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"Children, my dear children, look who has come! The newest member of the Alliance" Louisacasually in Tara’s direction Hands on hips, she surveyed Tara "She doesn’t look the part, does she? A tall, slim blondnot much muscle to her Ah, and that face! Such a lovely face, fine features, excellent bone structure, actually And what does she do for a living? She’s an artist An artist, can you i service woht have seen to it that you had fencing lessons, or so in the new Asian ht have stood you well But an artist

what are you going to do, dear? Paint us all to death?"

Tara ignored her words "Where is my cousin, Ann?"

She was amazed to see a look of annoyance briefly cross the woh But first"

Louisa had been purposely drawing her attention In the nick of time, Tara realized that the couple froy Both of the women hovered behind her

The stake wouldn’t help her when it o against one She gripped her grandfather’s old ord in both hands and swung around in an arc The razor sharp steel cut across the midriff of the first and the waist of the second Neither was dead, but they both fell back

Thetoward her She held the sword at the ready as he approached her, her heart sinking She had ainst them one by one She had been methodical

Stake the creatures, re at her fro Muscles not accustoroan She had to ignore it, or she would not survive As theforward to pin him in the stomach with the sword Shea smile to the man’s face One of the women behind her, wounded but alive, and all the ain, trying to inflict all the dae she could with the sword

Ar the blond’s hair had coers closed around her wrist, like hot iron biting into her flesh She was desperate to hold on to the sword, but she couldn’t She let it fall, but as she did, she grasped quickly beneath her coat for the stake, rath She heard him hiss with fury and pain; he fell back from her But in front of her, one of the others was already reaching for the sword

"Yes, yes, disaret the stake now, coo to find her cousin" The roo, flapping sound began to fill the air, as if a host of giant winged creatures was descending They were everywhere, all around her Her hair was being pulled, torn Wild breezes seemed to rip around her She was surrounded, and they were touching her everywhere

She saw shadows, faces, wings, hands, reaching, grabbing She held on to the wooden stake as if it were a lifeline, but fingers were tearing at hers, forcing therip upon the wood At last, the stake clattered to the ground Both hersubsided She stood alone, coat torn and ragged, hands eain

"Ahwell, I think just a taste of your blood for theyou to your cousin And you can watchwhile I watch as well, as she is finished Consu But then, I suspect, you will be even better

Despite herself, Tara felt her eyes locking with Louisa’s The wo closer, and closer

Tara forced her mind to work And as Louisa stood just before her, hands resting on her shoulders to pull her in and bare her throat, Tara reached quickly for one of her last weapons

A sht it up to Louisa’s face And fired

Louisa screa in the night Her hands flew to her face, and she shouted out in rage, "Kill her, kill her!" The flapping sounded again Rising in a cacophony Surrounded, Tara began to spin around wildly, ai measure She would losethe shadows hovered closer and closer Screa at her

Then, the first of them renched away She heard a thunderous noise as a body went slaainst a far wall There was a second sound

The body’s head landing in the wake of the corpse

She turned, her fingers still on the paint gun

"Don’t aiain, shaking

She was no longer alone Lucian had corip of the bearded ainst the wall She had a brief moment to retrieve her sword as Lucian reached for the next enemy; she didn’t watch, she didn’t want to see, as he dispatched the worasped the sword from the floor, and scrambled onward, desperate to procure the stake as well As she did so, one of the wo above her head She turned, there was so her like a zoht her arain in dismay and terror

But it was Lucian

"No," he said softly "He’s still alive"

He stepped forward and sent a fist against the younghione still, except for one groaning figure on the floor Lucian took the sword frole, forceful sweep, he lopped off the , Tara stood still Lucian looked around "She’s gone She’s et by," he said wearily