Neither of the women had wounds which weremore than nuisances, which Ciel thought was lucky because she had no ideawhat might happen if the magical sk...n she wore was heavily damaged."We must be getting close," Dela said as the two re-gathered theirscattered items."Probably, since she left her lair to go meet us. I don't think she'll beback tonight, though. That arrow I put in her was pretty well-placed. Afew inches more and I would have pierced her black heart." Would that even be enough?" Dela. Everyone expects kids to do weird stuff.I put the matches in my pocket for later use and then sat in the chair near the table and began the meditation process. When I had achieved trance, I called the manna to me. "Come to me. Let us work together. Come to me, old friend. Come to me, most faithful of companions. Come to me." It came easier than it had the night before. I drew it in until I was full.I opened my eyes and stood. As my attention wavered, I lost some of the manna, but I still held. Senator Caldwell, as meticulously dressed as ever, stood in the center of the room speaking with an equally well dressed, and much younger, woman with light brown hair.“John, excellent,” Caldwell said as he walked up to her.She straightened his tie and gave his arm an almost motherly pat before saying, “This is Mariah Russell, my press secretary. Did Loren walk you through what’s going to happen?”“Yes, Ma’am.”“Good, good. Now, John, before we go out, these people have already dug some dirt up. No. I ... It's just that I'm lonely. I miss Dad and my sister Em and I need someone to hold me and make the monsters go away!" she sobbed.That's what Daddies are for. I was the closest thing to a Daddy she had at the moment, so I hugged her and kissed her tears away."You shouldn't be in here. I might not be able to resist a pretty girl like you," I joked."Yes you will. The girls all trust you and I do too. I'm not ready for ... that ... yet. The girls said how wonderful it is to hug and cuddle.