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Considering what I just heard, those lessons wouldn’t have been the gentle kind "He left"

"He did I underestimated him He kept his spine so well-hidden I pushed and pushed, expecting him to learn or break, but he did neither He planned his escape and executed it so well that even all of my power couldn’t find him I was so proud My son had outsmartedsure he survived I had so much to teach and I was in a hurry"

"You’re a monster," I told her

"An abomination I believe that’s the preferred terain

"I see you’ve run into it"

"I can’t believe you did that"

"I would do it again"

"What?"

"Look hoonderful it turned out James made not one but three--three!--children All of theo on All I have to do is convince you to see things my way And we’ve just established that I can be very convincing What will it take, Nevada?"

"The answer is still no"

"You will do as I say" The power of her ed it off

"No, I won’t"

Victoria laughed She actually laughed "You’re everything I ever wanted"

My phone chimed I checked it A text from Bern Get out of there

I juuns drawn "On the floor," the lead one ordered The hostess dropped down On my left, the two chefs behind the sushi bar hit the floor

"Hands where I can see them," the leader ordered

They hadn’t fired, so they wanted lared at Victoria "Really?"

She was looking pastof this?"

"Alexander says he’s sorry," the lead irl This is for the cause He said you would understand"

"Oh no, randmother said "This isn’t about the cause This is about faic snapped out of her When I claic turned into a vise, a net that smothered and bound them Victoria turned hers into a blade and stabbed the leader with it He cried out, a weak fading sound, his eyes rolled back into his skull, and he collapsed

I jerked le out

In the same instant, the man to the left of the leader yelped and clawed at his eyes The ht fell to his knees and hit his head on the floor

I got off four shots before I realized the two reets stood completely still My bullets ripped into their chests Slowly, they toppled over Five dead bodies lay on the floor There was nobody left to kill

Someone shoved lass cut at ht, toward the brokenAanother shot A Ford Explorer exploded out of the parking lot and s doll under the wheels Bern drove over him, his face bloodless, reversed and backed over the body

I turned to Victoria A dark wet stain spread through Victoria’s shoulder She’d pushed me out of the way The bullet with my name on it had torn into her instead

"You need an arimaced "I’ll be fine I have a private physician"

"You’ll bleed out You need pararabbed my phone to dial 911 "Why did you do it?"

"Because you’re hter, you idiot"

My phone died What the hell, I had fully charged it in the car

"Wait" Victoria turned pale, looking at solanced over h the restaurant, expanding fro the space An ancient darkness that took me into its maw and made me still

Michael from the Office of Records walked into the restaurant He still wore the sharp suit and a crisp shirt, blindingly white against his tattooed neck His hands burned with blue fire

He didn’t look like a gangster at a funeral today He looked like the twenty-first century Grim Reaper

"I didn’t break the rules," Victoria squeezed out through her clenched teeth Sweat broke out on her forehead She strained, locking her teeth again

Nothing happened

I tried to grab hold of ic It flowed out of me The darkness pounced and devoured it It hurt The pain ripped a gasp out of me Oh, it hurt

Michael held up the phone On it the Keeper of Records smiled "But you have, twice indirectly and now in public It is time for punishht hand The blue fire leaped across the space and splashed onto randmother