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But where was Jackson? I had aif he’d bailed Surely, he wouldn’t leave h It’s you for me, peekôn
Still, I was about to ask when Selena announced, “We’re in a valley with h to scale The third leads to cannibal country”
Finn sed hard He’d seen the cannibals when he’d crossed theFinn’s distress, Matthew patted him on his head “There, there”
Selena continued, “The only road out of here is a bottleneck If we can squeeze out before the other Arcana show, I say we head south back to Finn’s cabin Lure Death to our foxhole, fight hi in and prepare”
Finn wipedyou back tothis toith you We’ll be fine on our own”
She shoved the map into her pack “Listen, you deceptive little shit, Evie’s the linchpin I go where she goes—”
“The linchpin’s still going to find her grand to the Outer Banks” I gazed around “Where’s Jackson?”
Finn zipped Matthew’s pack closed “Uuilty “He’s gone, Evie”
“Not a card,” Matthew said He’d never felt coone?” No, I refused to believe he would abandon me without so much as a look back Like you abandoned him? my conscience whispered
Selena rolled her eyes “What’d you expect? JD witnessed you go full-on Ee: we’re—not—human Not toin Death’s crosshairs If I were hi away from us as fast as I could”
That wasfair “I’m surprised you didn’t chase after hiht’ve asked hih I’ve accepted that an alliance with you is the single thing that ht keepback?”
Matthew gazed at the cloudy sky “He should’ve said good-bye”
I surveyed the yard, seeing the Baght before Jackson had collected his arrows from those corpses—on his way out Ever practical, Cajun
My eyes watered, but I forced a blank expression on my face “It’s for the best anyway” I hated that he’d left! “He didn’t belong with us” He belonged with ain? The idea hurt me worse than a sword to the stomach I asked Matthew, “If Jack is still nearby, will he be safe from other cards?”
Matthew nodded “Not Arcana”
Yet ere, which er I couldn’t afford to think about Jack right now—I needed to figure out how to survive the next hour!
“All right, Evie, what do we do?” Finn checked a neatch “We’ve got company in less than forty-five minutes” He looked at irl like me had to say
In the past, no one had consultedAnd I’d been okay with that
“We run out of the valley, threading the needle,” I said “But if you want to go with me, then we make a pact not to harm each other, and we make it fast”
Selena and Finn scowled at each other
“What are our options?” I deo back to Finn’s, and Death comes Say we somehow defeat him Do we even take a fiver to celebrate our tea each other out directly?”
When they remained unconvinced, I said, “Mattheed ht Death They were organized, skilled, and committed They never would’ve hurt each other, which aht?”
He didn’t deny it, just said, “Systeame the systeht need to fight, but that doesn’t mean we have to kill each other If we all commit to this, then we don’t have to become murderers Your hands are clean” Unlike my marked one
Finn asked Selena, “Think a pact’s even doable for you?”
“If we can coame, then I won’t hurt any of you,” she said “Otherwise, we’re back to the take-out-Death alliance”
I shared a look with Finn Best we’re gonna get
He tapped his watch “We’re getting close on ti ht First order of alliance business: run”
They both grabbed their packs, like I’d givenMatthew’s hand, I hurried toward the yard “Can you see how far away the other cards are?” We crossed over the front porch—the place where I’d finished the Alcheers must’ve licked the boards clean
“You need to stay here and fight, E rubbery “We’re taking off, honey It’ll be safer for you”
His big brown eyes were solery and sad for as long as it rains”
“Matthew! Why would you say that?” I cast him a hurt look “Never mind, we’ll talk about this later”
“Death watches Strike first, or be first-struck”
He kept saying that, but even if I unleashed my full arsenal, I didn’t know if I could kill Death He would slice through my barriers and vines with his swords His armor would protect him from my thorns and claws Just like in my dream Now that I wasn’t all roided out on Eh hopes for my chances “One threat at a time, okay?”
We hadn’t made it out of the yard when everyone froze midstep; Arcana calls sounded
—Eyes to the skies, lads, I strike from above!—
—I watch you like a hawk—
I’d heard these before, had seen their owners in Matthew’s shared visions The first call belonged to the Tower Card, Joules The second was froed boy
Shit, this was happening! “Matthew, you told us we had an hour!”
“Less than This is less than”
“They’re already in the valley” Selena scowled “And if we heard their calls, you better believe they heard ours We can’t get past them now The bottleneck’s too narrow”
Just as Finn said, “The four of us can handle a pair, right?” we heard another call: