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Nadia said, "Elizabeth did it We know that much I have no idea what kind of spell that was--or what the burning was about--but I doubt she did it alone"

Verlaine gave in and stared at Not-Jerehed, for a moment so put upon and annoyed that he seeain "You know, I should probably er, but what the hell"

With a grin, he brought his hands together, as if to clap--

--but the moment Verlaine heard the sound, all the other noise around her stopped

So did all the movement Everybody around her froze in place, irl’s blond ponytail levitated in air, htly above her head, like she was studying it in the light Verlaine kept turning fro toNadia and Mateo were doing the sauy as now definitely, positively not Jereainst his chest

"There’s not that much I can do on my own," he said "But I can do this Nice trick, hmm? You’d be surprised how often it comes in handy"

"Who are you?" Verlaine demanded "No What are you?"

"You may call me--" His voice choked off for a ain "Asa"

Nadia jerked backward, out of Mateo’s embrace, so far that she knocked into a frozen-in-place cheerleader Her pom-pom rustled, but otherwise the cheerleader rehed "Elizabeth thought your training nizeher she’sfrom Nadia to Asa to Mateo to the weird stopped-time scene around the "Why can’t he say his name?"

"Because he’s a demon," Nadia whispered

For a few ot me Then Mateo said, "Since when did demons come into this? There are de at him "Froure of speech, though I promise you, it’s appropriate Where I’m from isn’t a collection of evil dead people, if that’s what you’re thinking I’ve been down there for centuries--haven’t run into Hitler once"

"Demons come from the realm of the One Beneath" Nadia’s eyes were narrowed now, like she was mad as hell but still hadn’t decided what to do about it "They’re souls bound to serve Hi to make a little bit of sense "You mean, he’s like Elizabeth," Verlaine said, relieved to have put so her gaze from Asa "No Elizabeth chose her path; no one controls her but the One Beneath himself A demon was either captured by the One Beneath or one of His servants, or brought into being by one of their spells They don’t have a lot of power on their own, but once they’re suic no hu ever could"

"Like a Steadfast for a Sorceress?" Mateo said

"Not exactly" Nadia gave Asa a thin, mirthless smile "More like a Sorceress’s slave"

As weird, screwed-up, and freakish as this whole scene was, Verlaine couldn’t help thinking Nadia had skated over a pretty critical point "But--if they got captured--if they didn’t choose to be bad--then they’re the victi, isn’t it?"

Asa turned his head toward her as though he’d never seen her before And then, in his dark eyes, she gli that had never been there when this was Jere that had never been there when anyone looked at her, ever It was as though--as though he could see her, but he didn’t mind what he saw--

"Don’t waste your pity," Nadia said "Asa can only be here because Elizabeth brought hiht they could walk in our world like this, but apparently there’s some kind of spell to put a de out the eyes" Mateo’s face was ashen, and Verlaine re to stand thereher slice into Jere question is why you’re telling us all this"

Verlaine half raised her hand "Actually, I think the big question is how he stopped time And also why"

Asa stepped closer to theined that she could feel a kind of heat radiating froh he were running a fever, one so high no human could ever have survived it "I stopped tiht it would be uessing and carrying on I only get so long here on Earth I intend to enjoy it"

That wasn’t all It couldn’t be all Verlaine sensed thathis real name, whatever it was He found it difficult