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Maura had entered froliray suitcase There was a sound like pipes clanging, a tap running She dusted off her palms and joined them in the kitchen "Because when Mr Gray comes out here, I want you to look him in the eye and convince him not to kidnap you"

Gansey elbowed Ronan

Ronan looked up sharply "What, me?"

"Yes, you," Maura said "Mr Gray was sent here to retrieve an object that lets the owner take things from dreams The Greywaren As you know, that’s you"

He felt a little thrill at the word Greywaren

Yes, that’s me

Calla added, "And, unbelievably, it falls to your charm to convince him to have mercy on you"

He smiled nastily at her She sot your number

There was no part of Ronan that was surprised by this news Part of hi He felt he o back to the Barns, and he had His father had told him not to tell anyone about his drea every rule in his life

Of course so Of course they had found hi," Blue said suddenly "Is he? That’s what all of these break-ins are" Quite impossibly, she produced a pink switchblade to punctuate this state about the conversation so far

"I’ht, all at once

Gansey said, "Are the --"

Ronan interrupted, "Is he the one who beat up my brother? I should buy him a card if he is"

"Does it matter?" Maura asked, at about the same time that Calla asked, "Do you think your brother told anybody anything?"

"I’m sure he did," Ronan said darkly "But don’t worry-- none of it was true"

Gansey took control In his voice, Ronan could hear the relief that he knew enough about the situation to actually do so He asked whether Mr Gray really wanted to kidnap Ronan, whether his employer knew that the Greywaren was definitely in Henrietta, whether the others wandering about knew Finally, he asked, "What happens to Mr Gray if he doesn’t co?"

Maura pursed her lips "Let’s just use death as a short version of the consequences"

Calla added, "But for decision- purposes, assume it’s worse than that"

Blue muttered, "He can take Joseph Kavinsky"

"If they take that other boy," Calla said, "they’ll be back for the snake" This was said with a jerk of her chin toward Ronan Then her eyes flickered up to Maura

The Gray Man stood in the doorway behind Maura, his gray suitcase in one hand and a gray jacket slung over the other He set thehtened

There was that heavy silence that soainst Ronan’s nature to appear overly interested in anything, but he couldn’t help staring at the Gray Man It was the man from the Barns, the man who’d taken the puzzle box He would have never put the words hitelse A bouncer A body-builder An action hero This wary predator was none of those things His build was unassu, all sly kinetics, but his eyes --

Ronan was suddenly afraid of him He was afraid of hiht horrors Because they had killed hiain, and he precisely remembered the pain of each death He felt the fear in his chest, and in his face, and in the back of his head Sharp and stinging, like a tire iron

Chainsaw scrambled to Ronan’s shoulder and ducked low, eyes on the Gray Man She cawed stridently, just once

For his part, the Gray Man stared back, his expression guarded The longer he looked at Ronan and Chainsaw, the er he looked, the closer Gansey edged to Ronan, nearly i the space between the two of them instead of Ronan

Finally, the Gray Man said, "If I don’t return with the Greywaren on the Fourth of July, they’re telling my brother where I am, and he will kill me He will do it very slowly"

Ronan believed his in life It was real like a e man would be tormented in the bathroom of one of the Henrietta motels and then he would be discarded and no one would ever look for him

The Gray Man didn’t have to tell any of them how much easier it would be to merely take Ronan to his employer He also didn’t have to tell any of theh Calla stood beside the gun of his that she’d retrieved from the cabinet -- now Ronan sahy -- Ronan didn’t believe in it If it caht Mr Gray would win