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"Hi John, it’s good to see you too," I said, allowing myself to sink into his eo that I would consider John one of my closest allies, I would have scoffed at the idea Especially since he had once beratedin the ice cold ocean at the h once he and Kieran returned home and made it their personal mission to see who could text me the most in one day What started out as daily antidotes quickly turned into long hues about pranks he and Kieran would play on each other When I first raduation, I had no idea they would turn out to be so witty I loved my bandboard, alilling to lend an ear

I moved out of John’s arlad to see you looking so well," she whispered quietly inI didn’t need to answer

"Hi Krista," Jenna said as I finally turned to her Unlike the others, she waited to giveinstead to study me critically for a moment, much like Lynn would do Their uncanny siiving

Paul and Keith, ere Amelia and Jenna’s Links, were the last to pull led at their apparent happiness to see us

"So, what’s the plan Haniel," Paul asked once all the greetings were out of the way and ere all sitting on the oddly s scattered around the room

"When Jacob and his three other band ear that Robert and Shawn informed me you would need," he said in his typically forured that My question leans more tohat our plans are once we head out"

"The journey in motorized vehicles will take approxi you there," he said, never being one to travel by traditional hu a diva"

Haniel’s expression at her wordsHaniel as the classic stereotypical role of a diva was co out with Sam and I over the summer to understand that Sa, which made it even more hilarious

"Haniel the diva, oh hter bubbling out of her

All seven plus feet of Haniel waited patiently while we finished laughing ourselves out After several moments our mirth finally dissipated

"Can I continue?" He asked Sam pointedly

"Um, sure, sorry about that Hannie," Sam said in a tone that made it clear she really wasn’t

"Once we all convene at the location I have indicated on the parch rooel has chosen his headquarters wisely There are no roads or trails that lead to Victor’s headquarters We will have to create our own path through the rough uninhabited terrain of Mt Shasta"

"Then how does Victor get to his Lair?" Shawn asked

I grimaced at Shawn’s choice of words

"He uses themachines that seem quite popular with yourfor the proper phrase

"Helicopters," I provided, giving him some help

"Ah yes, he uses helicopters to enter into his secure location A word of caution however, once we are on the mountain, Victor will be aware of our presence He will use whatever means necessary to deceive or destroy us It is essential that you understand that Victor now possesses greater strength and ability than any of you have ever seen He is no longer a mere pawn for the Dark One, but an ally, and is treated as such His poill equal mine in one from her voice

"He will have many different resources available to inhibit the success of our mission"

"Like Daemons?" Sam asked

"Daemons like you have never seen," Haniel answered without elaborating

"Will they be worse than e’ve dealt with before?" Sa on her lower lip

"Dude seriously?" Shawn said, clearly aggravated that Haniel had Sa out of Shawn’s ararcoated What kind of Dae toward Haniel for clarification

"Daeoes beyond ?" I asked, noting an undercurrent in Haniel’s vague explanation

"It is impossible to know precisely what means Victor will use For now, you should prepare yourselves for attacks infor us to surround our caive us so won’t keep the," Robert said,it clear none of this was new infor?" Jenna asked in a shaky voice, clearly not a fan of anything that could creep up on us either

"Don’t worry honey We’ll be on high alert as we hike up thefierce

An uneasy feeling suddenly curled its way through me This would be another sad example of the fact that I was the odd man out Of course, how could I complain about the absence of my Link in a situation that just the other day I was prepared to do alone?

"Ugh, I hope we don’t run into spiders e’re hiking," Jenna mumbled

"What spiders?" I practically screeched Daemons I could handle, but if a spider fell out of some tree and landed in ot your back Sis, don’t worry," Shawn teased He had experienced ether at a garage sale and a big fat hairy spider crawled across the ar Needless to say, my screeches could be heard in the next county After that, I flat out refused to even consider the recliner, convinced that a nest of therateful I could always count on my brother