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“She’s been following us for days? And now all of a sudden she’s here to help?”
Lark nodded “Yeah I had to make sure you weren’t psycho like other Arcana I’ve seen Besides, you haven’t needed my help before”
“But we do now?” Selena scoffed
“You’ve got a horde of Baggers to the north and gaining fast”
“We know this”
“Did you know that cannibal scouts to the east spotted you and are CB-ing for reinforce, full of the an aret it when you see them”
Lark cast him a surprised look “You know them?”
He nodded “I crossed these ”
Selena relaxed the tension on her bow a fraction “Baggers to the north, cannibals to the east? What about south and west?”
“One direction dead-ends in a sheer rock face,” Lark explained “The other funnels into a narrow pass that’s littered with snares Bear traps and pitfalls”
I was familiar with the latter
“And it’s rocky” Lark turned to me “Not a lot of dead trees for you to revive, E me that
To Selena, she said, “And it’ll be close quarters with no vantage points Not favorable for an archer”
So she had recognized our tableaux and knee were, which uys come this way?” Lark asked Rain ran off the briot the Fool with you, and he led you here? Tactically, this is about as bad as it gets”
“The better question?” Selena said “Why would you stay here?”
“This is my hood I know these brutes, know the mountains and the mines” Her accent did sound Southern “Plus the Teeth keep the worst of the Arcana away But now they’ve expanded their territory”
“Why? When?” Finn’s voice scaled an octave higher Whatever he’d seen had done a per down in the mines For fresh meat and three breeders, the Teeth’ll hunt us to the ends of the earth”
“Breeders?” I asked
In a deadpan tone, she said, “Cannibals need love too”
I glanced at Finn He appeared fascinated by Lark
Selena glared at hiirl ouldn’t want her forood news is that they will try to take us alive Flesh wounds and clubbed heads”
Finn eration” Had he sidled closer to Lark?
“Then we run” Selena finally lowered her bow “We take our chances on that pass, if it’s rigged as you say”
Lark scratched one wolf behind its scarred ear “You try running that canyon in the dark, you’re going to die”
“Why aren’t you running?” Selena demanded “You could’ve slipped away from all this”
“I told you—I want in on your alliance”
“Obviously you know all about this garoup is a little different We’re not planning to play We don’t want to kill anybody” Except for Death
Lark’s lips parted, as if this neas too good to be true Her tough-girl façade cracked a little, and I thought her brown eyes watered “Not to kill?” God, she looked so young “I’ve been alone out here, and when I saw Gabriel and his crew closing in on the area, I freaked, thought I was done for sure”
Selena’s shoulders tensed “They were here?”
Damn it, I would’ve expected them to head in the opposite direction!
“So close that Gabriel almost ran into my falcon They turned back, but I realized er Sooner or later, Arcana are going to come for the Hierophant”
“We’ve heard his call, then,” I said We go now to our bloody business “He’s near”
Lark nodded “Figures, since he’s in charge of the cannibals His naion He’s got them all enthralled It’s a cult, a cannibal miner cult They file their teeth to look like hiet eerier in my mind They just had
Selena’s expression was suspicious “Why has the Hierophant never targeted you?”
“I’a at hi”
“Which force will reach us first?” Jack asked “How long do we have?
“I’ll get a real-ti to the bird on her shoulder It unfurled its wings behind Lark’s head, bouncing on its thick legs It even had a little leather helmet
Any chick who carried around a bird of prey with a little helmet was cool in my book Oh, man, I really hoped she didn’t intend to kill us all “Can you see through the hawk’s eyes?”
“She’s a gyrfalcon And yes” In a flash of feathers, the falcon took off fro up into the rainy sky The bird’s size blew rew blank, her eyes beginning to sparkle red—the color of an anihts When her head and body canted to the side, like a kid playing airplane, I realized her senses and the falcon’s had ain: cool
Moht I forecast the Teeth’ll show about the same time”
“Both of therowled, but he ignored the warning
“Don’t!” Lark cried “They’ll kill you They’re olves—”
After a hesitation, they began licking his outstretched hand Lark’s jaw slackened Score one for Finn
“These guys have seen so to Lark, Finn said, “So our choices are either to fight a horde of zo a booby-trapped irl façade back in place, Lark so There will be at least five dozen of the cannibals ers”
“Then we make a stand here,” I said I’d been ready before Now I saw no choice
Jack muttered to me, “A word” He squired ive that sheer rock face a try?” When aze fell on Matthew, Jack bit out a curse “Alith coo-yôn He could’ve warned us about this, could’ve steered us out of this valley”