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Short End Page 15
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Short End Page 15

on May 17, 2020
Chapter: Book 12: Short End
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Discussion (19) ¬

  1. Da5id
    Da5id
    May 18, 2020, 3:28 pm | # | Reply

    I am really liking this conversation!

  2. A
    A
    May 18, 2020, 4:01 pm | # | Reply

    Did he hide his soul in Diamonds? Or does the not being killable thing have to do with the brand? (But then, Hearts is dead, so maybe not.)

  3. Mustachio
    Mustachio
    May 18, 2020, 6:28 pm | # | Reply

    Calling it: he hid his soul in HER. 🙂

  4. Red
    Red
    May 18, 2020, 11:39 pm | # | Reply

    My money is on the watch.

  5. Sari
    Sari
    May 19, 2020, 12:08 am | # | Reply

    I love the way you draw both of their hair!

  6. jsfury
    jsfury
    May 19, 2020, 6:55 am | # | Reply

    Oh Professor, me thinks you touched a nerve in Miss Black. This obviously is annoying to her. So, this is interesting. Where does John Henry hide his soul? Not sure if it can be done in inanimate objects such as Red pointed out, the watch, but then witchcraft and wizardry does have the ability to do things we are not able to understand.

  7. Talewinds
    Talewinds
    May 19, 2020, 6:59 pm | # | Reply

    From a Swedish folktale, a giant tells his captive where his soul/life resides:
    Finally, he tells her.
    “Far, far away in a lake lies an island; on that island stands a church; in that church is a well; in that well swims a duck; in that duck there is an egg, and in that egg there lies my heart.

    • Puck
      Puck
      September 14, 2020, 3:08 am | # | Reply

      Funny, that sounds very similar to tales of the Katschei, which is a Russian fairy tale.

  8. ScholarOfFortune
    ScholarOfFortune
    May 20, 2020, 8:28 am | # | Reply

    Vane’s face in Panel 4 seems softer, more human.

    JHH hid his soul in Sheriff Snow, which is why he hasn’t shown up yet.

  9. Honzinator
    Honzinator
    May 21, 2020, 1:57 pm | # | Reply

    Vane always did seem a tad soulless.
    If Hunter hid his soul, secreting it within his pocketwatch would make it appear to be within his body AND hide it away. Also, watches aren’t alive, per se, but they resemble life quit closely.
    Plus, upon ending Hunter’s life, Vane could tell him, “Time’s up John Henry, time’s up.”
    … OR … John Henry hunter has Vane’s soul within him, and his own soul somewhere upon his person, preferably someplace fireproof, again, like the watch, or in a stylish kerchief, perhaps.

    • Red
      Red
      June 1, 2020, 6:00 pm | # | Reply

      You get me. He’s always checking that watch, takes it everywhere, and remember when he was imprisoned at Fort Fairbanks? Horrifically murdering the guy who stole his watch was the first thing he did after breaking free.

  10. wilddeath
    wilddeath
    May 22, 2020, 2:18 am | # | Reply

    Not to be too cheesey or anything but Miss Black is his heart and soul. So long as she lives somewhere inside that demon possessed corpse he shall persevere. I don’t think that’s the actual answer, just me being romantic.

  11. Canfanorama
    Canfanorama
    May 31, 2020, 3:42 pm | # | Reply

    I’ve always felt Hunter was on a scavanger hunt, ever since he acquired that necklace in Chapter 1.

    Kinda hope he has Vane’s soul stashed away. But NTO never promised me a happy ending.

    • jsfury
      jsfury
      May 31, 2020, 11:05 pm | # | Reply

      And that the hell of it right there. It’s seems a lot of “Riding the Trail of Vengeance.” In the end, there very well be no happiness for John and Vanity. Only Erin knows. We here in this comments section are just a bunch of casual observers, and nothing more.

      • Honzinator
        Honzinator
        June 1, 2020, 9:16 am | # | Reply

        “Only Erin knows” for some reason made me think Vane gets her soul back … and then all her injuries manifest.

        • jsfury
          jsfury
          June 1, 2020, 11:14 pm | # | Reply

          Which, indeed, will kill her. Still a sad ending.

  12. Puck
    Puck
    September 14, 2020, 3:09 am | # | Reply

    Fascinating to me that no one’s commented on Crawford’s mention of Vane’s “guest.”

  13. Shonkin
    Shonkin
    August 23, 2021, 11:18 am | # | Reply

    Here’s my guess, after reading through the series a couple of times: Vane’s dead body (her soul having departed) was infested with a demon, which hated JHH and pursued him. (At Broken Sky Professor Crawford detected both the possessing demon and the lack of a human soul in Vane’s body.)
    Then, at Via Dolorosa, JHH either killed the demon or forced it back into the corpse. (When Crawford speaks of her “guest,” is that past tense or present?) Vane’s body has no human soul in it, and it’s animated only by hatred of JHH (and maybe by that demon again or by JHH’s sorcery?).
    We’ll see by the end of the story, I’m sure.

    • Storel
      Storel
      October 18, 2022, 7:10 am | # | Reply

      I think he is saying he noticed her “guest” (possessing demon) back in Broken Sky, but hadn’t noticed the absence of her own soul until now — perhaps because the presence of the demon hid the absence of her soul.

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