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"What?" I deet-you-sucka? Coirl panties on already"

"You’re trying to trick me," it said

"Not really I don’t have to trick you You’re going to trick yourself right out of existence; you can count on that"

"I’ to destroy you"

"News flash: You made me When you consuy, and we know that energy has to go soave ured that out a while ago, but it still hurt to say it; the last thing I wanted to do e my existence to this creature This land shark "If you want to get rid ofto have to work a hell of a lot harder"

That pushed a button A big, red, nuclear launch button "I will!" it screa human about that sound, or about the raill behind it

I rolledpeople to do your dirty work? Kevin? Cherise? David? And believeyour dirty little hands on David Big-ti a watch I didn’t actually have on my wrist "You knohat? Drama period’s over See you around the schoolyard, ET"

It was a risk, but I thought I could do it, and I did I turned around and zipped along the path of lights, through the dilapidated, sad halls of Kevin’s ht at the end of the tunnel

Out

When I opened ht where I’d been, and Kevin had his head down on the table He was breathing, but unconscious

I put ently stroke his greasy, edy, Kev," I said "Co his head and blinking like a kid co, difficult sleep He stared blankly for a few seconds, then focused on et it?" he asked He didn’t see his hair I didn’t stop

"Got it," I said "Good job, man Thank you"

He ducked his head, and I saw a dull flush build in his sallow cheeks

"Kevin," I said "What happened to Cherise wasn’t your fault"

Cherise looked startled, and mouthed, Me?

She didn’t remember

Ah, the beauty of the hu or Lewis’s; maybe he’d taken the bad lad

"You knohat I re after the first ene your life to even the score when you thought Cherise was dead, and Lewis and I had killed her I remember the look on your face when you realized she was still alive" I looked straight at Cherise, as a little flushed now, too "He needs you," I said "And you need hiht?" She nodded "Better tell hi, that’s the reason you’re going to want to live through this"

I pushed through the kitchen door and went through the ee co were gathered near the war Lewis raised the coffee cup to his lips without co Paul, waited for o ho to choose a place where the veil that separates our world froo?"

He put his coffee down, leaned forward, and thought about it for a second He exchanged a look with David, who frowned, and together they both said, "Seacasket"

I blinked "You’ve got to be kidding"

If I’d hated the helicopter flight, I loathed the plane ride cross-country But, given the tiht I’d better suck it up, take the Dra every time the plane hit a wind shear, which was about, oh, every thirty seconds, give or take

The Wardens had a corporate jet Who knew? Apparently I now had the authority to commandeer it, or so Lewis told me once ere strapped in "Shouldn’t there be, like, paperwork?" I asked, and snugged nature card for that sort of thing? For security?"

Lewis had his eyes shut even before takeoff "Trust h paperwork to keep you in ink stains for the rest of your life" He paused for a few seconds, then said, "How sure are you about this?"

"Any of it? On a scale of one to ten? About a three" That was probably , from the pained expression that flickered over his face "Look, when I was taking on Kevin’s memories, I took on some of hers, too More than that, I felt herwell, I can’t really call them emotions But there’s a sense to it I really can’t describe I know that in the beginning her only goal was to go hoh her otten more complicated, she still has that instinct"

"Then why do you think she asting her ti to take over your life?" he asked, and then looked instantly sorry he’d said that "Not that your life isn’t i is, I don’t think beco me was an end in itself It was all about the Wardens Think about it: Get enough Wardens together, set theet ashe could use to rip a hole from this world into her own"

He looked ill, and I didn’t think it was airsickness "I would have helped her do it," he said "We were talking about ways to reorganize the Wardens, concentrate their power Nobody would have questioned her"

"It’s not your fault"

"Sure it is," Lewis said, and closed his eyes "I’ to take a nap while I still can"

"How can you possibly sleep while"

He switched hih the teeth-rattling jounces, and tried to pretend that I didn’t hate flying at a cellular level Lewis really was asleep I hated hiht term-ere free to take our lives in our hands and h the small, craether, heads close, whispering; they looked up at me, and Cherise winked and offered a thu the back of Paul’s seat in a death grip as the plane dipped and dropped unexpectedly, and he broke off his conversation with Marion to ask ht I decided it was better not to lie, so I just s alone at the back of the plane He hadn’t bothered with anything so superfluous as a seat belt, of course He, like Lewis, see a paperback novel, one that looked vaguely familiar to me Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry

I dropped into the seat beside hidraft to another He closed his book and took my hand

"Have we done this before?" I asked

"Flown in a plane together? No Mostly we drive"