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Rowan finds himself smiling at her. She strikes him at once as a sort of pleasing disaster: a whirlwind of good intentions haplessly executed. Hes met her, or those a lot like her, countless times before: scatter-brained and stressed to the point of aneurysm, terrified of causing offence or upsetting anybody. Her voice is soft and breathy and fast and Rowan gets the impression that if she were to receive one word of kindness or a squeezeof the shoulder, she would burst into tears and disintegrate. With her arms full, her elbows stick out like wings. The pitch eyes of a deformed monster stared out of the screen, her jaws snapping free at the hinges, mouth stretching, thin teeth pushing through her gums like sewing needles. The demon drove a talon through the hazy barrier between waking and sleep. What can we do? Rowan presses his lips together.I appreciate this call, he says, sincerely. “I would never have used your name. Not for this or anything else. If there are consequences, Ill face them. Come back for me. She only whispered the words. She couldnt say them any louder. Please. Dont forget me. No celebration here. Just a semi-circle of confused faces peering up at the destroyed painting. Her sister remained quiet, her lips and tongue carved from her head, eyeless sockets staring from a skinned face. Her parents stood either side, both frowning at the picture, oblivious to their hacked throats. Even Lily and Dale had stayed. Her nightmare, her worst imaginings, and the one thing she dreaded above all others. Its a disgrace, says Rowan, and means it. But to do it properly I need some case studies and thankfully Ive got a belter right on my doorstep. I mentioned it in the book but only in passing. Ive been going through the online archive and apart from a couple of paltry snippets and apicture, it’s barely had any coverage. Indarin must have sensed Jerens iron will reasserting its control for he released her. She didnt miss the fact that he wiped his hand down on his hip as he strode ahead of her. He didnt want to be anywhere near her, not really. Like Shan had been once. Disgusted. But still with her. Just like Shan. With a sickening crack, something struck the back of Gilliads head. Shock froze him for an instant, and then he went down, a crumpled heap in the dirt. Behind him stood Jeren, her face white, her eyes ringed with bruise-like shadows. She dropped the heavy door bar which had imprisoned him in this cell and scooped Shans sect knife from her brothers limp hand, holding it like a shard of ice. It shook wildly. Or she did. Samara shut her mouth and quickly nodded, gazing up at him. He hadnt hit her since shed been a kid. Dont say I didnt warn you. I continued outside and turned left. The gravesite is at the top of that hill. You still have time to change your mind. The sermon ended. I stepped forward, took a handful of dirt, and sprinkled it over the coffin. Rivers was watching me. I hoped he had the decency to turn and walk away. His condolences werent needed. Nor would they be welcome. Damn him, I whispered as he walked toward me. Tunstall. Rideal. Thats why I said scope it out. He has to have a generator on the property somewhere to feed electricity to the areas hes using. The sensors could be battery operated, but I doubt it if hes been using the same place for the last two years. If we find the generator and cut the power, we might have a chance to save them. Samara sipped at her drink. Shed have to get a move on to finish it before the next, but this was the night for fast drinking. Was Lily trying to get time alone with big boy Kieran? Or was she trying to allow Samara a moment with Mike?.