Gale Force

in the world.

I didn't drop, though I'm sure everybody expected me to. Instead, I turned to David and asked in

what seemed like a very normal tone of voice, ''How badly are we screwed?''

He should have rushed to me, taken me in his arms. It was what he always did-what I expected

him to do.

But he stayed where he was, watching me, and I no longer understood what I saw in his bright,

burning-pe

He said, ''Ashan was right. The vow we exchanged has made the New Dji

the Rule of Three. My people are at risk now. From yours. We did this, the two of us.''

He sounded . . . distant. Almost cold. I couldn't control a shiver. Go to him, I told myself, but I

couldn't seem to move. If I moved, I'd fall down.

''He's already turned Rahel to his cause,'' he continued. ''She belongs to him. You can't trust

her anymore. Remember that.''

He sounded so alone. I got myself steadied, a little, and took a step toward him.

He stepped back. Keeping plenty of space between us.

''I can't,'' he said. ''I'm sorry. I have to see to the safety of my people now.''

''David-''

For an instant, I saw the torment inside him, and it stopped whatever I was going to say dead in

my throat. ''I can't,'' he whispered. ''He's destroying her. He's taking great pleasure in it. How

many more of my people have to die, Jo? We're not mortal. This shouldn't be happening to us. It

should never have happened.'' He blinked, and the metallic shine came back in his eyes. ''I'm

sorry.''

The Dji

He hadn't even said good-bye.

I collapsed to my knees. Someone-I didn't even see who-helped me up. I told everyone to get

out, but they wouldn't. Understandable, I supposed.

I went into the bathroom, slammed and locked the door, and ski

to get a look at my right shoulder blade.

Bad Bob had branded me, the same way he'd branded his Sentinels. It was a mark in the shape of

a torch. The old stains left from the Demon Mark I'd once carried had given him a gateway . . .

like a cut letting in bacteria. And now I was infected.

The proof was right there on my skin.

I stared into the mirror at the black mark, hideously reminded of the Demon Mark that had once

grown inside me, and how that had felt.

How good that had felt.

I flinched at a hesitant knock on the door.

''You okay in there?'' Lewis asked.

My eyes, in the mirror, were wide and empty. He can have me, any time he wants me. I couldn't

allow that. If David wasn't going to fight Bad Bob . . .

Then I had to.

We settled up damages with the Palms; nobody acquainted me with a final figure, for which I

was very grateful. I hoped the Wardens' bank account wouldn't snap under the strain. I changed

out of the lovely wedding dress alone, not daring to let anybody– especially Cherise-catch a

look at the brand-new black tattoo I was sporting. When I came out of the bedroom dressed in

jeans and a purple knit shirt, the entire crowded roomful of Wardens stopped talking.

''What?'' I snapped. ''Never saw anybody left at the altar before?'' Wow. Being dumped made

me bitchy, which was, of course, a brave front. I didn't feel bitchy; I felt . . . alone. I felt as if my

whole world had gone the dead, burned color of the torch on my shoulder.

Looks were exchanged among my friends. I wanted to kick and punch something, preferably

Bad Bob, until the sun burned out, but I'd have settled for anyone who said something flippant

right at that moment.

Nobody did. Cherise finally stood up and said, ''Let me take that.''

Oh. The dress. It was draped over my arm like a limp silk corpse. I held it out to her, and she

zipped it safely back in its protective plastic cocoon.

''Probably should get that back to the store,'' I said. I was trying to disco

all my emotions. I was being pretty successful at it, too.

Cherise looked devastated, as if I'd admitted defeat. ''No,'' she said. ''Um-can't return it.

There was a smudge.'' She put on her determined face, which was just cute, and dared me to say

otherwise. ''You'll have to keep it.''

''What for?'' I asked. ''Not like we're going to get a do-over on the wedding.'' And that nearly

broke me. I wanted David. I wanted him to manifest out of the thin air and sweep me up in his

arms and carry me off. I wanted Bad Bob to be gone and all to be right with the world, for once.

That wasn't going to happen. At least, it wasn't going to happen unless I made it happen. All that

is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. I supposed old Edmund Burke had

meant to include women in that. And if he hadn't, well, screw him.

''What's the plan?'' I asked Lewis. Lewis seemed lost in thought, but that was probably because,

in his typical fashion, he was manipulating a dozen different things at once. Now, he looked up,

met my eyes, and I had a second of icy doubt. Could he see what Bad Bob had done to me? No.

If he could have, Paul would have been busted for a Sentinel the second Lewis laid eyes on him.

Whatever Bad Bob had done to me, it was invisible to the Wardens. And the Dji

myself. David hadn't tipped to Paul's betrayal, either.

I knew I should say something, but if I did, I'd be making it real.

I'd be admitting defeat.

''We have to go after him,'' Lewis said. ''We got most of his support, I think; he's isolated,

maybe even alone. We need to get him before he can recruit more followers.''

''He's going to go after the Oracles,'' I said. ''After my daughter, Lewis. I can't let that

happen.''

He didn't argue the point. ''He won't go after anybody if we don't give him the time.''

''Do we have anything that can counter what he's got?'' Meaning, the Unmaking. And his sheer,

horrible power.

''Maybe,'' Lewis said. ''But I think this is going to be more a matter of wearing him down until

we can strike. More of a siege than a blitz attack.''

The light dawned. ''You know where he is.''

''He's at the Wardens' safe house, on the beach,'' he said. ''He didn't try to hide it. He's

inviting us to come get him.''

''Which means it's a trap.''

Lewis nodded. ''But what are our options? We've lost the Dji

he'll have time to build up his organization again. Even if Bad Bob's got control of Rahel, we

may never have a better opportunity.''

No, I didn't like it. This was Bad Bob's version of our wedding-an obvious, juicy target, just

waiting for us to strike it. ''We can wait him out.''

''He can move through the aetheric, like a Dji

the Dji

Lewis had a point. We needed to get Bad Bob to fight us on our terms, and that meant letting

him think he was wi

That meant walking into the trap-but being ready to turn the trap to our advantage.

Lewis was thinking of something I hadn't, but then, he usually was. ''Your link to David. It's

still holding?''

I went still, listening. It was-slender as a silk thread, but strong as steel. I couldn't reach him,

because he was blocking me, but I could feel him. I nodded.

''Can you draw power from it?'' Lewis asked.

I concentrated, and felt a tingle of energy creep along the link from David to me. Then more. I

held up my hand, and a golden, unfocused glow formed in my palm.

Lewis didn't look happy with the outcome, which surprised me until he said, ''Then you're the