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if the weapon was calling to me, taunting me, telling me to finish her off. It is, after all, what my mother wants.
    But I can’t. Not yet. Without Gaia I will never find out where my mother is.
    There has to be some way to get to her. Some way to trick her into meeting with me. Someone I can use as a decoy. But as far as I can see, I have only two not very attractive options.
    One is Ed, but I will not put him in the middle of this. I could not bear it if he were killed. He is the one mistake I have made in all this time. I was not supposed to care for anyone, but I do care for Ed. Until I met him, I did not believe that any person in this world could betruly good. I didn’t believe in friendship or in pure intention. But Ed is different. He is a good person, and he does not deserve to die just because he was stupid enough to fall in love with Gaia and be friends with me. Maybe that is his one flaw. His stupid heart.
    But even if a small part of me wanted to be with him, I realize it is better that we were never really together. I would only break his heart like Gaia has so many times. Because once I’m done with Gaia, I’m gone.
    Two is Sam. But Sam has no reason to trust me. In fact, he has every reason not to.
    So I’m back at the first square. Too bad Gaia is such a friendless loser. It just makes my job harder. I have to think. There has to be someone , doesn’t there? There just has to be . . . .

normal girl
    Was he going to have to date FBI chicks and cops and, like, vampire slayers or something for the rest of his days?
    Blister Busting
    â€œJAKE! JAKE! DUDE, WAIT UP!”
    Jake Montone heard his name but didn’t bother slowing his steps as he strode down the middle of the crowded hall at the Village School, all the underclassmen instinctively moving out of his way. He wasn’t in the habit of stopping for anyone. Except maybe the occasional beautiful girl. But Carlos Bernal could catch up with him.
    Besides, he didn’t want to break concentration. It was tough to find a person in a crowd without appearing as if you were looking for someone. It took a special kind of control to cover up riveted attention with removed indifference.
    â€œHey, man, we have a problem,” Carlos began when he fell into step with Jake, only slightly out of breath.
    â€œOh, yeah? What’s that?” Jake asked. His eyes scanned the hallway, his mouth lifting ever so slightly whenever he caught the admiring glance of a lovely lady. He could have any girl in this place if he wanted. Unfortunately, that fact made him not want any of them.
    â€œRob Tesca has mono,” Carlos announced, covering his mouth with his hand and pretending that he didn’t want to laugh. Jake could tell he enjoyed being the bearer of this bad news.
    â€œWhat?” Jake blurted, looking fully at Carlos for the first time. His hair was extra gelled today, and he looked like he’d just walked off the set of Happy Days , with his tight white T-shirt and the chain hanging off his jeans. The kid even had dimples.
    â€œHow the hell does a guy like Rob Tesca get mono?” Jake asked, the tendons in his neck tightening.
    â€œDude may be butt ugly, but he does do well with the ladies,” Carlos replied, swerving around a klatch of gossiping freshmen and glancing behind his shoulder to check them out. “So what are we gonna do? The team is already hemorrhaging.”
    â€œTell me about it,” Jake said.
    The intramural karate team that Jake had formed on arriving at this new school was not getting off to an auspicious start. A bunch of guys had shown up for the informational meeting, but it turned out that eighty percent of them had gleaned their martial arts expertise from hours of blister-busting Street Fighter tournaments they’d been having since the sixth grade. The talent pool in this place was so shallow, it wouldn’t even wet a person’s socks.
    Jake caught a glimpse