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“Nothing’s goan to happen to me. So no worrying about ole Jack.”
“We’re dying to know what you were thinking. Not literally dying—not like you might be.”
I chuckled. “I might pray for the end after two weeks in close quarters with the Tower here.”
He grumbled, “Feck off, Cajun. And put it on speaker.”
When Gabe nodded too, I did.
Evie said, “Tell us what happened.”
“Kos, that woman, was the Knight of Swords. K.O.S. She was a soldier and freedom fighter.”
“Seriously?”
“Or she said she was,” Dominija pointed out. “She was in the grip of delirium.”
If they didn’t even believe Kos was a Minor, they’d never buy the rest. Maybe I shouldn’t either. But it’d felt right. “True, but my gut told me she was legit. She said the Swords have a hangar stockpiled with weapons and supplies.” Her actual words: Everything you’ll need to go out with a bang. But I decided to soft-pedal this a bit. “We looked up the coordinates she gave me. It’s a couple hundred miles away.” Which might as well be a couple thousand. Already, the weather geared up again, winds howling around the bastions of the fort to rattle those bones outside.
When Joules grunted at my words, I gave him a look that said, You got something better to do?
Dominija asked, “Where’s the rest of the suit then? And what are their powers?”
“She said if two Swords grasped hands, they could temporarily neutralize a Major Arcana’s abilities. Eight of them set out to battle the Emperor, the same freedom fighters that Sol allowed to get close.” He’d confirmed at least that part of Kos’s story. “But Zara caught them by surprise on the road and Richter bombed their camp before the Swords could even muster.”
Dominija said, “With Kos’s demise, that would make nine Swords down. What happened to the remaining five?”
“The others journeyed to this fort to unite with the Pentacles.” But not against Richter that time. No, another Arcana had moved to the top spot on their target list. “When they realized the Pentacles were deranged, a battle broke out. The Swords had the disadvantage here and were captured. One by one, they succumbed to plague.”
Would Joules, Gabe, and I?
Dominija asked, “Did she give you any more information about the game?”
“She said Richter had to be taken down.” Among others. “I didn’t get much out of her, only had a few moments with her before she died.” As she’d seized, she’d somehow kept her frenzied gaze on me, her blood-filled eyes asking, Will you keep your promise? Though I’d hankered to ask a thousand more questions, I . . . had.
Evie said, “I don’t trust anything that came out of that woman’s mouth. What if she lied about who she was? She could’ve overheard an actual Sword talking. Even if she was the real thing, we can’t trust Minors.”
I winced to hear Evie say that. Kos had told me not to trust the Empress either: Of all the Major Arcana, the Empress is the most treacherous. Like Richter, she must not win—or the world will be lost.
Evie continued, “We’ve encountered two confirmed suits, and both were crazed. Why would the Swords be any different? If you recall, Matthew warned me about the Minors.”
The Fool had said they were uniting to come after her. That had been the plan. Kos: We came to this place because she killed the Cups.
“Amen, Empress!” Joules cried. “Been telling our boyo this, but he won’t listen. Remember when you kept warning him that something was off with the Queen of Cups, but he was half in love with Lorraine anyway?”
“Me?” I scowled at him. “You were the one singing her praises. In Jubilee, I liked the bounties, not the politics—and not the Cups.”
Evie said, “My grandmother told me the Queen of Cups and the Knight of Swords were walking nightmares.”
But your grand-mère said a lot of things that weren’t right. “I know the ones we’ve encountered before have been evil—”
“Barmy across the board!”
“—but I believe that Kos was good. I vowed to her that I would journey to their lair. So if I beat this plague, that’s where I’m heading.” For more reasons than one.
Evie wasn’t having it. “It’s way too dangerous out on the road. And even if this Kos person was for real—a big stretch—those coordinates must have gotten muddled. She was so far gone, Jack.”
“I know, I know. But I have to do this. I’ve talked to the guys, and almost everybody is ready to make the journey.” I eyed Joules. “Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be working on the Tower.”
When he flipped me off, I wondered if that finger ever got tired.
In a curt tone, Evie said, “Will you even stop by to meet Tee?”
“I told you I’d come running if you need me, but you doan. Not right now. So bond with junior and his dad.”
