I closed the demon textbook and shoved it to the center of the table. “No.”

Trent dropped his rain-spotted hat on the table and began to unpack the leather-bound books of odd sizes from the paper sack. “It was a hard night.”

I couldn’t stop my sarcastic laughter. His daughter had been dangled before him and he had been given a horrible choice. A minor entrusted to my care had been abducted. Bis was only fifty years old. He shouldn’t have even been there. The tears welled, and I held my breath, not wanting to cry in front of him again. “Look at me,” I said as I dabbed at my eyes, trying to make light of it. “I’m such a baby. I can’t stop crying.”

“It’s okay,” he said as he stood by the table and carefully folded the paper sack.

“No, it’s not,” I protested, and Trent walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. His shoes were untied, and I looked up, startled when he crouched to put our eyes at the same level. His eyes were dark with a shared pain. “I meant it’s okay to cry,” he said, and I remembered to breathe. “You’re wound so tight right now, you need a healthy release.”

I shook my head, glad he wasn’t trying to convince me that everything was going to be okay. It wasn’t. This was bad. Really bad. Knowing that he understood helped. He had lost his child. How could I even come close to his grief? His frustration? I thought again, If he can function, then I can too.

With a surprising touch on my cheek, he stood up and edged away. “We’ll get him back. We’ll get them all back.”

I could feel a tingle where his hand had been, and I gazed at him, numb. “I don’t see how. I can fix the line, but not without Bis. And no one will help me if the line is broken.” It was a trap my mind kept circling, and until I broke from it, I was dead in the water.

Still in his coat, Trent pulled Ivy’s chair out of the corner. His motions held a restrained excitement as he sat down to retie his shoes. “That’s why I’m here. I’ve been thinking about tonight,” he said, glancing up as Jenks flew back in.

“Me too.” My voice was a dull flatness compared to his excited eagerness.

“Ku’Sox did a few things tonight to show what he’s afraid of,” Trent insisted.

“What does it matter? They engineered him to be stronger than everyone,” I said, glancing at the books he’d brought. More books. That ought to help, I thought sarcastically, then I looked closer, sitting up and reaching for one. They all had library stickers on them—from the restricted section.