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"Kaleb?" Lily waited for an explanation

"My mistake It’s okay" I stayed beside her and scanned the crowd, trying to find someone as obviously out of place "The rips don’t see us It should be easy to find one"

"Just like it was a second ago, right?"

Doubt Fear More like terror

"I bet she’s a rip" I pointed to a woh tops with fluorescent pink laces I called out to her "Ma’a a response "I like your … shoes"

She hurried away, eyeing ely

"I didn’t even know theythe Skroll in place with her hands, ready to run

I pushed down a creeping sense of dread I didn’t want to tell Lily, but I was starting to worry that ere beco planted more firmly in the crowd of rips than in reality I wanted to run, too Problee girl wearing a sweatshirt with the neck cut out was et I could see a shiny spandex leotard underneath I didn’t bother speaking to her; I just stepped in front of her and held out my hand She walked into it and dissolved before she reached my body

"Thank God," Lily breathed out

"Don’t relax yet"

Poe and Teague stood on the steps by the Ra the crowd

"Run"

Chapter 25

"We’re totally not conspicuous," Lily said as we raced through the crowd

"Stop running, but walk fast"

"That I can do"

We hurried toward the Mud Island h parked cars So "Be careful"

"I should probably give this a little extra protection" She slid her arms out of my shirt and wrapped the Skroll in it "Oh no Duck!"

Call it a stress reaction, but I had the strangest thought she’d gone back to the bird fetish thing "What--"

"Duck! Poe’s boots"

She dropped to the ground behind a Honda Accord and shoved the wrapped Skroll underneath it Then she yanked s like that happen inlook, or an almost kiss In real life, it translated to Lily’s eyes squeezed shut in pain She was the only thing between the cobblestones and iant" She smacked at my biceps as she choked the words out I rolled ontoher with , she lifted her upper body and straddled limpse of Poe "I don’t see anyone Maybe he wasn’t as close as I thought"