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manifesting magic—and it's a different kind of magic than before. It's more powerful."  
    "I don't understand. Are you keeping tabs on him? You got a sneaky snooper or a spy on   him?"  
    The little Revenant grinned. "Sneaky snooper? Ah…I don't know about that, but we do have Revenants nearby who've been in contact with a few people around him. So does the Society. Oh don't look so shocked, Zoë. You didn't think an organization as powerful as the Society of Ishamel was going to let a man with a ticking time bomb in his chest just walk out of here without them watching him? Your mom authorized it."  
    "She did?" He had a point, though. From everything I knew, as well as the information I'd gotten from Inanna, that book was a repository for more trouble than Pandora's Box.  
    Well, Inanna had actually called it Pandora's Box on occasion.  
    So who would ask to make a book like that? Hadn't I heard somewhere that some spells just shouldn't be written down? Eh…especially when non-magically-gifted people like me tried to use it to make Coyote Flames? And well damn…that memory made me think of Dags again. That morning had been the first time I'd seen him since I met Joe Halloran. He'd looked so different. So…beautiful. And yet he'd already been through so much and had a book mated to his soul.  
    TC spoke up. "Dags's memory since receiving the book is still pretty much non-existent. And apparently, you don't remember much about the past two months."  
    "What's there to remember? We fixed Jefferson's arm, and that made Inanna really hungry. And me too. So…I went to sleep and let her take the wheel." I chewed on my lower lip. "She said she had things to do, stuff to take care of before the end of—"  
    A vice closed down on my throat. It was as if something wound a rope or something strong several times around my neck and was garroting it tighter and tighter. I grabbed at my throat but couldn't find anything.  
    The pressure cut off my air and I made small noises as I slipped off the bed and onto the floor. I could hear and sort of see TC and Manuel bending over me, shouting, pulling at my arms. Why were they pulling at my arms? Couldn't they see there was something wrapping around my neck?! Cotton grew in my ears until I couldn't hear them, and then it grew dark and wooly over my eyes.  
    Abruptly I fell forward into a dark room and landed quite painfully on my ass. The motion rattled my backbone and I groaned even as I coughed and sucked in air.  
    "Zoë?"  
    That voice.  
    Oh dear God…that voice!  
    I did manage to look up to my right. A light came from somewhere. Not quite a spotlight but sort of a soft stage light that illuminated an all too familiar presence.  
    As soon as I could breathe better, I put my hands to my mouth. "Daniel?"  

5

    It was him! He was here!
    But…
    Where the hell was here?  
    I tried to stand up and would have failed if Daniel hadn't of grabbed hold of me. He not only got me up on my feet, he also pulled me to him and nearly squeezed the crap out of me. And well…I squeezed him back. "Why…what…how are you here?" My voice was muffled against his shirt and his strong chest. He was taller than me, much the way Joe was. My face came to just below his chin.  
    Daniel pulled back but he didn't let go. His hands held tight to my shoulders. "I—I don't know. I've been wondering around in the dark for a while. Every now and then Inanna shows up. But I haven't seen her."  
    "She shows up? In here?" I looked around and recognized the place. The feel. The dark. "Oh God…we're in that little mind theater."
    "The what?"
    "That's what I call it. We're in my head, which means I'm not in charge of my body." I looked up at him. "Daniel…what the hell is Inanna doing?"
    "Doing? I—I don't know. She never really talked about herself much while we were joined. When…when I died she brought me with her here. To you. And sometimes I'm aware of it like now and sometimes I'm not.