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I Hear Voices. A Shout. A Laugh. Clay's Laugh. I Strained To See Through The Night. Fog Had Rolled In From Lake Ontario, But I Could Hear Him Laughing. The Concrete Turned To Grass. The Fog Wasn't From The Lake, But From A Pond. Our Pond. I Was At Stonehaven, Bounding Through The Back Acres. Clay Was Running Ahead Of Me.

-Kelley Armstrong

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I Hear Voices. A

Kelley Armstrong

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I Hear Voices. A Shout. A Laugh. Clay's Laugh. I Strained To See Through The Night. Fog Had Rolled In From Lake Ontario, But I Could Hear Him Laughing. The Concrete Turned To Grass. The Fog Wasn't From The Lake, But From A Pond. Our Pond. I Was At Stonehaven, Bounding Through The Back Acres. Clay Was Running Ahead Of Me.

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I Called. Why Wasn't Anyone Here?"- Elena We Were Here." Clay Said. "around, Anyway. You Should Have Left A Message." I Did. Two Hours Ago." - Elena Well That Explains It. I've Been Out, By The Gate All Day, Waiting For You, And You Know Jer Never Checks The Machine."- Clayton I Didn't Know How Clay Had Known I Was Coming Back Today When I Hadn't Left A Message. Nor Did I Question Why He'd Spent The Entire Day Waiting At The Gate. Clay's Behavior Couldn't Be Measured By Human Standard's Of Normalcy... Or By Any Standards Of Normalcy At All. Bitten

No", Tori Said, " I Kidnapped Her And Forced Her To Escape With Me. I've Been Using Her As A Human Shield Against Those Guys With Guns, And I Was Just About To Strangle Her And Leave Her Body Here To Throw Them Off My Trail. But Then You Showed Up And Foiled My Evil Plans. Lucky For You, Though. You Get To Rescue Chloe Again And Win Her Undying Grattitude.

Sometimes Humans Hit On A Moment Of Profundity More Complete Than Their Dim Minds Could Comprehend, And They Took That Nugget Of Truth And Dumped It In The Refuse For The Bards And The Poets To Find, And Mangle Into Yodeling Paeans Of Love.

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Undying Grattitude?" Simon Looked At Me. " Cool. Dosethat Come With Eternal Servitude? If So, I Like My Eggs Sunnyside Up." I Smiled," I'll Remember That.

Murder? You Mean He's Dead?" "no. He's Resting Comfortably," I Said. "people Always Sleep Best With Their Heads At A Ninety-degree Angle. He Looks Comfortable, Doesn't He?" (paige & Elena)

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One Second He Was In My Face, Making Me Feel Stupid And Useless. The Next He Was Like This: Hovering, Concerned, Worried.

Tell Me When You Want To Pick It Up Again." "tell Me When Satan Starts A Snowball Fight." "i'll Do That. Lunch?

Do You Like Manga?" She Asked After A Minute. "anime?" "anime's Cool. I'm Not Really Into It, But 1 Like Japanese Movies, Animated Or Not." "well, I'm Into It. I Watch The Shows, Read The Books, Chat On The Boards, And All That. But This Girl I Know, She's Completely Into It. She Spends Most Of Her Allowance On The Books And Dvds. She Can Recite Dialogue From Them." She Caught My Gaze. "so Would You Say She Belongs Here?" "no. Most Kids Are That Way About Something, Right? With Me, It's Movies. Like Knowing Who Directed A Sci-fi Movie Made Before I Was Born.

Dad!" He Shouted, Loud Enough To Make My Ears Ring. "dad! You Need To Get Down Here!" (derek) Chloe Held Open The Door And Whispered To Me, "i Could Say He's Not Always Like This, But I'd Be Lying.

So, When I Spotted A Cougar Stretched Out On A Thick Pine Tree Branch Near The Park Gates, I Wasn't Surprised. I Can't Say The Same For The Women Clinging To The Branch Above The Cat. She Was The One Screaming. The Cougar-a Ragged-ear Old Top I Clled Marv-just Stared At Her, Like He Couldn't Believe Anyone Would Be Dumb To Climb A Tree To Escape A Cat.

Stuffing People Into Boxes Is For Those Who Have Issues About Their Own Box.

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Oh, My God! It's A Killer Pomeranian." I Glanced Up At Derek. "it's A Tough Call, But I Think You Can Take Him.

