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Lets go back to the office and see if we can rent a four bedroom. Salyer may not be here now, but I think he is. We can check out that naval base, and I have a lot to tell the three of you. She keeps her eyes closed until her senses return. Everything hurts. She feels like one colossal tooth-ache; that cold, sharp agony of an infected root. She has to fight to keep her face still. She wants to grimace. To grimace and roar. Shan threw the punch before he even thought about it. His fist connected with the Seers jaw and threw him back to the ground. This time he didnt move. Rowan glances her way. She has his attention.I dont suppose she desperately wants to share the story of what happened to her, does she? Go on, be kind to your uncle, tell me a good-natured lie. Tell me theres a story in this which will fix all my problems. Now her friends were interested. Mr. Johnson shook his head before lowering it to his wifes. My wife didnt mean that. I hope you understand. Jeren knew the moment Gilliads son took his first breath. What had been a riot of noise, confusion and magic inside her flared one final time and then simply faded away. The magic followed the direct line of succession, ancestral voices to whisper advice to the ruler of River Holt, or drive them insane. Father to son, or daughter, brother to sister only when there was no child. And now there was. She had never known for sure if the baby would inherit the power, part of her prayed that it would be free, but now she had her answer. The curse would live on, dormant for fifteen or twenty years—so the voices in her mind had assured her—but viable, ready to begin again when the child was old enough. Not even the gods who had cursed her ancestors would be so cruel as to inflict it on a child. Not when tearing her life apart had been so much more fulfilling. She must have sated them just a little with all she had given up. Her heartbreak and loss just a little compensation for her familys ancient sins. Youre True Blood. Nothing will happen up here. Neither for bad or for good. Were just sitting here, Jeren—my lady, he added hurriedly. We sit here as the days unfold and he does one terrible thing after another. People are vanishing all over River Holt lands. They say even the prisons are empty now, the poor quarters deserted. You know what hes doing to them, where theyve gone. As Ruth Frances Long, she also writes dark young adult fantasy, such asThe Treachery of Beautiful Things (Dial, Penguin (USA)), and the Dubh Linn trilogy, A Crack in Everything,A Hollow in the Hills andA Darkness at the End. (OBrien Press). 4 Things from Andalstrom, things from the prison beyond, creatures of Khains imaginings. They called out for the guards, for Jeren to defend them with her magic, for the Shistra-Phail to stop the monsters. Wont you join us for supper? Hes content, at least, she said. Ah, Mr Shell, begins Rideal, stammering. We were actually looking for him ourselves. But you know these travellers – they dont stay still for ever …, My gaze fell on the pink envelope Id tossed in the passenger seat. It was the size of a card and probably contained late condolences for my fathers death.Open it. I kept one hand on the wheel as I placed the card on my lap and ripped open the top. A photo fell out, and my heart raced as I pulled to the side of the road.Emma. She was almost two, and her hair fell to just below her shoulders. Her face was creased in a chubby smile as she looked up at something above her. She was more beautiful than I could have imagined. I flipped the picture over, and the tears Id held in trickled from beneath my lashes.She would die for you. Would you die for her? I’ll be waiting for your answer. Jeren sighed. That was a long time ago. How strange to think of it now. There are bodies down there, says Catherine, quietly. Because its so deep, they dont decay. They just go white, like a statue. Like a candle, I suppose. Daddy said. Shan closed his eyes, trying to still himself.Untie me, he told the Sect Mother in his most calm and confident voice. “Ill get us out of here. Maybe its Jasmine Elam. The photo we looked at wasnt all that clear. He groaned slightly as he rose. Hard on old knees..