I faced the front, too, my stomach aching. “I figured we could hunt around downtown. The Mazikin are trying to pick people up, and they’ve gone beyond the homeless. I think they’re trying to lure people who have cash. And cars.”

“All right.” He put on his seat belt.

I waited, my hands on the steering wheel, until I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you okay? From this morning, I mean.”

“Raphael did as well as he always does. It’s like it never happened.”

Bullshit. “That kid hit you pretty hard. He caught you by surprise. That doesn’t happen often.”

He shifted impatiently in his seat. “I was slow. But I could have handled him.”

I flinched. I wasn’t used to this edge from him, this irritation. “I know. But if you’re feeling depressed or something, we should talk about it. I mean—”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “Thank you. Is that what you want to hear?”

“No, I want to hear that you’ll stop punishing yourself for accidentally killing Nick! I want you to snap out of this funk, because I’m afraid you’re going to get yourself killed!” My heart pounded with frustration. I wanted to shake him.

“Duly noted, Captain,” he said in that overly formal tone that told me he was shutting me out completely.

I gritted my teeth and drove us to Providence. “When was the last time you heard from Henry?” I finally asked. He’d been texting every few days since he’d headed out alone, just to let us know he was alive. But I knew that he sometimes called Malachi, and part of me wondered what on earth they talked about.

“He checked in this afternoon. He hasn’t had any luck.”

“I wish I knew what the Mazikin were up to,” I said as I exited the highway and headed for downtown. “I mean, is it a mistake, patrolling the streets? Should we be focusing more on our school? They got Evan. Who will they try to take next?”

“I don’t know. But if we can keep them busy here rather than at school, our friends will be safer.”

I decided to say what I’d been thinking ever since realizing the Mazikin had possessed yet another of our classmates. “I know one thing that could draw their attention. Me. That’s what they said they wanted anyway. Evan confirmed it this morning.”

Malachi grimaced. “You can’t be serious. I understand the value of bait, Lela. Ana and I used that tactic many times. But only when we knew what we were facing and had a strategy to get her out. She was too important to sacrifice. And so are you.”