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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr

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(instrumental music plays) . Episode 86:

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A Guard Discovered

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(instrumental music plays) . While Mailer was
looking for an escape, Darla

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had been tidying the cabin and organizing things.

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Mailer was conflicted. Their roles had somehow
reversed over the past few

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days.

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Darla had embraced the quiet beauty of the
woodlands, while Mailer was

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impatient to get away. On the one hand, she wanted
to shake Darla

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and tell her to focus on the important thing,
escape.

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But on the other hand, she understood the appeal
of quiet domesticity,

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especially after they both had a life of hard
violence.

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Darla, as a mine guard, and Mailer, as a thief

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captain, they deserved a break.

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And to Darla's credit, she was an appropriate
combination of concerned and

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challenged by what Mailer had described.

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"Did you try every direction?"

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Mailer shook her head.

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"No, not every direction. I left out the back, the
front, and

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then another direction near the front.

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No matter which direction I left, however, I was
returned to the edge of the clearing across from
the front

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door."

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They were sitting at their kitchen table eating
dried

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strawberries.

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"It will probably be the same no matter what
direction you go," Darla replied,

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waving her hand while she had a strawberry between
her thumb and forefinger.

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"I have an idea,"

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Mailer said, grabbing a handful of strawberries.

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"What if the only exit is the road? That was how
the wizards left, and that was the

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direction where the guard said we would face
death.

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If every other path leads back to the cabin, that
must be the way out."

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Darla nodded. "Yes, that makes sense."

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"So here is what I was thinking. I'll grab the
knife and head down the road, seeing

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what kind of guard we will be facing. We could
then create a plan based on what I find."

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"But what if it's an archer that just shoots you
when you pass a certain point?"

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"I'll be careful."

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Darla dropped her hands to the table and stared at
Mailer.

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"No."

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"What do you mean, no?"

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Mailer felt anger rising inside her.

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Darla was her partner, her friend, and perhaps
even more, but

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she was not her mother or guild master.

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"It is too dangerous and there is no need."

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"What do you mean there is no need? We are
prisoners.

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We need to find a way to escape."

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After

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the fourth day, their discussion turned more
personal, and the closeness they

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shared as they stumbled through the mountain,
desperately relying on each other to

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survive, turned out to be real.

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Mailer had always considered that she favored men,
but as she delighted in

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Darla dancing around in the filtered sunlight in
nothing but a thin tunic,

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she realized that it was the opposite that was the
case.

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She didn't prefer men, men preferred her.

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She didn't think much of men that way at all, and
their attention created her

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default expectation.

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She thought she liked men, but that she just
wasn't a romantic.

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Yet here she was bringing a flower from deep in
the forest to Darla for no other

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reason than seeing the smile that it would
generate.

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"Thank you."

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Darla threw her arms around Mailer and kissed her
on the cheek.

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Darla appeared nervous to do more, and Mailer knew
it was due to Mailer's own

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coldness and uncertainty.

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"It reminded me of you: delicate and beautiful,
and yet

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thriving with resilience and strength in the
lonely dark of the forest."

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Mailer lowered her face, but looked back up when
Darla didn't say

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anything. As their eyes met, the reality of their
freedom from male

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attention and mockery, stifling guild rules and
the oppressiveness of

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duty was never more obvious. Darla put her arms
around Mailer

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again, and this time,

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she kissed more than Mailer's cheek.

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They shoved their beds together in the back room,
and Mailer pushed aside thoughts of

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escape. She had more important things to focus on.

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A week later, she and Darla lay on the grass in
front of the cabin.

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The top of Darla's head was tucked against
Mailer's neck and shoulder.

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It was in the middle of their clearing, and was
the best spot to view the stars.

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Darla loved watching the stars, as she had lived
her whole

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life without them.

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"I love that the most."

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Darla pointed to a cluster of stars that didn't
have any discernible shape to

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Mailer.

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"It reminds me of two swords clashing."

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"Tell me again of your final test."

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Mailer could tell Darla was smiling, even if she
couldn't see it.

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"What's there to tell? I defeated the captain of
the guard."

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"The first to do that in years."

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"Yes, but it doesn't mean anything."

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Mailer knew Darla didn't mean that, even if she
didn't admit it.

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"Yet you see swords in the stars."

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There was a shrug, and then Darla said...

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"I wish I could see more. This clearing is nice,
but I wonder what's beyond the trees."

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"There is a book in the thieves' library about the
stars.

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It was bright red, which is why I noticed it.

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When I opened it, it showed that people would
navigate using stars centuries ago."

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"Really?"

