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Ringed by a desert wasteland, a barrier of burnt-out junk, and a pile of collapsing buildings was something that, while not a paradise, was closer than anything I’d seen so far.It started as a shanty town, which was what we were currently on the edge of, with little aluminum, plywood, and tarp-covered huts and disintegrating tents forming a maze for what looked like miles.But in the distance was something far less expected.

I couldn’t see it well at first, just a smear of brilliant lights above the wonky smokestacks of the makeshift town.But Mircea showed it to me, with my vision abruptly zooming ahead as if I was using high-powered binoculars, ones I didn’t need because vampire eyes were better any day.And gave me glimpses of glittering fountains, manicured gardens, and whole, untouched buildings, many with their original signs still in place.

Palms likewise still swayed slightly in the night breeze, backlit by orange and pink explosions from our allies on the other side of the city.People still moved around, although in horse-drawn carriages instead of cars, as I guessed the gasoline had given out a long time ago.And a neon cocktail glass half a story high still lit up the night, although whether there were any drinks on offer, I couldn’t tell.

I also couldn’t tell if there were any gods around, which I should have been able to if they were the size of the ones outside.But were they?Would they expend the energy if they weren’t worried about fighting for survival or trying to impress?

I didn’t know, but no fifty-foot-tall giants were striding about the landscape.In fact, the city looked weirdly peaceful, and except for the horses, some of which were now rearing in fright at the loud noises, almost normal.Which was the most obscene thing I thought I’d seen yet.

Then, a wave of dizziness hit me hard enough that everything skewed wildly.But Mircea didn’t steady it, maybe because he wasn’t in charge of what was happening, after all.It seemed that he hadn’t lent me his skill so much as I’d taken it.

I’d done that sort of thing once or twice before, and he’d done it to me, but this time was different.This time, I wasn’t just borrowing abilities.I glanced at Mircea, disoriented and off-kilter, and saw my own face looking back at me.

It was his features—dark, expressive brows, whiskey-colored eyes, high cheekbones, and sensual lips—down to the livid scar that even vampire healing abilities hadn’t been able to touch.But to my confused brain, they registered as mine.And when I tore my gaze away, focusing on the city again to try to sort out my messed-up head, it flickered back and forth and shook at the edges because I was suddenly seeing through three pairs of eyes spaced too far apart.

“Dante’s,” Pritkin said, pointing at a livid hulk on the horizon, just peeking out from behind another building.But mine and Mircea’s lips moved at the same time.

And then the weird, triple-vision steadied, and I was staring at a shadow moving behind the curtains separating the expansive balcony of my penthouse from the living room.I couldn’t see who was casting it, but somebody was awake.And looking so close that it felt like I could reach out and—

“Yeah, but how do we get there?”Alphonse said, jolting me back to myself.“The damned ghosts have deserted us!”

“Are they coming back?”Someone asked; I think it was Zara.

I looked at Hansen, who I was still carrying around like a clutch bag, and belatedly let him go.“Are they?”I croaked, surprised to hear my own voice emanating from my lips.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly.“If Billy Joe was here, there’d be a better chance.They listen to him—”

“But I sent him to Rhea.”

It was a real bitch, but that was the way my life was going lately.I’d sent Billy to try to get the information we needed by just having a chat with my heir.Or, if Pritkin’s incubus had it right and she couldn’t see him without her clairvoyance, not being a necromancer, he was to scope the place out and let us know what we were walking into.The ghosts were supposed to take us to rendezvous with him, but so much for that idea.

As usual, we were doing this the hard way.

“We’re on our own,” I guessed, and Hansen didn’t deny it.

“Well, this is just great!”Alphonse exploded.“How the hell are we supposed to get there now?”

“Walk?”Purple Hair said dryly.“It’s notthatfar—”

“You know damned well what I meant!”Alphonse said, with enough menace in his tone to have her reach for her wand.

“He’s right,” Topknot announced, pushing her hand down.“It’ll take hours to walk that far, and our allies won’t be able to keep up the attack for anything like that long.”

“And those bastards will spot us sure as hell,” Butch Cut agreed.“As soon as we get anywhere close.”

“Maybe not.”That was Enid, who was surveying the shanty town with narrowed eyes.“These are the servants’ quarters, housing for those who do the work the gods can’t be bothered to.Cooking, cleaning, errand running—”

“So what?”Alphonse demanded.

“They’regods,” Æsubrand added.“They may not need any of that.”

“Well, they need something,” Enid pointed out.“They’re protecting these people, or they wouldn’t have lasted this long, and feeding them, too.Or allowing them to feed themselves,” she added, looking at a nearby, struggling patch of garden.

“We call them the Craven,” Gray Curls said and spat on the ground.“They’re the ones who decided that worshipping the gods was better than death, and look what they received in return.Survey the bounty their bootlicking bought them!”

“Some do better than this,” Butch Cut said.“Those who live in the city proper—”

“Those who live under the knife, you mean!With a blade constantly at their throats!”