In a very gentle voice, Helen said, “She is dead. And unlike you, she doesn’t have Imelda as a friend. I do not believe she will come here—or anywhere—again.”

“What are your neighbors like?”

“I am uncertain. I cannot leave my house, so I have never met them. But if you look out the window, you’ll see how far away the nearest neighbor is. Our properties are not connected in any way, and I’m sorry to say, the guard patrols are quite frequent in this part of town.”

“Why sorry?”

“This isn’t really where they’re needed, in my opinion. It’s just where the money resides.”

“Don’t get me started,” Kaylin muttered.

Jamal nodded. And then insisted on seeing the other tenants. Helen didn’t correct his use of the word, but apologetically said every tenant was entitled to privacy, and she wasn’t certain she could demand they come out to be inspected by a person they couldn’t see.

Far from upsetting Jamal, this seemed to comfort him. He did ask for information about each tenant, and Helen complied, adding that until very recently, one of the residents had been a Dragon. His eyes nearly fell out of his head, and he demanded details with the excitement of a boy his apparent age.

“Wait’ll I tell the others!” His smile froze then.

It was Mrs. Erickson who knelt beside him. “I’m sure they’ll love it—they might even be a bit envious.”

“They’re not here anymore.”

“No. But you can join them now. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ll be fine here, and...it’s a long time since I had a living friend. A very long time.”

Jamal looked at Helen. Although he knew Helen couldn’t see him, it was to Jamal she had been speaking. Helen could see what Kaylin could see with a tiny bit of effort.

“Promise you’ll protect her until it won’t make a difference.” His expression was every bit as serious as it had been when he made the same demand of Kaylin. He had less leverage here, and knew it. He didn’t threaten to remain. He knew, with Helen, it wouldn’t matter.

“I promise I will protect her as well as I protect Kaylin, unless she attempts to harm her.”

Jamal bristled instantly. “She would never do that!”

“No. I don’t believe she would. And if she did, she might have good reason. But I am what I am, and my imperative should that ever occur is to protect Kaylin. Can you accept that?”

Jamal considered this with as much care as an annoyed child could. He made the effort not to let annoyance make any decisions for him, but it was clearly work. “Yes. Yes, I can accept that.”