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We have to find a way

"It’s just a house," she said, and kept s you win"

But she knew that the first half of that was a lie The Glass House was never just a house

Not to the a friend to drive, since his eyes were swelling shut and his face was a gory ht, looked like soht have rejected as "too weird" It was ae she’d done to hiuilty about it That was the difference between her and Shane in the end, she thought; she couldn’t take any pride in her violence

But it was still good to know she could defend herself when it was necessary

The guards didn’t say anything to her on the way She thought they were too angry to try to be civil, and truthfully, she didn’t want to talk to the the dusty crack between the seat and the backrest, trying to see if anyone had dropped soarette but was probably soal, and left it there Just when she was about to give it up as a lost cause, her fingers brushed across sorabbed for it, and realized it was a paper clip, one of the larger, sturdier ones

She teased it out slowly from between the fabric, then tried to think how to hide it She settled for sliding it into a frayed opening in the jeans she earing, and clipping it to the thin white strings so that it dangled inside It ht fall off, but it was all she could do in case they searched her

Not a long ride in the police car-- Hannah was evidently al- lowing use of official equipuards, which seemed like a bad idea to Claire-- before they pulled up at the front of the iron gates of an old, brooding place that looked as if it had been built to be so Gothic doors The sign above the door read

The guards turned to look at her as they pulled the car to a halt inside the gates, next to the front door "Don’t give us any more trouble," said the one whose nose she hadn’t busted "I don’t like whaling on skinny little girls, but if you pull a stunt like that again, I proround"

The other onethat sounded like ap- proval, but between his congested nose and his badShe sat quietly as the uninjured man opened her door and then let hi her wrists bound behind her backabout ten tiray -- the asylu to collapse and bury her, and she felt a s out of here, she thought Me and Eve, we’re blowing this place and saving the Glass House and Michael and Oliver and Myrnin and ed to plant one deep, sprouting seed of doubt Because what did "all right" reallyto oppress and disadvantage hu va to kill them? Constant tension and bloodshed, on both sides? Was she on the right side-- or was there a right side at all? There had to be, on balance You have to be on the side of the ones being hunted and i sense that in thisside of the line was really starting to scare her

Or it did until the old Gothic doors swung open, and Dr Irene Anderson stepped out to greet thee, when Claire had liked her so much as a mentor; she looked calent of evil and chaos

The white coat she earing gave her even ave Claire was both pleased and chill- ing "So glad to see you again, Claire," she said "Please, coet to work to- gether again for the coood"

"If that means not at all, then yes," Claire said She had a real reluctance to take the two steps up to the doorhere Ander- son waited, but there didn’t seem to be much choice The tannabe cops behind her would push her in if she didn’t go on her own, and Anderson would get a lot of pleasure out of that Out of her fear

Claire held eye contact and walked up to join Dr Anderson, who put a friendly hand on her shoulder "So nice to see you again," she said, and it was a lie, and the look in her eyes was unreadable "Don’t be afraid We’re going to help you get past these feelings of loyalty you have to the vampires It’s not your fault

More of a Stockhol to please those with power over you so you can survive Nothing to be asha to be fixed"

"Thanks Can you take these off, please?" Claire rattled her handcuffs Anderson’s smile deepened and turned just a touch mean

"Maybe later," she said "It looks to me like you’ve taken on some very bad habits, Claire I want to be sure I can trust you first"

"You can trust me," Claire said

"To do what? Act out? Yes, I’m certain I can trust you to be as much of a handful as possiblelike your friend Eve"

Claire couldn’t help but ask "Is she all right?"

"Fine," Anderson said "You’ll see her soon"