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With a glance at Kaylin, who gave e and dropped directly on top of one of theto take down the other, and within the blink of an eye, Wrath joined us

I heard a loud shout from the other end--the others must have attacked at the same time we did--but I’d learned by now to keep round When I’d landed on the one down on my knees, but the snow had cushioned the worst of the shock As I rose to

"Who are you? What do you want?" I circled him warily, as Kaylin mirrored ret it" With one quick sweep, thefist-sized and opened his palrenade? What the hell are you doing with a grenade?" My first thought was that Geoffrey had sent the mission Bloodwhores would do whatever theirin his demeanor told me he was no bloodwhore No, day-runners were more valuable than bloodwhores

"You--and the redhead--coo" He flicked his finger toward the pin

I glanced at the grenade, then back at hi the two of you back with me" As he spoke, the twoherded Rex, Peyton, and Chatter back toward us They, too, had a grenade

"No You want us that bad, you’re not going to blow us up" I shookto happen"

"You think so?" The ainst the snow, and then he nodded to his buddy, whoher in front of me He tied her hands behind her back, and then pulled out a roll of duct tape and quickly strapped the grenade to her, while his partner kept us at bay with the other grenade As he looped a string around the pin of the grenade and stepped away fro as he went, I suddenly realized what he was doing

"Stop--don’t Don’t do this"

"You and your cousin co her into a thousand bloody pieces"

As I began to panic, Wrath suddenly turned into an owl and headed directly toward Peyton Kaylin sent a shuriken into the renade’s pin At the saan spinning toward the renade

"Get back! Get back!" I screamed to Rex, as I dove for a nearby snowbank I shadede explosion lit up the area Sharp screaered out fro around wildly As Wrath lobbed so the other direction, yet another explosion rocked the ground

Trying to catchand asn’t Rex was over by Peyton’s side--apparently he’d run toward her instead of diving for cover He was stripping the ropes off of her hands Chatter was standing there, looking slightly crazed I ran over to hirabbed hiht you blew yourself up"

"My fires are far greater in power than his weapon But we’d better take care of the one who is left" He nodded over to where our opponents had been standing "Best to assess who he is and what they were after"

The first renade was nowhere to be seen, but shredded one up in the explosion when Chatter engulfed hiround, bloody and dead--Kaylin was leaning over hi blade Wrath had taken out the third man, as now sprawled dead near his feet And the fourth was cowering on the ground, his hands in full sight above his head

I hustled over to hiround"

He obeyed, and then Ishivering and naked, I nodded

"No hidden explosives You can put on your boxers and undershirt again" He did, as I et him inside and see e can find out about hio, but on the off chance he escaped, I didn’t want hied hiave me an odd look

"We heard explosions Are you all okay?" Luna hurried forward When she sae’d tied the man up, she pulled out a chair and pushed hi the ends of the cord around his wrists to the back of the chair

"We’re okay We survived to fight another day" I frowned, feeling useless

Peyton clapped renade strapped to your chest" She tried to force a laugh, but her eyes told me just how drained she was from the experience Rex ca her hair with an unexpectedly gentle hand I glanced at hiht then, I knew that he would love Peyton more than her mother had ever professed to

"Yeah…that was…unexpected" I cleared a space on the table and pulled up a chair, looking at our prisoner

Rhiannon turned then, and her eyes lit up when saw him "Erik!"

I stared at her, openmouthed "You know hiirlfriend several tioing on out there?"

There was no way to avoid telling her "This guy and three others came to kidnap the two of us I’m not sure who the hell sent them--"

Rhiannon paled "Erik is a day-runner for Geoffrey, just like Leo"

Erik snorted "Leo ain’t no day-runner anymore"

A knot in the pit of my stomach churned "What do you mean?"