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I felt stunned, and a little sick The hitoutside the jail Was that possible? Would she really sell my life like that? For money?

Eamon took another step toward me, and I snapped my attention back to the present "Put down the knife, Ea, sensitive fingers like he’d never seen it before "Ah," he said "But that would mean I wouldn’t have any fun at all And I’d so hate to disappoint dear Sarah by not living down to her expectations She does need to understand that there are limits to my patience, and you’re just the way to show her"

And he lunged for me, knife out

I blew him backward, and I didn’t even kno I’d done it, except that I’d reached for so had responded

I didn’t blow him far, and he snarled, and he ca distance my ass was dead

So I made the sand melt under his feet, like the Wardens had done to ed without a sound below the surface

Venna, who’d been ignoring"Look at you," she said "Look at you So pretty So bright So strange"

I had no idea what she was talking about, because I was trying to figure out what I’d done I’d s, the way I’d been restrained, but insteadWhere the hell was he? "Eamon?" I asked, and took a step forward "Eaht?"

The sand eroded under my feet I yelped and ju

The sand sagged where I was standing, and I continued a slow, uncertain retreat "U at ht in her eyes that was creepily close to rapture "It’s you," she said "You’re happening"

"Not helpful!" I tried to figure out how to ain That see it slippery and talcum powdery "How do I stop this?"

"Let hi, really"

And she skipped away

What the hell?

I had bigger issues: Nauy, probably, and whatever chain reaction I’d set in motion looked likely to collapse the entire beach, the cliff, et it under control And I had no idea what I was doing

But so pit of quicksand and vaulted over the low rocks Jahborhood Warden cops, were stretched out on the sand, carefully arranged to look like they were napping Ja in her sleep and burrowed closer to Stan Cozy

"Hey!" I said, and grabbed Stan’s ar him up His eyes tried to open, then fluttered shut He wasn’t quite deadweight, but daency! Yo!"

I slapped him That made his eyelids flutter soain he clumsily parried My third attempt was met with a fairly precise interception, and Stan finally focused on ed and loopy Great Just what I didn’t need "Thought you were going to kill us Dangerous"

"Yeah, well, you’re right about the dangerous part," I said "Hurry"

I dragged hi Jamie Rae to whimper in dreamy frustration at the loss of his warm, solid body, and pulled him around the rocks It had been less than aFast It was already at least ten feet in diaroaning sound

"Oh, crap," Stan said "What did you do?"

"Hell if I know Do soy radiating out of hi to reinforce the erosion Trying to stop as spreading like souy in there!" I said, and pointed at the center of the depression "Can you get him out?"

Stan cast me a wordless look of horror

"Please?" I asked, because even if it was Ea to death in a pit of talcum powder Maybe he deserved it No, I’d been in his head-I knew he deserved it-but I didn’t want to be the one dispensing justice

"I’ll need your help," he said "Just relax I’ll show you" He put a hand on the back ofwarh my body I remembered what it had felt like when Lewis had healed me-not too different I held still for it, tried to relax as instructed, and concentrated allEamon’s life

The pit of sand rolled, as if a an to fill in, or rise up-it was hard to identify as happening But it was happening quietly Nobody on the beach, not even the news crews, had paid any attention to us so far

That changed when Ea curled in on hihtly shut

He wasn’t breathing

I exchanged a quick glance with Stan; he let go of me and nodded, as if he understood what I intended to do I stepped out onto the treacherous sand It shifted-more than it should have-ht for balance, windhtrope walker, and slowly h to stop s so ration, and I wasn’t at all sure how long he could hold on A look over -not exactly a vote of confidence "Hurry?" he not quite begged I took a deep breath and crossed in four quick, sinking steps to Ea

One problem With every backward step my feet went deeper into the sand "Stan!" I snapped I took a fir ether!"

Which wasn’t really fair It wasn’t his fault in the first place; he was just trying to clean up ht at the et