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But first I intended to haveto happen until I had a caffeine infusion

I loaded the coffeerounds and water, then waited ilanced at the clock as I stirred in ar and creah time to check my email before I had to head out, which was convenient since I had an annoying tendency to forget to check it when I was at ho inbox, but soement spam orth a chuckle

I sipped cautiously as I walked down the hall to the living roo in silly pleasure as the coffee worked its lovely sti on the desk, then went still

Sohwas out of place

The chair It was pushed all the way in I never did that A chill ran downfreaked Okay, so it’s more than possible that I actually did push it in after I used it last tiain, I never do that Pushing in the chair was likethe bed--they were both actions I considered to be totally pointless since I wasto undo it the next tiaze swept over the desk and cos out of place It was all little inconsequential thingsthe ether it was an unnerving whole And, when I finally sat down at the computer, I realized that the monitor had been adjusted as well For someone taller

It’s impossible This house is warded to the teeth I’d learnedwith the wards atthe deet my own house as secure as it could be

I took a deep breath in an attempt to control my stupid paranoia This was insane Why the hell would so the mouse to clear the screensaver, I was relieved to see the faht of my computer desktop At least it still worked

I leaned back inat the screen I dozed off for a few minutes, after Rhyzkahl and IHad it only been a fewHad he used that opportunity to come up here andwhat, surf the Internet? It sounded insane And hoould he kno to use a computer? And why?

Unless he was sie sort of sense But why hide it from me?

I rubbed my arms, chilled by uncertainty I didn’t knohether I wanted to su hi as possible

I scowled I couldn’t suain It would be several days before I could store enough power to do so Besides, ould it acco my computer, and he would say, Yes, I did, and I would say soain?

Yeah, that would be effective

But the acceptance that I wasn’t i to su about the whole thing pretty heavily while I drove over to Jill’s house I wanted badly to talk to so to be Ryan And I didn’t want to go anywhere near the subject of Rhyzkahl withme out of bed early? Then she could listen to all of

Jill lived about half a mile from my aunt Tessa, in a house that ithin about two blocks of being in a rather crummy section of town I always made sure to lock my car doors whenever I went over to her place However, I loved her house It o stories, small and skinny, painted in a dusky blue that I adored, and raised a few feet off the ground Soo, you lazy bitch!" I yelled as I cah the front door

"Bite me, you whore!" I heard the cheerful reply frohed and headed to the back Her house couldn’t have been ht hundred square feet--and that was counting both floors, but it was all tucked together neatly and efficiently The front of the house was the living area and the back was the kitchen There was only one bedroo with a bathrooet upstairs was by way of an utterly char to put one of those infact that my house had only one story And I couldn’t replace the basement stairs with a spiral staircase, since ate it

Thus I was reduced to lusting after Jill’s

Jill was perched on a stool with one foot on her counter as she tied the laces of her shoe, and I silently en-vied the s Slender and petite, she had the sleek athletic build of so Her red hair was cut into an adorable pixie style that I’d alanted to try, but had long ago accepted could never pull off with h she was far fro--yes Adorable? Not in this lifetime

"I think I need new shoes," she said sourly "I had to superglue the sole of this one back on last night Why do they have to be so da," I replied "Make you better runner Faster All that stuff"

"Ha Make you broker runner"

"Y’know, if your shoe is falling apart, it ht be safer to not run," I said, probably a little too hopefully

She gaveout of this" She laughed as I stuck ht!"

"Would have been a lot h-the-city part"