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He Bent, Lips Coming To Mine And — 'derek? Chloe?' It Was Kit, Opening The Back Door. Derek Let Out A Low Growl. 'never Fails.' I Turned To Kit. 'how Is She?' 'we’re Going To Take Her Back To The House Now. She’s Unconscious Again.' 'then We’ll Walk Back,' Derek Said. 'give You Room In The Van To Lay Her Down.' His Dad Agreed And Went Back Inside. As We Walked Toward The Steps, I Looked Down At Derek’s Hand, Holding Mine. 'no One’s Around,' He Said. 'and We Can Take The Back Way.' 'good,' I Said, And Entwined My Fingers With His.

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My Past Was A Private Obstacle, Not A Public Excuse.

No. Harsh Truth Was Better Than Comfortable Lies. It Had To Be.

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His Gaze Travelled Down Me, Then Zipped Back To My Face. "sorry." "focus, Rafe." "i Am. Just On The Wrong Thing.

I Saw My True Power. The Darkest Power. The Greatest Power. ~jaime Vegas

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A Girl My Age Had Been Murdered In These Woods And I'd Seen Her Last Terrified Moments, Watched Her Bleed To Death In This Forest. A Life Like Mine Had Ended Here, And It Didn't Matter How Many Times I'd Seen Deaths In Movies, It Wasn't The Same, And I Wasn't Ever Going To Forget It.

He Balled Up My Discarded Sweatshirt And Put It Against His Shoulder. “go On,” He Said. “i Don’t Bite.” “and From What I Hear, That’s A Good Thing.” He Gave A Rumbling Chuckle. “yeah, It Is.” I Leaned Against His Shoulder.

I'm Suprised He Doesn't Send Christmas Cards," Antonio Said. "i Can See Them Now. Tasteful, Embossed Veilum Cards, The Best He Can Steal. Little Notes In Perfect Penmanship,"happy Holidays. Hope Everyone Is Well. I Sliced Up Ethan Ritter In Miami And Scattered His Remains In The Atlantic. Best Wishes For The New Year. Karl.

Remembering. Forgetting. I'm Not Sure Which Is Worse.

When Rae Got Back, She Spread Her Empty Hands Wide And Said "okay, Guess Where I Hid It." She Even Turned Around For Me, But I Couldn't See A Bulge Big Enough To Hide A Flashlight. With A Grin, She Reached Down The Front Of Her Shirt Into The Middle Of Her Bra, And Pulled Out A Flashlight With Flourish. I Laughed. "cleavage Is Great," She Said. "like An Extra Pocket.

Remember When We Met? Before You Left, You Said You Were Going To Make A Fool Of Yourself Over Me. That's Still What You're Worried About. That You'll Find Yourself Doing Things You Never Dreamed Of Doing, Things You Laughed At In Others, And You'll Make A Fool Of Yourself.

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Who Cared Whether You Could Change Motor Oil When You Could Snap A Rottweiler’s Neck In 2.8 Seconds? Now There Was A Practical Skill.

Picture A Place Called The Karma Kafe And It'll Save Me The Bother Of Describing It. There Was Nothing In It You Wouldn't Expect, From The Buddha Flowerpots To The Wallpaper Decorated With Symbols That Probably Said, "if You Bought This Just Because It Looked Pretty, May Buddha Piss In Your Coffee, You Culturally Ignorant Moron.

Reviews Are Great. I Can Read Negative Reviews And Say, You Know That Point They Made... They Were Dead On.

He Glanced Down At The Blood-smeared Cut On His Side...and Realized He Wasn't Wearing Any Clothing. I'd Be Lying If I Said I Hadn't Realized It Already. Kind Of Obvious. It Wasn't Like He'd Been Going To Take Time Out To Find His Clothing Before Stopping Liam.

Tori Joined Us For Dinner --in Body, At Least. She Spent The Meal Practicing For A Role In The Next Zombie Movie, Expressionless, Methodically Moving Fork To Mouth, Sometimes Even With Food On It.

I Lifted Onto My Toes, Put My Hands Aroung His Neck, And Pulled Him Down. When Our Lips Met, That First Jolt... It Was Everything I Hadn't Felt With Simon, Everything I Wanted To Feel. His Hands Went Around My Waist, Pulling Me Closer--

Einstein Theorized That Time Travel Was Possible, But He Was Looking At It As Unidirectional, Going Forward. Traveling Into The Past Is Much More Problematic, As Countless Stories Have Demonstrated!

