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You can’t make that promise I took a deep breath, tried to think withI wasn’t ret "Okay But don’t bother checking his condo I can guarantee that JB’s been sleeping at the office since all this started"

"That may have protected hiency have wards to keep out vampires?"

"Yes," I said "But if he was out on a soul pickup, or if he decided to fight the vaht in a witch to break the wards," Beezle said

"A witch," I said, looking at Nathaniel "A witch could have put all the patients in the hospital under that sleeping spell"

"Another player?" Chloe said "How big is this gaame"

"It is to Therion," Chloe said "And probably to Lucifer, too"

She was right, but it really went against the grain for ht but me

"I’ll be back within a day," Jude pro to the floor

I walked him to the front door, opened it, and followed hied into the cold on the front porch

It had snowed again in the last couple of days The streets were unplowed, the sidewalks unshoveled Jude nudged the palm of my hand with his nose

I looked down at him steadily "You come back in one piece, you understand?"

Jude barked once He took off running A moment later all that was left of him was fresh paw prints in the snow I stayed there for ain the cold Then I went back upstairs, noondering whether I would lose two friends to this folly

Beezle and Chloe had demolished pretty

I put yours in the kitchen, Sa the empty plates away Nathaniel helped Samiel carry the eed The old Nathaniel would never have done "the work of a servant"

Had he been changing all along, or was this another side effect of the spell? Or--and this was ht I wanted?

Samiel returned with my plate, the food covered by another dish so it would stay warm Chloe looked expectantly at et it," I said

She looked slightly disappointed, but not surprised

Beezle had already retired to his favorite pillow on the couch He sprawled on his back in a sunbeam, his belly at least two times its normal size His eyes were closed

"You look like you sed a basketball," I said