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My godmother looked around at the inferno and sone by Doesn&039;t it remind you, my sweet?" She idly reached down and stroked the head of one of the hounds at her side

"However did you find ave the hellhound a benign smile "Mreet ood to see you, have to do it again sometihing "We&039;re kind of in a hurry here, so - "

Lea laughed, a sound like bells just a shade out of tune "Always in such a rush, you es, Harry" She walked closer, her body ht have beenin other circumstances The hounds spread out silently behind her "We should spend soain, and said, calmly, "Madame, step from our path, if you please"

"It does not please me," she spat, sudden and vicious Those rich lips peeled back from dainty, sharp canines, and at the sarowls Her golden eyes swept past Michael and back to ht, by Law, and by his own broken word He has made a compact with me You have no power over that"

"Harry?" Michael shot me a quick look "Is what she says true?"

I licked er, then And a lot more stupid"

"Harry, if you have ht - there is little I can do to stop her"

Another building fell with a roar The fires gathered around us, and it got hot Really, really hot The rift wavered, growing smaller We didn&039;t have much tione, pardon the pun, sht of the White God pass on his way And let me take you to waters that will soothe your hurts and balood idea It sounded really good Her owntoward her in a slow, leaden shuffling

"Dresden," Michael said, sharply "Good Lord, ?"

"Go hoh I&039;d been drinking I saw Lea&039;s mouth, her soft, lovely mouth, curl upward in a triuic I wouldn&039;t have been able to stop s in any case Lea&039;d had my number for years, and as far as I could tell she alould I hadn&039;t a prayer of taking control back for ot closer to her, and I could smell her - her body, her hair, like wildflowers and"There isn&039;t much time before the rift closes Go home"

"Harry!" Michael shouted

Lea placed one long-fingered, slender hand upon hat the sahts of her beauty froether

"Yes, lee "Sweet, sweet, sweet Now, lay aside your rod and staff"

I watched dully, as round The flalowed and shrank, al ain noeether hands over o with you," I answered, letting lee, and she threw her head back and laughed, revealing creamy, delicious expanses of throat and bosom

"When Hell freezes over," I added, and drew out the little sack of ghost dust for the last time I dumped it all over and down the previously mentioned bosom There isn&039;t much lore about faeries and depleted uranium, yet, but there&039;s a ton about faeries and cold iron They don&039;t like it, and the iron content of the dust&039;s forh

Lea&039;s flawless complexion i and cracking before onized screaoay fro riven by the cold iron

"Michael," I shouted, "now!" I gave odmother a stiff shove, scooped up my staff and rod, and dove for the rift I heard a snarl, and soround I thrust my staff down at one of the hellhounds, and the wood struck it in one of its eyes It roared in rage, and its two packtoward me

Michael stepped in the way and swept his sword at one of them The true iron struck the faerie beast, and blood and white fire erupted from the wound The second one leapt upon Michael and fastened its fangs onto his thigh, ripping and jerking

I broughtit off Michael&039;s leg, and started draggingline of the rift More hellhounds appeared, rushing fro ruins around us "Come on!" I shouted "There&039;s no tiodround, blackened and burned, her fine dress in tatters about her waist, her body and limbs stretched, knobby, and inhuman She clenched her hands into fists at her sides, and the fire fro in her grasp in a pair of blazing points of violet and eht "Treasonous, poisonous child! You are mine as your mother swore unto me! As you swore!"

"You shouldn&039;t make contracts with a minor!" I shouted back, and shoved Michael forward, into the rift He wavered for a h and vanished back into the real world