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"You seek a fe ht Celestine appeared uncoined, one of which was associating with the Eyes She didn&039;t trust the street clan who bought and sold information in the vampire world Hell, Alexander didn&039;t either, but when you&039;ve exhausted all other avenues and they are the only ones left, you put aside your e you

"Is this fe across the chipped chess table in Washington Square Park A favored spot for the Eye the Ro information

"She would be Pureblood," Alexander told hi his words-even thealive-were no doubt a knife in Cellie&039;s unbeating heart "But if she exists, she s"

Whistler tapped his teer "A little funny in the head, is she?"

A sound caroan of ire Alexander continued quickly, "Shevaht think herself a little nuts" Whistler glanced over at Celestine and shrugged "The need for blood and all that" When she hissed at him, the Eye turned back to Alexander "To help the process along, I&039; froive to the trackers"

Alex turned to Cellie, and he didn&039;t even have to ask Her eyes,"As you know, Whistler, we aren&039;t even sure if the fe"

It wasn&039;t the answer the Eye had been hoping for, and he sighed "With no description and no scent to track, it e to push away froet himself and Cellie out of the moonlit park He had to make this happen It wasn&039;t just for Cellie Shit, it was barely for Cellie The truth was, hishim a balas, nervous and exhausted but happy now that she had her mother in her life full-time He couldn&039;t stand the fact that he had kept this from her-that he&039;d actually lied to her

Whatever he had to do, however much cash he had to part with, he would Sara could have a sister she knew nothing about, and before she brought their balas into the world, she would be given the truth-at the very least the truth about Celestine&039;s pregnancy and relationship with Cruen

Alex narrowed his gaze on Whistler and thrust a bag of cash at his chest "This should keep your sthe rin, flashing the tips of his rotting fangs "Always does, brother Always does &039;Course, it can&039;t make miracles, but it helps"

"What about blood?"

They both turned to look at Cellie Her anger and melancholy seeone inside to hide Leaning forward, her eyes pinned on Whistler, she continued, "Could the trackers use the blood of her kin to find her?"

The Eye stared at her He looked momentarily mystified "If we had access to that kin, yes"

"Tell anyone of this, and you will die a horrific death" She raised her wrist to her fangs and bit down As soon as the blood began to flow, she presented her arm to Whistler on the center of the chess table "Now Let&039;s see if this changes anything"

Erion rarely slept From early on in his balashood, he&039;d realized he wasn&039;t very good at it Whenever he would try, he couldn&039;t seeone&039;s body to rest and recharge Granted, Pureblood vaht would assist in creating a powerful body and solid brain function

For Erion, if he was lucky and lay out on the floor near an open , there was a chance he&039;d get in a solid fifteeninto the four-hourAt first he thought he ake and back in the Rain Fields with Hellen, but the appearance of the dog who&039;d followed him home in France caused hi through the Rain Fields, the dog bounding along beside hiue Then Hellen appeared, scooping up the dog in her ar it slowly His bow at his side, Erion stopped to watch, a at the ed The sky turned purple and the clouds at their knees broke with hot rain Hellen looked up, her eyes confused, sad

"This is the only one we&039;ll ever have, Erion We must protect him"

Erion tried to e He was sinking into the black ash; it sed hirel, hined and wriggled in her ars pinned, the ash up to his waist now

Hellen&039;s eyes were filled with tears as she watched hirel closer to her breast and whispered in theof voices, "Your father abandons you to death"

"No!" Erion roared "Ladd!"

Erion ith a start, almost relieved to feel his hands and feet bound He had never dreamed in his life Not once Perhaps because he&039;d never slept long enough to accomplish it But if this hat he had to look forward to, he&039;d re fifteen er in the dungeon He was still bound, perhaps even tighter and e he dwelled in now had no bars or walls and was a hundred tier than his circular stone prison It was a theater, arenalike, with seating all the way around But the seats, which were empty, were h backs Froaze finally settled on the stage and the prined it e bubbled inside Erion, but he continued to stare at the pallet with its satin gold bedding and solid gold frao we used this arena for blood sport," Abbadon continued "Isat beside hi in Erion&039;s nostrils

"Beautiful, isn&039;t it?" he prompted

"Barbaric"

"Well As I said, we used it for blood sport, and that is beauty to aze fro it The De Erion had ever encountered Besides having skin the color of blood and snohite eyes that looked right though you and tempted your soul, he oozed the promise of death if crossed And not a quick death Even so, Erion could not keep his tongue curbed

"What can I give you to stop this?" he asked, his tone i relaxed back on the bench and sighed "Nothing"

Erion&039;s eyes narrowed He didn&039;t believe it Everyone wanted soive you the child you require"

His ridge of an eyebrow lifted "She has told you"

"I would remain here with her You would have your foothold on Earth and your fa

"I as, his tone resolute "I have vaht take better inside Hellen&039;s woht have been too e, once Cruen touched her, the beast inside hiot in his way-including the red one before him-would feel the wrath he could not possibly control

Putting Ladd in even graver danger

Abbadon was studying him, his features, his obvious brawn And for aHellen as his oith her father&039;s blessing

Which just proved him a fool

"If you were pure, I would perhaps consider it," Abbadon said with deep-seated arrogance "But you are a mistake, Erion You are the sad evidence of a broken-down experio" He inhaled deeply, his snakelike nostrils barely flaring "Not toI would never be able to control"

A rush of electric anger surged within Erion Not because the bastard in front of him had just called him a mistake Shit, he knew that But because Abbadon had denied him It was over He&039;d lost They&039;d all lost

He cocked his head and growled "And you think you can control Cruen?"

Abbadon grinned broadly, like the inable "I already do"

Erion stilled, his guts twisting What had Cruen done? What had thatHellen&039;s wonificent beast in bloodred What could Cruen possibly gain for creating this child? A child he would never see? It had to be so vital, impossible to achieve any other way

And Hellen, he thought with icy dread She was naive to think that her father and Cruen wouldn&039;tthey both desired