Chapter 6

chapter six Hello kids The moment I see Evie, my body starts to tremble. I take slow breaths, trying to calm myself—but the calm isn't coming. Watching her power-mad, mock-generous loot monologue was bad. This is worse. Evie says, "I'm trying to remember... when did we last see each other? Oh, right! The ice cream shop. If I

第六章孩子们好，我一看到伊薇，我的身体就开始颤抖。 我慢慢地呼吸，试图让自己平静下来——但平静就是不来。 看着她对权力的狂热、对战利品的慷慨嘲弄，真让人难受。 这更糟。艾薇说：“我在努力回忆…… 我们上次见面是什么时候？ 哦,对了!冰淇淋店。 如果我

recall, Jack, you were sitting on your butt while your old wizard friend died." Her words hit me right in the gut. I move so instinctively that it takes me a moment to even realize what I'm doing: reaching over my shoulder for the Slicer. The blade is within my grasp, and I feel the Cosmic Hand tug, like a magnet held close to the fridge. My fingers spread wide, about to grab the handle, when— "We're here for Drooler," Dirk says. His voice is steady, but the demand is clear. "Give him." "Ehhh, sorry, not gonna happen," Evie says with a mocking little smile. "But I can show you your little friend." Evie punches a button and a Sbarro security gate lifts open. And there he is: Drooler, inside a cage. A strange cage. It looks like an otherworldly, monster version of some case where museums keep million-dollar diamonds. "DROOLER!" Dirk says. "You OK, buddy?" Drooler squeaks happily, totally oblivious to the high-stakes happenings around him. That's a relief, and it allows Dirk to calm down a tiny bit.

回想一下，杰克，你的老巫师朋友死的时候，你正坐着。” 她的话击中了我的要害。 我是如此本能地移动，以至于我花了一点时间才意识到自己在做什么：越过肩膀去拿切片机。 刀刃就在我的手中，我感觉到宇宙之手在拉着我，就像磁铁贴在冰箱上一样。 我的手指摊开，正要抓住把手，这时——“我们是为流口水来的，”德克说。 他的声音很稳定，但要求很明确。 “给他。”“呃，对不起，这是不可能的，”伊薇带着嘲讽的微笑说。 “但我可以让你看看你的小朋友。” 伊薇按下一个按钮，一扇Sbarro安全门打开了。 他来了：流口水，在笼子里。 一个奇怪的笼子。它看起来就像一个超凡脱俗的怪物版本，博物馆里藏有价值百万美元的钻石。 “流着口水!”德克说。“你还好吧，伙计？”Drooler高兴地吱吱叫着，完全没有注意到他周围发生的高风险事件。 这让人松了一口气，也让德克稍微平静了一点。

Did you think I would not know the value of the creature you call der-And of this substance? This grosbois spit. Ghazt reaches down and scoops a pawful of Ultra- Slime from a puddle beneath Drooler's cage. Ghazt gestures with the slime, like some supervillain trying to show off his cool new toy. But he's clumsy and accidentally smears a bunch on his fur. His paw sticks to his fur. He tugs. Still stuck. We all watch as this great, powerful, Cosmic Warlord struggles to separate paw from fur. When he finally

你以为我不知道你所谓的——还有这种物质的价值吗？ 这是格鲁布沙。加斯特俯下身，从流口水的笼子下面的水坑里舀了一把超级黏液。 Ghazt用黏液做手势，就像某个超级恶棍想炫耀他的新玩具一样。 但他笨手笨脚，不小心把一束草弄到自己的皮毛上。 他的爪子粘在毛皮上。 他拖船。还是困。我们都看着这个伟大的，强大的，宇宙的军阀挣扎着把爪子和皮毛分开。 当他终于

does, there's a Velcro-type ripping sound and a tuft of hair comes with it, leaving a not-great-looking bald spot. Ghazt collects himself and goes on. "This Ghruzghut Spit—or Ultra-Slime, as you call it— is the substance best able to destroy the vines spreading across your ugly little dimension." Evie grins. "That's why we are watching over 'Drooler.' Or, I mean, Ghazt is, rather. He's the Grand Protector. So he is protecting Drooler."

