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 Chapter Twenty-seven 8 страница



       “Tayla! Lori and Kynan have been worried. ”

       Tay strode past the TV, ignoring the curious faces. “Where are they? ”

       “In the library, I think. ” Rosa tagged along. “Where’s Janet? ”

       “Dead. ”

       Tayla supposed she should feel bad for being so blunt, but the answer had the desired effect; Rosa stumbled to a stop in the hallway, and Tayla sped up to escape the shock and questions. She pounded down the stairs to the giant multiroom basement. It had, sometime before Tayla became a Guardian, been expanded from a small, unfinished cellar to an underground facility complete with its own security systems and escape tunnels. Should anything attack the house, Guardians could shut themselves in the basement indefinitely, and could use the two exits as well.

       Two Guardians were sparring in the brightly lit workout area, their bare feet thumping softly on the padded floor, and two more lifted weights near the rock wall. She hurried past them, through the darkened lab, which was empty except for the mystical relics, weapons, and magic supplies. The door to the library was closed.

       She opened it and immediately wished she hadn’t. Inside, Kynan had his wife bent over the arm of the couch. He drove into her from behind, his jeans bunched around his thick thighs, one hand playing between her legs. Lori whimpered, digging her nails into the cushions Tayla would never sit on again.

       Quietly, Tayla closed the door and sagged against the wall to wait. The sounds of their lovemaking made her wince in remembrance of the noises she and Eidolon had made, though what they’d done had been anything but making love.

       No, their romp had been raw and rough, sex born of anger, hormones, and wicked magic. Because what she felt for him when he was near had to be a result of some sort of incubus enchantment. Now she could sit back and be disgusted to the point of wanting to kill him, but when he touched her, heck, when he looked at her, she fell under his spell.

       Yeah, he was a poster boy for hot doctors, but the memory of her mother, writhing in pain beneath the demon that raped and killed her, raked her brain like the back end of a claw hammer. She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and shook her head, willing the memories away.

       Only to have the fresher memories of being naked with Eidolon crash into her head.

       Stop. She could tell herself that his incubus sorcery was still affecting her, but a tiny part of her, the part that had come closer to finding the ultimate pleasure with him than with any man, didn’t care why she kept thinking about him. In any case, she needed to be stronger.

       Eidolon had to die.

       When the door finally opened, Kynan stepped out, graced her with one of his killer smiles, though his blue eyes darkened with concern. He didn’t miss much, always appeared to be reading a situation about ten seconds into the future. Before she’d laid eyes on Eidolon, she’d thought Kynan was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.

       “Sorry, ” he said, his voice a gravelly mix of Afghan battlefield vocal cord damage and sexual afterglow. “We sometimes forget to lock doors. ”

       Sometimes? Lori had once confessed that when she and Kynan got into it, things ignited so quickly that they’d started up while people were in the room with them. Only when they’d finished and found the room empty did they realize how carried away in each other they had become.

       Tay couldn’t even imagine being so into someone. Especially not someone like Eidolon, who wasn’t even a someone. He was a something.

       He held the door wider and motioned for her to come in. “Where have you been? Where’s Janet? ”

       Tears unexpectedly stung her eyes. Guardians died all the time. But guilt over Janet’s death plagued her. . . if only Tayla had come clean months ago about her strange symptoms. If only she’d taken herself off active duty status. If only, if only, if only.

       Her self-lashing was pointless, but it was a family trait, an addiction as powerful as any other. When she’d been clean, Tayla’s mom had beat herself up daily for the things she’d done while under the influence.

       The self-abuse had been as damaging as the drugs.

       Tayla collapsed into one of the two overstuffed chairs, glad to rest the shaky noodles that were her legs. “Janet and I ran into some problems. ”

       Lori hurried over, squatted at her knee. “Tell us, ” she said gently, her comforting, maternal presence at odds with the warrior-woman who could wipe out a den of man-sized Croix vipers with nothing more than a hatchet.

       Her nickname, June Cleaver, definitely had its roots.

