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As the class fell silent, a shudder crept through my body All at once I felt cold and sweaty, ular Fear--it was inabout…

"Hey, are you okay?" Brett whispered to me "You look kind of pale"

Before I realized what I was doing, I blurted out the answer "The Île des Soeurs"

All heads turned in my direction Confused, I slid lower inin French? I barely even knew French, and whatever phrase I had said was one I had never known before

Monsieur Orneaux studied me "What did you say?"

I pulled at the neck of ht "I--I can’t reone, as if someone else had said them

Across the roo me "She said, the Île des Soeurs"

The professor studiedat me and then at the professor I letto reveal that I had no idea what I meant

"It’s the island just outside of--" Arielle began to answer, but Monsieur Orneaux held up a hand to silence her

"Island of the Sisters, to Monitors," Monsieur Orneaux translated, "Or Nuns’ Island, to regular Canadians It is an island just outside of Montreal, known in Monitor history as the place where they used to send the Undead to be punished

"It was a barbaric place Run solely by female Monitors, who operated out of an old convent They did terrible things Torture, seclusion, exorcism They bled the Undead with leeches, they probed them with medical equipment in an attempt to cure them of their evil…" Monsieur Orneaux’s face remained utterly calm as he recounted all the ways the early Monitors atte the Undead, though few Monitors are aware of it" His eyesto understand how I had known the answer "It’s one of the reasons why the Undead rarely co with, of course, the fact that Montreal is historically a Monitors’ city"

"I’ve heard of it," a boy with a French accent said "The convent is still there; it’s now abandoned In primary school there used to be a ruh I never knehy The story was that any child who passed through the gates would disappear forever We used to dare each other to go inside--"

Monsieur Orneaux cut hih This is not a history course"

He was about to return to his lecture on Latin and what it told us about the Undead when Clenored her until she finally just spoke up

"Why was it run only by fe the end of her pencil up to her lips

Monsieur Orneaux clenched his jaw "Female Monitors are not my area of expertise If you’re interested in the Nine Sisters, go to the library in your free tiid "What do youlike he wished he could take back his last words "That’s enough," he said again, raising his voice for the first ti up his class notes, he continued his lecture on roots and verbs and declensions, the Undead, and how the way they spoke could teach us about how they behaved

I spent the rest of the afternoon gazing out the s ofI would sense Dante

"When you restrain an Undead, the most important step is to protect your y and Prediction, during a lecture about the art of burial On the board he had drawn a series of diagra his, and finally wrapping his head with gauze to prevent a kiss On each of them, I mentally superimposed Dante’s head, and shuddered How could everyone else in the roo notes on this? Didn’t they realize ere learning how to kill people?

"Renée?" Headmaster LaGuerre said "Do you knohat the priht, I feltto speak to the Undead in the process of burial," Cle here, I thought I don’t belong here

When the last bell rang, I ates I had hours of hooing, exactly, only that St Clément was the last place I would find Dante, which meant that if I wanted to see him, my best chance would be out in the city

I only eot, just like the one I’d seen Miss LaBarge in the other night Or soe

"Wait!" I said, watching as the car turned down the street ahead of h the people on the sidewalk

It all happened before I could move out of the way I stepped into the intersection, not realizing the light was still red From the curb, an old woman yelled ather voice, and I turned just in ti ht; just as Zinya predicted I aood-bye to Dante

A sharp pain shot up ht side as a bicycle and a bouquet of flowers flew into the air Coveringsoft

After a long roaned

I was lying on top of a boy A tall, lean boy I looked closer A cute boy Yellow daffodils were crushed into the ground around us He groaned again, and I ju as he looked at his palms, which where scraped from the pavement His bicycle was a few feet away, its front wheel still spinning

I nodded Save for as probably going to be a big bruise on h, I was fine