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"Could we…couldn’t we give it to theood, anyway"

"That’s not an option," Nick said "You’ll have to trustus? Jack wondered

"We’re just a small-town police force," Ross said "We don’t have the manpower or equipovernor’s office Bring in the National Guard"

"It wouldn’t do any good," Seph said "They ht kill a feizards with conventional weapons, if they took thehter theround"

Ross nodded, looking almost relieved, as if he didn’t want to conteovernor "Okay What if the--ah--underguilds left? Wouldn’t the--wizards leave Trinity alone?" The police chief was doing the best he could to rapple with the monsters who’d come out from under the bed

"It’s too late for that now," Jason said "There are hundreds of wizards out there There’s no e can get through without being captured or killed"

"These are children, too, reainst the kitchen counter "Whatever powers they have, you can’t expect them to … fall on their swords"

"It doesn’t matter, Moht it would do any good We’d surrender if we thought it would save the town But…they knoe’re intertwined with the people here And wizards are vindictive The Anaweir are throays to thees, they’ll take captive The rest, well …" He found he couldn’t quite put it into words

But Jason could "They’ll kill everyone: s and cats There won’t be a building left standing They’ll burn everything to the dirt Then poison the ground so nothing grows here again It’ll be like someone nuked the commons"

"Isn’t there anyone who can help?" Becka asked "Where are Linda and Hastings?"

"We don’t know, Becka," Nick said softly "They went to England, to secure a hoard of ical weapons, to keep them out of our enemies’ hands So we’ll have to do the best we can on our own" He patted her shoulder "All is not lost We have so, but he’s quite powerful And there’s Jason Iris And ht

"Andon the hearth, but her chin caht

"All right, Seph, Jason, Iris, me, and Leesha," Nick said "And a few others"

Dread coalesced in the pit of Jack’s stoainst hundreds If they could even trust Leesha

"We have warriors," Nick went on "There’s Jack and Ellen, of course, and we also have a forhost warriors We have hundreds of sorcerers, enchanters, and seers We hold a large collection of ical weapons, and we actually kno to use rinned, and Jack felt a little better

"All right, then," Becka said, straightening, regaining her familiar focus "Think What can we do about the … people? We could put them in the Convocation Center, but that would just becoet"

"We need to hide theested "Tell them some kind of story to make them stay put How many basements would it take to hide ten thousand people?"

"You know, I can’t picture telling citizens of Trinity we’re under attack by wizards," Bill said "Being drummed out of office is the least of it I e could find a way to get them out of here"

And how, exactly, are we supposed to do that? Jack thought Dig a tunnel under the wall? And how long would that take?

That gave hilimmer of an idea

"We have to come up with a place to put them until this is over," Seph said "Like…like a bohtfully, "There’s the salt mines"

"Come on, Jack," Jason snapped "We don’t have time for…"

"I’m serious," Jack said "There’s plenty of room, and they’re well-ventilated and …"

Jason’s bleak expression reorganized into interest "What are you talking about?"

"TheyJack speculatively "Have for years The o halfway to Canada"

Jack grinned "Halfway to Canada, but all the way to the Sisters"

Bill Childers nodded grudgingly at Jack "You know That’s an idea"

"I never heard of any salt mines," Jason said "Where are they?"

"The entrance is in the industrial park on the lakefront," Ross explained "Within the--ah--periot arrested for picketing there back in the spring Seems there was a proposal to close the mines and use thee of his nose with his forefinger, looking over at Becka