The space is confined, reeking of fresh paint, the walls lined by empty shelving units—and when I realize that this is it, the end of the line, my legs won’t support me and I sink to my knees. I’ve never seen a gun so close-up before. It occurs to me to try and get inside Salt-and-Pepper’s head, to see what I can do about exerting my influence on his free will; but somehow, I can’t. He’s protected by armor even stronger than Gunnar’s.

“If you have any messages to impart, now’s the time,” the man says impatiently, my execution just another item on his to-do list.

The woman has her weapon pointed at my temple, and the second man—a sweaty guy in glasses—licks his lips nervously. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Where are your swords?” I ask, because as long as I’m talking, it’s a little more time to enjoy being on the razor’s edge of explosive diarrhea. Won’t they be surprised. “The last guy tried to kill me with a sword. I thought that was your thing.”

“We use ceremonial weapons when we can, as tribute to our legacy, but they are impractical,” Salt-and-Pepper informs me, attaching a silencer to his gun. “Clearly, it was a mistake to allow Galloway—your Mr. Strauss—the discretion to make that choice. We will not be so careless.” He aims the barrel of his weapon at my forehead, and a choked whine squeezes from my throat. “If you have goodbyes to say, now is the time.”

“Something’s not…” The sweaty guy shifts his weight, glancing nervously around the small room. “I don’t think we’re alone, you guys.”

I don’t even want to allow myself any hope … but as he says it, a familiar whispering sensation passes across my skin.

“What are you talking about?” The woman asks, just as something moves in my peripheral vision: a small, gray mouse emerging from a narrow hole in the wall. It looks right at me, the whisper against my skin becoming a roar, and then it streaks forward. Leaping up, it erupts into a cloud of smoke that expands, unfurls, and reforms almost instantly into a very familiar shape, all before the armed Knights have a chance to react.