In the thirteenth chapter of Untold<\/i>, Kami schemes to steal objects from suspected sorcerers, but it ends in terror because NO NO NO. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Untold<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Chapter Thirteen: At The Gate<\/b><\/p>\n
Oh, now<\/i> I understand that title. H E L P<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Before we talk about THE UPSETTING THINGS, I really do just want to bask in the brilliance which is Kami\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempt to distract Mrs. Jeffries so that she can hopefully get a personal item from a newcomer to Sorry-in-the-Vale. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entertaining because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great plan in theory<\/i>, but the execution of it is so bizarre and hilarious. And sloppy. And largely improvised. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no safety net. So mostly, these people are the best detectives and spies mostly by luck, and I kind of love that? Well, wait, that also ignores Kami\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s charm, which is how she gets Mrs. Jeffries to agree to let her come behind the counter. And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jared\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s improvisational skills, which come out and shine in this chapter, especially when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to claim that Ruth Sherman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lipstick is his. (And for the record, the version of Jared in my head would totally<\/i> look good in summer. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t disagree with that.)<\/p>\n
Honestly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice<\/i> to see these characters have a bit of fun with an absurd (and frightening) situation. Hell, for most of this chapter, Jared and Kami are civil<\/i> with one another, even when Jared is crushing Kami\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart by admitting that sometimes, he does<\/i> hate her. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so hard to read this chapter because I can see so much potential for these two just as friends<\/i>. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be a romantic thing at all. But clearly, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way for these two people to be in one another\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life in some capacity.<\/p>\n
Granted, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot to work through for these two. I loved that Brennan focused on why<\/i> Kami hated the fact that she was getting along with Jared:<\/p>\n It was ridiculous how simple it was to talk to him now that they had something to laugh about and an adventure behind them. It was such a relief to have him with her, and not to hurt any longer.<\/p>\n Kami could not help resenting him in the midst of happiness: that he could take it all away.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here, Brennan recognizes that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jared<\/i> who has the power. The thing is, we know that Kami is willing to work through her issues, to try and be friends again, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been Jared who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unwilling to do any such thing. At least, it appears<\/i> that moving on is a lot easier for Jared, who never seems as torn up or conflicted about this arrangement as much as Kami is. Plus, this happiness that Kami references is dependent on Jared trying<\/i> to keep it up. As we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen before, his mood swings can be sudden and rude, so I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair of her to assume that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the one keeping them from sharing something more than they have. Honestly, I support Kami trying to protect herself.<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get back to that again at the end. WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SERGEANT KENN. Holy shit, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m already wary around cops in general because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m brown and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had some particularly traumatizing experiences with the LAPD. (ZERO PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED BECAUSE THE LAPD ARE MOSTLY AWFUL.) So the terror here is very<\/i> real. Sergeant Kenn is a man of power, and despite that Kami constantly goads him about having the power of the law on his side, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that he does pose a threat to her aside from being a sorcerer. Still, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to make it seem like his abuse of power isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t largely rooted in what he does<\/i> do to Kami. His threats to Kami and her family are a poorly executed attempt to get Kami to fall in line. I say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153poorly executed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because his logic is so awful<\/i>. However, I loved that Brennan explored the inherent juxtaposition between Kenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s outward appearance and what he was talking about. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cop trying to convince Kami to let a bunch of wizards MURDER SOMEONE FOR THEIR PROSPERITY. You aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t thinking this through<\/i>.<\/p>\n Except then he abandons logic and brings out magic after Kami BRILLIANTLY flips him over her gate, and IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO AWFUL.<\/p>\n The dead briars of the roses, usually twined around the top of her gate, were now curling around her arms. She tried to jerk away, but some of the suppleness of live branches had returned to them and they fastened tight as ropes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n NO. NOPE! <\/i>Oh my god, THIS IS SO TERRIFYING, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made even worse when you realize that there isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a single person in the Glass household who could do magic<\/i>. So even if someone did<\/i> come out of the house, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be pretty helpless, no? BUT THEN OH MY GOD<\/i>:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let her go,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Jared in a measured voice, as the flood of earth moved faster and faster, until Kenn was mostly covered, his scared face framed by dark dirt. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll bury you alive by her garden gate. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll enjoy it. Every time she goes out in the morning, every time she comes home, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll walk on your grave, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll know she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safe.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE. THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so immense<\/i> precisely because we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen Jared act this way towards Kami. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s protective of her in a way that shows us (and her) that he cares, something he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t done that much of this entire book. ALSO: HE MADE THE GROUND OPEN UP AND EAT SOMEONE. So he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already my hero??? Oh god, Rob Lynburn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s people are going to flip<\/i> when they find out what Jared did, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they?<\/p>\n While I do think that Jared and Kami end this chapter on a more negative note than I hoped, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore how exciting<\/i> the very last paragraph of chapter thirteen is. I mentioned this week that Brennan is able to faithfully capture the complicated nature of desire and loss and how the two intersect, and that happens here again. Kami has a hard time dealing with Jared\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s physical presence, especially when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s being kind of tender with her. Even when the roles are reversed and Kami is trying to help disinfect Jared\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wound, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly a comfortable atmosphere. I mean, Jared does<\/i> admit that it was foolish of him to go into the Crying Pools, and he promises not to do it again. He even confesses to following Kami home to make sure that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay. And yet, in the end, he messes it up, explaining that he was trying to help Kami to EVEN THE SCORE. As if this is some zero-sum game! God, what a terrible<\/i> answer, Jared. What are you doing? And I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair of Kami to point out that yet again, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s making her feel as if she isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t special. If this is just a matter of evening the score, then why is he still around? Was his care for her manufactured just to assuage his guilt?<\/p>\n Ugh, they were actually close to a breakthrough! Still, that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t distract from how great this is:<\/p>\n Kami put her hand in her pocket and drew out the two objects she had in there. She looked atht them glitter in the November sunlight: Ruth Sherman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lipstick and the button she had pulled off Sergeant Kenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s uniform when she pushed him away. She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need comfort, not from anyone. She had a way to fight.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n YES. THIS IS GREAT. GO GET \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEM, KAMI.<\/p>\n Please note that the original text and the videos use the words \u00e2\u20ac\u0153insane\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crazy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Part 1<\/p>\n