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Deep within the groaning manor, her disparate room allpapered pink, with lace curtains and her cheerleading po shorter than the coven's obligatory black cats and dogs

But Andoain hadn't always been her home For most of her childhood, Mari had lived with her fey e on the Gulf Coast They'd been content there, just the two of the but a jolly promise to be back soon

Yet on Mari's twelfth birthday, Jillian had packed up their cottage and had taken her to Andoain There she'd opened her arms wide and pronounced it Mari's "new home" Rendered slack-jawed, Mari had run in the opposite direction faster than even her most hell-bent pursuits of ice-cream trucks

For two days, her mother had remained with her there Then she'd peeled Mari off her to leave her behind, bawling on the front porch To go on sabbatical, to a secret druid island somewhere in Europe Over the years, Mari had received sporadic letters, supposedly fro them

Without Elianna and her best friend, Carrow, the coven bad girl, Mari didn't think she would have made it past those firstbut witchery Gods, she missed her friends now

Beautiful, raven-haired Carrow thought being a witch was the best thing in the world Whenever other Lore creatures like the nymphs and satyrs turned their noses up at the "hex-hacks," Carroould raise both her hands in the rock-on horns gesture and shout, "Double, double, toil and trouble, ot cursed!"

Then she actually would curse theh she was ruous specialty in love spells Fierce Carroas supposed to have entered the Hie with Mari, but then she got arrested at the last Mardi Gras for public indecency again All poor Carrow had done was to invoke a little-known fashion rule - It's not streaking if you're wearing beads - but the covens had vowed earlier that they wouldn't fix her next offense for her

Carroas presently in County Or probably out by now

And Mari longed to see Elianna, who'd been the best substitute h Elianna had received the gift of immortality from her witch e Kindhearted, occasionally befuddled Elianna was over four hundred years old, and without her glamour, she looked every minute of it She liked to joke that "all the exercise in the world can't help a sunbather"

Chapter 5

Mari hoped they didn't worry about her too much -

"Mariketa, it's tih her thoughts "You need to do this now"

Bowe's sole eye slid open when he had the vaguest impression that he wasn't alone That for the first tier only hi for focus

"Aye, Bowe, it's aze flickering over Bowe's injuries Bowe kneas shocked, but Lachlain hid it well and si you home," then helped him to his feet

Bowe's sense of smell recked, nearly burned away in the heat and oppressive smoke, but he could still scent a vaed for the shadowy figure behind them

Wroth, that cold bastard, siround All his medley of wounds reopened in a fresh wave of blood

Lachlain reached for hiht me here to retrieve you"