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He griain"

"Then what?"

Landon hesitated, as if trying to decide only now if giving ood idea

"What next, Landon?" I intoned, and he tugged the paper back to hih the M&ou Möbius strip, check I had one of those I had two of them, actually "What’s it made of?" I asked, and I alot that part," he ers druo to the library and find a nice reincarnation spell Take lared "I kno to do this"

"You sure?" I snapped, and both of us looked to the hallway at a pixy guffaw No one was there, but a tiny whisper of pixy dust was slipping down

Landon rolled up the paper, clearly ready to take his ball and go hoht down the vampires that kept hiet the Goddess’s attention It’s the thought that counts"

I sobered at the reminder of the Goddess Newt had assured nize me even if I stood in a ley line and shouted for her, but she wasn’t called a goddess because she was ih the Möbius strip Then what?"

My sudden meekness bolstered Landon’s mood, and I frohen he tucked the paper into an inner pocket and went to get his hat from the table "The scarf finds a neutral flow from the copper ions it picks up, so now you can shake the salt out and drape the scarf over the recipient’s face, blood spot at the forehead right where you anointed hi the soul Chanting the phrase will draw it forth, and the soul should go to hiain Burn the scarf to break the pathway and prevent the soul froo I nodded, still uneasy in that he --intentionally "You never said where the spiderweb fit in"

"Oh! Right" He hesitated in the archway "Drape it over your shoulder for protection against an aggressive soul"

Aggressive soul Yes, I’d run into one of those before, but Al hadn’t used spiderwebs to help protect against them Come to think of it, I’d never seen a spider in the ever-after, and I thought it pathetic that the elves and demons had polluted their world to the point where even a spider couldn’t survive

"Ellasbeth, are you ready?" Landon called as he stood in the threshold between the kitchen and the hallway, and I heard her ask hiainst the fra else?" I said, trying not to look at the pocket he put the charm in I wanted it, wanted it bad

"No" Mood sour, he looked into the living room, then pushed himself forward Steps fast, he came three paces in, eyes intent as he pulled the paper froed on the line out back, tossing the paper into the sink and igniting it with a single word

Son of a bastard, I thought, gri at the sudden rush of shoes in the hall Trent slid to a halt when he saw Landon standing over the fire in the sink, and he exhaled in relief Ellasbeth click-clacked in behind him, coat over her arm, and Trent frowned "Thanks for your help You both have a flight out of here tonight, right?" Trent asked, clearly eager for the the taps on to wash even the ash into the sewer systeot a reservation at the Cincinnatian Ellasbeth tells me it’s the only decent live-in hotel in the area"

"Even if the staff is surly" Ellasbeth’s iven her so, but I bet it had cost her Suddenly I felt as if both of us had been manipulated, even if it had been us who had called them

"Do you have what you need?" Trent asked, and I nodded The more satisfied Ellasbeth and Landon became, the more uneasy I felt It technically wasn’t a curse if I didn’t have to kill anyone to perforic There hadn’t been any indication that it required direct contact with the Goddess to do the curse either, but he could have left that out He had before

Smile stilted, Ellasbeth turned to Trent "Thank you," she said, and et a permanent address"

My expression froze Crap on toast, the woone along with this? Made it sound like a good idea?

"I’ll wait for your call" Trent put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a cold kiss good-bye on her cheek My gut tightened I knew I gave myself ahen Ellasbeth leaned in to accept it, her eyes onsmile on her thin, lipstick-red lips The tension rose Landon clearly wasn’t happy either I’ht, hold me when I cried, or smile when I made a joke

"Landon," Ellasbeth said as she held her coat out to him, and he slowly moved to settle it across her shoulders