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Huirl who couldn’t get a date to the senior proed to the gills in the loony bin after inadvertently bringing about the death of her first great love

She was suddenly the belle of the ball

‘What do I do?’ My voice was bleak when I finally spoke Anyan took ative Maybe the poill go away Or maybe the creature will take it back’

I reht after she’d dupedthe labrys, that it was all mine now She’d seemed sad when she said it, and I noondered if her words weren’t loaded with other s

Automatically, I reached for the place the creature inhabited in myon the White, it had been er

I knocked and got no answer, so I replied to Anyan

‘No, you were right to bring it up Especially now We’ve got to keep an eye on Trevor It’s not like he can disappear me to Guantánamo, not with the creature able to apparate h about me to make h about me – Jack, Luke, all of the friends and relations abducted to get me to cooperate’

‘We can keep people safe,’ Anyan said, but his voice was doubtful He knew better; he was just trying to easethem ourselves My dad doesn’t want to live out his life in hiding And Grizzie and Tracy are having their babies They won’t want to raise the out your life as a human at Ryu’s cohtful cousin had once brought a human ‘snack lunch’ to a coiant melee The human had been killed, and I doubt Nyx had even noticed She certainly hadn’t cared

‘They don’t have to go to the compound; they could be with us…’

‘While we hide out, too That’d be a fun life All of us on the laht this up now You were a it up I can’t take this treatuard down, even for a second, around people like Trevor’

Anyan handed me one of the little sandwiches, the last one spread with cream cheese, s I shtfully and sing before talking again

‘The irony of all this is that if one of the to be sorely disappointed’

Anyan cocked his head ‘Why?’

‘Because I’m a terrible champion’ Anyan was obviously about to protest, so I raised ot all this power, but I’ht you back as a team, and you’re like the ’

Anyan htstand, then reached forward to draw me into his arms He pulled me across him, so ere cuddled close I let the warone cold

‘You’ll never be nothing, Jane And I’ll always be on your teae that But I understand what you’re really saying’

Of course he did Anyan listened

‘I couldn’t ask it of the , for it was the truth

I’d changed ly stepped into the champion’s shoes; there was no question about that But so as they were around, they were a threat to everybody Fighting them wasn’t only my battle; it was really everyone’s So Teahting for everyone, and I was just the (ax-wielding) figurehead

But if Ito keep Team Jane around one, and the gods only knehat all the various factions coht for And meanwhile I was useless withoutmy life without my friends, my family, my routine…