Nettle & Bone

“A few months ago, I would have thought you were mad or lying,”
said Fenris. “Now I suppose I’m just surprised she didn’t stay for tea.”

surrounded by lunatics, and I love them all, but maybe we should be running anyway. She took another step back.

I’m surrounded by lunatics, and I love them all, but maybe we should be running anyway.

you raise up an army of the dead to fight the guards?”

The dust-wife rolled her eyes. “Armies of the dead seem like a good
idea,” she said. “Until you’re standing in front of a thousand blind, withered husks who only know how to kill and kill and keep on killing. We might as well just drop plague corpses in the town well at that point.”

“I would have to object to that,” admitted Fenris. “All right. No armies of the dead, then.”

“Could you do that?” asked Marra tentatively.

The dust-wife shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s never really come up.”

Can you distract them somehow? At least long enough for me to stab him?”

“Probably not long enough for you to get away again, no.”

Fenris raised his eyebrows. “That’s not really a requirement, is it?”

“Yes,” said Marra, annoyed. “It is.”

“Fine, fine.” He lifted his hands. “No death-and-glory final stands unless we have no other options. Hmm. Can

Some things come into being once it’s inevitable that they will exist.”

Imagination is not your strong suit, is it?” asked the dust-wife. A smile cracked the planes of her face. “That’s not an insult, child—don’t look so surly. For this sort of work, you want feet on the ground, not castles in the air.”