We Drove To The Airport. On The Way, Clay Gave Him "the Lecture," Including All The Do's And Don'ts Of Meeting The Alpha, Which Was Only Slightly More Complicated Than An Audience With The Queen. Don't Sit Until You're Invited To. Don't Talk Unless He Asks You A Question. Don't Eat Before He Does. Don't Make Direct Eye Contact. Jeremy Demanded None Of This, But That Wasn't The Point.

If There's Anything I Can Do- I Know There Probably Isn't, But..." Just Be Here

I Could Shave My Head And Wear A Sackcloth And Still Get A Whole Lot Of Ghostly Wrong Numbers. Makes Me Wonder If There’s Some Kind Of Ghost-necro Porn Industry Down There. ~jaime Vegas

Kids Who Don't Eavesdrop On Adult Conversations Are Doomed To A Childhood Of Ignorance.

I'd Seen More Cops In The Last Few Days Than On A Weekend Law And Order Marathon" - Paigne Winterbourne

Boo," I Said. He Reacted As All Mutts React When I Confront Them. He Leapt From His Chair And Dove For The Nearest Exit, Shaking In Terror. In My Dreams. He Glanced At Me And Started Looking For Clay. It Never Failed. Mutts Only Quaked When I Appeared Because It Usually Meant Clayton Wasn't Far Behind. I Was Nothing But A Harbinger Of Doom.

So I Was Right, Wasn't I? It's Still You, Even In Wolf Form.' He Grunted. No Sudden Uncontrollable Urges To Go Kill Something?' He Rolled His Eyes. Hey, You're The One Who Was Worried.' I Paused. 'and I Don't Smell Like Dinner, Right?' I Got A Real Look For That One. Just Covering All The Bases.

Wild Dogs? Or Just Clayton? -nick Sorrentino (bitten)

Umm, Correct Me If I'm Wrong, But Aren't You Suppose To Be Dead? Currently Being Chased By Two Cabals? You're Waltzing Around Vancouver, Eating In Restaurants?" (ash)"hell No," Corey Said. "i Never Waltz. I Do The Fox-trot Sometimes Though.

When I Glanced At The Chair, It Started To Shake. I’d Like To Think It Was Scared Of Me, But I Rarely Invoked That Response In Living Things, Let Alone Inanimate Objects.

Inanimate Objects

You're Crying?" He Said. "no, I- " I Tore My Gaze Away. "just Dust. From The Path. Simon's That Way." I Tried To Pass Him, But He Stooped, Trying To Get A Loom Of My Face. When I Wouldn't Let Him, He Caught My Chin. I Jerked Back, Flinching At His Touch, Heart Thudding At It, Too. I Told Myself Simon Was Wrong. I'd Never Be Dumb Enough To Fall For Derek. But I Had. With Him So Close, My Stomach Kept Doing Weird Flips. It Wasn't Fear. It Hadn't Been Fear For Awhile. "you Have Been Crying," He Said, Voice Softer.

Rae Burned Me. She Has Matches Or Something. Look, Look..." Tori Pulled Down The Collar Of Her T-shirt. "leave Your Cloths On, Tori," Simon Said, Raising His Hands To His Eyes. "please.

Let’s Just Say That Being Able To Contact Ghosts Makes For Some Very Interesting Ménages á Trios… And Ménages á Quartre, And Ménages á … Whatever Five Is In French. ~jaime Vegas

There Are Lots Of Things In The Folklore, Like They Can Only Be Killed By A Silver Bullet, That Don't Realistically Work, If You're Trying To Say They Have Existed For Hundreds Of Years, Unknown.

He Leaned Her Back Against The Tub, Setting Her Head On The Edge, Then Washed Her Shoulders. "i Know I Left You Once." She Opened Her Mouth, Wanting To Say It Didn't Matter, It Was Forgotten. But It Wasn't. "i Know I Hurt You." Again, She Wanted To Argue. But She Couldn't. "i Know I Said I Won't Leave You Again, But I Also Know That's Not Enough, And That The Only Way You're Going To Trust That I Won't Leave Is If I Don't". He Slid The Cloth Over Her Arms. "if This Ends, Hope, It Won't Be Me That Ends It. I Think You Know That.

Uh-uh. We've Played This Game Before. I Hide. You Never Seek. I'm A Bit Slow On The Uptake, But I'm Beginning To Sense A Pattern.

