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"Between its eyes! The one between its--"

"It doesn’t have any eyes!" he screeched as the creature threw Caleb into the line of vamps and launched itself at us--

And exploded into a bunch of bronze-colored junk when Casanova got off the shot of the century

He looked even more surprised than I was, and his hands started to shake But when I grabbed him and screamed, "Shoot the jewels, tell your men to shoot the--"

He did

At least, I assumed he did; I don’t hear vampire co around, worrying about crowd control, suddenly spun and started shooting every Allû in sight And while huets smaller than M&M’s half a football field away

These weren’t human

For a second, I just sprawled there on my bruised butt And watched as suits of ar on rooftops or getting thrown off the reed deraine was pounding at htly hts went out

Chapter Twenty

The neon cactuses dancing on a bar sign opposite us abruptly went dark The couple of dozen cell phone screens, which people had been holding up to record the shoent dead The strings of Christ the fake donkey winked out And then all of it was replaced by a huge blue-black nothingness that tore at e It was old, old, so very old; I could usually guess vaes, but thisI didn’t have words for this Or air, when its power slaasp in a breath, and didn’t have to ask as happening

If this wasn’t the deht to be

A voice that spoke every language and none came from all directions at once "You summoned us?"

"How kind of you to finally notice!" Rosier snarled as I cliain hat felt like an invisible fist tightened aroundI couldn’t hear over the vast ocean crashing into led by a diseeance, only they couldn’t without bodies And anyway, I knew that hand I just didn’t knohat it was doing down here since the bastard of a demon lord it was attached to was on a carpet five stories up

Pritkin was shouting so, but I couldn’t tell if it was atAll I could hear was the rushing of waves and the pounding of ish beat like I was about to pass out But if I did, this would all have been for nothing If I did, Pritkin would go back to his prison, if not face a worse fate for daring to leave it If I did, the creatures who had sent their da else to finish the job, and remove a probleain, since that was about as likely as flying right now I didn’t even try to follohatever was being said, because that clearly wasn’t happening, either I concentrated everything I had on just gettingaroundbesides drool To soed Pritkin across three worlds to say

And I guess I h I couldn’t hear ht, like a single star glowing in the distance And then right in front of ht and uncannily beautiful this close, showeringcolors

I stared into it, half-e to reach out and touch it, if I had been able to ain, unsure if I’d spoken aloud, or only in my head "Artemiswould address the council"

"The one you call Arteht infor?"

I tried to answer, but the only thing that ca wheeze It felt like the horse that had been sitting on my chest had just been joined by an elephant Rosier really didn’t want me to speak, which only ave syou need to under--awk" My little speech was abruptly terminated when the elephant was joined by a couple of its buddies

And okay, that was it I couldn’t talk anymore, couldn’t even breathe It felt like htout the rest of the room, and the power that ith it

"Youyou’re the council?" I gasped as the pressure abruptly eased

"I am the Gatekeeper, child I summon the council, if the need is sufficient Tell me, why should I sue"

The light reflected on this for a s "Give it to me, and I will relay it to them"

And maybe it was me, but the nonvoice had taken on a sly note I really didn’t like

"She said" I licked my lips and forced out the words "She saidit would only workif I play it in front of the full council"

"Play" The light fluctuated "It is a recording?"

"Yes Sort of" I wasn’t really clear on that part, but this didn’t see it up

"From she whom you call Artemisto us?"