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"Last chance," Bishop growled, getting to his feet to stand in front ofto block er taken your ed toward Bishop

Suddenly the golden dagger was in Bishop’s hand and he arched it toward the man’s chest where it met itsIt had all happened so fast

A high-pitched screech that didn’t sound human escaped the man’s throat as Bishop yanked the blade back out The rabbed hold of my coat sleeve and pulled me away so there was a dozen feet between us and thealso leaped by us, just as a swirling black vortex appeared out of absolutely nowhere Even in the dark of night, this was even darker, a pitch-black hole hanging in the middle of the air about four feet in dia sound, like a tornado, so loud it made it nearly impossible to think

It felt as if a powerful vacuu us into it The three of us slid forward on the pavement toward the vortex I just stared at it ide eyes, terrified Bishop kept a tight grip onany closer to it, his rubber-soled shoes braced against the ground as an anchor I reached out and took hold of the other kid’s arm

The man with the black eyes was closest to the vortex I felt his gaze bore into , horrible moment Finally, the man hissed out his last breath and slumped backward

The very next moment, it was as if the vortex literally reached out and yanked hi, thunderous darkness was there, the next it shrank away and disappeared, leaving nothing behind but silence

My heart thundered in my ears as I stayed exactly where I was for a few seconds, notin shock at the space where the black hole had just been

"What the hell was that?" he ed to ask after a moment

"That," Bishop said, "was the Hollow"

Chapter 18

The kid stared at hi black hole"

"Pretty much," Bishop confirlance at me "What about you? How can you be so daripped uess I’ on?"

Bishop eyed the boy "Show me your back"

"What?"