He dropped the guns on the ground, spun around, and walked out into the open. Black stood in the center of the street, arms and feet spread wide, grinning wickedly, trench coat whipped to one side by the gusting wind. His head was tilted down so that Billos could just see the whites of his eyes beneath the rim of his hat.

The throaters stood evenly on either side, staring at Billos, weapons lowered. Behind them the temple towered tall, nearly touching the black sky above.

“Hello, Billosssss,” Black said. “Wanna trip? Wanna, wanna, baby?”

It is a test, Billos quickly decided. A final test to see how he would use his suhupow in the face of terrible odds.

“Do you want me to kill them all?” he called.

“Yes, Billos. Kill them all. Do it now.”

So Billos snapped his fingers to fill them with steel and continue his reign of terror, to make them all dead by Billos. But this time a small glitch sidelined the plan.

This time no steel filled his hands.

He snapped again, harder.

The snaps clicked over the whistling wind.

“What’s the matter, baby?” Black said. “A little low on grace-juice, are we?”

What was he saying? The suhupow was gone? Billos felt the blood drain from his face. His mind fogged. Surely . . . But he wasn’t sure what he should be sure about.

Something nudged his back. Claude had retrieved his long gun and was prodding him.

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

“No? No, Billosssssss. You really don’t know, do you? You worthless slug.”

“What . . .”

“The girl is what,” Black said. “I asked you to give me the girl. It was all so simple. You waltzed into town like you owned the place and laid four of them in the grave. Now they need a lynching to satisfy their lust. A life for a life, that’s the way it works here. I suggested the girl. Instead you’re giving them someone else. Your call, not mine.”

“Who?”

Black cocked his head. “Please don’t tell me this disease named idiocy has gone that far. Or are you seeing double, baby? Because I only see one of you.”

Billos felt dizzy. He snapped his fingers, knowing nothing would happen. There was still a chance; there had to be. This was still a test of some kind.

But for the first time the suggestions Darsal had made spoke louder than his own confidence. There was a possibility that Black’s motives were less than noble.

He looked around quickly, searching for options. Could he dodge Claude’s gun again and make a run for it? But five others had now joined the large man. And those on either side of Black were spreading out to encircle him.

He faced the magic man and stepped forward. “Hold on. I thought . . . I thought we had a deal.”