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The phone rang, startlingeasily shaken and walked the short distance to answer it

"Hello?"

"Is this Gwen, Gwen Sparks?" The man’s voice sounded like that of an elderlyover my shoulder and around my kitchen

"I have a deal for you," the man said

"Who is this?" I hurried to theand looked out into the yard as if the et paranoid when they’re scared

"Who I am does not matter," the old man said "What matters is your life and whether or not you’ll have it forto that I slammed the phone onto the cradle and stepped backwards and away froain, screaainstrepeatedly until the sound becah h my veins

"What do you want?" I growled into the phone, clutching it tight A low, raspy chuckle rolled over the receiver and all the way down h

"Avoidance is only postponing the inevitable, my dear"

Goosebumps pebbled my arms, and my skin crawled as his soft breath sounded in my ears I punched the END button and took the battery out of the back of the phone for goodhouse calls? Suddenly the walls and locked door didn’t make me feel as safe as they had moments before

Chapter Nine

I sipped my vanilla iced coffee on my walk to Broomsticks As I headed down the sidewalk from Espresso Self to my shop, sharp stares and not-so-hushed whispers fell my way The people of Flora really weren’t that different than those of a hu to talk about and their ht chaos to their haven I could alazes As I passed one woman with a sirl from me as we crossed each other In a town of eyman Talk about ironic

I stopped in front of my store, eyes wide and a frown on otten Dorian had busted it down, but that wasn’t what made me frown In bold, red letters was the Latin word infelicitas, which roughly translated to bad luck It was a warning to the townsfolk to stay clear ofin Moon; she was his daughter and he was protecting her, but nowa wide berth?

"What ever happened to unity?" I asked no one in particular, looking over my shoulder A man--no, not a man, an elf picked up his pace to passunder his breath that sounded a lot like "cursed" Shaking my head in frustration, I madethe door, I flipped on the light and stepped inside, e area wasn’t very big, but it was enough forunits ran in three lines to the left and to the right was a gift-wrapping station that rarely saw use Just behind that was my office and restroom, the walls were made of cinder block and painted the color of sand

I made my way up front, my steps slow and hesitant From the back of the store the shop looked untouched, but I knew better It was a crilass shelves, I stopped The register, pens, bags and various papers were strewn in front of the cashier station Shards of wood and glass littered the gray carpet by the door I stepped closer,wildly Like a movie reel, those horrible ue heldinto the skin atit slammed onto the counter Dorian stood on the other side of the counter, icy fury rolling off hiel

"Can you killthe blade tighter I was losing consciousness but Dorian ordered me to keep eye contact with him

I walked around the counter and stared at the space behind it A deep dent concaved the here the rogue had thrown er’s sharp edge falling frorunts sounded froainst Dorian’s influence With a hard thuue fell to the floor Before I could join hi body in his arms With a swipe of his arm, he cleared the counter and placed my body on top

"Stay with me, Gwen," he whispered

I blinked as theI re the counter I was sure after that I had passed out yet, now things were being added to a memory I didn’t know I had My eyes fell to the counter and the red stain ofit A tremor vibrated my bones

Dorian brushed my hair away from my face My eyes were closed and my head lolled to the side For all intents and purposes I looked dead Dorian leaned forward, pressing a kiss to h the curtain of ainstup straight He looked to the ceiling; his hands fisted so tightly his knuckles turned white "Do you hear me?" He yelled "I won’t let you take her"