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"Yeah, that’s true," she said Delilah still tended to bend to authority, although she’d grown out of a lot of her na&iu, vibrant woht I was proud of how far she’d corab your torture instrurinned at ed "We don’t have a choice anyht dirty We do whatever we need to win Because winning is the only acceptable option"

"It seee into et out of those stilettos if we’re going through that portal You said you slanced at her She was dressed in heavy jeans and a sweatshirt with a gray tabby cat on the front, but she earing canvas Mary Janes Her hair was short and spiky, an edgy cut that fit her new found confidence

Delilah was tall, six one, and lean Menolly was lean also, but short--five one--and petite I was somewhere in between--at five-seven, I outclassed Marilyn Monroe in the hips and breasts departure fro’s fantasy My boobs and hips coulda lot of separates so clothes fit ht But that was okay withmy love of leather, lace, bustiers, and chiffon skirts

We headed up to the study, careful not to wake Morio My farasped one handle on it while Delilah took hold of the other Together, we carried it to my bedroom Our mother had coirls, and mine was made out of the starblazer tree--a black wood siic, only found back in Otherworld

I opened the lid for the first ti of treasures--mostly sentiraph of our mother She’d had it taken while still a student in Spain, and I held it up, looking silently at the beautiful blond woman who stared back atat her with me

"She was beautiful," I whispered "You look so much like her Only a lot taller"

"I h I was still pretty young when she died and you took over But I always reI don’t knohat, but it was good"

I smiled then "I knohat" As I pulled a bottle frorance filled the room Chanel No 5 "You should buy some They still make it, you know"

With a wistful look, Delilah shook her head "That smells so much like Mother I remember that scent But I don’t think I could wear it the way she did I h, just to keep on my dresser, for when I ently, a wave of ho to Father, and now I’d lost him, too At least Menolly and Delilah still had his love Shaking off the sense of loss, I put the bottle back in the trunk, along with her picture, and then pulled out a bag and gingerly opened it

A spider ca out, and I automatically squashed it Ever since our encounter with the werespiders of Kyoka, we’d left none standing inside the house, still worried that the reht have spies around

I shook out the contents onto the floor, and we stared at the booty Two pairs of iron handcuffs An iron-bladed dagger with an antler hilt that I’d ift toenough to snap back on ive a world of hurt to any Fae who dared to stand up tofor co bleak Life was a lot harder now, and the stakes a lot higher

"Yeah, I knohat you hed and knelt beside me "You really want to take this stuff with us?"

I nodded "Considering the Bog Eater’s hanging out in there, as well as who knohat, you want to chance not being able to rescue hier is silver, and as aware as the blade is, Lysanthra can’t stand up to one of the Elder Fae"

"I see your point Okay then We take it I justfighting dirty has never set ith loves for the two of us "Here, these are thin but will give us enough protection to handle the iron"

Iron burned us--not quite so bad as full-blooded Fae, but enough to leave et the h our flesh like acid

"Dirty or not, when dealing with the insane, the ives erly picked up a pair of handcuffs "I can’t decide whether to bring the Black Unicorn horn or not We’re going after Fae, and I have my qualms about whether it would help our eneht need it and you can’t knoill affect the Elder Fae until you try"

"True enough" I pocketed the handcuffs and flail as Delilah picked up the other set of handcuffs along with the iron dagger "Let et her coat, I went into ed shoes, then withdrew the horn fro place I’d fashioned in a slistening horn Crystal, with threads of gold and silver running through it, the horn of the Black Unicorn was only one of nine known to exist Each had been shed as he reincarnated

And with this horn I’d brought down the Black Beast, sent hi stallion, set for another thousand years And I--bloody and battered--had earnedthe conduit for his sacrifice

I was still leery of using it--each tih I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else At the core of the horn lived Eriskel, the jindasel through whoy And through Eriskel, theirthe horn in the deep pocket of my skirt, I closed the hidden Velcro fastener I’d had Iris retrofit most of my skirts to carry the horn safely, so that even if I wasn’t wearing the Black Beast’s cloak--fashioned out of his hide--I’d be able to carry it with me

As I put on a warm black microfiber jacket and made sure etting into I cinchedwith the handcuffs and iron flail to it Delilah aiting for ether, and my Lexus had snow tires and handled the snow better than her Jeep

As we silently belted ourselves in and I started the car, I breathed a short but sweet prayer for protection I just hoped the Moon Mother was listening

Chapter 6

Aeval was standing in the snoaiting for us She did not look a Delilah in the side She hastily gave a lo

"Enough You are late It will not happen again, Camille, especially when you join my Court And now, you are sure you wish to cash in your ossa fire and the hazy ht

"My Lady, I will not disappoint you And yes, I aers to my forehead, in an ancient salute "What do we need to do?"