Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Signet tells them to fight off the approaching Mold Lions while she prepares a spell to attack the circus. Carl and Donut have little choice. The Mold Lions look like lions except for a green fungus that covers them with tentacles erupting from their manes. They were corrupted by the poison cloud, now referred to as “the spores of Scolopendra” (75). Carl activates his Protective Shell. Mongo attacks one lion, and Carl punches through its chest, ripping out its heart. Donut casts Second Chance, a spell that reanimates a fallen enemy, and uses the dead lion to attack the others. As they fight, Signet’s tattoos move on her skin. Carl and Donut kill the lions, but Signet does not move.

Disappointed, she explains that the spell did not work. She can only cast it once per night, so they must retreat from the circus now. Carl deduces that she had intended for Carl and Donut to die fighting the lions. She would have then used their blood to fuel her spell, bringing her tattoos to life. Carl asks why she is attacking the circus, and she offers to tell him the story of “Signet the Bastard and Grimaldi, the man she loved” (81) over drinks, but he politely declines.