Despite the goose pimples and shivering dampness, she stared down at the fur wrap with disdain, wrinkling her nose as she once again noticed that her ...ur bedding smelled like damp camel. And now, so did she.There was movement in the camp, even at this early hour. The Phoenix girls, Holly and Haley, didn't need much sleep, as they could replenish their energy levels using their own Phoenix fire, and had stayed up far into the night, attending to injured settlers even after Alana had exhausted. "You have no idea how much we want that." The kissed rained down on me then. I thought we might need to move into the backseat.Of course the knock on the window just about scared us to death. It was the highway patrol who had pulled behind us a few minutes after we had stopped. He had a shit eating grin on his face. As I rolled down the window he asked, "You folks having any trouble that I can help you with?"I looked out the window and said. "No, officer. My wife just needed to tell me. ..Flashback – Jack – The battle is overI was slightly pissed at Masha! She didn't do what she said she was going to do so I gave her some shit, "Masha, your shoulder is still dislocated. Weren't you going to get that taken care of?"She gave me a defiant look, shook her finger at me and scolded, "Jack Reynolds! Don't you dare use that tone of voice with me! When we heard the explosions, we thought you and Ben had died."If she wanted a fight, she was going to get a fight. I got ready to return. ”Well fuck me; that sounded like an easy way to railroad someone!I swallowed the lump in my throat and self-consciously checked my shields.“And now?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know.“And now, they are powerless against you. The best they can hope for is a judgment against your mentor. That you have, in a very short time, become a powerful Mage in your own right, not to mention an officially recognized Wizard, well, let’s just say she has her work cut out for her.”“How can I prove I didn’t.