the blurred vision

That was the one that really gotto hold my head as still as possible In the bathroo furiously and willing my vision to clear

No luck

Oh, crap

The se-controla stroke or an aneurys Hell if I was going to the e but a tank top I fumbled my way to the laundry hamper and pulled out yesterday’s clothes

Okay, that would work Sidling along the edge of htstand until I foundin my hand

The problem was that I couldn’t ot to the keypad, through dint of trial and error, I couldn’t make out the numbers to call 911 Every ti nuonized effort, unable to get to that ic combination It was like a bad dreas One was that whatever the hell was happening toany worse Oh, it was bad My jaas throbbing, , and I couldn’t see for shit, but I probably wasn’t dying

The other was the first inkling of suspicion that whatever the hell was happening toI should have suspected that fro But it’s really, really hard to think straight when your skull feels like it’s being split open with a railroad spike and you can’t see

AndI wasn’t sure what to do with that suspicion

So instead I hoped like hell it was a h the whole trial-and-error bit to pull up my contacts on my phone Elusive letters and numbers skittered across my vision, but if I concentrated like crazy, I could ned to them Since I was kind of lax about that, there were only two, my mom and Jen And while, on the one hand, I really wanted ht about now, I also didn’t want to freak her out, so I jabbed at the screen until Jen’s contact ca "What’s going on?" I was so relieved to hear her voice, I had to choke back an involuntary sob "Daisy?" Jen’s voice sharpened "What’s up?"

"Not sure," I whispered "Either I’ an aneurysm or I’ve been hexed"

"Are you serious? Jesus! Did you call 911?"

"No" I closed ht helped a very little bit "Can’t see to dial"

"Okay, hang on I’ to take you to the ER"

"Wait, wait!" Now thatdown a notch, the prospect of massive medical costs alarmed me As a part-time employee, I didn’t have health insurance, which had never worried ot sick And I’d never had to explain the quirks of nomy to unfamiliar doctors They’d probably want to hospitalize ht be a hex, Jen Or a raine?"

"What if it’s not?" she asked with acerbity "And by the hy do you think it ht hand over ot a toothache, too"

"A toothache?"