“WEST SALEM ~ October 2011A sudden vision, fraught with malevolence and darkness, obscured her sight. The face of a menacing figure turned from the shadows of his grisly handiwork and stared at Sorcha.Her muscles tensed. By the Goddess, could he see her?Please! No!She wanted to scream, to run, but the vision ensnared her into the horrific moment like a fly in a spider’s web.”

“Too long, much too long.”

“Are we talking hell hounds and flames here?” Des asked, pacing at the end of our beds.I repeated the question and gave a heaving sigh of relief when Jameson said I had the wrong idea.”He’s going to ‘lead us into temptation.'””That doesn’t sound so bad,” Des said with a cheeky grin.”

“I didn’t want to go to hell, but even the idea of reclaining my halo scared me because it would mean leaving Aly.”

“MacKenzie grinned at Mim. “They love the modern appliances.””Especially the electric floor sweeper,” Valor chuckled.”Defiance really has a thing for the vacuum cleaner,” MacKenzie agreed in a secretive whisper.”If he ever has kids, he’ll probably name the first one Hoover,” Havoc snickered.”

“Oh heaven and hell, stop with the tears. Given the day Sarah had just had, the tears were logical. But watching her face crumple, hearing the gut-deep harsh sobs, filled Rukh with an irrational need to pull her into his arms, wrap her in a hug.As soon as the urge had gelled into conscious thought, his essence hardened into visibility and his arms slid up around her shivering, wet body.Sarah’s eyes popped open and she staggered back with a yell.His arms tightened around her, steadying her, keeping her close. Well, shit. At least, she’d stoppedcrying.Fear-bright green eyes stared at him instead.Given he was an assassin, sent to kill her, her response was natural, even intelligent. Yet, bitterness churned in his gut at the thought of her fearing him. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”“Am I hallucinating?” Her question came out as a croak.“Yes, yes you are.” That seemed a much better answer than the truth.She pinned him with her dark, direct gaze. “You’re just a figment of my imagination. A fantasy?”“Yes.” He didn’t dare move.“Then why are you still wearing clothes?”

“Whatever hypnotizing charms I may have over boys, did not in fact work on three hundred pound girl elves. Not that I would ever try it again.”

“She closed her eyes briefly, feeling sick. Olivia had experienced strangulation before. Having to look directly into the face of the person who was killing you made the experience beyond awful. But there were worse things than that. Staring into the void of unresolved memory, living an eternal mystery, waking up night after night seeing the face of someone you desperately wanted to save but having not the slightest clue how to do it—all that was worse. If going through with this experience gave her the answers she needed, if it gave her peace, it would be well worth one-hundred-and-thirty seconds of fear and pain.”

“What the hell was going on, why did I care, and why, oh why, did I not carry a pocket rocket in my purse? My girlie bits were still on fire, screaming for release after Mr. Sex God’s orgasmic touch.”

“There ought to be a law that allows eavesdroppers to sue.”

“But as Ana pulled away on a west-bound highway with a werewolf riding shotgun and her thirst for blood calling yet again, she had this thought: Maybe a Misfit could never be normal, no matter how badly it wanted to.”

“We have formed a sick little friendship over the past year”

“Why didn’t you let me die? You could have finally been free.””I gave up trying to imagine a world without you.” – Essallie & Kayden”

“I write–because I must write.”

“You’re fearless.”Draven laughed loudly and shook his head. Zarah frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.“No, I’m not. Trust me. I’m scared all the time. You scare the living hell out of me.”Her jaw dropped. “I scare you?”“Anyone who isn’t scared of you is insane.”