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"Who’s there?" he whispered sharply

Lani held her breath And then, because she was not a coward like her father, she stepped out from behind the tree into the shadows

"Claire?" Senior Governor Haluki said uncertainly

Fingering her weapon, the e increasing "No, Father," she spat "It’s otten et their children?" A tiny sob caught in her throat as she twisted her arht her, and prepared to fire

Governor Haluki sucked in a breath "Oh, Lani," he whispered He glanced over his shoulder in each direction, and then stepped toward his daughter, holding out his hand just as she snapped her wrist and sent the deadly star in flight

"No! Lani--you don’t understa--," he cried The star struck hi and writhing wildly in pain, his body transfor, liround where he had stood

Siently in his enoring on to Simber’s neck for dear life, nodded to Mr Today and sped fluidly along the shore, leaped into the air, and flapped his powerful wings He rose up high enough to clear the great wall and flew in a direct path this ti that covered the land of Quill Aaron cried desperately in fear all the way, knowing that falling would ive him another option, eventually Mr Today cruised around the periically sense the reefs and rocks in the dark

As the waves pounded the sides of the craft, the wearyat his hair "Not Alex Please, not him It can’t happen like this Marcus, you careless fool! How many more deaths will you be responsible for?"

When he neared Artimé, he slowed and cast the anchor spell Siht in the , and the man climbed nimbly on the cheetah’s back

"How is he?" Marcus asked in a low voice

"Still alive," Simber said "Yourrr enchantment of the vest may have saved him"

"And the twin, Aaron?"

Simber roared in frustration "He scrrreamed and pounded me the whole way Finally he jumped as we flew overrr the inlet at the shorrre of Arrrtimé I expect he’ll have drrrowned by now, or been eaten by sharrrks I left hiet Alex inside He’s lost a lot of blood" And indeed the blood had stained Si him look fiercer than ever

"But we have otherrr trrroubles rrright now Justine is holding a pistol on Clairrre; Gunnarrr is ; Florrrence was hit by an out-of-contrrrol vehicle and she’s lopped off at the knees Octavia is now Septavia--she lost a tentacle, but she’ll rrregenerrrate Sean and Meghan arrre on the rrroof playing sniperrr"

"Egads"