       Kynan ran a hand through the spiky brown hair she knew from pictures hadn’t changed since his Army days. “She’s dead, isn’t she? ”

       “Yeah. ”

       “Goddammit. ” He sank onto the couch and sprawled backward, legs spread, head back as he stared at the ceiling fan that spun in lazy circles. “Where? We need to retrieve what we can. ”

       “We went into the sewers at the Aspen entrance. She’s a few blocks north of that. ”

       Her stomach churned. The Guardians wouldn’t find much, if anything. Janet’s body had probably been taken or eaten by now. Every Guardian knew and accepted the risks of dying in demon territory. But it was the survivors who suffered when their comrades fell.

       “We’d flushed out two Cruenti doing the nasty behind a Dumpster. We killed the female, but the male tucked tail. We gave chase, tangoed with a Croucher demon, and the Cruentus ambushed us. ”

       Lori and Kynan exchanged looks. It didn’t take a Velma to figure out what they were thinking. A Cruentus shouldn’t have been able to take out two experienced fighters. No way could she mention the truth of what had happened, how she’d lost the use of the right side of her body during the battle. The Aegis had doctors in their service, and Kynan, a former Army medic, performed most of the patch-up work, but despite her feelings of guilt, deep down she knew she had to keep her strange symptoms a secret. If the truth came out, she might be taken off the streets and relegated to training or paperwork. Or worse, kicked out of The Aegis altogether.

       This was the only family she had left, and she wouldn’t lose it. Couldn’t. An ex-Guardian with no job prospects and without the tools and protection of The Aegis could measure her life expectancy in days. No, she’d keep her condition to herself, and she’d continue to hunt, but from now on, she was a solo act. No way would she risk another Guardian’s life.

       “I’m not sure how it all happened, ” she said, “but I saw her die. The Cruentus attacked me. That’s all I remember until I woke up in a hospital. ”

       “Hospital? ” Kynan shot forward like he’d hit a brick wall doing ninety in his Mustang. Tayla half-expected him to rub his neck from the whiplash. “What hospital? We’d have heard. ”

       Lori stood, and ice formed in the room. “You know, Tay, you don’t look worse for wear. ”

       Yeah, as family-oriented as The Aegis was, a healthy dose of suspicion kept everyone alive. Tayla understood that, but the Regents’ reactions stung. The Aegis was all she had, and she’d felt secure in the knowledge that she soldiered on a team where everyone relied on each other, where everyone put aside personal differences while in battle. You might hate your partner on a personal level, but at least he or she was human, and in a fight with a demon, that was all that mattered.

       But now a crack had formed in the brittle bubble in which she’d been living, and a frisson of insecurity shivered through her veins.

       Slowly, Tayla lifted her shirt, revealing her well-healed scars and the one wound that still festered. “It was a demon hospital. ”

       Lori and Kynan said little as Tayla told them what she knew about Underworld General. She left out the fact that she’d knocked boots with a demon.

       Twice.

       And a niggling sense of. . . something. . . told her to, for now at least, leave out how said demon was tied to her bed, his big body dwarfing the twin mattress.

       “That’s just what we need, ” Kynan said, as he pushed off the couch. “Demons treating the wounds we give them. Infiltrating our medical schools. Learning our physiology and weaknesses. ”

       “We’ve got to destroy it. ” Lori paced the hardwood floor so quickly Tay expected to see sawdust fly. “We can appeal to the Sigil for help. They won’t ignore something this big. Maybe they can ask the government for assistance, as well. ”

       The government might help, indirectly, of course. From what Tay had gathered, officials in very high places knew of the underworld threat and worked closely with the Sigil, twelve Aegis members who prevailed over all cells worldwide. And in every city, ex-Guardians and Aegis sympathizers could be found working as doctors, cops, taxi drivers. . . all willing to lend a hand.

       “We can try appealing to them. ” Scowling, Ky ran his hand over his hair, his frustration evident in the abrupt move. The Sigil was famous for refusing requests for assistance, forcing Regents to contact other Regents from nearby cells for help. “Tayla, can you hazard a guess on a location for this hospital? ”

       “New York, maybe. But really, it could be anywhere. Another realm for all we know, with the parking lot exit at a gateway between our world and theirs. ”

       Kynan cursed and checked his watch. “You two hammer out a battle plan. I’m going to assemble a team and retrieve Janet’s remains before it gets dark. ”

       He gave Lori a peck on the lips and left, and Lori continued to pace. “How did you get out of the hospital? ”

       Well, a demon doctor gave me a lift to a vampire nurse’s apartment, where we fought demons together, and then he took me to my place, where we had sex and chatted like old friends. Yeah, that would go over well. She thought she’d been prepared to give up Eidolon to them, but the truth could only go so far, and until she knew she wasn’t going to be shipped off to the Sigil for interrogation, she was going to keep the fine details—and Eidolon—to herself.

