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"Ah, Tower, you should have taken"Poison is such a painful way to go"

Death whispered --Why must you always taunt them so? Make a clean kill and be done with it--

Shut up!

Though Joules appeared horrified, his tone was full of bravado "Do it, then What I want is on the other side anyway"

I leaned lyphs reflected in his terrified eyes "Coled in ht of

Jackson

He’d co down a nearby alley, bow at the ready, but froze upon seeing me

My heart leapt He hadn’t left us?

He took cover behind an old shed not fifty feet away He wore a hunter’s coat, a hoodie, and fingerless gloves The straps of his fa fitted over his broad shoulders His biker boots had been replaced with hiking boots

He’d been resupplying before co back for me! I should’ve had more faith

Jackson’s lips parted at my appearance He’d seen the aftermath of my battle with the Alchemist--now he had a front-row seat to an execution

Execution?

This wasn’t --but I knew if I did this thing noould lose hier did I see thewith fear I shookin the fury Inhale Exhale Glance at Jack Better

To Joules, I said, "I told you I didn’t want to kill The only reason I have thisonI could not to haret this feckin’ over wit’!"

Seeing how e Joules had inside him--and an apparent death wish--h I would pass on recruiting this unmerry band today, I would spare them on one condition"If I release you, will you vow not to hunt us again?"

Tess cried, "Make the vow!"

Gabriel called, "Do it, Tower"

Joules blinked at a I’ll spare you all"

Selena, Matthew, and Finn approached, flanking azed up at Selena "Isn’t that right?"

She sighed "Apparently, we’re going to figure out a way to kill Death, then stop the game"

Joules jutted his chin "Aye, then, I vow I’ll not hunt you But if you attack us, it’s on"

Anxious to go talk to Jack, I said, "Good enough!" My barbs dropped once lyphs diht, I freed Tess and unraveled the Tower, offering , "Bloody hell," he took it

With the battle averted, Gabriel landed and gave Selena a forotone, Matthew told Tess, "The World wasn’t built in a day" Then he turned to Joules Sounding more authoritative than I’d ever heard him, Matthew said, "You need to leave this valley, Tower Before the sun sets"

Joules’s gaze flickered over each of us "Not a probleht, everything seemed to compete for my attention, when all I wanted to do was talk to Jackson

Selena slapped me on the back "If I were a nice person who didn’t loathe you, I’d say you did well"

A li oak offered itself to my thorn claws, like an ar

Death had his own commentary: --You spared the Tower, of all Arcana? Have you lost your wits, creature?--

But I wasn’t paying attention to any of them; instead I hastened toward Jackson’s spot behind that shed He’d already begun striding away

"Jack, wait up" I trotted after hi toward the mountains The ones that led to cannibal country

Selena called after us, "JD!" He ignored her

While the others held back in confusion, I followed hi , the one I’d thought was lost forever

I gaped down at it "How?" He lanced inside They’d stolen the heirloo, but left some basic supplies--and et this?"

"Probably around the ti out with Selena"

My face flaht"

"Mistake" Catching

I tried to keep up with his long-legged strides "Where are you going?" So quickly? So away fro with cannibals?" Finn called, as he and the others snatched up the various packs and jackets and started trailing us "That’s where they live, you know, the ones who eat raw human meat, the ones I’ve seen Does anybody listen toout the other way," I told Jack "Through the bottleneck"

"Then you’re goan to die"

"And that wouldn’t bother you?"

His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t slow his step "There’s a horde of zoht, holed up in a warehouse about six miles down the road" He turned to address the others with a cruel look on his face "As slow as Evie is, that ought to put y’all right in theirabouter bait," Jackson said "That’s between you and your god Me? I’er"

There were other things to be said, other questions to be asked--