Using Supernatural Beings To Build The Perfect Weapon? Intriguing Idea." "not Really," I Said. "they Did It On Buffy The Vampire Slayer. A Sub-par Season. I Slept Through Half The Episodes.

Supernatural Beings

It Was Completely Fifth Garde And Completely Silly And I Loved It, Because He Wasn't Afraid To Be Silly. It Was Like Kissing Him First - I Could Do Whatever I Wanted And Not Have To Worry What He'd Think Of Me.

Yes," I Said "you Were Saved By A Girl. Horrible, Isn't It?" He Slid Out And Looked Down At My Bare Legs. "not Just A Girl, But A Half-naked One. Now That's Hot. If I'm Still Unconscious, Don't Wake Me, Okay?

Are You The Welcoming Committee? Or Has Jeremy Finally Chained You Up To The Front Gate Where You Belong?" "i Missed You Too.

Where You Belong

Maybe I'm Being Selfish, But I Choose You." He Leaned Over, Lips Brushing Mine As He Whispered, "i Always Choose You.

All Right, Then. Emergency Medical Situation, Take Two.” He Leaped To His Feet, Staggered, Keeled Over, Then Lifted His Head Weakly. “chloe? Is That You?” He Coughed. “do You Have My Insulin?” I Placed It In His Outstretched Hand. “you Saved My Life,” He Said. “how Can I Ever Repay You?” “undying Servitude Sounds Good. I Like My Eggs Scrambled.” He Held Up A Piece Of Fruit. “would You Settle For A Bruised Apple?” I Laughed.

Yes, I Can Talk And Think At The Same Time. Most People Can, Though I Suppose You Wouldn't Know That From Personal Experience. Elena (bitten)

He Looked At Me. " I Do Know How To Deal With Demons, Savannah." "i Know. Sorry." "so I Get A Hug?" "no, But I Won't Smack You, And We'll Call It Even.

I Told Him What My Dad Had Said. That Got Him Laughing And As We Pulled Into The School Parking Lot, Even The Sight Of Rafe Waiting For Me Only Made Him Roll His Eyes. We Got Out. I Glanced At Daniel. He Sighed. "go On." "you Sound Like You're Giving A Five-year-old Permission To Play With An Unsuitable Friend." "if The Shoe Fits..." I Flipped Him Off. "watch It Or I Won't Marry You," He Said. "truck Of No Truck." I Laughed And Jogged Over To Rafe. "did He Just Say...?" Rafe Began.

I Remember Hearing Myself Start To Whimper, A Five-year-old, Crouched By The Side Of The Road, Staring Into My Father's Eyes, Whimpering Because It Was So Dark And There Was No One Coming To Help, Whimpering Because My Mother Was Back In The Crushed Car, Not Moving, And My Father Was Lying Here In The Dirt, Not Answering Me, Not Holding Me, Not Comforting Me, Not Helping My Mother Get Out Of The Car, And There Was Blood, So Much Blood, And Broken Glass Everywhere, And It Was So Dark And So Cold And No One Was Coming To Help.

I Wanted To Walk Over There. I Wanted To Curl Up Beside Him, Lean Against Him, Talk To Him. I Wanted To Know What He Was Thinking. I Wanted To Tell Him Everything Would Be Okay. And I Wanted Him To Tell Me The Same Thing. I Didn't Care If It Was True Or Not- I Just Wanted To Say It. To Hear It, To Feel His Arms Around Me, Hear The Rumble Of His Words, That Deep Chuckle That Made Me Pulse Race

Your Mother Sets You Up Blind Dates? With Guys Like That?" The Corners Of His Mouth Twitched. "she Doesn't Like You Very Much, Does She?

We Have Kenjii. We Have My Cell Phone. Since We Aren't Officially Dating, I'm Sure You'll Agree That's All The Protection We Need.

Before We Left Town, Antonio Pulled Into A Strip Mall And Went In To Get Subs And Salads, Leaving Clay And Me Half Naked And Bleeding In The Car, And Cain Unconscious In The Trunk. No Wonder I Was Anxious To Get Back To Toronto. Spend Too Much Time Around These Guys And You Become A Little Too Nonchalent About Blood-soaked Clothes And Bodies In The Trunk

He Wore Sweatpants And A T-shirt And Had Stopped In The Middle Of The Hall, Furiously Scratching One Bare Forearm. "fleas?" I Said.

