this first leg was just short of thirteen hours . she really should try to get some more sleep . nwanyi had her eyes closed already . lola could n't help cringing a little the very second the plane lifted off the ground , remembering the tenseness of her last takeoff . then she curled up in her seat to rest and looked over at nwanyi

nick absently reached across the counter for a small glass jar of toothpicks and plucked one out to put in his mouth . he began taking the cell phone apart and shoving each piece into the rice separately . kelly leaned over the counter to rest his chin on his hand . nick glanced at kelly as he shoved the sim card and battery deep into the rice

'' i 'm sorry ? '' responded noah . '' i said weird fishes . they do n't seem to eat what we feed them . watch . '' chloe threw in the pond some crackers towards a pair of gold fish . '' see , nothing . '' '' they 're special fish . maybe they do n't eat the stuff because they 're not like all the other fish

'' i see that you 've recovered from the accident of our last meeting , '' she told lilith coolly , wondering if the stake buried in her coiffure had been located and removed . she reached up to feel through the mass of curls there ... and pulled out the slender stake . aha . they 'd missed that one . the vampiress 's eyes narrowed , either at victoria 's taunt or the sight of the
stake