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Pulaski looked back "Any of these people vampires?"

"All humans," Ethan said

"So a vampire went crazy, and then a bunch of huious? heacross the city?

"Vampires did not infect humans," Ethan said But there orry in his eyes We didn’t kno this had spread--whatever it was And the only other person we’d seen with delusions had been a vampire in our House

"Then how did it spread?"

"Maybe it didn’t," Mallory said, and we all looked at her

"Delusions aren’t generally contagious, and they don’t have any other symptoms"

"So what’s the other option?" Pulaski asked

"They’re telling the truth," Mallory said She pushed back the hair that brushed her face, her pale --chipped at the edges "They’re having the sas They’re hearing so real"

Ethan tilted his head "If the sound--or its origin--is real, why can’t we hear it? Why isn’t everyone affected?"

"I don’t know," Mallory said "I think that’s e have to figure out And that doesn’t even get to the bigger question"

"Which is?" Ethan prompted

She looked at hi? Who wants so badly to be heard?" She spread her gaze across the city like she was looking for an enemy sail

"Sorcha?" Ethan asked

Mallory shook her head "The wards are intact"

"And there’s no way for her to get around that?" Ethan asked "To circuround before, of course When the wards were proposed, we’d gone over every detail of the ive us protection--and fair warning

"The wards are a circuit She uses ic, it breaks the circuit, and we hear about it We haven’t heard about it; ergo"

"It’s not Sorcha," Ethan concluded