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.Hope you don tget space-sick.I couldn t suppress a grin of my own; it feltgood to finally be smiling again, after somuch fear and pain.Even if the jokes werestupid, and the smiles were only temporary,and neither could truly hide the seething an-ger and growing bloodlust consuming us allon the inside. You only think that s funny441/839because you weren t on my last flight.Whatever we take off in better have jet en-gines.Or at least a couple of propellers.Movement in the rearview mirror caught myattention, and I glanced up to see Marcscowling at Jace.I twisted to face him. What s wrong? My question seemed some-how too trite, yet too complicated to haveany real answer. How safe do you think Kaci is with them?With the birds? Having second thoughts about leaving her?Jace s smile was gone. No, Marc growled. We had no choice.Ijust want to know how bad off she ll be whenwe get there.Does she have anyone to talkto? Anything to do? Do they even know whatto feed her?442/839 Assuming we make the deadline, she ll befine. I had little doubt about that, after see-ing Brynn with her daughter. They ll standby their word, unless I break mine.I madesure she has plenty to read, but there s noth-ing I can do about the company.Fortunately,they seem inclined to leave her alone.Theydon t like outsiders, and as weird as itsounds, they think of us as practicallyhuman. Meaning what? Jace asked. They look down on us, and they don t trustus.Including Kaci.But they don t want tohurt her, either.She ll be fine, so long as wemake it back with the smoking gun in twodays. What about food? She s a teenager, not a baby. Jace swervedto pass the first car we d seen since leaving443/839the gravel road. She eats the same thingseveryone else does.But I knew what Marc meant; Kai had askedfor carrion. I told them to make sure herfood was fresh and well cooked. In animalform, our stomachs can handle raw meat,but even a cat won t eat rotting flesh.And inhuman form, Kaci couldn t eat either one.Marc nodded, apparently mollified, andscooted onto the driver s side of the backseat,so he could see me better.He leaned againstthe window, and when he blinked, his eyesstayed closed a little too long.He looked ex-hausted, and I realized then that he and Jaceprobably hadn t slept at all since Kaci and Ihad flown the coop.My father had sent themwest immediately, hoping they d be closeenough to help by the time he heard from us. How did you guys get out? I asked.444/839 Huh? Jace frowned at me, and Marcblinked slowly in incomprehension.Theyreally needed sleep. From the ranch.How did you get out? Thatwas before the ceasefire. Oh. Marc rubbed both hands over his face,then blinked again. Your dad went out thefront door again, gun a-blazin.While thebirds were all flocking around him, we snuckout the back door and into the woods in catform, each hauling a backpack. Why the hell would they fall for that again?They d just caught us sneaking out! They didn t fall for it. Jace gave me a lop-sided grin. It was a hell of a race, but theydidn t follow us into the woods.I thinkthey re totally helpless when they reearthbound.445/839 Well, at least now someone can go out forfood and supplies.So, how did you get yourcar? I ran the fingers protruding from mycast over the door handle, then stopped andglanced at Jace again. Wait, this isn tyours. Now that I d warmed up and eaten, Irealized that the upholstery was dark gray,when it should have been black.Jace grinned again, impressed. Nope.Doddtook us to a rental place, then took Teo,Manx, and Des to Henderson in his companycar.No fair.Dodd had two cars, and I didn t evenhave one.But then again, Carey Dodd had agood job, and like most toms no family tosupport.Whereas I wasn t even drawing asalary, thanks to the tribunal, which hadfound me guilty of infecting my ex-boyfrienda few months earlier.Officially, working asan enforcer for free was considered my community service. If it wasn t work I446/839enjoyed, I d have called it indenturedservitude. Why don t you take a nap? I suggested,reaching back to squeeze Marc s hand as heyawned again. We ll wake you up when weget to the airport.Marc started to refuse; I could see the frownbuilding.But then he gave up and sighed. Can you make sure smart-ass keeps us onthe road, somewhere below light speed?I nodded and smiled, refraining from tellingMarc that Jace was actually the better driver.Behind the wheel, Marc made The Fast andthe Furious look like Driving Miss Daisy.He looked unconvinced, but ten minuteslater, he started snoring and I looked back tofind him passed out against the window, us-ing an empty backpack for a pillow.447/839 So, how come you re not falling asleep at thewheel? I whispered, to keep from wakingMarc.Normally he was a very sound sleeper, but Ihad no doubt that if he was ever going towake without warning, it would be during aprivate conversation between me and Jace. He drove most of the way here. Jace s gazeflicked to the rearview mirror. And you could sleep through that?Jace shrugged. I figure if he s planning tokill me, he ll wait until he has enough justi-fication to avoid the death penalty. He wasstill smiling, but his eyes showed no humor. So& how long do you think that ll be?My hands went cold in spite of the heaterblowing full blast, and I twisted to look atMarc again, to reassure myself that he really448/839was sleeping. Jace, I can t do this rightnow. My words came out so soft I couldbarely hear them, yet they left a bitter tasteon my tongue. Just give me a date, he whispered, sound-ing oddly& intense. And I won t mention itagain until then. You want to know when I m going to tellhim? You re seriously asking me this now? No amount of cautious whispering couldsoften my irritation
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