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Worse still, evenabout a dreaone way beyond hot and heavy Sure, a sex dream wasn’t the same as actual sex, but in this case it was more than a dream We’d shared the visceral experience while both wide awake, and we’d kissed more than once in real life

And what a kisser he was

I returned to toying withnervously on my heels Holden stayed a half step behind h his dark brown hair, then jammed both his hands into his pockets

I opened ht me back down to earth Holden put his hand on ainst hiht, and this tiin A few blocks down, beyond the line of aparth school Usually this late at night it was dark and closed, but there wereup space in front of hts were on The elevated sounds of panic became a chorus of shouts, and the one female shriek continued to rise over the others

"What the hell?" Icab blitzed past, honking at my near misstep

"Be careful"

I sucked in a deep breath "Thanks"

"You’re no good to the Tribunal if you’re dead, and I don’t kno I’d explain to Sig that you were being replaced by a Yellow Cab operator" He held out a hand to the now-green light inviting us to cross the street

Holden stayed about ten feet behind ated area in front of the school We weaved through the throngs of people bunched together until ere standing in the ers decked out in their forirls in brand-new dresses who shivered against the chill of winter with their bare ar I was choking on it When Holden cahtly drawn features told me he could smell it as well, if not better

"Is it…?"

"It’s human" He confirmed what I already knew

"I orried you’d say that"

The screa car alar now I almost didn’t notice it The wo thirty-so on the front steps of the school with herup beside her, I lowered to a crouch and took her hand in nize I was there, until the screaasps, and she turned her glassy, red-rian to tremble andher face look like a hollow, ghostly void Her hand squeezed

"What happened?" I asked

Behind us, a group of teenagers were crowded around the fence, speaking in excited tones Several girls in their , and dozens were on their cell phones The woincoherently Her eyelashes were frosty where her tears had frozen fro on?" I didn’t look back at hi at the woman, I asked, "What did you see?"

"Death," she whispered, and it was the first thing she’d said so far I really understood She stared atshe would never be able to unsee, and I battled withI needed to add to the nest of awful things that lived inside my own mind

"Secret" Holden’s voice came from the middle of the wide circle of teens and was heavy with so "I think you’d better coo of the woman’s hand, and she didn’t protest Her body rested li, tears strea down her face This hat my world did to people This hat happened when there was no plan

Meeting Holden where he stood aet a good look at what all the fuss was about I was fairly certain I didn’t want to know, but blissful ignorance wasn’t an option in round next to the brick wall of the building that neighbored the high school was a huirl, judging by the sky-blue taffeta party dress spread out on the concrete The dress and the trunk of the body were all that re above her neck was

While the one teacher on the steps was too upset to act, several other teachers and adult chaperones were trying toroup of girls were huddled together crying One of the girls kept saying, "I don’t understand, she just went to use the bathrooone for a few minutes"

I turned back to the body after she said it for the third time

There was so much blood on the concrete itah the crowd must be able to smell it Whatever had done this, it had acted fast Too fast to be anything huirl had been inside at her winter for that could identify her except her blue dress Anything that could tear a girl apart--without being seen--before her friends realized she was gone had to be a monster