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  Grandmother narrowed fierce dark eyes at the young Boo Hag. Lawton trembled, but I hid a smile, seeing the glimmer of relief in their depths. She didn’t want to kill Lawton either. She hadn’t wanted to kill him as a baby, and she didn’t want to kill him now. “You hear that boy? I’m gonna grant her request, but that means that your life is hers. Shape up, because you know I do not give second chances like this, ever.”

  He nodded vigorously and the elder woman turned to me. “He escapes again and kills anyone, that’s on you. I don’t want any backlash for us, but you do what you gotta if he starts running wild. I’ll take him home with me, but he’s your boy from now on.”

  Great. I had a Boo Hag teenage boy. I wondered if I could fit him on the shelf with the figurine collection Gran had been sending me. What should I expect from the kid? Cards at major holidays? Did I need to send him birthday gifts?

  “It will be okay, Lawton,” I told him instead. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “I know.” He smiled. “I’m going home. Whatever happens now doesn’t matter because I’m going home.”

  Chapter 37

  THE SETTING SUN was warm on my back as I leaned forward to put the paper boat at the edge of the Patapsco River. It bobbed in a muck of sludge and oil, a rusted soda can and a plastic grocery store bag by its side. I lit the note I’d written, placing it in the boat and sending the whole fiery mess farther into the water.

  The Boo Hag who’d wanted to be a vampire had died, starved to death according to Sean. I wasn’t sure whether to address her as Marsielle or Becca, so I wrote both names on the prayer I sent to heaven on the wings of smoke. Sean didn’t have any news for me on Lawton. I wondered whether the Boo Hag grandmother had kept her word to let him live, or had delivered a merciful death as soon as they’d returned to South Carolina. Would I ever know? Hopefully I would receive a Christmas card that told me he was okay and safe at the Boo Hag sanctuary. Sill I launched another boat, this one with a prayer for Lawton’s future, whether it be in this world or the next.

  The whole thing had been blamed on Gary Jarvett who had died at the scene and had evidently killed his partner, Bradley Lewis. All the others were being labeled victims. Lawton King and Becca Campbell were merely other hitchhikers, briefly traveling with Gary, Becca lucky to have escaped him alive. She was still missing, listed as a runaway teen even though she’d been reported missing ten years ago by her parents.

  And how sick those parents must feel, to know their child had surfaced after ten years only to vanish in the wind again. They’d never realize Becca had truly died ten years ago, and the teen sighted thumbing a ride up to Baltimore wasn’t her at all.

  I watched the boats burn to the waterline, feeling a chill as the bulk of the sun dipped below the city skyline behind me. Prayers were all I could give Lawton and Becca right now. I had to prepare for a Halloween ritual to remove this demon mark, for my visit with Chuck at the prison next week, and for my nightly dinner with Dario.

  I stood and stretched, turning to see the golden sky fade to salmon and violet, the skyline black in silhouette against the sunset. My city. My Pilgrims. And I was walking the path right along beside them.

  Book 4 in the Templar Series, Famine’s Feast, will be released at the end of 2016. Make sure you’re signed up to receive New Release Alerts at http://debradunbar.com/subscribe-to-release-announcements/

  About the Author

  After majoring in English with a concentration in Medieval Literature and Folklore studies, Debra promptly sold out to the corporate world. By day, she designs compensation programs, after dark she feverishly writes her novels.

  Debra lives in a little house in the woods of Maryland with her sons and a slobbery bloodhound. On a good day, she jogs and horseback rides, hopefully managing to keep the horse between herself and the ground. Her only known super power is 'Identify Roadkill'.

  Connect with Debra Dunbar on Facebook , on Twitter @Debra_Dunbar, or at her website.

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  Thank you for your purchase of this book. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review on Goodreads, or at the e-retailer site from which you purchased it. Readers and authors both rely on fair and honest reviews.

  Other Books By Debra Dunbar

  The Imp Series

  A DEMON BOUND (Book 1)

  SATAN'S SWORD (Book 2)

  ELVEN BLOOD (Book 3)

  DEVIL’S PAW (Book 4)

  IMP FORSAKEN (Book 5)

  ANGEL OF CHAOS (Book 6)

  IMP (Imp Series, prequel novella)

  KINGDOM OF LIES (Book 7) Fall, 2015 Release

  Books in the Imp World

  NO MAN’S LAND

  STOLEN SOULS

  THREE WISHES

  Half-Breed Series.

  DEMONS OF DESIRE (Book 1)

  SINS OF THE FLESH (Book 2)

  UNHOLY PLEASURES (Book 3) Spring 2016 Release

  Templar Series

  DEAD RISING

  LAST BREATH

  BARE BONES