“You must have been some kind of raging elephant, because it took three darts for them to take you down.”

“It was after lunch, and no one had died yet, so I took that as a good sign.”

“He gave me an unexpected soft look that made me close my eyes again. “Okay,” I said. “What next, Master Zagan?” “Next, Little One, you need to jack the strongest one you can find.” I killed the smile that threatened to break out on my face.”

“You must feed them, Anne, else they eat their toys.”

“I had left the truck where I had crashed it—smashed into a pole by the charger station that had appeared out of nowhere when I had tried to park under a covered awning. Driving was a lot simpler than parking, it seemed.”

“I was so distracted thinking about my newfound mindjacking ability that I nearly ran into the garage door.”

“She had hauled out Grandma O’Donnell’s crystal plates, the ones Gram claimed were hand-cut by our distant relatives in County Kerry during the potato famine. She also said Big Foot crashed her eighteenth birthday party.”