Cancer

Jules needed to get him out of there. He didn’t have a choice. His conscience wouldn’t let him ignore the problem, no matter how ashamed and unsettled he was by his reaction to the Xeus. Sometimes one had to suck it up and put aside one’s personal feelings, and this was one of those times.

Jules considered his options.

It seemed the Xeus’s rational thinking had been restored enough—in his current state, he was unlikely to be a danger to others if Jules set him free. But how was he supposed to do that?

He needed the key to the manacles.

Later that evening, Jules sneaked down to his uncle’s office. The house was quiet. The hour was late enough for everyone to be in bed. Or so he had thought.

He could hear faint voices coming from his uncle’s office.

Jules froze, looking at the door. Then he took off his shoes and padded over before pressing his ear against the door.

“—it’s been over a month!”

“That’s not enough, Mr. Blake,” an unfamiliar male voice said. “We’re doing all we can, and the