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Lee grimaced "You didn’t see my car? It was pulled off by the side of the road just before the driveway to Twilight Manor"

Bethany gave him a sharp look--well, as sharp as possible with swollen eyelids--and bared her fangs

"Sorry" He coughed "The House of Shadows"

"How did you even know this was going down?" I asked "I didn’t say anything about it"

"Are you kidding?" Lee nodded toward Mrs Cassopolis "They got a freaking invitation It was the talk of the town Everyone knew"

"Tell your mother I said to thank her for the Bundt cake recipe," Mrs Cassopolis said in a distant voice

"Right," I said to Lee "So you decided towhat, exactly?"

He sighed and rested his head against the wall "I just thought I’d drive out and lurk around the outskirts Just in case" He patted the busted light box with his good hand "I wanted to know if it would work When I saw the squad car hit the lights and fly out after Jen’s old beater, I figured so, and I followed as fast as I could" He lowered his voice "Cody Fairfax is in the database, isn’t he?"

I glanced in Cody’s direction "Shh"

"Sorry"

"He’s a olf, duh" Bethany dusted herself off A flaky flurry of burned skin settled around her "I should have figured that out in high school Oh, but you’re not allowed to gossip about any of this" She pointed at her ry"

Lee gave a dry laugh "This wasn’t angry?"

"Everyone’s still breathing, aren’t they?" She jerked her chin at her father "Including hihtened "Yeah No thanks to you" He ran one hand through his hair and looked soberly at her "Listen, I’s are different now For the rest of your existence, you’re just one slipup away froers with pitchforks and torches Okay?"

Bethany shrugged "Whatever"

"I’ Cody, she pinned her father with a flat stare "You do understand ritted his teeth "Yes"

"Good"

At Cody’s suggestion, I got Lee onto his feet and into the living room while Cody went to retrieve the first-aid kit fro coffee because that’s the sort of thing you do when you’re trying to reestablish a sense of normalcy and you have no idea what else to do, and Brandon was playing soa out the reality of the world around him in which his newly risen vaal Valley Mission?" Lee asked, settling onto the couch beside hilanced at hiht have a few tips for you"

Fifteen minutes later, Brandon had the al Valley Mission, Cody had Lee’s broken forearo back to the House of Shadows

"Give me a lift?" she asked her sister "You don’t have to come in, but I’d really rather not call Geoffrey Or steal your car"

Hands wrapped around alook "Beth, do you really expect ht years?"

Her sister shrugged "Well, not exactly"

Jen said nothing