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Shit, he had alotten Windrunner pressed up next to him and he felt for the slihter to wear, buried in her ruff They'd fixed the sum to it He pulled it off, opened the tin and duer than peas "Chew this now," he told Dovia "It erases any blood tracer they put on you"

She was lucid enough to obey immediately He turned to Stalker Thank God est breed of wolves, and Dovia was a petite thing He put her on Stalker's back, closing her hands on his ruff "Just hold on tight with your knees and hands," he told her "Can you do that? Are you strong enough?"

She nodded He squeezed her hand andfor her from that direction He can't be far now, and he won't be difficult to scent He's very, very old He carries sword, a lot of weapons, he and his servant Find a safe place to hole up until we come for you Don't take her to your home or anywhere they could track her by other means and cause harm to your family"

Dovia reached out and clung to his arm "You have to come, too"

"He and Windrunner will take good care of you," Rand said firain "I have to stay Cai is here" He hesitated at Stalker's look, but then he said it, because he couldn't not say it "I'm his servant I won't leave him"

Understanding crossed her face That was good, because he wasn't sure he understood it himself He just kneas true "Pull a couple of the others as a rear guard, in case," he told Stalker "Don't let their absence be noticed Go"

Stalker nodded and bounded off, Dovia clinging to hinal, and Rand knew that another pair would be joining theain, fast, and used the cover of the forest to return to the cae so a sudden appearance by a wolf familiar to the vampires wouldn't be noted Or, more importantly, make them question why he'd been absent until now

It was all he could do to keep position, though, when he saas happening

Cai was losing

Hell, the vah And yet

Maybe someone not blood-bound to the vampire couldn't pick it up, because Rand didn't see any reaction to it fro to build, an energy with one netic hub

Amid that fierce, deter Goddard wouldn't expect to be facing; so to be called Sooner would be better than later A shiver went through Rand, a need to ju to alert the vampire, remind him of itbut any distraction could prove fatal

It was a wonder, to be so closely linked to the male's ht strategy made and remade in split second decisions Cai

was using every scrap of energy, including any eht Goddard

Rand hated watching hi, but at least he could hold that line, that connection Soht it helped, closing hisit steady Unbroken

While that wave of energy kept building like a tsunami

Now the wolves felt it So and eyes flashing Rand's lips curled back froly

But hopefully in the right way

Cai snarled as Goddard put hiround onceinto his torso He even folded over it, like the proverbial cartoon character When Goddard fell upon hi to drive the stake he clasped into Cai's chest, he rolled with a flash of desperate speed

The older ht he'd play with Cai, e it was a hell of a job to spear a cockroach with a toothpick Especially if the cockroach had had about a hundred years to study every fight tactic and cue his opponent had Cai couldn'tthink hiot too tired to think