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Brilance over his shoulder as he stu with sword and splashing holy water in their wake

The iron gate shone under the y black s the half-flying qinggong skills Kritanu had taught hiate, Max didn’t hesitate but lifted Wayren over his horse and untied the reins looped over a tree branch A quick glance told hiate, but just as Max leapt into the saddle, he saith horror that Brim, who had put one foot onto the curved ulfed by the black shadows They pelted down on hiht, and the man crumpled to his knees, devoured by the shadows

ChristMax looked back, knowing he couldn’t return, knowing he had to get Wayren to safety Every bit of his being needed to return, begged to go back and help… to save Brim… and Victoria Victoria

She would be next

Yet he knehat had to be done; he’d lectured Victoria about it often enough

You can no longer think only of yourself, of your needs and desires Youconsequences of your actions

And that hy he had to wheel the horse around and slam his heels into its flanks and ride pell-mell back to town, back to the house where Kritanu waited… back to where Wayren would be safe

And it was also why he must leave London

He shoved Wayren forward so she sagged, propped against the horse’s neck, then leapt off He couldn’t do it, by God

Twenty jarring, running steps took hiate, where the black shadows pitched, and dove against Brim Sword in his hand, Max noticed how his ar blood Ears ringing, he reached the daate in ti black The gleah the air as Max joined the fray, sending one of the attackers into swirls of dark fog

Raising his oeapon at one of the swooping birdlike creatures, he lunged at the ah the evil black shadow as though through a fog, and a streak of cold paralyzed hi with the sudden overwhelered against the stone wall But he raised that sword again, feeling the screa his ar into the back of his shoulders, gouging in the sauttural cry of pain as he turned again The sas heavy, but Max aih the being Stu curls

Breathless with exertion, nearly blind with pain, Max lunged forward again Unable to rise froht to beat back the never-ending crowd of shadows, slashing up and out with his sword Despite the blood streah the air with every ht hard… but not as quickly and powerfully as Vioget, whose blade suddenly appeared, slashing and gleaht

The blondinto the fray,attack of the shadows Max’s , caet cao"

Blood streaked his handsome face, but determination-and a bit of satisfaction-twisted his lips After so ain

Max et, and said, "Bring her back This tier dissolved the satisfaction there He knew Max was referring to when Vioget’s grandfather, the vaard, had nearly turned Victoria-and Max had been the one to bring her back Sebastian alone couldn’t have done it

Then Max whirled away, ducking under another darting shadow He slashed above hiroeary… and he felt that blast of nauseating, paralyzing cold stagger him He nearly fell, saw the red eyes and bared teeth of the deain control of his sword-but Sebastian was there, with his gleaain

As the creature disintegrated into a foul-sle of coils, Max ran unsteadily toward the horse, where Wayren still slulike tendril teased after hi back, given the de he hadup the reins, he slipped an arainst hied forith a great leap, and Max bent low, closing his eyes for a h his body

After no more than a pace or two, he looked behind hi black cloud that was still somehow contained by the walls of the cemetery, except for a few slender tendrils He pulled back on the reins, ignoring the agonizing pain in his back and are ahead… but Max forced hiain

The black cloud pitched and rolled, clear below the night sky lightened by moon and stars It crept beyond the boundaries of the ce of the wind as it crooned eerily… It sought soone

Bloody hell He’d never seen anything like this Ice settled over hi unaccountably evil burned here So