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She siiven birth to her

"You killed h to perform the deed on our way to his lair in Louisiana," the creature

She shook her head

Dead

"II can’t believe it"

Gaius disain I was to be disappointed, but I was growing stronger every day So long as the book remained hidden it couldn’t do any harer down her cheek, tracing the path of her unconscious tears "But then it called you here"

With a shudder of revulsion she took a hasty step backward, forcing her foggeddirectly in front of her

She would work through her grief and regret for herthat was looking increasingly unlikely

"Called me?" she shook her head "No, I came because I wanted Gaius out of the house"

"If it hadn’t been that, it would have drawn you here by some other means," he assured her "It felt et into your hands"

She glanced toward the hole in the here she could feel the steady pulse of the black spell

A spell that had caused the death of thirteen witches, including her acy

"Why?" She turned back to the creepy, glowing eyes "What’s in the book?"

"It doesn’tto reveal the truth of the book "Once you’re dead the book will be destroyed once and for all"

Sally braced herself,an attack spell beneath her breath She didn’t believe it would actually da him, but it was all she had

Then, even as she felt ato build in the roo toward the door, his hiss of annoyance scraping over Sally’s raw nerves

"I warned you, Santiago," he growled, seeance"

Chapter 27

Santiago didn’t do helpless

After he’d been pulled out of the Gladiator pits beneath Barcelona, he’d sworn that he’d never again be in a position where he was at the mercy of another

A mistake, of course

He should have known that the e, it would curse hi if not perverse, and what could be htain?

Now he stood next to Nefri, his e across the floor of the warehouse and rip off Gaius’s head

He told hireed to kidnap the witch despite his grand pronouncement he would never, ever betray his brothers And why he was standing here like a damned mannequin while the bastard revealed the truth of his reason for traveling to the warehouse

He’d left his clue with Styx on the off-chance that the Anasso would be able to track therab Nefri and escape if the opportunity presented itself