When I Leaned A Little Too Close To The Doorway, My Inner Voice Piped Up, Telling Me Not To Be Stupid. The Guy With The Bionic Senses Was Better Equipped For This.

Here I Had A Wonderful Man Who Cared For Me And I Was Screwing Around With A Self-absorbed, Conniving Monster Who'd Betrayed Me In The Worst Possible Way.

I Grew Up Writing About The Paranormal, And I Blame Too Many Saturday Mornings Watching Scooby Doo.

His Cheek Twitched. With Jeremy, This Was The Equivalent Of An Emotional Outburst.

Emotional Outbursts

You Guys Are Weird," Tori Said. Simon Sat On The Crate Beside Me. "that's Right. We Are Totally Weird And Completely Uncool. Your Popularity Is Plummeting Just By Being Near Us.

Lavina Led Me To An Abandoned Warehouse. I Think That At Some Point Someone Decreed That All Clandestine Meetings Must Be Held In One. Woe To The Criminal Overlord Who Lives In A City Thriving With Commerce, With No Empty Warehouses To Be Found. He Probably Needs To Build One, Just To Have A Place To Arrange Late-night Meetings. (bewitched)

There Was No Closing My Eyes And Sliding Back Into That Blissful Dream Of Normal. This Was My Normal Now.

I Let Out A Laugh That Sounded More Like The Yip Of A Startled Poodle. "superp-powers? I Wish. My Powers Aren't Winning Me A Slot On The Cartoon Network Anytime Soon... Except As A Comic Relief. Ghost Whisperer Junior. Or Ghost Screamer, More Like It. Tune In, Every Week, As Chloe Saunders Runs Screaming From Yet Another Ghost Looking For Her Help." Okay, Superpower Might Be Pushing It.

I Leaned Forward And Kissed Him. His Eyes Widened, Then His Lips Parted And He Kissed Me Back, Mouth Warm And Firm Against Mine And That Floating Feeling Washed Over Me And Through Me, And It Was So Amazing That When It Ended, I Just Stayed There, My Face So Close To His I Could Feel His Breath, See Those Incredible Amber Eyes, And That Was All I Could See, All I Wanted To See.

Wish All My Corpses Would Do That.

He Lifted His Brows. "if I Really Thought It Was The Absolute Best Thing For Our Kids, You'd Have Had A Battle On Your Hands. That Was Just A Debate." "with Chair-throwing." "heated Debate. Fights Involve Chair-breaking. Chair-throwing Is Just Getting Your Attention.

I'm Not Going Anywhere, Not Without Chloe." Derek

At School, Our Classroom Had A Small Rodent Zoo Consisting Of Two Rabbits, Three Hamsters, A Litter Of Baby Gerbils And A Guinea Pig. At First, I’d Thought The Teacher Was Raising Snack Food, Which Impressed Me, Being The First Sign Of Intelligence She’d Shown. Soon, Though, I’d Figured Out The Animals’ True Purpose And Left Them Alone, Though I Would Never Understand The Appeal Of Petting And Coddling Perfectly Good Food.

I Might Be Half Derek's Size, But I Was The One Who Sounded Like A Two-hundred-pound Beast Plowing Through The Woods.

Rafe Grinned. "so We Are Dating?" "no. You Have To Pass The Parental Exam First. It'll Take You Awhile To Compile The Data. They'd Like It In Triplicate." I Turned To My Parents. "we Have Kenji. We Have My Cell Phone. Since We Aren't Officially Dating, I'm Sure You'll Agree That's All The Protection We Need." Dad Chocked On His Coffee.

Common Courtesy Dictates That We Never Drain The Lifeblood Of Anyone To Whom We've Been Formally Introduced.

Common Courtesy

Wow. The Guy Can Make Me Feel Stupid Even When He's Telling Me I Don't Have To Let Him Make Me Feel Stupid.

Life Experience. I Can Talk It Up, Vow To Broaden My Horizons, But I’m Still Limited To The Experiences With My Life. How Can A Person Understand An Experience That Lies Completely Outside Her Own? She Can See It, Feel It, Imagine What It Would Be Like To Live It, But It’s No Different From Seeing A Movie On A Screen And Saying, “thank God That’s Not Me”.

