"Only, it was a trick. She’d been tricked. The grandmother. She too would perish. But not her grandchild. The baby would be spared, whisked away."

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"But he just balked, scowled at her -- hissed."

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".. my world this ghastly hour, with all that was left in me, dark and greedy."

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[#novel exc] "How was I to protect her from all this? From myself."

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[#novel excerpt] ".. if the blighted soul speaks to what's been blighted.. "

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