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"Thank you, Lucinda I owe you a solid for a solid thousand years"

Roland was back--but blood pooled fros

Daniel reached for Luce’s hand, pulling her toward the other two bound angels He had watched and learned from Luce He went to work on Annabelle, while Luce knelt before Arriane Arriane could not stay still The cloak was cinched so tightly around her that Luce aled to look at her

Their eyes locked Arriane lad to see Luce’s face Luce’s eyes watered as she remembered her first day at Sword & Cross, when she’d seen Arriane endure electroshock therapy The ultra-cool angel had seeirl, she’d felt an urge to protect Arriane, they way you did with old friends That urge had only strengthened over time

A hot tear slipped down her cheek and landed in the center of Arriane’s chest Luce whispered the Ara Daniel whisper thelanced at him His cheeks et

All at once the knots loosened, then unraveled coels were free by Luce’s and Daniel’s hands--and hearts

A gust was generated by the release of Arriane’s awe-soentler breeze from Annabelle’s lustrous silver ones The roos came off

Arriane also had a piece of duct tape over her ed in the first place Daniel grabbed a corner of the tape and ripped it off quickly with a cricccck

"Hot da the swollen red square of skin around her ers "Three cheers for the knot master, Lucinda!" Her voice had its sparkle, but her eyes were dotted with tears She noticed Luce notice, and wiped the-strewn floor,faces at each of the unconscious Scale, lunging like she was about to hit them Her denireasy, and she had a bruise the shape of Australia on her left cheekbone The botto on the littered floor

"Arriane," Luce whispered "You’re hurt"

"Aw shucks, kid, don’t worry ’bout htly enough to kick some scaly old Scale ass!" She looked around the room "’Cept it looks like the Outcasts beat , then flexing herlimbs like a ballerina But when she looked up at Luce and Arriane, she s we can do to pay thes fluttered and she lifted a few feet off the ground, flying around the e "I’ll think of so up fro with Daniel

"Whaa?" Arriane pouted "You never let me have any fun anymore, Ro"

"We don’t have time for fun," Daniel told her

"These fossils tortured us for hours," Annabelle called froht as well return the favor"

"No," Roland said "Enough priceless da the second relic"

"At least let us make sure they stay dohile we do that," Annabelle said

Roland looked at Daniel, who nodded

With a sainst the back wall of the warehouse She turned on a faucet, hu to herself She poured what Luce assuent into a bucket and started adding water

"Arriane," she said with bravado "A hand, please"

"Yes, ma’am" Arriane took the first bucket fro sweetly Slowly, she began to pour the wet slurry over their heads It slopped down their sides and gathered in a pool between their bodies A few of thequickly into a kind of artificial quicksand Luce recognized the genius of the plan In a few moments, when it dried, they would be stuck in their sprawled positions in rocklike plaster

"This is not wise!" one of the Scale burbled through the wet plaster

"We’reyou monuments to Justice!" Annabelle shouted

"You know, I think I prefer the Scale when they’re plastered" Arriane laughed, betraying irls kept pouring, bucket after bucket, a full bucket over the threatening angels’ heads, until their voices did not carry anymore, until the Outcasts had no need to stand over the Scale with their starshots

Daniel and Roland stood apart fro in hushed voices Luce stared at Arriane’s purple bruise, at the blood on Roland’s wings, at the gash in Annabelle’s shoulder

Then she had an idea

She reached inside the satchel and pulled out three small bottles of diet soda and a handful of starshots in their silver sheath She twisted off the caps

Quickly, she dipped a starshot into each one, holding the bottles as they boiled and stea the brown liquid inside turn to silver Finally, she rose from the corner where she’d been crouched, and was pleased to find a Chinese porcelain tray that had somehow survived the battle

"Here, everyone," she said

Daniel and Roland stopped talking

Arriane stopped dousing the Scale et plaster

Annabelle alighted on the lion statue’s , but all of them looked impressed as they claimed their bottles, clinked each other’s in celebration, and drank