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Darius said before Sister Mary Angela couldrespond. Heneeds rest and quiet and--Rest and quiet are fine, Stark interrupted him. Like I said before: I`m not deadyet. He metDarius`s eyes and I saw the Son of Erebus shrug and nod his head briefly, as ifhe`d concededsome point to the younger vampyre. I should have just ignored the little interplay between them, but my patience hadevaporatedhours before. Okay, what aren`t you telling me?The nun who`d been assisting Darius shot me a long, cold look and said, Perhapsthe injuredboy needs to know his sacrifice was not made in vain. The nun`s harsh words gave me a jolt of guilty shock that closed my throat anddidn`t let merespond to the hard-eyed woman. The sacrifice Stark had been willing to makewas his life formine. I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. What was my life worth? I wasjust a kid--barely seventeen. I`d messed up over and over again. I was the reincarnation of agirl created totrap a fallen angel, and that meant deep inside my soul I couldn`t help loving him, even when Iknew I shouldn`t . . . Couldn`t . . . No. I wasn`t worth the sacrifice of Stark`s life. I already know it. Stark`s voice didn`t waver; suddenly he sounded strong andsure. I blinkedmy vision free of tears and met his eyes. What I did was just part of my job, hesaid. I`m aWarrior. I`ve sworn my life into the service of Zoey Redbird, High Priestess andBeloved ofNyx. That means I`m working for our Goddess and being knocked to the groundand burned alittle really doesn`t mean shit if I helped Zoey beat the bad guys. Well said, tsi-ta-ga-a-s-ha-ya, " Grandma told him. Sister Emily, I relieve you of your infirmary duties for the rest of the night. Pleasesend SisterBianca here in your stead. I believe you should, perhaps, spend some time in quietcontemplationof Luke 6:37, said Sister Mary Angela. As you wish, Sister, the nun said and hurried from the room. Luke 6:37? What`s that? I asked. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not becondemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven, ` my grandma said. She was sharing a smile with SisterMary Angelawhen Damien knocked softly on the half-open door. Can we come in? There`s someone who really needs to see Stark. Damienglanced over hisshoulder and made a stay-there motion behind him. The soft woof! that came inresponse told methe someone was really a somedog. Don`t let her come in. Stark grimaced in pain as he abruptly turned his head awayso that hecouldn`t see Damien or the doorway. Tell that Jack kid she`s his now. No. I stopped Damien as he began to back away. Have Jack bring Duchess in. Zoey, no, I-- Stark began, but my raised hand stilled him. Just bring her in, I said. Then I met Stark`s eyes. Do you trust me?He looked at me for what seemed like a really long time. I saw his vulnerability andpain clearly, but finally he nodded once and said, I trust you. Go ahead, Damien, I said. Damien turned and murmured something over his shoulder and then he movedaside. Jack, Damien`s boyfriend, came into the room first. His cheeks were pink and his eyesweresuspiciously bright. He stopped after a couple of feet and turned back to the door. Come on. It`s okay. He`s in here, Jack coaxed. The blond Lab padded into the room and I was surprised by how quietly shemoved for such abig dog. She stopped briefly by Jack`s side and looked up at him, wagging her tail. It`s okay, Jack repeated. He smiled at Duchess and then wiped away the tearsthat had escapedhis eyes and were slipping down his cheeks. He`s better now. Jack made amotion to the bed. Duchess`s head turned in the direction he`d pointed, and she looked directly atStark. The injured boy and the dog just stared at each other while I swear we all held ourbreath. Hi, pretty girl. Stark spoke hesitantly, his voice choked with tears. Duchess`s ears perked up and her head cocked. Stark held a hand out and made a beckoning motion. Come here, Duch. Like his command had broken a dam inside the dog, Duchess surged forward, whining andwriggling and woofing--basically sounding and acting way more like a puppy thanher onehundred plus pounds said she could no way be. No! Darius commanded. Not up on the bed!Duchess obeyed the warrior and contented herself with stuffing her head againstStark`s side andsliding her big nose under his armpit while she wagged her entire body, and Stark, face glowingwith happiness, petted her and told her over and over again how much he`d missedher and whata good girl she was. I hadn`t realized I`d been bawling, too, until Damien handed me a tissue. Thanks, I muttered,