       “I convinced one of the doctors to let me go. ”

       “And this doctor just. . . let you? ”

       Tayla fought the urge to squirm. “I told him I was a Screamer, that if they killed me, my spirit would call out to all Guardians until they found the hospital and destroyed it. ” She licked her dry lips and hoped Lori bought the story. “You know how stupid demons are. He believed me. Figured it was safer to let me go than keep me and risk my death. ”

       To her relief, Lori nodded. “Good thinking. They can’t know how rare Screamers are. ” She pivoted in midstride. “What was the doctor’s name? ”

       Tayla didn’t think it mattered, but what the hell. “Eidolon. ”

       “And do you know what kind of demon he was? ”

       No way was she going to reveal that little detail. Lori would assume, and rightly so, that an incubus would use its powers on a weaker human, and Tayla couldn’t afford to be thought of as compromised. Even though she had been.

       Her body heated, because yeah, she’d been very compromised.

       “Some sort of corporate hellspawn, looks human. But he gave me a way to get in touch with him. He was stupid, but smart enough to try to gain my trust, ” Tayla said, knowing neither was true. “I’ll bet he thinks I’ll give him info. ”

       Lori’s bright green eyes grew brighter. “Excellent. You’ve done great, Tayla. ”

       The door opened, and Jagger, a life-hardened Guardian with an extraordinary number of kills under his belt and a string of demon teeth hanging from said belt, sauntered inside.

       Her gaze locked with his dark one, the battle of wills never-ending. They had been rivals for years before either one of them had even heard of The Aegis, bumping into each other in the revolving doors of the foster care system and then later, on the streets where they’d lived like rats. A police raid on one of their mutual hangouts had sent them scurrying into an alley together, where demons had ambushed them. Fortunately, Kynan and two other Guardians had been there, and Ky’d taken Jagger and Tayla back to HQ, later saying that he’d seen promise in their lack of fear and their fighting abilities. She and Jagger had been sworn in as Guardians together, but nothing had changed. She trusted no one, but him least of all. Damned Scorpios.

       “You’re getting sloppy, ” she said, taking note of the twin punctures in his throat. “Got yourself tapped. ”

       So did you, by a demon.

       Jagger shot her the finger, his Aegis ring flashing. Cocky bastard was the only Guardian who didn’t bother to hide the shield symbol on his jewelry. No, he liked to show it off, to strike terror into the hearts of the demons he encountered. Idiot didn’t care that it made him a target for demons, said he welcomed the challenge.

       “Ky said you might need some brainstorming help. Some BS about a demon hospital. ” He stroked his chin, his fingers rasping over whiskers he kept trimmed into a permanent five-o’clock shadow, while she brought him up to speed. When she finished, he glanced at Lori. “You thinking what I’m thinking? ”

       “Tracking spell? ”

       “Yep. ”

       How interesting that Jagger was so plugged into the cell’s leaders. Tayla really needed to start hanging out at HQ more. She’d gotten an apartment to maintain the emotional distance she required, but she definitely didn’t like being kept out of the loop. And sure, she could admit to a little jealousy where Jagger was concerned. He was such an ass.

       The ass turned to Tayla. “If you can contact your demon and tag him, we can track where he goes. We might be able to locate the hospital. ”

       Your demon. Eidolon wasn’t her demon. He was her captive. Visions of him chained to her bed clouded her brain again. She shivered and tried to tell herself it wasn’t from pleasure.

       Liar.

       “Sounds good. ” She smiled, but her joy felt halfhearted. The hospital needed to be destroyed, and Eidolon with it. All for the good of mankind.

       She repeated that to herself as she hoofed it to the weapons room to replace those Hellboy had confiscated at the hospital, but for some reason, “for the good of mankind” didn’t ring as true as it had just a few days before.

