Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are - Machiavelli, The Prince_______________I took long slow breaths, in through my nose and out my mouth. My pulse was still quick but with each breath, it slowed. Back straight, sitting in a full lotus, I continued to meditate and cool off. My injuries kept my workout from being its usual intensity, but it helped get rid of the stiffness. The lock clicked and someone came into the room. While the scent was familiar, I couldn’t put a name to it.After a few more breaths I opened my eyes to see a really tough looking Asian woman standing at the door. Lee Cotton, the praetor’s chief enforcer. She tossed a duffle bag to the floor. “Your clothes,” she said, her accent a strange mix of Midwestern and an Asian dialect. “The praetor wants to see you. I’ll give you fifteen minutes then we’re leaving. No matter what.”Okay then. Nice to meet you too. I stood and gave the enforcer a salute. “Yes Ma’am,” I said then opened the

Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell - Walter Scott_______________Magic made my nose itch. The green, brown herbal powder was charged with it when Sara had finished working the spell. I never thought magic would’ve been so tangible before today. In all of Balric’s memories of it, I had never remembered such a feeling. It chilled me to the bone or maybe that came from sitting in the wet earth, surrounded by a damp, chilly fog of the very early morning.“There, done,” Sara said when we had finished. She got up from the ground. Her white dress was stained from the earth, but she didn’t seem to care.I stood up as well, but I tried to remove the dirt that stuck to me. “So Ian breathes this in and bam! No more super-powered werewolf.”She gave me a small grin. “Correct. Why don’t you go back inside? You look cold.”My head shot up. What did she mean by that? Sara laughed, ignoring my silent demand for an explanation. Well, if I was honest, I was freezing,

Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath - Jandy Nelson, The Sky Is Everywhere_______________I looked for Carl and Sam, noticing I was no longer being followed by an enforcer. Maybe Caius was for real about that whole, not a prisoner thing. I found the two in the large living room, each was staring intently into their computer screens. “Hello boys, how’s the hunting?” I asked, walking in to join them.Sam got up with a sympathetic expression. “Des, I’m so sorry. How are you?”I ground my teeth. What kind of stupid question was that? How are you? How did he think I was? Knowing he didn’t mean anything other than he was sorry and he was worried for me, I forced a smile onto my face. “I’m here,” I said. “What do you have?”“Why should we tell you, anything Betrayer,” Carl snapped, glaring at me. The blame in his eyes was easy to read. To him, I was guilty of Daniel’s death too. Of course.“Because we work together. The praetor’s la

Resolve, and thou art free - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_______________“Stop,” I shouted at Ian as we ran through the trees. He’d put my partner down with one hit. Of course, Ian didn’t stop. “Damn it, Ian, if you don’t stop Mia is going to die.” That worked.Ian skidded to a stop, glaring at me. “Do you think I’m stupid, Balric? You’d never hurt an innocent,” he said through panted breaths. His eyes were wide and darting around, watching for the others.“Yeah, you’re right,” I said then gave him a cold grin. “But you’re not dealing with Balric, but me. Now here’s how it’s going to go. You’re going to take this stuff here…” I held up the magic powder pouch. “You can eat it or snort it. I don’t care, but you’re going to do it and return all those lives you’ve stolen back to where they belong.”“You want me to believe you’d hurt someone without Balric’s influence?” Ian asked, obviously skeptical.“I see I played my part perfectly. You all think I’m the innocent victim of the evil Betray