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"Tonight? Now?"

"Maybe not right now," Joe allowed "But given the way everyone&039;s hun kering down, real soon Tonight soh for her "Where?" Allie asked

He shrugged, hands spread "I don&039;t know"

"No one said anything?"

"No" His brows drew in "I sold a yoyo while you were gone, but that&039;s probably nothing"

"Probably?"

He shrugged again

"Okay, close and come upstairs We need to have a war council"

Joe&039;s freckles stood out in high relief "We&039;re going to war?"

"Well, no," Allie admitted "But it sounds better than we need to sit around and rehash e know and figure out what the hell we&039;re going to do e get out there"

"So we&039;ll be going out there, then?"

She shot a quick glance over at Michael "Not all of us"

"Okay, the youngest Dragon Lord is breaking out in Calgary There&039;s a dozen Dragon Lords already here-some of them want to stop him, some of them don&039;t, and we have no idea of how the nuree with any of theon Lord his eneive her the word " use Grahaon Lords who don&039;t want hi to object We know" She pointed at Charlie " that they need a place of power to coate but trying to slip through unnoticed We knohere there&039;s a place of power in the city"

Charlie grinned "Nose Hill"

Allie nodded "Nose Hill" She paced over to theand looked up at the sky, but all she could see was the lights of the city reflecting off the low cloud cover Here be dragons Or, technically, there be dragons Dragon Lords She sighed Never mind "We need to be there to make sure the various factions don&039;t burn the city down Did I etting his ass eaten," Charlie put in

"Graha a deep breath, she spun around on one heel, the rubber shrieking against the floor, and folded her ar us do?" David asked

"Just what I said; we make sure the city doesn&039;t burn down"

"And we don&039;t interfere in the fah David had made more of a statement than asked a question, Allie answered him "Not unless we need to in order to keep the city fro down"

"And if this fa the sorcerer?" Roland wondered

"As long as they don&039;t cook him first over the coals of the city, we don&039;t interfere"

"And Graham?"

Allie turned to look at her cousin "Grahahed "Can we just play Graham by ear?"

"Sweetie, we can play hinored all the eye rolling "Michael, Joe-you&039;ll stay here"

"We could help!" Michael protested

Joe shot hi look "Speak for yourself"

"Okay, I could help"

"How?"

He frowned "You don&039;t even know if you&039;re going to do anything I can do nothing as well as any Gale And I can duck and cover when the shit starts hitting the fan"

"No"

"Allie"

She crossed the room to stand beside his chair "Michael, if you&039;re there, you&039;ll split my focus"

"I was there in the bar"

And she&039;d never been able to forget it, but whatever they alking into on the hill, it wasn&039;t going to be anything as siht She laid her on his shoulder and squeezed "I can&039;t risk it I can&039;t risk you Please"

He looked down at her hand and sighed "All right"

"I&039;ll leave youit into his lap "You&039;ll be connected If we need you, we&039;ll call"

"We&039;ll take my car," David added "You&039;ll have the Beetle if you need wheels"

"Strange his phone isn&039;t here yet," Rolandinto his jacket "It&039;s been over a week"

"I&039; he&039;ll come home for it"

"Brian can kiss my ass," Michael muttered

"See," Charlie leaned down and kissed his cheek "You&039;ve started to forgive him"

Graham parked his truck on Beaconsfield just down froht he&039;d

The night he&039;d complicated his life And for fucksake, he provided protection for a sorcerer; it wasn&039;t like his life had been unco the metaphorical room Okay, technically, he&039;d walked into hers, but that was

He took a deep breath

Head in the gaame caet his shit together

He doubted very on Lords would notice another vehicle on a residential road where even theylot The one that called itself Adaon Lords were still circling wide, unwilling to start anything yet, but they were all up there, attention focused on the top of the hill There was no aed through the darkest of the available shadows and reached the path he&039;dcover for most of the distance he had to travel, his eyes had adjusted enough he could pick up speed He had night vision goggles with hi his own senses as h, thanks to Allie, they&039;d been less dependable of late

Another deep breath

Stop thinking about your fucked-up love life

Given that nothing et a lot closer to the target than he&039;d like At least that s

Just before he reached the crest, he slipped off the path to the tallest of the surrounding trees, cli it quickly and, for lack of a decent sized branch at this height, securing a sling to the trunk Line of sight wasn&039;t as high as he&039;d have liked, but it was the best the site offered given that he had no safe way to reach the s of glacial boulders offered fuck all protection froood news/bad news thing It e but reduced the chance of a sudden wind screwing things up

He raised his M24 and glanced through the scope

Still no sign of the target Just a brown expanse of dead grass and a few exposed rocks

He had the special round in the chaazine of Blessed rounds as well as half a dozen more loaded up with full metal jackets ready to load as soon as he took his shot Hopefully, once shit and fan i each other to notice him

"Are you in place?" Kalynchuk&039;s voice rumbled out of the earpiece

"I am"

"Re that&039;s occurring, nowhat sn of the creature e to allow him to carry even a sh the signal Hell, , fire-breathing lizards who turned into so lizards who turned into sonals?

