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A busy city street Nadia&039;s lying on the pave to their feet close by She must have knocked them over when she crossed into this world Other people are staring at us and theof red light,as they pass, drivers and passengers captivated by the spectacle

"Close it!" Nadia yells I don&039;t need telling twice Before the vulture-headed demon can follow us, I dismantle the

Nadia&039;s on her feet As soon as the red light vanishes, she grabs h the crowd of startled bystanders Nobody tries to stop us

We turn a corner, race down another busy street Nadia leadsat the blaring horns but otherwise taking no notice of the cars Another corner, then another Finally, in a quiet alley, she stops, releases ainst it, stares up at the clear blue sky - and whoops

"We did it! You&039;re a genius, Kernel! You got us out!" She looks at me with happy tears in her eyes "I don&039;t kno I&039;ll ever repay you"

I smile at Nadia, then frown and look around nervously

"It&039;s all right," Nadia, reassures me "They can&039;t track us We&039;re safe We&039;re alive!"

"Raz isn&039;t," I note quietly

Nadia&039;s smile dims "That was a shame I liked Raz"

"And what about Beranabus and Shar in "We ran out Left theo back and - "

"No!" Nadia snaps "No going back" Her eyes glitter I take a step backwards - she looks like she&039;s going to attack She notices my fear and relaxes "Don&039;t worry I won&039;t hurt you But we&039;re not going back We couldn&039;t do any good if we did"

"But the others?"

She shrugs "Beranabus will probably survive He&039;s cole free sohs "Maybe Beranabus will save her Maybe not"

She stands and looks at the sky Lightly runs a finger across her cheeks, caressing the spots and acne scars "It&039;s war or summer Maybe it&039;s June That&039;s my favourite month It&039;s when I was born and when Beranabus tookabout rowing up I was a plain child, dowdy But , that I&039;d turn into a beautiful, gla for it - when Beranabus spirited me away Dropped me into the universe of the Demonata Explained how iood I could do Offered me no choice Robbed me of my dreams of a happy future"

Nadia&039;s expression darkens "He shouldn&039;t have taken h of the world If he&039;d coladly But takingDon&039;t you agree, Kernel?"

I stare at her uncertainly Now that she&039;s mentioned Art, it drives home the fact that I didn&039;t just run out on Beranabus and Sharhtmarish universe Alone in the hands of Cadaver

"We have to go back," I say softly

Nadia doesn&039;t hear - or pretends she doesn&039;t "I wonder where we are?" she says brightly "London? New York? Paris? Vienna? The world&039;s changed so nise the cities I visited when I was younger But there must be parts which are the sao back Find the, link up with them if they&039;ve escaped"

"And if they&039;re dead?" she answers, not looking at uess"

She laughs "You&039;re brave but stupid, Kernel You wouldn&039;t last five ood at opening s but not at fighting What would you do if you caught up with Cadaver? He&039;d rip you to shreds without breaking a sweat"

"But Art I have to - "

"Your brother&039;s dead," Nadia growls "Cadaver probably killed him on that first world and fed his body to one of the trees"