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But the real question was hidden beneath her words She washow much time he had left

"The tier furjack, just as that time will come for you"

"So you know about that"

Jix nodded His Excellency had explained to hiift of skinjacking was only a teer do it--when I becoe into the light"

"You mean you don’t have your coin now?"

"No" The truth was, His Excellency had his own special use for Evercoins, but Jix wasn’t about to tell Jill that "Why is your hair like that?" he asked her

"Tornado," she answered, and shook her nasty, nettled hair "You hate my hair, don’t you? Everyone hates it I don’t care"

"It’s wild," he told her "I like wild"

She squirmed at that "How about you?" she asked "How did you wind up in Everlost?"

"I was attacked in my sleep," he told her What he didn’t tell her was that he was attacked by a jaguar that had wandered into the village He liked to think that maybe he had furjacked that same cat once or twice in his travels

When the train reached Austin, Jill had asked Jix to join theer," she suggested, "and eat some really obnoxious kid in the crowd" Jix couldn’t tell whether or not she was kidding, so he

"Huood to a cat," he told her "I only eat the better"

He did not join theods would approve of reaping True, the Mayan gods were fairly bloodthirsty--particularly the jaguar gods--but there was a proper sense of nobility to those ancient stories of carnage There was nothing noble about reaping

When they reached Austin, there was finally a dead westbound track, heading toward San Antonio Southwest, ood chance that once they reached San Antonio, it would beco toward the western states Then, right around sunset the next day, as they neared San Antonio, the train ca to an abrupt halt

All of Jix’s senses peaked to high alert, and he instinctively knew there was going to be trouble

Milos left the parlor car, furious at Speedo for bringing the train to such a jarring stop--but even before he reached the engine, he saw the reason

"Probleot a problem here!"

"I can see that!" Milos shouted back

Once again, there was a building on the tracks Speedo had ed to stop the train about a quarterit fro so small and quaint as a clapboard church You couldn’t even call it a house This thing was a ine co sweat instead of pool water "H-H-How hts do you think it took to move that onto the tracks?" asked Speedo, nervously Milos did not want to consider the answer

"We’ll send a teaate," Milos said

The skinjackers now peered out of the parlor car at Milos for an explanation

"What gives, what gives?" asked Squirrel "Did you find out e stopped so hard?"

Then Jix, leaning out of the entrance to the parlor car, pointed over Milos’s shoulder, to the south "There! Do you see that?"

Milos looked to where he was pointing Night was falling quickly; the sky was already darkand yet there was light co froested Jill, probably hoping she could go reaping again

"I don’t think so," Milos said, his worry building It looked like headlights in a haze, but the source of the light was still hidden by the hill "It’s getting brighter"

Jix released a growl that soundedthan any of his previous attempts "We can’t stop here!" he told them "We have to leave Now!"

"We can’t leave!" Milos told hio backward!" Jix shouted

"Backwardsh?" said Moose "Back to where?"

"Anywhere!"

Then there caine

Grr-ah--Grr-ah--Grr-ah--Grr-cha! Grr-ah--Grr-ah--Grr-ah--Grr-cha