"Have you seen any sign of the Dragon Lords?"

"They&039;re keeping their distance"

The sorcerer snorted "So far Re in et that shot off before the first of them makes their move"

"I knowYou&039;re sure Allie the Gales are unae have a go?"

"They don&039;t, as a faence is occurring, it will be too late for them to interfere"

Then it would be too late for Allie to be in danger

He took another look through the scope

Still nothing

"There&039;s a e of the hill," David said quietly

Allie glanced over at Charlie, whodown to "Gee, I wonder who it is?" and while it was unlikely Kalynchuk had cliunpowder seeest it is"

Graham

"Can he see us?"

She could hear the smile in David&039;s voice as she ducked under a low branch "Not if I don&039;t want hih"

"No We&039;re here as impartial observers"

"Like UN peacekeepers," Roland offered

Charlie snorted "Who keep getting their asses shot off because they can&039;t shoot back"

"Not like UN peacekeepers, then," Allie amended

"So we can shoot back?"

"Back, but not first No matter what Han Solo did," she added pointedly to Roland

"So we just let Graham bloay Junior when he shows up?" Charlie wondered

Allie wanted to say no if only because they&039;d had proof the Dragon Lords could trace the shot and, by taking it, Grahaer, but Graha the truth and this eer, but also a danger to the city and beyond, then allowing Graha to do If he failed, they could act as backup

"See, Auntie Jane, we can ith sorcery We don&039;t need to destroy it"

"You can ith a un The sorcerer had his ass tucked safely behind a wall of hexes"

"But David was out here, helping to save the city"

"And you think that David allowing you to stop a Dragon Lord without any of the first circle present is a good thing? Because that amount of poill corrupt!"

"Allie?"

Wonderful Even in her head, Auntie Jane got in the last word

"Just thinking"

"Nice change Do we knohere exactly the shit&039;s hitting the fan?" Charlie muttered as they peered out across an empty hilltop "Because there&039;s a fair chunk of real estate out there"

David shifted to settle the weight of his rack, and pointed "About six lanced up, picked a leaf off one prong, and crushed it between tre power, David was ht only Granddad could do that But they were very close to the sacred site and that proxie effects "Neverthe direction David had indicated and, suddenly, concern about her brother was no longer front and center in her thoughts She couldn&039;t say if it was six rabbed her attention and held it Groping behind her for Roland&039;s hand, she gouged a quick charm into the dirt, anchored herself, and reached out for more infored up through the contact and knocked her on her ass

Strong hands pushed into her arain

"Allie? What was it?"

"Not what I expected" She rubbed at a stone bruise and frowned out toward the center of the hill

"What did you expect?" David asked cutting both Roland and Charlie off one word into their own questions Roland growled, low in his throat, but let it go

"Soon Lord"

That wasn&039;t the answer to the question David had asked, but he stayed with her "And this didn&039;t?"

Allie leaned against Roland and thought about it "My sample for comparison is a little small; he didn&039;t feel like Adam, that was for sure, but he felt sort of like Ada I know, but" Lower lip between her teeth, she let her voice trail off as she tried and failed to define the second power signature

"You said he?"

"Male, definitely" If there was one thing a Gale girl knew, it was how to identify male power "Weirdly falanced over at Charlie "A what?"

Charlie shrugged "You knohat they say, there&039;s nothing like the UnderReal a waxy buildup"

"Who says that? Don&039;t actually tell me," she added quickly "I don&039;t knohat it is, but it&039;s not the UnderReal froely ence A fountain of dirt rocketed into the sky surrounding a pillar of light so bright it seared afteri the bottoht, the pillar capped out about ten ht saber," Roland murmured

"When this is over," Allie told hie of media into this on Lords did things It all ca in subtle ways that lifted the hair on the back of his neck Finger around the trigger, he stared through the scope and waited for the e form to coalesce

Scales would be easier

Skin wouldn&039;t stop hi to it as "the creature" as if they didn&039;t both knoas another Dragon Lord

"What&039;s happening?" Kalynchuk sounded as close to terrified as Graham had ever heard him "Damn it, talk todirt and rock dropped har power She&039;d worry about howanother ti she needed was a concussion All right, , but close

Open as she was, she could feel the power coalescing in the center of the hill

Not quite entirely Dragon Lord Actually, only about half Dragon Lord

As she realized where she&039;d felt the second power, she started to run No time for explanations No breath to spare No option but to reach his side the moment he took physical form and pray Graham took a moht reravity had taken care of the dirt, then it collapsed in on itself

"The instant the light vanishes, take your shot!"

