He carefully strapped the rest of the armor over his own. He said nothing of the Book of Blood that shared the space, but he did pull out a baggy filled with Frank’s jerky. I followed beside the fairy. “How bad would it have been?” I asked. “It would have killed you and Sam and Vicky.” He stuffed a thick strip of jerky into his mouth. “Maybe Mike and the others too.” “Even Happy?” Foster gave a sharp nod. The panda snorted and walked beside Sarah. She’d insisted on carrying Vicky. As she was the least injured of the group, no one argued. “Where’s Bubbles?” I asked as we left the shattered outer wall behind us. I hadn’t seen the cu sith since the start of the battle, and now it worried me. Foster pointed toward the fortress near the horizon. “Up ahead. We never would have found you in time if she hadn’t been with you.” A flickering flame waited against the soaring towers of the ninth fortress. Bubbles stared into the structure, unmoving until we grew close enough to touch her.
