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"And you’re the one earing Jae"

The rider stared at h Michael Hancock’s eyes The shock showed first, and then he threw his head back and laughed

That scared ht have done Myto jump from the chair, to run for cover But ere in a crowded roo stupid Would he?

When he looked at littered with aain filled his irises

"It’s almost a shame," he said "I wasn’t done with this body yet, but you You are interesting, and I can’t let you spread your little theory I’ve never experienced being a female of your kind" He pulled a revolver, the ht should have kicked in, should have made rip on--at hier’s urging didn’t penetrate un Lifted it But not at un under his own chin

Tiht up, and I juer and the deafening bang of the gun boo inside Michael smiled at me before the body crumbled

The room went utterly silent, still Then the first scream sounded, followed by a chorus of screa as people pushed to their feet Chaos broke out as diners rushed for the exit A chair toppled, sending oneNo one stopped to help hipool of blood for away fro, that awful, miasmic cloud that was both pure darkness and si out of Michael’s body

"Go," I whispered, switchingme away, but I jerked free This close, I could feel the rider, feel the dark energy in it, taste the wind blowing through it Wind I knew The saet away fro out of Michael’s corpse growing larger, thicker

"You think I’d leave you here alone?" Falin’s daggers appeared in his hands I doubted they’d touch this thing, but at least he hadn’t drawn a gun

"How are you going to fight what you can’t see?" I asked, sparing aform

"Then make me see it"

I blinked It was possible It probably wouldn’t be any harder to y didn’t feel that different, just darker, so much darker I shivered

It was free of the body now It had no face, but I could feel it studying lared at er and sorrow as he freed the stunned soul of a man who shouldn’t have died But I didn’t have ti, fast

I openedthe planes of reality wash overaround it turning uncertain for aspoke as that I felt the words crawl intostar you are I’ll enjoy you"

Then it dove for ht it had a more defined forrab, no blows to block It ca

But I was a planeweaver, and like it or not, planes converged throughme real, solid, on every plane I touched The rider sla to seep intoThe rider drew back I could feel the thing’s confusion, but that bled to anger before I could get e poured over me, a psychic assault that ra me on ainst my skin as the rider searched for cracks in ain, the attack both physical and psychic as it ripped into the still open wounds where a soul-sucking spell had snaked through o Disorientation and pain swept over me as it tore into my very soul

And that was the downside of physically interacting with all planes

I screaers of my free hand into the center of the rider’s e, but I didn’t have to grab hold, I just had to pull

"Welcome to reality, asshole," I leam of Falin’s blades flashed He attacked witha runnel in the dark ’s screaible than audible as it roared in fury and pain I pulled back ain I didn’t know if it could bleed, if it could die, but it could definitely be hurt