A lantern, goddammit. A real one, not battery powered. It had actual fire inside it. At least most of the caves were wide and had decent airflow throughout. Otherwise, between the fumes from the toilet and the smoke from the lanterns, they’d all suffocate.

“Psst.”

Hayley jumped, spinning around, barely holding on to the lantern. “Graham,” she hissed. “You scared me to death. What are you doing here?”

He grinned, the flickering light giving him a devilish appearance. “Came to empty the pot. I’m on duty today.”

Her stomach roiled. “You did it yesterday.” She frowned. “And the day before. Why?” The disgusting jobs were rotated among the younger boys, unless someone was being punished.

“Gets me outside. I can breathe fresh air.” Graham leaned closer and whispered, “And search for stuff. And hide other stuff.”

Stuff. Like the computer. And the drugs he’d found the day before. Her heart clenched. “You’re doing this for me?”

Graham shrugged. “More for Jellybean. Gonna be her favorite uncle.”

Hayley’s eyes stung. “I love you, Cookie.”

His lips curved up. “I know.” He hesitated. “You know.”

She smiled at him. She did know that he loved her, too. “You need to go back to bed.”

“After I dump the pot.”

“Gra—,” a shrill voice said before cutting away. “Achan,” their mother whispered. “Why are you whispering to Magdalena?”

The thief and the whore, Hayley thought, having to close her eyes. She couldn’t look at her mother anymore. The bubbling rage was just too much.

“She had to pee,” Graham said, somehow hiding his contempt for the woman who’d brought them here. “Because she’s pregnant. I’m dumping the pot, because it’s my job.” He darted into the toilet area, returning with the pot, full and foul. “Do you need to pee in it, Mother?”

Hayley gagged. “Graham. Oh my God, that reeks.” Then her head snapped back as her mother slapped her. Hard.

“His name is Achan. Your name is Magdalena. You will be respectful, and you will follow the rules. Do you understand?”

Hayley worked her jaw, tasting blood. “Fuck you,” she spat, suddenly not caring who heard.

Her mother gasped, and Graham winced. “She’s hormonal,” he said. “It’s not her fault.”

“It most certainly is her fault. She had relations with a man who is not her husband. Whatever happens to her is her fault.”

Hayley clenched her fists. “Why, you smarmy little bi—”

“Mother,” Graham interrupted, taking a step closer to their mother, holding the pot up so that the old bitch took a giant step back. “Let my sister go to bed. She’s tired and scared. You had both of us in a hospital, didn’t you? You had an epidural and a real doctor. She won’t, and she’s scared. You would have been, too, don’t you think?”

“No. I was fine, and she will be, too. Unless God’s will is otherwise.”

Hayley took a step back of her own, partly to get away from the pot Graham held and partly so that she wouldn’t drop her mother to the cave floor with an uppercut. Cameron had taught her how as part of her self-defense lessons. Fat lot of good those had done her, because she couldn’t defend herself now. And if she couldn’t defend herself, how could she defend their baby?