Page 223 of Sins of the Heart

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Better late than never.

Figuringif some is good, more is better,she flipped

the canister and hit the concubine with a second shot,

this time on her legs.

Seconds ticked past. Roxy didn’t dare look away,

but she was peripherally aware of Dagan putting up a

fight some twenty feet away, engaged with Naamah

and, at this point, what appeared to be one other. Something about the way he was moving nagged at her.

Something not quite right.

With a low cry, Xaphan’s concubine bent and

slapped at her ankle, like she was slapping at ants,

doing a little two-step at the same time. It made for

an interesting picture.

The fire genie smacked harder and danced to the

side, a series of short, sharp cries escaping her lips.

From the corner of her eye, Roxy caught a flash of

movement. She spun, crouched low, and raised the

canister. A second concubine came off the porch, arms

tight, knees tucked, like she was doing a cannonball off

a dock. Roxy rocked back, fell to one knee, and shot.

Concubine and foam collided midair. The fire genie

hit the ground, uncurled and took two or three loping

steps. Roxy was on her feet, retreating, waiting for the

foam to do its job.

Another few seconds and the fire genie stopped in

her tracks and began scraping her palms along any exposed skin in broad sweeps.

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“Two down,” Roxy murmured, spinning back toward Dagan.

Naamah still clung to him, nails and teeth and feral

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