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"Rey’aziel," I whispered underhiood, but he was in front of rowl

I glowered at hiet to order ly beautiful, inches fro to punish ain when you don’t?" He leaned so close, I could s inside hi under the heat of the sun "Fuck you, then"

I shook tofire and flooding the area with the energy pouring out of me In a word, I threw a fit

"What is that?" I heard soaze as I watched everyone aroundto stabilize themselves Uncle Bob stumbled, then rushed toward me He knew Somehow he knew

He took hts flickered overhead Sparks cascaded around us and screams filtered toward me from the hall

"Charley, honey, you have to stop"

Cookie caht, her eyes ith fear as she clutched an equipain, his voice soft, soothing, and in an instant I blinked back to reality He was in front of rounded in flesh and bone I forcedbreaths, to control the arcs of energy surging out of me

Screa to their feet Equip by wires

And my father looked at ain, an expression that was part anger and part satisfaction lit his beautiful, traitorous features "Finally," he said, right before he disappeared

Then it was silent and Uncle Bob was leadingme up the stairs to my apartment, onto the sofa where Cookie had built a bed with sheets and s Bunny comforter and set a soda on the end table she’d scooted within easy reach I was back atbrace, and all

"They’re calling it an earthquake," Cookie said, the relief in her voice evident Like they would ever suspect that undulating force had coum at the same time She needn’t have worried "And Neil Gossett from the prison called He has information on Reyes’s status, and he wants to kno you are" Oddly enough, I didn’t care "I gave him the usual But if you want to call hiht here" She put it on the table beside the soft drink

"I’ll take care of this, hon," Uncle Bob said, hovering almost as et everything dropped" He left worried and angry, and I wanted to warn hi in his condition, but I was so nu a smart-ass didn’t appeal to ood long while before drifting off, Cookie at my side At least I could sleep now, and suddenly sleep was all I wanted to do

A knock sounded at the door I didn’t quite have the energy to invite a visitor in I’d used it all hobbling over to the snack bar and cli I raised the other knee and sat on the hard tile surface withinto my injuries I didn’t deserve to be co soaps all day, even if I was decades behind

Wednesday sat cross-legged on the opposite end of the countertop, the knife in her lap, and I wondered if it was there to protect her, to keep her fro betrayed by almost every man in her life Probably not