Page 28 (1/2)

"Fletcher Lane was the finest man that I ever met, and he was certainly the best assassin But you knohat, Gin? Fletcher toldabout you"

"And ould that be?" I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer

Jo-Jo speared me with a hard look "He told me that you were even better than he was That you had the kind of cold, iron will that few people have That you weren’t afraid to do what needed to be done But thehe told me was this-that if anyone could kill Mab, it was you Don’t you see, Gin? It’s what he’s been preparing you for all these years It’s why he trained you in the first place, it’s why he made you into the Spider So you could do what needed to be done to save your sister, just like he saved o"

Jo-Jo drew in a breath "That’s why I’ you this now If Sophia could survive all the horrible things Grimes did to her, then you can survive Mab too, just like you did when you were a little girl And I need you to survive, Gin We all do We lost Fletcher already We can’t lose you too"

I sat there holding the dwarf’s hand, but I wasn’t really there with her Instead, I ith the old h my mind then, fro his latest book to how he’d always had a hot nht about how Fletcher had always believed in me, how he’d never once wavered in his support of s that had helped me survive

Genevieve Snow, Gin Blanco, the Spider; whatever I calledremained the same-Fletcher Lane had fiercely loved me, and I’d loved the old h to follow in his footsteps as an assassin Enough to avenge his h to take on this final i, Gin?" Jo-Jo asked

A cold s that I’ll be da to disappoint the old e on Mab, even if Fletcher isn’t around to see it"

By the time the others caained our coh food to feed an army Sweet raspberry pancakes, blackberry biscuits, lots of scra bacon and country-fried ham, creamy peach smoothies All that andcountertops, and the air srease that I’d used to create ed down the stairs and planted themselves in the kitchen Finn, Xavier, Roslyn, Sophia, Eva, Warren, Violet, and finally Owen I handed everyone a plate and forced the inane pleasantries all the while

"So," Finnfor the chicory fumes to rouse hi his walnut-colored hair "I haven’t had nearly enough yet"

I atedown as much food as I could stoy boost before the day was through Everything tasted fine, as long as I didn’t think about Bria and how Mab had tortured her last night, could still be torturing her But there was nothing I could do to help her right now, nothing at all, so I made myself s biscuit after biscuit, even if they all pluhts

Once everyone was finished, I got up and started to wash the dishes, but Warren grabbed the plate out of ed the one out of ht back down, h, thin, reedy voice "Violet and I ash the dishes"

The old man hadn’t combed his hair yet today, and the wispy white strands stuck up every which way over his forehead The frizz in his hair h she’d tried to ta with their dark brown eyes and tan skin that hinted at their Cherokee heritage

The two of them moved over to the sink I slipped back intoto the clock on the wall High noon already The hours were ticking down untilat the clock, and I forced lum, folks," I quipped "My funeral isn’t officially for sixto do, Gin?" Violet asked lasses "About Mab and theto do but go through with things and ine that once I tradeboth Bria and me was far ht

"Mab isn’t going to kill you-not if we can help it," Owen ruht

I frowned at him "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Owen looked at the others, then back atbreakfast, we had a po upstairs We’re all in agree towith you-all of us"

I was just-stunned Si, that they would even consider it Trying to helpdown Mab was just crazy on their part Foolish Insane Stupid Dangerous Worry tightened erous

"You-you can’t do that," I protested "This is between me and Mab It always has been"

"This is about fa," Jo-Jo said in a firm voice "You’re a part of us, a part of all of us, and we aren’t losing you without a fight, even if we do have to take on Mab and every single one of her giants"

The others nodded their heads and reement All I could do was just stare at them

Xavier with his massive frame Beautiful, perfect Roslyn Crotchedy, cranky Warren Soft, pink Jo-Jo Eva and Violet, ere both still so young, still so innocent Sophia, who had been through more horrors than probably any of us really knew Finn, with his bright green eyes that always reminded me so much of his father’s And finally Owen, full of that strength and quiet inner confidence that had drawn me to hiht They all radiated the same stubborn determination, as immovable, implacable, and eternal as the htened my throat at their belief in me, that I could actually pull this off, that I could actually kill Mab and save Bria at the sah I knew better deep down inside

"You don’t have to do this," I said in a rough, thick voice "You all know the risks Mab won’t let ers this time She’ll have an army of men with her to iants, but the bounty hunters too Folks like Gentry and Sydney Dangerous people"