“Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord,” he mumbled, his vigor faltering as he studied me. “Vengeance is . . .” He stopped. He twisted his head around to see the crowd that had grown around the body up on stage. “Oh. Oh, I didn’t. She’s not.” His forehead settled atop his eyes, narrowing them into a fierce glower that should have frightened me more than it did. “God will forgive me,” he said firmly. “He will forgive me because He understood my intent. He judges us according to the light that we have. And His vengeance will be satisfied yet. He will forgive me, Avery.”

I squatted before him, my leather pants creaking at the knees. “You’d better hope so, cousin.” I smiled, showing all my teeth, and then I patted his cheek with the back of my hand. He recoiled as far as his captors would allow, which wasn’t much.

I almost stood with surprise, but I stayed down close to him. How strange—and yet not. It should have occurred to me long before. He was as afraid of me (or at least of whoever he thought I was) as I had been of him. With one long, vindictive fingernail I scratched a fine white line down the side of his face. I leaned in close and put my mouth near his ear, like Jamie had done to me. “Strike two,” I whispered.

Then I rose to my feet and stepped away, back into the crowd.

More than one person had commandeered a napkin and was already scrawling the next slam’s badly eulogizing tribute poetry. I retreated from the rest of the poets as well. My wine buzz was blown and I couldn’t stand their company for another moment. Jamie waved his arms like he wanted my attention, but I pretended not to see him as I made for the back exit.

Outside, sirens with red-and-blue lights flashed the arrival of police cars, or an ambulance, or both. The paramedics were too late for Terry, who had quit bleeding and would be quite stiff before long; and the police were too late for me, because whatever wrong I’d committed was at least a lifetime past. They could take Malachi back to jail for his bungled stabs at justice, but whatever provoked him would escape his wrath so long as I had anything to do with it.

I was actually starting to believe it.