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Daniel was never late Daniel was never late

The rain see into it the way rain usually did Not even Mother Nature knehat to do with a dyed-blond Luce She didn't feel like waiting for Daniel out in the open There was a row of shops on thewooden porch under a rusty n read in faded blue letters

Fort Bragg wasn't quaint like Mendocino, the tohere she and Daniel had stopped before he'd own her up the shoreline It was e with rotting docks tted into a curved inlet where the land tapered doard the water While Luce waited, a boatful of sher ashore She watched the line of rail-thin, hardened -wet slickers come up the rocky stairs from the docks below

When they reached the street level, they walked alone or in silent clusters, past the empty bench and the sad slanted trees, past the shut-up storefronts to a gravel parking lot at the south edge of Noyo Point They cliines, and drove away, the sea of gri o any schooner In fact, he see Luce juainst the metal shutter of the sh store and tried to catch her breath

Caht in front of her, anked by two dark-clad shermen who didn't seem to notice his presence He was dressed in slim black jeans and a black leather jacket His dark hair was shorter than when she'd last seen hi in the rain A hint of the black sunburst tattoo was visible on the side of his neck Against the colorless backdrop of the sky, his eyes were as intensely green as they had ever been

The last ti at the front of a sickening black army of demons, so callous and cruel and just plainevil It hadof curses and accusations ready to ing at him, but it would be better still if she could just avoid hiaze fell on her--and she froze Not because he turned on any of the fake char for at Sword & Cross But because he looked genuinely alarainst the ow of the few nal straggling shermen, and was at her side in an instant

"What are you doing here?"

Cam looked more than alarmed, Luce decided--he looked almost afraid His shoulders were bunched up around his neck and his eyes wouldn't settle on anything for longer than a second He hadn't said a thing about her hair; it almost seemed as if he hadn't noticed it Luce was certain Cam was not supposed to know that she was out here in California Keeping her away frouys like him was the whole point of her relocation Now she'd blown that

"I' through the grass bordering the cli 's edge "I' for a walk"

"You are not"

"Leaveto say to you"

"Which would be ne, since we're not supposed to be talking to one another But you're not supposed to leave that school"

Suddenly she felt nervous, like he knew so to school here?"

Ca, okay?"

"Then you're here to ght Daniel?"

Ca you're here to see hiether" It was like Caotten over that she'd picked Daniel instead of hi concerned When he nally spoke, his words were rushed "Did he send for you? Luce?"

She winced, buckling under the pressure of his gaze "I got a letter"

"LetCam's peculiar expression to try to understand what he knew He looked about as uneasy as she felt She didn't budge

"You were tricked Grigori wouldn't send for you right now"

"You don't knohat he would do forherself far away She felt a childish need to brag to Ca would end there There wasn't ument

"I knoould die if you died, Luce If you want to live another day, you'd better show me the letter"

"You would kill me over a piece of paper?"

"I wouldn't, but whoever sent you that note probably intends to"

"What?" Feeling it ale to thrust the letter into his hands Ca about He couldn't But the longer he stared at her, the e letter she was holding That bus ticket, the directions It had been weirdly technical and formulaic Not like Daniel at all She shed it out of her pocket, ngers tre as he read Heunder his breath as his eyes darted around the forest on the other side of the road Luce looked around too, but she could see nothing suspicious about the few reear into rusty truck beds

"Co her by the elbow "It's past tiet you back to school"

She jerked away "I' anywhere with you I hate you What are you even doing here?"

He stepped around her in a circle "I' not to let on that he still unless Ca what?"

Cam stared past her, toward the dusk-swept forest He nodded once "Her"

Luce craned her neck to see who or what Ca, he pushed her sharply There was a weird hu of air, and so silver zipped past her face