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Just ahead of her, Mick was growling, a low rumble of menace If he’d been in fur, his hackles would have been standing straight up Eyes on the creature, he repositioned hiiven the size of the thing

“De around extra teeth

The de in the cast of its s only because this thing had not willed it otherwise

“The wolf is quite right I find it curious that you have couardians, returned to where you left me seven years past, and still did not know to expect me”

This? Sophie thought This is what I was transporting all those years ago?

“You weren’t exactly a visible part of the entourage,” she said

It lounged back against the dais and crossed its legs “Yes, well, there were no particularly interesting hosts a that you all intended to stick me down here where no one would find le, you would take ed”

Sophie ignored the look of interest the deave her and asked faintly, “Host?”

“Yes, yes,” it said impatiently “I must bind to my master in order to wield the full extent of my powers Nasty technicality, that It was never a problem, you see, until the Empire fell and the Eye was lost”

“What Empire?” asked Mick

“The Mayan Empire, of course,” it said, as if this should be perfectly obvious

“But we found the Eye in Peru,” said Sophie

“Why do you think I was lost in the first place? The holy lord Xipe Totec really should have thought it through a bit more before he had me wipe it out And I did warn him that humans tend not to survive inter-dimensional travel well Did he listen? Of course not So I sent hih, and he died, and I wound up in theyears”

“Wait a h none of the tension had left his back “You’re sayin’ that you were responsible for the fall of the Mayan Empire?”

It smiled, and Sophie saw death, destruction