Ill Wind

She clicked her lime green talons in complicated, Castanet rhythms and opened the driver's-side door of the Viper for me. As she bowed me in, she said, "Welcome to your life, Ia

a. Burn bright, live free, and remember that no human is your ally unless you hold his beating heart in your hand." She winked. "And have fun."

As she shut the door, I looked at David. "Ia

a?"

"It suits you," he said. "Ia

a's a name of power."

"So's Joa

e," I smiled, and touched the ignition with my pale, fiery fingers. "Better believe that."

Mona roared to life, and the road stretched forever.