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“It seems prudent”
Hethat sounded like Fuck prudent, but I just grinned “Speaking of which, it’s time for me to head out”
“I’ll walk you home”
Dating Chance was turning out to be unexpectedly sweet
Bad News Travels Fast
Like berries fer on the bush, that sweetness couldn’t last, of course But it wasn’t Chance’s fault
With disbelieving eyes, I read the words:
Save the girl or claim your crown Either way, you’ll come to us
Whoever had sent this htning in my veins Please let this be solish, not Spanish, it probably hadn’t been written by one of Tia’s bruja friends Those witches didn’t like me, but they weren’t pranksters, either
Shannon had a new life in Laredo The crown…This was a guess at best, but when I’d defeated the Knight of Hell, Caim, he’d calleda note But they wanted a , or wanted to lure me somewhere If they had Shannon, this was a da it would be stupid and suicidal, I’d go for her I’d go
I read the note a second tilanced down the street both ways There was little through traffic this way; the streets cliher, until they just…stopped I’d discovered that the hard way After backing down a narrow ured e But today there were no drivers at all, bad or otherwise The sidewalk, cracked and uneven, stood empty
A chill wind blew overstupid, I plucked the parchate and studied it Expensive paper It had a thick, quality feel, like the posh stationery someone who came from money would use The ink, too, wasn’t siel tip Froraphy more than simple cursive I flipped it over and found a set of coordinates Longitude and latitude? Or o just by looking at the nuet off the street Though I’d taken care of the problems with Montoya, it didn’t mean I had no enemies left They could find me
Obviously, someone had
It unnerved , but that was a fact of life once you accepted ate and stepped into her courtyard Iical response at best As I knew, et behind walls to strike you if the practitioner was determined There ays to undermine the wards With that in mind, I checked Tia’s protections I didn’t touch the, satisfactory glow to my trained eye
But there were always loopholes Hell, I could do it with sie unsettledgently over leaves and petals Flashes of color—vert and crimson—reassuredhad changed, even if soh it couldn’t ood, I would deal hatever new problem was about to level my life
I lethoreeted narled hand “¿Tienes hambre?”
Well, I had been hungry Not soin my stomach that belched and swelled like a toad Certainly, it was dread Everything had consequences To wit, Newton’s Third Law: To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction So I’d known there would be a cost, but it wasn’t right that Shannon should pay it in my stead
When I found Min—helped save her from her past—I incurred the wrath of the Montoya cartel I’d resolved that threat, but in doing so, I crossed a Knight of Hell That didn’t co When he’d crawled back through the gate I opened, he e with him I’d vanquished him Stolen his true name A note, therefore, seemed like pretty small payback There was no doubt it heralded s
Her smile faded at my silence “What happened?”
“I’m not sure” I showed her the note, then translated it aloud
“You don’t knohat this means?”
“I have so certain”
Tia nodded and returned to the tortillas while I went to etting out rimoires, blue and crimson, until I found the necessary spell; then I read it twice to be sure I understood the steps This wasn’t one I had practiced with Tia Divination didn’t see with more proactive spells and charms
Fighting a rising tide of worry, I dug out ick chest Constructed on Tia’s orders, it was a sood cherrywood, banded , it was an elegant piece, but more important, it protected my spell co with the avoidance spell, ht my chalice and athame with Shannon