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I shouted a no, but Alice was alreadyout for h I tripped over a threadbare Persian carpet and fell against a table as her small pale hand reached out toward me

and David intercepted her, stiff-armed her back Alice flinched from him and tried to come around the other side David put hi off to the side, quietly watching, said nothing at all

"Call her off!" I ordered Star raised her hands and let them fall "Star, dammit, call her off This is crazy!"

"Can&039;t," she said "Three wishes I&039;m out of here, babe Better let it happen"

She waved to Alice, and instantly disappeared With the book

I yelled at David to hold Alice and I darted for the no adone A blur streaked toward ainst it and stuaudy ro breasts and manly thews I slipped on one and bruised h the door like it wasn&039;t even there and reached out for me, and even while she did, I saw the terror in her eyes, the horror, the desperation She knehat this meant Eternal torment for her And yetshe had no choice

A blur of hot bronze collided with her and sent her off course, and I ed to clamber back to my feet and run down the narrow, dusty hallway Pretty , but I was out of options

No Wait I wasn&039;t I sucked down gulps of air and tried to focus around the panic that was jackhaain and flashed toward rab her in turnand called the wind

It blen the narrow corridor, swirling, ripping, tearing covers and ripping books into blizzards, hit Alice and tumbled her helplessly backwards David, too They both dropped from vapor into heavier flesh, but I just called more pohipped the wind faster The walls creaked aroundcrash, spilling hurricane forces out into the bookstore where racks blew over and paperbacks were sent flying

In nited Sent feeders of blackness threading throughbody

I couldn&039;t control it anymore The wind ripped free ofoverthing

David was screa I didn&039;t want to hear So about the Demon Mark It didn&039;t matter Not anymore I could keep him away, could bloeet little Alice back to Wonderland, could reduce this miserable little store to sticks and splinters And I wanted to God, I wanted all this filth to go away, quit clinging toSticks and splinters, that was so easy Bodies in the way? Haround up between steel and stone

So very well, but they were trying I openeddebris and saw so on to an iron bar for dear life Her short brown hair blew out like a thistle, crackling with static and potential energy

Cathy Ball I blinked and went up into Oversight She was scared, streaked in blacks and grays and hot liquid yellows, but she was fighting me

I didn&039;t have to stop It would have been easy not to But looking at her, so sainst the black writhing nest of the DeI knew I had to try

I let the wind fall Alice, single-ed for me

"Stop!" Cathy commanded her, and she did, as suddenly as if physics had nofor her Frozen in time

"Tell her not to take the Mark," I said Cathy&039;s face went pallid "Tell her"

"Don&039;t take the Mark," she whispered Alice relaxed, and the blue eyes filled up with euish All hidden the instant she turned back to her et a handle on as going on, or ere all risking She glanced at David just once, then focused on me and said, "Get your Deer "I&039;ll pay for-"

"You won&039;t do a goddaone!" she shouted, and her face flushed red with the release of tension and fear I didn&039;t try to apologize There was no apologizing for what I&039;d done, or what I&039;d almost done, or what had almost been done to her Djinn

Cathy watcheddoor, out into the ruined bookstore As I stumbled over broken racks and scattered books, I heard her say to her Djinn in a disgusted, shaking voice, "Help me clean this mess up, will you?"

I made it outside before the panic attack hit o Onlike a baby My whole body ached fro inside rief

Star wasn&039;t who I thought Maybe she hadn&039;t ever been the person I&039;d thought she was All this ti and unshakable friendship, and for all I knew, that had all been a lie, too

Star had made a deal, quite literally, with the Devil Like Bad Bob, she&039;d opened herself, and so had crawled insideand nobody, not even me, had known the difference

I felt David&039;s hands on ainst him So much comfort in his touch, and I didn&039;t even knohy Why I trusted him, when I knew betterThey&039;d all betrayed me, even Lewis He&039;d told me to come here, but where the hell was he when I needed him? I&039;d trusted Star I&039;d trusted Bad Bob

How could I ever trust David? I barely knew him

"Get up," he said, and helped o Quickly"

I couldn&039;t It was done, it was over, there wasn&039;t anything left in me

He half pushed, half carried n for Ball&039;s Books clicked on and lit us up in a cool yello A had happened inside the store The plate glass ere intact, and the front part of the store still looked nor anywhere," I said numbly David opened the door of the Land Rover

"Yes, you are," he said "I want you to drive Go as far and as fast as you can Don&039;t let anything stop you If Lewis is still out here, he&039;ll find you" He captured e, warm hands "Jo Please Last chance Let me take the Mark"

"No," I whispered "I can&039;t Please don&039;t ask htning "You have to go Now"

I tasted the tang of ozone, smelled the hot burn on the air Power calls to power I&039;d stirred up the aetheric, and that would help the storo If I stayed here, innocent people would suffer

"What about you?" I asked "David?" I took his hands and held the with me?"

The look on his face If I&039;d ever had any doubt about how deeply Djinn could feel"I can&039;t She knohat I am, and she has the book If you won&039;t claim ooseflesh at the idea "No You can&039;t let that happen"

He shtly, and ran his thumb across ht, sands running out I was dying and living and running all at once, and there was a stor, and rain crawled in my veins

He put his hand over the Mark It didn&039;t help The storentle, lingering kiss that had the taste of good-bye

"Re mine "No matter what happens"

I felt him melt away like one; there was nothing but themy lips