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With a weird cry, the closest surface deht exploded overhead, ss away as if I were at the center of an atomic explosion The surface demons scattered like brown leaves, the re It was Al, and he burst into existence in a grandcane at his side

"Rachel Mariana Morgan!" he shouted enthusiastically, raising the lantern high, and I painfully rose froht "I’ve colad to see him He’d won, and with a cheerfulness thatrock and rebar out of the way I couldn’t help but notice that the buildings he had destroyed with his entrance were back again This was unreal No wonder the surface demons were crazy

"Done already?" he said, his mood expansive "From witch to demon in less than an hour Itin the badlands? They’re so, are they not? Especially now"

I was scanning the edges of the ragged horizon, looking for heads, sticks, rocks, whatever "Yes I’ht Oliver lied Pierce is an idiot They should all eat toads and die Can we go home?"

Oh God The ever-after washis cane under an ar my chin to him as he peered into my eyes "Rachel, love, what did they do to you?"

I blinked, shocked to find that tears suddenly threatened "Nothing"

"They cursed you," he whispered, flinging his walking cane at a surface dereen sritty wind "It was that elf, wasn’t it?" Al said "I so back unless su stupid "But Trent has a plan" My words trailed off and I felt even more like an idiot What was the point? I was here Even if I cursed Ku’Sox, I was still shunned, a virtual exile

"I told you to take that piece of elf crap firht and frowning sternly atdeo as you please, and now you’re chained like the rest of us What a waste Stupid girl"

I said nothing, and Al stepped back, his lantern low around us "He has a plan, eh?" hea strand of hair out of my mouth where the wind had put it "But it doesn’t et out of here? It stinks, anded out of his aro companionably over my shoulder "This is e don’t live on the surface," he said as he tried to cover up ht "I’ve never seen it this bad, though Usually the buildings don’t fall like this" He sniffed and adjusted his s, I hobbled up to hiet depressed I was never going to see the sun again "Thank you for picking me up," I said, and Al beamed

"It’s what I live for, Rachel I have a treat for you"

"What?" I said, cringing at the idea of another one of his parties

"Dalliance," he said, dissolvingyou to Dalliance

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