“Make this quick,” he told her. “And do not die. I have plans for you when we get back to Horngate. They will not be nearly as pleasant if you are a corpse.”

“Pretty show, but you're wasting energy and time," Max said. "Mind if we get back to saving Horngate? You can go postal later.”

“Do we have a plan?” she asked.“Yes,” he told her. “Shoot everything that moves.”

“I have a plan.”He groaned. “I was afraid of that.”“My plans are not terrible.”“Isabelle’s plans are terrible.” He pointed a finger at her. “Your plans are suicidal. At best.”She sat back, her arms crossed over her chest. “Do you want to hear it or not? You have to keep it a secret.”“I would pluck out my own eyes with a fork before I would give away your secrets,” Simon said, then looked anxious. “Wait a second. Do you think that’s likely to be required?”

“Okay. What do I have to do?”“Unless you plan on creating a door and walking the Paths alone, you really ought to take my hand.”“I mean when we get there, you jerk.”

“I wonder,” I said. “Perhaps you can meet with an accident on the road. Harwin and I can bring back the sad news that you died while we were traveling.” Gisele looked amused—and a little intrigued. “But wouldn’t you be expected to return with my corpse in tow?” “Not if you—fell off a cliff and drowned, and the water carried you away,” I said, improvising quickly. “Not if you were mauled by wolves andeaten .” “Oh, yes, do have me devoured by wild creatures.”