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Over the next few days, Seth’s condition changed I’m not positive it worsened, justevolved What made matters worse was that Preacher had extended his trip to Da Island, so I didn’t have his counsel to rely on Seth’s excessive sleeping eased up somewhat, but he wore his shades all the time, indoors and outdoors, sunshine or no sunshine He barely spoke a word tohe wanted to hang out with his friends before school started I’d never let him just run the streets--I knehere that could lead, and no way in hell was I about to let s and the other boys showed up at Inkso like a band of thugs, I put my foot down God, I sounded like an old stick-in-the-mud But this was Seth, and I wasn’t about to let hi direction if I could help it

"Hey, babe, where’s your brother?" Riggs asked He leaned a hip againstway too hard to look cool

Chaz rose fro his back bristled, his head down, and the now-farowl emanated fros

"Babe? Yeah, I don’t think so, porcupine Try again And take off those stupid glasses," I said, totally irritated

Riggs’ expression turnedI don’t know, hateful, and froze into place like stone Slowly, he slid his shades off, and if the look on his face had seelare in his eyes was even worse They see, really They even looked lighter than before How could that be? Inwardly, I flinched, and that shocked e peckerhead now, but I’d known Riggs Parker since he was a little guy, and until tonight I’d known him to be harmless Now? He studied me with the intensity of a predator, and that made me want to smack him on the back of the head

"Where’s Seth, Ms Poe?" His sht here," my brother said behind s "Where are you guys going?"

A srin tipped the boy’s mouth "Mellow Mushrooave lasses back on and looked up at me "Don’t worry, babe," he said sarcastically "We’ll be horew ly "Chaz, back," I said, and aze snapped to Seth as I sed the hurt "By eleven, Bro Don’tfor you I’ain irritated me because we all knohatever really lanced back at avelike crazy I knew the feeling I wanted right then to go knock the hell out of hie, I would have

"What’s up with Chaz lately?" Nyx asked, rubbing the fur between his ears, talking soothingly to hily "He’ll be all right" She grinned "He’s just trying to show off in front of his friends I’ll bet you were the exact same way at fifteen"

I continued to stare out of the storefront "Way, orse, Nyxinnia That’s orries me" And that was exactly what I did for the rest of the evening--worried I beat the hell out of the bag that night, hoping to work out some of the tension, and by the time I’d worn myself out, my knuckles, feet, and shins hurt like hell I was in the kitchen sucking down a bottle of water when Seth caht at eleven on the nose He didn’t even acknowledge ht to his roo in my head, so I cut him some slack--especially since he’d made it ho Obviously, so him, and I hated that he didn’t trust ot ready for bed, but sleep evadedrestlessly, I wandered out onto the sh roo to keepover I stood there and stared out into the night, watching the sliver of ht was still, and I felt vulnerable, not a feeling I particularly liked My thoughts turned to Zac, a guy I didn’t even know, and how he’d been so young and had died so young What had happened? I couldn’t help but wonder who’d done it, and think about how the killer right noalked the very streets e building o seconds from Inksomnia I could see it from my back door

I turned to leave, but before I stepped back inside, that gnawing feeling came over me once more--the one that ht, into the afterlight, searching the darkness I felt with all certainty that a pair of eyes watched me from the shadoear to God, I couldn’t takeall too frequently, and frankly, it was pissing ht I closed and locked the balcony door I did not sleep well after

Soht up At the sarowl My blurred vision, groggy fro to see My insides froze Someone was in my room I slipped my hand slowly toward the back left bedpost, where I kept a baseball bat My fingers gripped the handle I slid my feet slowly to the floor and lifted the bat over my shoulder A car ahts cast an illuasped, taken off guard "Seth? What are you doing?" I lowered the bat

Seth didn’t speak or move; he stood completely still I couldn’t see his expression now, but I had for a fleeting second as the car had passed He’d lookedvacant, angry I won’t lie--it scared the hell out of rip on the bat