它会发出一种尼龙搭扣式的撕裂声，还会有一簇头发脱落，留下一个看起来不太好看的秃顶。 Ghazt镇定下来，继续往前走。 “这个格鲁兹胡特的口水——或者你所说的超级黏液——是最能摧毁在你这个丑陋的小空间里蔓生的藤蔓的物质。” 艾维笑容。“这就是为什么我们在监视《流口水》。或者，我的意思是，Ghazt是。 他是大护法。所以他是在保护流口水。”

"You're trying to tell me that weird cage is for Drooler's protection?!" Dirk says. "Exactly!" Evie says. "You get it. It's a classic protection cage. So, nope, you can't have him back. Grand Protector privileges. The Grand Protector gets first dibs on everything brought on board the Mallusk. That's just how it is." I lean toward Quint and quietly whisper, "Why are they so into the Ultra-Slime? What do they care about destroying Thrull's vines? I mean—that's sort of our thing." Apparently my quiet whisper wasn't quiet enough, because Ghazt roars, "Thrull STOLE MY POWER! He stole my tail, and with it, my ability to command the undead. That's why I must FIND Thrull and DEFEAT him! I will GET MY POWER BACK. I will show him NO MERCY and he will feel SO MUCH PAIN. SO MUCH!" My face pales. Because, of course, that's not true. Ghazt only thinks Thrull has his power. The person who actually has Ghazt's power? It's me. The power is right here, in the Slicer, just a few Food Court tables away from Ghazt. Quint is looking at me hard—shooting me the type of eye-beam stare that can only be exchanged between two best friends that have been through serious stuff. The

“你是想告诉我那个奇怪的笼子是为了保护流口水吗？！”德克说。 “完全正确!”艾维说。“你懂的。 这是一个经典的保护笼。 所以，不行，你不能让他回来。 大护法特权。 大护法对马洛斯克号上的所有东西都有优先权。 事情就是这样。”我靠向昆特，轻声说：“他们为什么这么喜欢超级黏液？” 他们在乎摧毁斯拉尔的藤蔓吗？ 我的意思是——这是我们之间的事。” 显然我的轻声细语不够安静，因为加斯特咆哮道：“Thrull偷走了我的力量！他偷走了我的尾巴，也偷走了我指挥不死族的能力。 这就是为什么我必须找到并打败他！我会找回我的力量。 我不会对他仁慈，他会感到非常痛苦。 这么多!”我脸色苍白。因为，当然，这不是真的。 加斯特只认为萨鲁拥有他的力量。 真正拥有加斯特力量的人？ 是我。权力就在这里，在切片机里，离Ghazt只有几张餐桌之遥。 昆特正瞪着我瞪着我那种眼神只有两个经历过大事的好朋友才会有。 的

eye-beam stare says a ton without saying anything at all... *QUINT'S EYE BEAM: They have no idea that all of Ghazt's power resides in the Midnight Blade. They've only seen you do one minor zombie-controlling trick at the bowling alley. We mustn't let them know. No matter what, you cannot use the blade in their presence. "Um, uh, well then," I say, trying hard to avoid looking at or even thinking about the Slicer. "It sure is a good thing that no one on this mall has your tail powers, Ghazt. Sure is." I stuff one hand in my pocket and try to casually look away, hoping Ghazt hasn't caught on. And that's when I

眼睛的光束凝视说了很多，什么也没说…… *昆特之眼光束：他们不知道加斯特所有的力量都蕴藏在午夜之刃中。 他们只看到你在保龄球馆耍了一个小僵尸控制把戏。 我们不能让他们知道。无论如何，你不能在他们面前使用剑。 “嗯，嗯，那么好吧，”我说，努力不去看，甚至不去想切片机。 “这个商场里没有人有你的尾巴能力，这当然是件好事，加兹特。 当然是。”我把一只手塞进口袋里，试图漫不经心地把目光移开，希望加兹特没有发现。 那时我