A pained look crossed his face while he seemed at a loss for words for a second. "You tried to eat Cleo."

I stared at him, replaying each syllable of what he'd just said, but it refused to click into place. "I what now?"

Cleo came trotting up to me and nudged her way around Sawyer to put her chin on my knee. Whole. Intact. No slayer-shaped bites anywhere. She looked up at me with her droopy, soulful, bloodshot eyes, and her wet nose flared like she smelled something dead. ...