Graham&039;s lip curled Usually, the boss left him alone to do his job Trusted hi annoying

The light had condensed to a pillar two h Maybe a little less It narrowed as he watched Darkened

He drew in a breath Held it

The light became a man No, a boy, no more than twelve or thirteen

Allie dove forhile the boy was still partially light, got an arround with her Rolled as fire splashed against the jus

He sneezed, clutched her shoulders, and squinted up at her fro a little shocky His eyes were a swirling mix of color "You&039;re not my dad"

"Graham!"

"He&039;s down!" No time to wonder why he left out the pertinent details Like the way Allie had appeared for an instant in his scope and nearly stopped his heart "I have no shot"

"Then get a shot! Put the gun to his fucking head if you have to!"

Graha before Kalynchuk finished speaking

"Allie! What are you doing?"

She rolled again "He&039;s just a kid!" Standing and pulling the boy up into her arms, Allie drew charms on damp, sulfur-scented skin as she locked herself down to Roland&039;s anchor and reached beyond A red Dragon Lord swooped low out of the clouds,flame Viktor, if the twelve didn&039;t double up on colors Didn&039;t matter who he was Allie cut out the ons can&039;t fly on their backs

Dragon Lords, however, were able to stop the in flaht David She needed to let David handle the offense while she worked to protect the boy She felt Roland&039;s aro around her, felt Charlie pick up the strands of power, felt David slap another Dragon Lord out of the sky

If they had any of the first circle with theh to remove the cloud cover

There&039;s twelve of the this without the aunties?

Then Grahaht, weapon raised and Allie reaze with hers Thought about saying, I won&039;t let you shoot his considered, that was fairly obvious Thought about saying, It&039;s time to pick a side Remembered how badly he reacted to ultimatums Finally let his name escape on an exhaled breath

Saw him lower the weapon

Over the thirteen or so years he&039;d protected the sorcerer, necessity had required Grahaht be considered cold Even brutal He did his job, and he walked away But shooting a naked boy-even if it wasn&039;t a real boy-who stood blinking and tre, all knees and elborapped in the arms of the woman he

cared about, that was outside his job description

As of right now

"Graha on? Is the boy dead?"

He reached up, eyes still locked on Allie&039;s face, pulled the earpiece out, threw it to the ground, and crushed it under his heel

Allie had no tis and lifted her head to snarl, "He is under h the faon Lords dove in from the west, but, impossibly, before David could react, Adaer than his brothers, his gleaainst the sky

When he landed, the ground shook He hadn&039;t been that large on the street Couldn&039;t have been

When he roared, Allie felt it in blood and bone

"David! No!"

She saw David&039;s e

When Adaround sirl If he lives, his mother will follow a road of blood to the MidReal in her path just because she can"

Allie turned the boy so Adam could see the charms she&039;d drawn "And if you kill him"

"Yes, yes," He waved a hand "You&039;ve claimed him Are you certain you knohat that means? His life, his death, are your responsibility now" His lips pulled back, his smile all teeth "What did I say about you" A nod to David, acknowledging another power " and yours, interfering in the business of our fa for a response, "that youbad after all Let us hope I can convince my brothers you&039;ve made a o to ith your aunties I&039; that out, by the way"

Above the clouds, soe

"If you&039;ll excuse me, Ryan requiresto curry favor by protecting the boy, and Ryan isn&039;t ae&039;ve changed sides Should he ask" This Adam directed specifically to Charlie " I had every confidence in his ability to survive Good luck, Gale girl Good luck, nephew" The boy stiffened, beginning to fight off the effect of e into another reality "Let&039;s hope there&039;s enough luck to go around" Another flash of teeth Another tower of flaainst Roland as Adam took to the sky

"Allie, I don&039;t understand"

She looked past the boy&039;s head at Graham, who&039;d lowered his weapon because she&039;d needed him to "He&039;s Kalynchuk&039;s son"

"But he&039;s a"

"He&039;s that, too That lot up there" She jerked her head toward the battle raging above the clouds "They have a sister"

"What are you doing answering Charlotte&039;s phone, Michael?"

Michael moved the phone away from his ear Auntie Jane achieved impressive volume when annoyed "She left it with me"

"When she here?"

He frowned as he parsed the sentence "I can&039;t tell you"

"Don&039;t be ridiculous" It sounded like a warning

He could feel hi to sweat "They went to a park"

"They?"