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"Yes. Perhaps they even used the stars to travel
on this side of

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the mountain." Laughing, Darla replied...

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"That's not what I was referring to. I was asking
about the library in the thieves' tower.

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I've never seen a book before, but I've heard of
them."

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"There's so much you haven't seen."

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Darla didn't reply, and things were quiet.

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Mailer broke the silence, which wasn't quite
awkward, but was getting there.

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"I keep looking for my favorite group of stars.

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There are three of them in a row, and they are
bright.

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I used to see them all the time when I was on
night missions, and they were the one constant, no
matter where I

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was."

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"I haven't seen them."

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"I think they are lost behind the trees."

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"I wish I could have seen them. They brought you
happiness in hard times."

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And with that comment, Mailer realized where their
future

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lay: together, but wandering the world.

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In Ness, they would not lose their freedom of
being together, they would gain the

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freedom of being together in Ness.

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There was still much for them to experience,
together.

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The next day, Mailer grabbed the hunting knife and
wore a light outfit that would allow

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her to walk quietly.

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As Darla worked on creating a garden, Mailer
started down the

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lane. She knew without any doubt that this was the
only escape,

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the magic of the clearing making any other
direction a lost cause.

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With that in mind, there would undoubtedly be the
guard that she had expected within

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the forest.

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There was the possibility that the lane itself
would be guarded by some magical trap,

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so Mailer did her best to be as observant as
possible.

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The goal of this first trip was to silently
approach the guard, or guards, and

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assess their strengths and weaknesses.

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She would stage an attack, perhaps with Darla's
help, in the future.

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Mailer stayed in the treeline just beyond the
road.

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She went very slow, darting with absolute silence
from

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tree to tree.

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Every few trees, she would spend time scanning the
forest.

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Mailer knew that it was likely the guard would
stay on the road, but she couldn't assume that

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there wouldn't be some kind of defense or guardian
hidden among the trees.

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She had been traveling for 30 minutes, and even as
slowly and quietly as she

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had been moving, she had put a good distance
behind her.

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The trail was featureless, a wide path of grass
and dirt that

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wound through the trees.

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After examining what lay between her and the next
tree, Mailer

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assessed the steps she would take. There was a
single bush, but she could

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avoid it and get to the tree without making any
noise.

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She had taken a single step when a mighty blow
struck her shoulder,

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throwing her body completely out of the forest and
into the lane.

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Her instincts took over, and she scrambled to her
feet.

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Her right shoulder had dislocated, but popped back
into place as she landed.

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What was good, if painful, luck wasn't good
enough, as she was

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right-handed.Grabbing the hunting knife with her
left hand, Mailer's eyes

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darted around, but there was nothing.

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A noise from where she'd been hiding, barely a
rustle, caught her attention.

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Looking closer, it was the smallest thing that
saved her life.

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A small patch of grass depressed into the ground,
another patch pressed down

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barely five feet from her. Leaping to what she
felt was just to the right of what

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was walking through the grass, Mailer swung her
knife in a wide circle.

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She felt resistance, and then a glancing blow
knocked her to the ground.

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Despite the blow just barely hitting her, it was
powerful and threw her

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several feet. It had at least bruised some ribs,
if not broken

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them. Whatever the guardian was, it moved slowly.

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With a rapidly weakening and hurt body, Mailer
grabbed the knife that had fallen from

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her hand, scrambled to her feet, and sprinted down
the lane back to the

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cabin. Stumbling through the front door, she
practically fell at Darla's feet,

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out of breath and her ribs and shoulder screaming
in pain.

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By the gods, Mailer, what happened?

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Darla grabbed Mailer to lead her to a chair, but
her grip was on Mailer's hurt

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shoulder, and she cried out.

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Letting go, Darla looked at Mailer with a look of
concern and uncertainty.

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It's okay.

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Mailer held up a hand as she grabbed Darla's arm
for support.

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What happened?

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Mailer smiled.

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Well, I have two pieces of good news and one of
bad.

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The good news is that I found the way out.

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The bad news is that it is guarded by a massive
invisible guardian.

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Why would you do such a foolish thing without me?

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Darla's voice was half anger, half desperate
concern.

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Because it was foolish.

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I should beat some sense into you.

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As if you could.

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Darla frowned.

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This is not amusing, Mailer.

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You forgot to ask me what the other good news is.

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You are insufferable. Fine, you can tell me while
I walk you to the bed for some rest.

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Mailer held up her hunting knife, the blade of
which was tacky with

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coagulating red blood.

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It bleeds.

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(dramatic music plays)