“But you made her do this!” Bis exclaimed. “You made her believe she could! You can’t just let her die!”

There was silence, and I felt Trent’s grip on me tighten.

“Rachel? Rachel!”

It was the silence that got my attention, and I managed to open an eye a bit. “What?” I breathed, glad the pain had eased. No one should die in pain. The blessing of angels.

Trent looked worried, a smear of blood on his face. I almost smiled. He was worried about me.

He grimaced, and my vision narrowed to almost nothing. “Hold on,” he said, his voice sounding like he was in cotton. “I have to set you down for a second. I’ll be right back.”

The beautiful haze I was in vanished and agony split between my thought and reason. I gasped as he shifted me to the floor. He was leaving, and my heart thudded wildly. Eyes open, I frantically looked for him, seeing Bis staring down at me, his eyes as big as saucers. His wings and ears were pinned back. His tail was wrapped around his clawed feet, and he was as black as midnight, scared to death. I smiled at him, and he turned to Trent, fear in his eyes.

“Mr. Kalamack!” he exclaimed, and then Trent was back, frowning as he knelt beside me. I could feel his aura, and I wanted to roll into it, but I couldn’t make anything move.

“Foolish witch,” Trent was muttering as he kneeled by me. There was a little cap on his head, and he was arranging a thin ribbon to drape around his neck and down his front. He was wearing an odd shirt, red in front, white in back—very unlike him. And then I realized it wasn’t red—it was soaked in my blood. “Why didn’t you just give him the curse and banish him?” he finished.

“I did.” My hand stretched out, and though it burned as if a dog was chewing on it, I managed to edge it into his aura. Bliss slipped into my fingers, and I started to cry. I wanted it, and it was so close, smelling of cinnamon and the shadows under trees. “He dragged me into a line with him,” I said, the tears burning me. “He was eating my soul.” Pick me up. Oh God, just pick me up again.

“That would account for its shredded look.”

The soggy warmth under me was getting cold, and I moaned in relief as Trent gathered me back to him, pulling me into his lap and setting my back to his front, almost covering my entire body with his aura. My eyes opened a bit, and I felt my heart slowing as his aura lapped about me. He was reading from something, his lips moving. I could feel elven magic seeping out of the earth and into me, but it didn’t matter. It was too late.

“What did you want to be when you grew up?” I asked. We were innocent once. How could it have gone so bad?