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"No, thank you"

She sank down on the sofa andon? Is David’s place too crowded today? You’re welcome to stay here, if it is"

"No" He watched her draw her long, slender legs up and tuck the you wished to tell me"

And there it was The unease he had expected to see cross her features when she had first opened the door to hiet on with it and delved into her thoughts

"Not tell you," she said slowly, oblivious to his presence in her mind, "so much as ask you"

"Very well"

"We all knoerful you are," she began "And it’s been sort of an unspoken rule not to ask you aboutall the things you can do"

She had surprisingly strong e, but they only slowed him down for a moment or two

"David wasn’t exactly thrilled e found out he could shape-shift," she runted "He knew there were those ould want to turn it into a parlor trick to be exercised upon request"

She sent hi Sheldon fro anything about Donald and Nelson in her memories

"What did you want to ask me?" he pressed

"I feel like I know better nohat you’re capable of andI just wonderedWhen we face large numbers of vae nuht"

"Yes?"

"Why don’t you just do what Zach did and give thee in battle at all? Why let us fight and risk our lives when you can kill theht?"

He stared at her "Son of a bitch" Zach No wonder the only guilt he could find in her thoughts was that which she continued to nourish over transfor Richart and Etienne She hadn’t betrayed him Etienne hadn’t betrayed him None of his beloved Immortal Guardians had betrayed him

Zach had betrayed him

Sort of

They weren’t exactly close and

Actually, he wouldn’t even consider Zach a friend Not until recently, when Zach had coed He had actually aided Seth that night Seth had taken it as a good sign and had thought

He held onto his te, but was helpless to stop the clap of thunder that rue rose

Lisette’s eyes widened "I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked It’s none ofZach Seth had suspected that the nuht But that was the only thing about which he had been right

When Seth had discovered Zach’s ht be beneficial But Zach hadn’t been drawn to A hours on end, perched atop David’s roof because he was curious about the relationships of those beneath it

He had been collecting inforrowled furiously

"Kill who up straight

"Not important," Seth lied and forced the fury down He rose and headed for the door "I o"

Lisette hurried after him "Seth, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you"

He stopped short and turned around "You didn’t To answer your question, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained in this world"

"I don’t--"

"Vae when they prey upon innocent, unsuspecting huth We hunt vaht humans ourselves and battle the mercenaries, there th They have deadly weapons If I exercised my powers to their full extent and killed all of the huht, ould beco blind, firing upon the defenseless deer that grazed below The balance would be lost And the consequences would be apocalyptic"

She chewed her lower lip "I don’t knohat you mean about the consequences, but I see your point abouta balance"

He reached for the doorknob, but didn’t turn it "Lisette," he said, pausing to face her once more

"Yes?" she asked, her pretty face troubled