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What? I says

Apologize, he says Fer bein so darateful

I narrow my eyes I don’t learn manners from a thief, I says Cuz that’s what you are, ain’t it Jack? That’s what you do to git by

I ’s fer certain though I ain’t the one they cal the Angel of Death

He knows jest where to stab me

You bastard, I says

If it ives a lit le bow of his head, turns and walks away

Jack picks up the pace

He says he ain’t certain how long it’s gonna take us to git to Freedom Fields Says it depends on whether we run into any trouble on the way but it ht take us ten days

Ten days With midsummer twelve days away

The sun beats down on us, white hot an merciless The air shimmers, heavy an thick It’s hard to breathe I pul my sheema down over my forehead

Ash rides at the front with Jack an makes up to him like nobody’s business Even hetouches his She looks at his that h like he never heard nuthin so funny in his life

It’s sick-makin

Or it would be, if I cared

Which I don’t

Liar, whispers the voice inside h the Wrecker city an cover another four leagues before we stop fer the night Jack cal s this real es of steep, heavily wooded slopes that al press in close together

This land don’t please h sky

We set up ca stone buildin that stands beside a streah the s, caith glee as he scat ers the roostin pigeons Ash an Jack bring down a couple of ’em fer supper

They al chat er ahile they build a re an git the water boilin fer a brew of sage tea Epona plucks an guts the pigeons with Emmi’s help Then she shoves ’em on a spit an sets ’em to roast

I sit on rass, mul in over what Jack said to me

After a while E Suit yerself, I says

She sits herself down beside me We don’t say nuthin fer a bit, then, I’m sorry fer sassin you, she says An I shouldn’t of stuck out h’d be mad if he knew

Don’t s’pose he’d be too i with you like that

Guess we’d both be in trouble Epona’s nice An Ash Don’t you think?

I grunt

I grunt

Wel I like ’em, she says

I don’t say nuthin

They’d like to be yer friends, you know, she says

Huh, I says