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We’d both been cut out Well, I’d been hoping Lewis had fallback positions, in the beginning, and it looked like he’d done a hell of a lot ed in his place

"They’re in for it now," I noted, as three lightning strikes crawled the Grand Horizon ’s deck, searching for soet there ahead of them"

"I know" He cupped my face in both hands, and he studiedfor

"I’ht, anyway" He seemed to calculate me at about the same rate

"If we succeed," he said, "ill have another probleht past the consequences of failure, which were fairly horrific "Like what?"

"You may inherit his power And you ood"

"So did he Once It isn’t a power you can use, Jo It’s a power you rab it fro to take it away fro"

"Maybe," David said "But first we have to live to get there, don’t we?" I turned to face hi drop sent hiry and da of salt and desperation For a moment even the storm seemed to stop, suspended between heartbeats

I felt the darkness into reach out to him, and slapped it down hard No Not yet

David ht be withto be the one to enslave hiain, not until I had no other choice

I turned to face south, toward the e at a ti on either side ofof the ship as we plunged toward the darkness "Right"

Chapter Ten

The Wardens on the Grand Horizon had learned froh the storm, and they must have set up a series of Djinn/ Warden cooperative alliances to listening curve of it from the deck of our ship as the waves broke and foamed over the smooth round surface

I wished the work "How long until they catch up?"

David handed me a plate Our pirate cook had y bread It was delicious, and surprising; I’d soobbled down the lunch with gratitude

"Good?" David asked, aaining

They’ll catch up to us by midday"

"Can’t let that happen," I mumbled "Leas very clear This needs to be me Not them"

"Bad Bob and his storm didn’t slow them down How do you propose either of us stops the them?"

I chewed and sed "Ask theht of that I winked and carriedon a stained old cot at the back while his navigator did the hard work of steering the tough little vessel on the course I’d set I asked about the radio and was pointed belowdecks, to a small, claustrophobic closet of a room with bad ventilation and a crew member who evidently liked beans and hated baths I evicted him from his battered chair and rolled up to check out the radio It was old, but highly coh the closed door David opened it "Help me out a little I’m not Sparky the Wonder Horse"

That earned me a full, warm smile "I wouldn’t say that "

"Watch it" Iat me like I was the old Joanne The less deuard up I mean it, David Bad Bob can be funny, too That doesn’t make him any less of a monster Don’t you dare trust me I can’t trust myself, not anymore"

The smile faded, and the sparks in his eyes turned ash-dark "Yes I understand" David looked at the radio, and the dials turned "There That should put you in touch with the Grand Horizon ’s bridge"

"Thanks" I slipped on the headphones as he shut the door between us - less to provide ive h space in here to breathe

"Merchant vessel - " Oh, hell, as this ship’s name? "Merchant vessel Sparrow for the cruise vessel Grand Horizon Please respond, over" I expected I’d have to repeat ot an immediate crackle of connection

" Sparrow,this is Grand Horizon" I knew that voice "You made it"

"Lewis" I kept lad he’d made it, too Even if he had tried to kill me "You’re lucky David hasn’t made a lampshade out of you"

"Time will tell" Lewis obviously knew all about how much trouble he was in on that front

"You’re heading straight for Bad Bob"

"I have a plan Obviously, it won’t be as good as yours," I said, "but I o in, do as uys land for the cleanup"

"That would be great - if I thought for a second we could actually trust you" Lewis’s voice was bleak and dry, even through the distortion of the radio waves "You brought us this close That’s enough, Jo Break it off Whatever happens, don’t let hi you"

"What makes you think he can’t do it fro for you than against you"

"Jo - "

"Maybe you didn’t get that I wasn’t asking your per you, that’s all

You can not love it all you want, but it’s what’s going to happen, and - " I felt the laboring engines of le "Don’t you even think about it,with me and you are in a world of trouble" He covered the mike, presu to shut ," he said "I’ly to break this off and run, Jo Now"