The Show's Writers Had Peppered The Piece With Words Like "savage," "wild," And "animalistic." What Bullshit. Show Me The Animal That Kills For The Thrill Of Watching Something Die. Why Does The Stereotype Of The Animalistic Killer Persist? Because Humans Like It. It Neatly Explains Things For Them, Moving Humans To The Top Of The Evolutionary Ladder And Putting Killers Down Among Mythological Man-beast Monsters Like Werewolves. The Truth Is, If A Werewolf Behaved Like This Psychopath It Wouldn't Be Because He Was Part Animal, But Because He Was Still Too Human. Only Humans Kill For Sport.

This Is The First Adventure I’ve Survived Without Being Kidnapped, Attacked, Knocked Unconscious Or Possessed By Evil Spirits. A Ripped Blouse? Ruined Skirt? Bad Hair? I’d Call This Progress. ~jaime Vegas

Never Go Easy On Allies If You Ahve To Take Them Down. Especially Allies. You’re Already Fighting The Urge Not To Hurt Them. Counteract That And Hit Them With Everything You’ve Got.

Bigger Room, Darling. Like I Said, We Need A Bigger Room.

Derek Lunged. He Hit Me In The Shoulder And Knocked Me To The Floor, Landing On Top Of Me. His Body Jerked, Like He'd Been Hit With The Spell, And I Let Out A Yelp, Struggling To Get Up, But He Held Me Down, Whispering "i'm Okay, It's Okay" Until The Words Penetrated.

This Is What I Wanted. This Guy. This Life. This Me. I Was Never Getting My Old Life Back, And I Didn't Care. I Was Happy. I Was Safe. I Was Right Where I Wanted To Be.

I Want You To Have Big Dreams, Big Goals. I Want You To Strive To Achieve Them. But I Don't Want To See You Beating Yourself Up Every Time You Make A Mistake.

Missing Someone

Chloe? It's Me." After A Pause, He Added, "derek," Like I Could Mistake That Deep Rumble For Anyone Else, Like I Could Mistake That Little Part Of Me That Perked Up Like An Eager Puppy Saying, "it's Him. Quick! Go See What He Wants." God, How Had I Been So Blind? It Seemed So Obvious Now.

I Envied It; Not The Idea Of Having So Much Money That You Could Throw It Away, But The Thought Of Growing Up In A World Where Someone Cared So Much About Your Happiness And So Little About What You Accomplished In Life.

What's Next? If There Are Vampires In There, They Probably Drink Artificial Blood Plasma Substitute.

We Scarified A Mosquito. I Bet That's What Did It. It Was Probably A Virgin Too.

Last Time I Was Sick, The Guy I Was Seeing Brought Me A Bottle Of Ginger Ale… And Expected Me To Pay Him Back For It. ~jaime Vegas

It's Because When We Sneeze, Our Soul Flies Out Our Nose And If No One Says 'bless You,' The Devil Can Snatch It.

We'll Meet You Here. Hopefully Everyone Will Be In Human Form." A Wry Smile. "though I'll Warn You, He's Not A Whole Lot More Pleasant That Way. At Least As A Wolf, He Can't Talk.

As I Recall, I Was Still Dressed When I Fell Asleep." "just Making Sure You Were Comfortable." "and Making Yourself Equally Comfortable, I See.

He Pivoted, Gaze Following Me As I Crossed To The Shower And Turned On The Cold Water, So It Would Drown Out Our Conversation Without Steaming Up The Room. Great," He Muttered."now They're Going To Think We're Showering Together. Maybe We Can Just Tell Them We Were Washing Off The Crawl Space Dirt And Trying To Conserve Water.

Oh My God. You're A Witch-hunter. I'm A Witch. Hate To Break It To You Daniel, But If You're A Witch-hunter? You're Doing It Wrong." He Gave Me A Sidelong Smile. "maybe It's Not That Kind Of Hunting." "then You're Definitely Doing It Wrong.

Go Out And Ask Her Into The Alley.” Clay Looked At Jeremy As If He’d Just Been Told To Dance The Rumba On A Public Thoroughfare. I Bit Back A Laugh. “just Walk Over To Her And Point At The Alley. Maybe Say…i Don’t Know…something Like ‘fifty Bucks.’ ” I Looked At Jeremy. “does That Sound Right? Fifty?” His Brows Shot Up. “why Are You Asking Me?” “i Wasn’t—i Just Meant, As A General…” I Threw Up My Hands. “how Am I Supposed To Know How Much A Hooker Costs?

