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I turned away as Ivy patted Nina’s back, co her In Ivy’s eyes, Nina was the one who needed help

"Bis Go My surgical staff is waiting," Trent said, and the gargoyle aardly hopped froet out of here before the surface de rocks, glad they hadn’t shown theht be

"I thought so" Trent sighed, turning to watch my back "I’ with the church?"

Jenks’s blur of wings shone against Trent’s fair, al red as it picked up the red ever-after dust "The pixy-piss va up the place and sto for spiders They thought you h manpower there to make Piscary puke--if the putrid pus pile of vah choking off in a pained sound ain Bis carefully reached a clawed foot out to touch her, and when Bis and Ivy winked out of the ever-after, the tight knot around an to ease

Nina hunched over the space Ivy had been in for a ainst the rock Slowly her expression changed as she realized where she was Tension wound through her, turning her fro shadow, sht in the sky When I’d firstne, after alfor thrills, but she was also twitchy and unpredictable--her jealousy of any attention I ly violent I didn’t believe for a second that Felix was ignoring her, but every ti her happy lie rather than the inconvenient truth

"Word got out you were finding undead souls," Trent said softly

"That’s not true!" I exclai it

"Even so, every undead vampire in the city now believes you can," he added "Especially after what happened last July In their minds, they don’t understand why you haven’t done it"

No wonder they were camped out at my church "I don’t think you can tie a soul to a mind when the body is dead," I said "That’s why souls leave after the first death" I was tired, but I didn’t dare relax, and I strained for any clink of rock, any sliding of dust

"They don’t want to believe that" Trent cupped les spread froone to pull ure this out I’m not entirely penniless, you know"

That he was there to help without uilty relief, but I didn’t kno he could He’d lost alalthat the vampires depended upon for survival It didn’t sit well that both the vaone after him because of me, and I bowedto Al, bankrupting the deh and left I was an albatross, pulling down those who ht Trent down, too

Trent’s ar to breathe in his clean scent and feel the whisper of wild uilt of hi because of me was a sharp, insistent thorn

"He still cares for you," Trent said, and I looked up, confused "Al, I , I turned in Trent’s arrip ease as I looked at Al’s line, knocked off its path by my desperate pull on it Al’s jealousy wasn’t born of affection, but froainst the demons to keep who I loved, and Al had worked within the shadows of their hatred for a thousand years for the sa He was bitter "How can you tell?"

Sritty strand of hair behind my ear "You have that ‘I yelled at someone who deserves it’ look He’ll come around"

Sour, I bobbed my head and pulled entirely from him "That’s what I’ to the air and dodging the winged gargoyle until the bigger flier snagged hi last with Rachel, you overgroorone It was just me, Nina, and Trent

The scrape of wood on rock jerkedup black against the still-darkening horizon And the surface de up a new protection circle and wondering if it was too late

Behind me, a rock clinked Slowly Trent moved to put his back to led at the pull Trent drew on the ley line

"There," I said, flicking a tiny pop of energy at a swiftlyshadow Shit, there were two of the, I turned to the first "Detrudo!" I shouted, and he pinwheeled back, crashing into the inside of my circle His staff lay on the dirt, and I ran forward, scooping it up before running back to Trent

Hissing, the larger surface de alien as he circled us Nina hite faced, pressed up against that rock, and I beckoned to her Scared, she inched closer, but she wasup behind her

"Nina! Get down!" I shouted, leaping to get between the it fro it as it took fewer and fewer pathways until it finally reached ertips and ran down the staff "Dilatare!" I shouted as it exploded fro like a rifle bore to focus it into a finite point that slammed into the surface demon with a thunderous ache of release

Nina screa surface de cartwheels into the rocks and pebbles The shock echoed back up , I looked at it, wondering what the thing was made of

And stilla hunched shadow found its feet, not giving up as it began to creep forward again, low to the ground and hissing<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>