       Nine

       Tayla arrived at her apartment as darkness began to swallow the red glow of the sun on the horizon. Hardcore executives were just now leaving their Wall Street offices. Drug dealers were hitting the streets. Vampires were waking from their sleep and getting ready to suck innocent humans dry.

       Her own blood sang, ran like a wolf pack through her veins as the hunt called to her. Oh, how she wanted to be tracking and destroying hellspawn. But her wound ached, and she had a demon tied to her bed.

       She entered her apartment cautiously, in case he’d pulled a Houdini. Once inside, she peeled the tracking sticker—nothing more than a spell-saturated black paper dot—from its backing and concealed it in her palm. She eased around the door frame to her bedroom, and her jaw dropped at the sight of Eidolon lying on the bed, one arm nearly free from the chain still attached to the twisted mass of metal frame. He’d obviously gone on a rampage to get loose, but what shocked her was how Mickey lay curled on Eidolon’s washboard abs, looking content as the fiend petted the traitorous animal.

       “Oh, hey, Tayla, ” he drawled, as though he were lounging on a beach and not being held prisoner. “I hope you picked up some Taco Bell while you were out. I’m starving. ”

       She dropped the bag of weapons she’d taken from HQ. “You eat fast food? ”

       “Only when there’s a shortage of live sheep and small children. ”

       Smartass. At least, she hoped he was being a smartass. “I’m fresh out of those things, but I have stale marshmallows and oranges. ”

       His eyes caressed her, half-lidded and glittering with hunger that had nothing to do with food—or affection, which was something she’d do well to remember. “I can think of something else I’d like to—”

       “Don’t say it. ” The dark, sultry note in his voice hit her right between the legs, and she gritted her teeth to keep from falling into the incubus trap. “Is that all you think about? ”

       “Lately? Yeah, ” he said, and he didn’t sound happy about it, either.

       “Does it have something to do with that s’genwhatever you were talking about? ”

       “S’genesis, and yes. I’m close to the change. ”

       He scratched Mickey on the belly, and the ferret rolled onto its back, practically purring. The weasel was in so much trouble, though if she were being honest with herself, she’d admit that Eidolon’s touch had made her purr, too.

       The bastard. She moved to the bed and pretended to check his bonds. When she leaned across his big body to test the loose one, she casually applied the sticker to his pager, a necessity since Stephanie’s magic worked only when attached to electronics. Tayla’s breasts brushed his chest, the light contact sending up a violent tingle through her body.

       God, he felt good, even when he wasn’t trying.

       “You going to release me any time soon? ”

       Straightening, she peered down at him. “I was thinking I’d hold you prisoner for as long as you held me in the hospital. Why? You have some other patient to screw? ”

       “I need to feed my dog. ”

       “You have a dog? To eat? ”

       Eidolon stared at her.

       “What? Why are you looking at me like that? ”

       He snorted. “My kind has been terrified of you for centuries, and now I realize how stupid we’ve been. ”

       “Excuse me? ” The demon was chained to his mortal enemy’s bed, vulnerable, and calling her stupid?

       “Aegi. You kill indiscriminately. You have no idea what you kill or why. You know nothing about us. ”

       “I know exactly what I kill, ” she shot back. “Evil. I don’t need a reason to do that. ”

       He kept petting Mickey, the silence growing thick until he finally said, “We’ve always assumed The Aegis is all-knowing, highly trained and organized, ” he mused, one corner of his mouth turned up as if he’d uncovered a great secret. “But it’s nothing but a cult, isn’t it? The weak and uneducated being led by those with their own agendas. Brainwashed lemmings following orders without question. ”

       “So you think I’m brainwashed. That I blindly do the bidding of some David Koresh because I’m ignorant about the underworld? ”

       Overwhelming rage pummeled her like the fists of foster parents from so long ago. The knife he’d used to cut off her scrubs lay on the floor, and she picked it up, tested the edge with one finger. Hellboy watched her warily, but if he was frightened, it didn’t show.

       She suddenly wanted him to be afraid, to hurt as much as she did. But she also knew that what she wanted wasn’t possible. She could skin him alive and he wouldn’t feel the pain she felt on a daily basis. Still, she put the blade to the pulse at the base of his throat.

       “I knew the nature of demons long before I became a Guardian. ” Her gravelly voice cut out. She had to swallow several times before she could continue, but not before putting more pressure on the knife, until a drop of his blood welled at the tip. He didn’t even flinch.