Tell Her To Be Quiet, And She Got Louder. Tell Her To Stay Back, And She Pushed Me Into The Line Of Fire. Tell Her To Watch For Our Pursuers, And She Hovered At My Shoulder Instead. Open The Door To Listen, And She Wanted To Drag Me Back Inside. Ah. The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship.

I Let Her Through. She Checked Derek's Pulse And His Breathing, Saying Both Seemed Okay, Then Leaned Down To His Face. "nothing Weird On His Breath. Smells . . . Like Toothpaste." Derek's Eyes Opened, And The First Thing He Saw Was Tori's Face Inches From His. He Jumped And Let Out An Oath. Simon Cracked Up. I Madly Motioned For Him To Be Quiet. "are You Okay?" I Asked Derek. "he Is Now," Simon Said. "after Tori Jump-started His Heart.

I Was...a Journalist...though My Typical Beat Was Freelancing Articles On Canadian Politics, Which Never Included Any Mention Of Demonic Phenomena, Though It Might Explain The Rise Of The Neoconservatives.

He Lunged Again. This Time I Stood My Ground And He Checked His Leap At The Last Second....and Toppled Sideways. I Didn't Hide My Laugh That Time. His Face Twisted Fast, Grabbed My Pajama Leg And Wrenched, And Down I Went. "bully

Well, Either You Have A Compartment Under This Floor, Containing A Living Person, Or The Property Is Infested By Giant Moles

And He Says I Have Lousy Timing

How'd You Communicate?" "paper And Pen. Amazing Inventions. Anyway, Once We Were In Buffalo, I Led Him Here. We Couldn't Figure Out A Way In And He Got Stressed And Apparently That" -- She Waved At Him--- "is What Happens When A Werewolf Gets Stressed. By Then, The Garage Door Was Open, Some Staff Guy Bringing In A Car. He Took One Look At Derek And Decided It Was Time For A New Job

I Understand That I May Make Mistakes With Characters Who Don't Share My Own Background, But I Commit To Doing My Best.

I'm Just Saying It's Not Time For That Either. We Need To Focus And Having Maya Moon Over Rafe Is Making Everyone Uncomfortable." Rafe Grinned. "doesn't Bother Me.

I've Spent The Last Decade Learning To Stand Firm And Face My Problems… Or At Least Batter Them Until They're Unrecognizable.

There Are Risks You'll Take For Yourself Because You Know That If Your Plan Goes Wrong, It'll Be Too Late For Regrets. But If You Risk The Lives Of Others And Fail, You'll Have A Lifetime To Regret It.

I'd Always Thought Of Myself As An Open-minded Person. I Had No Patience With Anyone Who Put Down Other Kids Because Of Their Race, Religion, Or Sexuality. But That's Just One Kind Of Open-mindedness. There's Another Kind, Too, The Kind That's Willing To See People For Who They Really Are And Admit When You Were Wrong About Them. That's The Part I Still Need To Work On.

Got Your Text,” He Said When I Climbed Out. “how Much Did It Hurt?” “not At All,” I Said. “apparently, I Can’t Get A Tattoo Because I’m A Witch.” “i Could Have Told Them-” He Stopped. “oh, You Said Witch.” “ha-ha.

You Didn't Answer My Question. Are You All Right?" I Didn't Do Anything" Yeah. You Did." He Looked At Me. "you Did A Lot" -chloe & Derek-

And Stop Doing That,” He Said. “backing Away, Giving Me That Look.” Like You’re Scaring Me? Maybe You Are.” He Stepped Back So Fast He Wobbled And Caught Himself, And The Look On His Face—it Vanished In A Second, The Scowl Returning. I’d Never Hurt You, Chloe. You Should Know—” He Stopped. Paused. Then Wheeled And Started Walking Away. “next Time? Handle It Yourself. I’m Done Taking Care Of You.

What Gave It Away? When She Loaded Me Bound And Gagged Into The Back Of Her Truck? Or When She Actually Said. "i'm Ready To Kill You And Throw Your Body Inn The Swamp? "hey For A While There, It Looked Like You Were Going To Talk Your Way Out Of It. I Didn't Want To Interfere.

Nuh-uh. No Deals With The Devil. I’ve Learned My Lesson On That One. ~jaime Vegas

The Upshot Of Her Tirade Was That I Was The Devil's Spawn And Should Be Locked Up In A Tower Before I Unleashed Hordes Of The Living Dead To Slaughter Them All In Their Sleep. Well, Maybe That's An Exaggeration, But Not By Much.

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