The bigger boy considered Duke. “Your accent is slipping.”

The mouthy girl said, “Where’s my cat?

The bushy-haired boy said, “Where are you from? Sounds like Long Island to me.”

“I’ve always liked Long Island accents,” said the big boy. “Why do you pretend you’re from somewhere you aren’t?”

The girl: “And where’s Karl? I know you stole the other animals. I know you were keeping them on that island!”

Duke racked his brains but he couldn’t think who Karl was, and then he was annoyed because he was wasting time trying to decipher the absurd babbling of preteens. “What are you talking about, you strange little girl? What island? Candi! What is she yammering about?”

Candi turned her wide, innocent eyes on Duke. “Why, I have no idea, sir.”

Duke longed for some antacids. A whole bottle of them. “Never mind. Round them all up and let’s get out of here. I need some sleep.”

Candi smiled. Too late, Duke realized that Candi was being far, far, too cheeky for a woman who must suspect by now that she was about to be shipped off to Minnesota and replaced with someone younger.

“It’s so funny you should say that. I was thinking you needed some sleep, too,” said Candi, right before she shot him with the fizz gun.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Tess

There was a strange, burbling noise, like water flowing over rocks. A spray of iridescent foam rocketed from the barrel of the gun, swallowing up the man’s arms and legs. He toppled like a tree, yelling the whole time.

“Ouch,” said the tallest blond woman. “I think that’s what the kids would call a face-plant.”

“I’ll get you for this,” the man said, wriggling under the mountain of foam.

“Don’t fight it, Duke. Accept the loss gracefully.”

“I . . . won’t . . . accept . . . any . . . such . . . thing,” the man said through gritted teeth as the foam swelled around him.

“No matter. In a minute, the foam will soak into your skin and you won’t be able to move, anyway. But you’ll still be able to hear and understand everything we say.” The woman laughed. It was the creepiest thing in the graveyard. Which was saying a lot.

Where were the Cipherists? Why weren’t they coming?

The other blond women were nearly as stunned as the man on the ground. “Candi?” said one of them. “What did you do?”

“What did it look like, Toni darling? I know it’s hard for you, but take your best stab at it.”

“You fizzed him!” said Toni.

“That’s correct,” Candi said. “I fizzed him. And I’m taking his place.”

“What does that mean?” another blond woman asked.

“It means that I’m working directly for the big boss,” said Candi. “And you all answer to me, now.”

“Why would we answer to you?” said yet another blond woman.