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Cole flinched and then just took off in a flat-out sprint We followed as close as we could He darted right and left, down alleyways and narrow spaces between buildings, and I realized that his instincts were directing us toward the most clandestine route

Finally, Cole pulled up outside a familiar door He raised his fist and pounded on the door

"Where are the Shades?" he asked, panting

Jack s your memory"

I raised an eyebrow "You knohat happened to the boy who cried wolf too many times?"

Cole waited with an expectant look on his face "What happened?"

I rolled my eyes

"Remember," Jack said to Cole "Don’t let on about our plan"

"What plan?" Cole said

Jack took a deep breath and gritted his teeth "The one about destroying the Everneath" We’d gone over this countless times "I didn’t think the amnesia affected the short-term memory," he muttered

"Oh, yeah The plan," Cole said just as Ashe’s door swung open

When I caught sight of Ashe, e before, with his gray coloring and smoky texture But even in the relatively short ti had settled into a deep-black hue Black hair lay flat against er discern any white in his eyes Every part of his body was black It was as if he was now made of oil I knew the Everneath ran on a different ti

He ht sent chills down my neck and back He so resembled the Shades that had attacked me in the Ouros square the first time I’d coood idea But at least Ashe was still shaped like a man and not like the fluid forms of the full Shades

As for Ashe, he couldn’t stop staring at Cole As he spoke, strands of an oil-like substance connected his upper and lower lips, and his voice sounded like he was speaking under thick water

"Cole," he said "You’re okay" He sounded relieved and surprised, and then he glanced nervously down the street "Come in, come in Quickly"

We filed in, one by one; and as I passed by, Ashe finally seemed to realize who I was "Nikki I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again," he said I couldn’t tell how he felt about the prospect

"It’s a long story"

"I bet" He shut the door behind us Cole couldn’t stop staring at Ashe’s strange appearance, and I wondered if he would all of a sudden run away

Ashe ushered us toward the table in therectangular rooe round table in the round in the corners, and there was a back door in the middle of the opposite wall

Once ere all seated at the table, he stared at Cole "How did you escape?"

Cole glanced at"Escape what?"

"The queen" Ashe looked atexpression

"He has amnesia," I explained "He can’t remeain, this time a little critically "You’re lucky"

"Why?" I asked "Do you knohat happened to hilasses froed frolasses ater I remembered the water here wasn’t ordinary water It had powers to lasses and set down one in front of each of us

I pushed mine away "No, thanks I want a clear head"

"Keep it nearby," Ashe said "You e your mind once you hear what I have to say"

Neither Jack nor I touched our glasses, but Cole--the one who needed a clear head the lass doith a thud

Ashe sipped his oater and then set it down He turned toward Cole "There’s been a bounty on your head ever since your run-in with the queen When you were here with Nikki At the end of the maze"

Cole turned tostory," I said

"Nobody kneho you were, and I didn’t tell anyone" Again he glanced at uys out He traded the information so his exile could be revoked Does any of this make any sense to you?"

Cole frowned and shook his head

"What’s a Delphinian?" I asked

Ashe looked at me "The Delphinians were banned fro on the Surface They’re a scary group You don’t want to estured toward hisand addressed Cole again "You know those posters plastering the streets? Well, those used to show pictures of you and your band Once the Delphinian gave theo with the face, they sent bounty hunters after you specifically I guess they found you"

"Bounty hunters?" Jack said

Ashe nodded "Ten-Shade bounty hunters Shades aren’t very strong on the Surface because of their ether and find a hulances His eyes ide "The man with the black eyes," he said

I nodded

Ashe looked from Jack to me "You ran into a bounty hunter and survived?"

"Jack’s strong," I said

"Still," Ashe said, seeht you and the band to the queen" At this point in the story, Ashe paused and looked intently at the wooden table "The queenshe tortured you And the others Trying to find out about Nikki I only know because the Shades share certain knowledge ae in how I look, I’h their eyes"

He shook his head, refusing to look up

Cole leaned forward "Don’t worry about it I don’t re Not anymore"

Ashe raised his head and squinted his eyes, in an al way "You’d better hope that memory never coht of Cole being tortured How badbefore and after?