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He cleared his throat "So like that"

Nix leaned on the back of the pilot’s chair and stared out of theShe let out a long sigh and in a voice that was odd and distant said, "Toht More than the Warrior Sh Not in this world Charlie learned that So did White Bear and Preacher Jack"

"No"

"Soet what the word ‘samurai’ reed "To do the honorable thing The right thing, even when it’s hard Even when it hurts"

She bent and picked up her bokken, which had fallen to the floor Nix looked at it for a long mohtened, and stressed, but beneath all that an old, faave Benny a single, decisive nod

"Then let’s do it," she said "Let’s go be samurai"

71

"HOW FAR IS IT BACK TO THE PLATEAU?" ASKED LILAH SHE HAD TO LEAN close to Joe’s ear and yell

"Two miles," he said "We’ll be there inoh crap"

He jammed on the brakes, and the quad skidded to a dusty halt Gri beside the quad, stopped dead and uttered a lol

Lilah looked past Joe’s h the forest was blocked with reapers An even dozen of the killers They had all turned at the sound of the quad, and their expressions quickly changed froht The rasp of steel as they all drew their weapons was louder than the idling o around?" asked Lilah

"We can," said Joe, "but we’d lose a lot of time, and from what you said, this is the route your friends would o around, we could ht find theht," she said

He turned and grinned at her "I admire your spunk, darlin’, but you’re in no shape for a brawl"

"I can shoot"

"There’s that" Joe diset practice with anyone who gets past me and the fuzz-monster"

"There are toolooked froain and alround

"Just watch our backs," said Joe, and began walking toward the reapers Lilah watched hi a leisurely stroll on a spring evening Grimm walked beside him Joe’s sas still slotted into its rack on the quad and his gun was in its holster The rinned at one another and puffed out their chests as they strode forward to share the darkness with this sinner

Joe stopped when he enty feet away and held up a hand, palm out Grih for the reapers and Lilah to hear, "before you go all wrath-of-God on me, let’s chat for a bit"

The reapers slowed and stopped, looking wary Their eyes darted froain One of thebirds and flowers, stepped out in front of the others

"Who are you?" he demanded

"Doesn’t matter who I am," said Joe

"Have you come to accept the darkness?"

"Not as such, no"

"Then what do we have to talk about?"

Joe shrugged "Oh, I don’t kno about we see how devoted you guys are to the whole joy-of-dying thing"

The leader of the reapers snorted "We are reapers of the Night Church, servants of God and purifiers of this infected world"

"Okay," said Joe "And?"

"And we do not fear dying To die is to becoreatest joy of all"

"Really?" asked Joe, seeuys actually believe that?"

"Yes!" declared the bird tattoos, and the other reapers roared in agree? I lory and oneness with the infinite"

"Soif I shot one of you, everyone here would be good with that?"

"You think like someone from the old world," sneered the leader "You still think that we fear death and--"

Joe drew his pistol and shot thefast--faster than anything Lilah had ever seen, faster even than Tom--and the leader pitched backithout even a cry

The echo bounced around the woods and then vanished, leaving a stunned silence behind

"Now the funny thing is," said Joe into the silence, "there’s ht now"

They gaped at him and cut uncertain looks at one another

Joe holstered his pistol, reached into his pocket, and rereen, with a singleHe held it up

"This is an M67 fragrenade Yeah, I know it’s from the old world, but let’s pretend that it still has relevance to the moment It has a casualty radius of fifteen meters, with a fatality radius of fiveto bet a brand-new ration dollar that not one of you is going to bravely stand there while I throw this In fact, I’ to run away as if you really are afraid for your own lives What do you think about that?"

The reapers stared at hirinned at theht around theit in place

And the reapers scattered They fleay froround Beside hih the forest eventually faded into silence Joe sighed, replaced the pin in the grenade, and dropped it into his pocket Then he turned and strolled back to Lilah

"Call me cynical," he said, "but I’ve come to believe that most people who follow a total wack job aren’t always true believers They just like to follow They like the perks Makes the Kind of weakens your faith in fruitcake fanatics"

Lilah goggled at hirinned "What do you think?"

Lilah nodded, then asked, "If we meet more reapers, will they all do that?"

He shook his head "Sadlyno Some of them are true believers, and those you have to deal with" He paused "And there are a few of the There are some who really won’t care if you shoot theh hell itself to take you with them Saint John’s like that And Brother Peter You don’t talk with theh to be face-to-face with either of them--you take your shot before you take your next breath ’Cause otherwise it will be your last breath"