       “When I was sixteen, I watched a demon torture my mom for hours before he killed her. After that, I lived on the streets and fought them when they would have taken me as a meal. Or worse, because I happen to know there is worse. So don’t you dare tell me I know nothing about evil, you sonofabitch. ”

       “You think you’re the only one who’s experienced loss at the hands of the enemy? Have you heard of a pub called Brimstone? Yes, I can see you have. Two years ago, Aegis slayers slaughtered everyone there, including the brother I told you about, Roag, who had done nothing to deserve death. You haven’t cornered the market on pain, slayer. ”

       Brimstone. Two years ago. A cold sweat broke out on her skin. She’d been there. She remembered going in through the rear of the secret lair, remembered how the place had reeked of smoke and worse, a coppery, rotten stench like decaying blood. Demons had been drinking, fighting, gambling. In the center of the room, several demons had been involved in an orgy while others placed bets. On what, she’d had no idea.

       The Guardians had swarmed over the demons like mosquitoes, drawing blood. The entire cell had been there, and not one demon had escaped. Especially not after they set fire to the place.

       Tayla could have been his brother’s killer.

       Mickey scampered off his belly and out of the room, and Eidolon put his hand over hers, not threateningly. “You say I’m wrong about you. If I am, then can’t you accept that you might be wrong about me? ” His voice was surprisingly calm, given that she could kill him with a flick of her wrist. Given that she’d hit him over the head, tied him to the bed, and probably slaughtered his brother.

       “If I’m wrong about you, then everything I’ve lived for. . . ” Was a lie. She shook her head, because the beasts she’d killed over the years had been just that. Beasts with no redeeming qualities. And yet, she couldn’t get the image of Eidolon caring for the dying nurse out of her head. “I’m not wrong. ”

       Holding her gaze, he tilted his head, exposing his throat, making blood drip down the smooth skin there. “Then you have to kill me. ”

       Just three days ago she’d have believed that. Three days ago, if not for the orders to send him packing with a tracking device on his pager, she’d have put him down where he lay. But he’d saved her life. He’d healed his brother and shown mercy to the nurse. Her long-held beliefs had been challenged, and now her resolve wobbled. She tried to pretend she didn’t feel relief at the fact that she didn’t have to kill him. That would be some other slayer’s job.

       “You didn’t let me die, ” she said, pulling the knife away and tamping down the desire to find him a bandage, “so I won’t kill you today. ”

       “How generous. ” He tugged at the chains holding him down. “Are we done with these now? Or are you going to pay me back for keeping you in the hospital? ”

       “I should. You destroyed my bed. ”

       “I could think of more ways to destroy it. ”

       She huffed. “Demons. ”

       He winked, and she wheeled away, refusing to be charmed. She retrieved the key to the cuffs from where she’d hidden it beneath the music box—the only gift besides the ring her mother had ever given her. Sweat popped out on the bridge of her nose in an ominous warning, instantly followed by a wave of dizziness. Eidolon’s face blurred.

       “Tayla? ”

       “I’m fine. ” She stepped toward the bed, but her right leg went rubbery and her arms turned into lead weights. Oh, yeah, she was going down.

       Swaying, she sat on the floor before she fell. She was getting so tired of this.

       “Tayla, what’s wrong? Look at me. ” He jerked on his chains with such force that the rattle of metal echoed off the inside of her skull. “Look at me, dammit, ” he said, the commanding tone in his voice irritating but effective, because she swiveled her head in his direction.

       “Shut up, ” she groaned.

       “Your eyes aren’t tracking. You’re pale. ”

       The room spun in a pudding-smooth mix of pale grays and browns. She really, really wanted to fall over and go to sleep, maybe after throwing up.

       “Hand me the key and I’ll help you. ”

       Yeah, like she’d let him loose while she was weak and vulnerable. He couldn’t kill her in the hospital, but he could do it now. That smooth doctor voice he was using didn’t fool her or comfort her in the least. Not when his words at Nancy’s apartment kept replaying in her ears. “I should kill you. Here, with no Haven spell to keep me from wringing your neck. ”

       “This’ll pass. ” She pushed to her feet, only to stumble. Eidolon caught her forearm with his loose hand, and she dropped the key.

