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Generally speaking, the scent of hu as that of a lesser or a va that you had to pay a little attention to

As Xhex threw a leg over her Ducati, she sniffed the air again

Definitely hu her watch, she saw she had a little extra tireet, and whereas in the norive any kind of ht of current events in the black-market trade, she dismounted, took her key, and dematerialized in that direction

Over the last three s don Well duh on that But the ones she had been interested in were not the sloppy gang-related drive-bys, or the heat-of-passion trigger fingers, or the drunken hit-and-runs Her group fell into the fourth big catchall - drug related

Except not in your run-of-the-mill kind of way

The deaths were all suicides

Middleht - and really, ere the chances that so many of those motherfuckers would develop a conscience at the sa a moral additive in the Caldater system In which case Trez would be out of business on a couple of different levels - and he wasn&039;t

The huone national The politicians were all excited and getting up on their stumps

She&039;d even tried to do so had always been of the day/late, dollar/short variety

Then again, she already knew the answer to a lot of those hue syee whiz the uys who ate their own bullets, theto show up on heroin and Ecstasy packaging now, not just cocaine

The varadually staking their clai huene pool, they&039;dtrade: All that were left were street-corner retailers and Benloise, the big-fish supplier

As she took forotten to the scene right after it had all gone down: There were two guysfaceup with unseeing eyes Both had guns in their hands and holes in the fronts of their brains, and the car that the RIPs had co from its tailpipe

None of that hat she cared about, however What she was really interested in was the uar, his black hair flashing blue in the overhead light of an archway

Guess her day/dollar ratio was on an upswing

With a quick shift, she re-formed in front of his car, and thanks to the fact that he had no headlights on, she caught a good look at his face in the glow froht, as his head shot up to her

The slow laugh that cahts: deep, war "The fair Xhexania"

"Assail Welcome to the New World"

"I had heard you were here"

"Likewise" She nodded at the bodies "I understand that you&039;ve been perfor a public service"

The vampire assuive ht"

"You can&039;t tell me you care about these rats without tails?"

"I care that your product has been in ant brows peaked over those cold eyes "You ith humans?"

"Keep them in line is more like it"

"And you don&039;t approve of chemicals"

"Thethey are"

There was a long pause "You look good, Xhex But you always did"

She thought of John and the way he&039;d handled that vao It would be a different scenario with Assail - John would have much more fun with a worthier opponent, and Assail was capable of anything

With a shot of pain, she abruptly wondered whether herfor her now

Things were different between theood way All those summertime resolutions to stay close and connected had faded under the grind of their nightly jobs, those short bursts of seeing each other see to create more distance than they cured

Until now, in the cold weather of fall, their visits were harder, less frequent Less sexual, too

"What&039;s the matter, Xhex," Assail said softly "I can smell pain"

"You overestimate your nose - and your reach, if you think you can take over Caldwell so fast You&039;re trying to fill soe&039;s, you mean"

"Precisely"

"Does thathouse?"

"Not on your life"

"How about on yours?" He tempered that one with a smile "I&039;ve always liked you, Xhex If you ever want a real job, come find me - I don&039;t have a problem with half-breeds"

Annnnd didn&039;t that little ditty make her want to kick him in the teeth "Sorry, I like where I&039; to your scent, you don&039;t" As he turned the car engine on, the subtle growl foretold all kinds of horses under the hood "I&039;ll see you around"

With a casual wave, he shut hi on his lights

As she stared at the dead he&039;d left behind, she thought, well, at least she had a naood news Assail was the kind of male you didn&039;t turn your back on for an instant A chameleon without a conscience, he could be a thousand different faces to a thousand different people - with no one ever knowing the real him

For example, she didn&039;t believe he found her attractive for one moment It was just a comment to put her off balance And it had worked; just not for the reason he&039;d intended

God, John

This shit between the thes work; unable to let things go

It was aback to her bike, she lasses on to protect her eyes, and took off As she headed out of don, she blew past a fleet of CPD squad cars with their lights flashing and sirens blaring, going as fast as their tires would take them tohere she had just been

Have fun, boys, she thought

Wonder if they had a protocol for multiple suicides by now

She herself headed north toward the mountains It would have been more efficient to just dematerialize, but she needed to air her head out, and there was nothing like doing eighty on a rural road to get your skull clean as a whistle With the cold air shoving her aviators back onto her nose, and her biker&039;s jacket forine even harder, stretching out flat over the bike, beco one with the machine

As she closed in on the Brotherhood&039;s reed to this Maybe it was just surprise at the request Maybe she wanted to run into John Maybe she was looking for so of sadness she was living in

Then again,with her et worse

About fifteen minutes later, she turned off the road and ran s down, so she didn&039;t hit a deer or a tree, she gradually ascended the ates that were si center entrance

There was barely a delay at each of the security cah the last barricade, and started on the wide turn that led to the courtyard, her heart relocated to her gut Dayue stone house still looked the saed at all? There could be a nuclear bo the northeast coast and the place would still be solid

This fortress, cockroaches, and Twinkies All that would be left

She parked the Ducati just beyond the stone steps that went up to the front door, but she didn&039;t dis jaoyles that had caht

Enter at your own risk was the point

A quick check of her watch told her what she already knew: John would already be out for the night, fighting in the part of town she had just left -

Xhex cranked her head to the left

Her ardens behind the house

This was good She didn&039;t want to go inside Didn&039;t want to walk across the foyer Didn&039;t want to re of when she&039;d beento be like

Dee, she had no trouble orienting herself She and John had wandered out here in the spring, ducking beneath the budding branches of the fruit trees, breathing in the forgotten sainst the chill that they kneas not long for the air

So iven where they were now, it seeone, that vital blooround, the branches were bare once again, and everything was about hunkering down

Well, wasn&039;t she a Hall in on herthe side of the house, passing by the French doors of the billiards room and the library

No&039;One was down at the pool&039;s edge, a still figure spotlit by the blue gloater that was yet to be drained

Wow Xhex thought Soed with the female, and whatever the shift was, it had altered rid was jumbled up, but not in a bad way;extensive renovations It was a good start, a positive transfor

"Attaboy, Tohr," Xhex murmured under her breath

As if she had heard, No&039;One looked over her shoulder - and that hen Xhex realized that the hood that was always up was down, herthat the stuff was braided, with the long end tucked under the robing

Xhex waited for fear to light up that grid And waited And waited

Holy shit, so," No&039;One said as Xhex approached

That voice was different A little deeper Surer

She had been transfor me," Xhex replied

"You look well"

"As do you"

Stopping in front of her ht from the pool played across the female&039;s perfectly lovely face And in the quiet that followed, Xhex frowned, inforh her sensory receptors, the picture filling out

"You are stuck," she said, thinking that was kind of ironic

Her mother&039;s brows flared "As a matter of fact I am"

"Funny" Xhex looked at the sky "Me, too"

Staring up at the strong, proud feest connection to her daughter: as the restless reflections froray eyes held an edgy frustration similar to her own