Oops "Charlie and Allie"

"Charlotte and Alysha went to a park? I see" He was horribly afraid she did Right through the phone "And the boys? Wherever they are, they&039;re not answering their phones Now, you don&039;t want their mothers to worry, do you?"

"No?"

"Are they with Alysha?"

Yes or no questions couldn&039;t be faked "Yeah, but"

"So, the whole faerous or have they decided to take up lanced at his watch "It&039;s got to be past three AM where you are, Auntie Jane"

"I can tell the ti?"

"I can sleep when I&039;ly implied "Answer the question"

"Uh they&039;re just observing" He motioned Joe closer The leprechaun shook his head and backed up a couple of steps

"The Dragon Lords?"

She knew about the Dragon Lords That on Lords"

"And what are they observing the Dragon Lords doing?"

"I don&039;t know"

She could, apparently, hear the truth in that "I see," she sniffed after ato do with my sister?"

"With Gran? I don&039;t think so Do you think so?"

"I wouldn&039;t put it past her," Auntie Jane reat deal"

"Brian? Why were you talking to Brian?"

"He has your phoneYou should call hiht you were a nuht you were a coward Do not prove "

He listened to the dial tone for a moment, then closed the phone "Auntie Jane," he said to Joe

"I figured Don&039;t take this the wrong way, but the whole lying to relatives thing? You really suck at it"

"We have to get him to the apartment!" Allie wrapped her jacket around the boy&039;s shoulders "Do you have a na the jacket close

"And it is?"

"Why should I tell you?" The full upper lip curled "You are not my father!"

The special round safe in his pocket, Grahaazine of full metal jackets and almost said, "Your father sent me to kill you," but he didn&039;t know for certain, not one hundred percent for certain, that Kalynchuk knew the creature e, the boy, was his son For the sake of the years they&039;d spent together, he had to give him the benefit of the doubt

"Your father couldn&039;t make it," Allie told him "We&039;re here in his place"

"He sent you?"

"He sent rowled

The boy studied Grahah other colors slipped in and out "I can s the truth"

"Why didn&039;t he cohed "Oh, yeah Them They would devour him if they could My name is Jack My mother says it is a name for heroes"

Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack the Giant Killer

Little Jack Horner

Jack O&039;Neill

Captain Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack Harkness

Those were all the Jacks Allie could recall off the top of her head, but in her own defense she was a little distracted by the blue Dragon Lord falling froashes in its scales It hit the ground with less inited, disappeared

Half a dozen trees turned into torches

Allie threer at David The fires went out

They alon Lord, scales a rich chocolate brown, diving toward thereen than Ryan, dropping in from almost directly above

Graham snapped his weapon up and squeezed off a shot It hit the brown Dragon Lord in thejoined the body Spraying blood, he screa ind, pinwheeling the sinuous body doard the ground The Dragon Lord changed just before impact, ran half a dozen steps as a heavyset ain, and disappeared into the clouds

"We need to talk about this soround an eht"

"Didn&039;t I say we had to get Jack to the apart!"

"I want to go to et killed by your uncles"

Jack thought about that for a ht up to the rental car as they turned onto 9th Ave SW heading east As they passed 6th Street, as he passed 6th Street, as he drove right on by without even considering turning toward the office and Stanley Kalynchuk, he realized that this finalized the choice he&039;d made when he let Jack live He touched the shape of the special bullet in his vest pocket

His blood to make it fly true and Kalynchuk&039;s to make the kill

Did Kalynchuk know?

He&039;d made enemies in the UnderRealht have only sensed the power co, known it was an eneon Lords

Unless he&039;d thought it was theand not the child

Not hard to believe the e and the fact he&039;d fired that first shot to save Kalynchuk&039;s life alo and knew the sorcerer hadn&039;t been to the UnderRealon Lord and walked away, leaving a big scaly, flying, fire-breathing single mom behind

A trickle of sweat rolled down Grahaon Lords were not Human Didn&039;t matter what they sometimes looked like They were

Well, they weren&039;t That was the point

For Kalynchuk to actually

He ht have been forced Taken without his consent Not ever known there&039;d been a child

But blood ic wouldn&039;t kill without a blood connection

Would it?

Had he known?

"Put a gun to his fucking head if you have to" First time he&039;d ever used a pronoun And Grahaed

"Is the boy dead?"

The boy Not the enemy Or the creature

There didn&039;t seeive him

When David turned down into the alley behind the store, Graham followed Seee for the car; roo and still leave space for the garbage truck to pass He took his weapon with him-he didn&039;t know if Kalynchuk could show his displeasure by de-hexing the locks fro to take

The garage door slid closed behind hin it hadn&039;t slid closed in his face

Things had changed during the trip