       Her legs gave out, and she found herself face-down on the floor, unable to move.

       The key had fallen just beyond Eidolon’s reach. He rocked his body, jiggling the mattress until the key slid into range of his fingers. Once he had it, he quickly released himself.

       “Tayla. ” Ignoring his stiff joints and aching muscles, he crouched beside her and turned her face toward him. “Can you hear me? Blink once if you can. ”

       She blinked, her terror shining through the glaze of confusion in her eyes. He knew how it felt to be helpless and vulnerable, and for someone as strong as she was, the sting would go deep. He shouldn’t care, was still pissed as hell that he’d allowed himself to be knocked out and tied up, but he was a physician and this was his job.

       “It’s okay, ” he murmured, and gently brushed her hair back from her face. “Just answer my questions. Can you move at all? Two blinks for no. ”

       She blinked twice.

       “I’m going to roll you onto your back. If I hurt you, blink. ” Carefully, he rolled her. “I’m going to check your vitals, so just relax and breathe, okay? ”

       A rapid assessment revealed a clear airway, a regular pulse, and rapid but steady breathing. Her skin felt too cold, but her capillary refill was satisfactory. Until she could speak again, he wouldn’t know what was wrong, but he suspected that her demon half was having a tantrum.

       It wanted out.

       “Does this happen often? ”

       No response at all, though the fingers on her left hand began to wiggle. Grasping her arm, he closed his eyes, wishing he possessed Shade’s power to affect bodily functions and detect systemic malfunction. Instead, all Eidolon could do for Tayla was send a generalized healing wave into her and hope that any damage would reverse.

       Warmth washed over his skin, seeping from his fingertips into her arm. “This won’t hurt, ” he said, because the bitter scent of fear was rising from her and her pulse had gone tachy. “I’m trying to heal you. ”

       A low moan wracked her body, and her feet twitched. He reached down, pressed his palm to one sole. “Push against my hand. ”

       She did, a good sign.

       “I’m getting better, ” she rasped, and he pulled back his healing powers, uncertain if they had anything to do with her recovery.

       She grasped his hand, her grip strong but trembling. “Do you know what’s wrong? ”

       Sixty years ago, he’d gone to Africa to rescue Wraith from yet another incident, and he’d come across a lion dying from a festering bullet wound. The animal, once strong and proud, had been reduced to a weakened shell, but its eyes still burned with the will to live.

       Tayla reminded him of the big cat, dismayed at how its powerful body had failed it, yet wanting to survive. Something inside Eidolon buckled, and fuck, nothing should be buckling or unbuckling for this woman. There had already been way too much of the latter.

       If anyone in this room was weak, it was him.

       “Does this happen often? ” he repeated, more sharply than he intended.

       She hesitated. It couldn’t be easy revealing vulnerabilities to a mortal enemy. “It’s happening a lot more lately. ”

       “When did it start? ”

       She still hadn’t released him, as though she needed comfort and had forgotten who—and what—he was. Just as he had.

       “A few months ago. It started small. Numb fingers and toes. Then I’d lose the use of a hand or foot for a few minutes. ”

       “And now? ”

       She closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Without thinking, he covered her free hand with his, stroked the cold skin. “Tayla? I need to know. ”

       “Sometimes both legs go out. Or one side of my body. This has been the worst so far. I’ve never been completely immobilized. ” She opened her eyes, tried to lift her head, but failed. “I haven’t been to a doctor. ”

       “I don’t think a human physician could help you. ”

       “Why? ” She struggled to sit up, but he held her down with gentle force. “Tell me! ”

       “Calm down—”

       “Oh, my God, ” she breathed, struggling even harder against his hold. She was growing stronger by the second. “I’ve been infected by some kind of demon disease, haven’t I? ”

       “Something like that. . . ”

       “What will it do to me? Can you cure it? ”

       “I took blood samples at the hospital. I won’t know the results for a couple of days. We can go from there. ” It would definitely be helpful to know her sire’s species.

       She relaxed, but her eyes shifted wildly in their sockets as her mind worked. “It started after an Alu demon bit me. They carry disease. I’ll bet that’s what happened. ” She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth and worried it in a way that stirred him in an extremely inappropriate manner considering the situation. “Do you think that’s it? ”



  

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