Jester cleared his throat, looking at Gilpatrick.

“I’ll give you one thing,” Chris was saying in the background, “The camera thing was a good play. Brutal.”

“Thank you, nice of you to say,” Looksee said.

“It was,” Sveta said. “But I don’t like how that was worded. Brutal and good shouldn’t be put together like that.”

Chris went on, “I wanted to make a joke before, but speaking takes concentration when you don’t have the mouth you’re used to. Now it sounds dumb, because I’d be saying it out of nowhere.”

“Say it. Say it,” Looksee said.

“Looksee? More like look out,” Chris said, and he chose the most deadpan tone of voice he could manage, in a way that sucked any of the residual humor out of the line.

Looksee laughed all the same.

“I hate to be a wet blanket,” Sveta said. “But, please, almost caving in someone’s skull was an emergency measure, not a thing to be encouraged.”

“Seconding that,” I said.

“You seem to have your hands full,” Gilpatrick said.

“Feels like it,” I said. Even if I had perfect control of the Wretch, every hand available would be full.

Ugh. I didn’t like thinking like that.

“You guys talk,” I said. “I’m going to go see Capricorn. He should be there soon.”

“He paused to rest,” Looksee reported. “He’s a minute away.”

“Good enough,” I said.

“I’ll come,” Ashley said.

I hesitated. I’d wanted to fly. “We’ll walk fast?”

She nodded.

We skirted the larger meeting, where Mayday had joined the discussion with Marcial, Bash, and Gaymon. Gilpatrick took my leaving as an excuse to go, too, but he took a separate path.

Only Ashley and me.

“What did you talk to Jester about?” I asked.

“We didn’t talk much. He brought the phone, and he managed it so I didn’t have to, asked how you were doing, we talked briefly about you. He was curious about powers. Looksee did most of the talking.”

“Talking about me?”

“Nothing bad,” she said.

I looked back over my shoulder. The group was still gathered. “They’re doing better than expected. Sveta’s quiet.”

“They’re relieved that Rain is okay,” Ashley said. “And they’re resilient.”

“And you?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

“You said everyone did a good job. I didn’t,” Ashley said. She walked with her hand clasped around the injured portion, but the posture looked defensive.

“I really liked how you handled things with Gilpatrick, turning yourself in, asking him if you could join the fight. They’re the right moves.”

“If I end up imprisoned and unable to see or call her, someone needs to look after Kenzie.”