“Very funny,” I said. Standing so close to him made it impossible for me to have anything less than his complete attention. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to keep James alive,” Knox said.

A couple of girls came around the corner, freezing when they found the scene in front of them. I stepped away instinctively, causing the girls to erupt into a fit of giggles. Knox stared after them as they continued down the hall.

“You have some interesting classmates,” he said.

“Not now, Knox,” I said.

Ms. Wallace came out of the main office. Seeing me so close to Knox, she jumped to the same erroneous conclusion as the girls who’d just walked by.

“No PDA,” she said, narrowing her eyes.

“That’s what I just told her,” Knox said, stifling a snicker.

Could this get any worse? I thought.

Ms. Wallace slowed as she walked by us, making sure we stepped apart.

Turning away from the office suites, I led Knox toward the exit. Moments later, we stepped into the bright sunshine. We headed toward one of the benches that bordered the student parking lot. I figured we had about ten minutes before the final bell rang and kids streamed out of every door of the school.

“Cut the crap, Knox. You’re here because of James, right? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Just about as cagey as an alligator in a tidal pool. It was all I could do to keep him from coming here to get you.”

“And why would that be a problem?” I asked.

“He’d be caught as soon as he left the caves,” Knox said. “The Elders put a high price on his head. Everyone’s gunning for him, including some of the Fringers. The only way he agreed to stay underground was if I came here to check on you.”

“Why didn’t Ever tell him I was okay?”

Knox sat, and I joined him on the bench. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Ever hasn’t been seen since the day you left Judaculla.”

The wind was knocked out of me. Ever was missing. For all I knew, she was dead. All because she’d helped me escape. Her scream echoed through my mind.

“We waited for two days to hear from Ever, but when she didn’t show, James figured she’d been killed. Since I didn’t actually see you leave Judaculla and couldn’t guarantee James you had gone, I had to physically restrain him to keep him from coming to Woodvine.”

“What’s keeping him from leaving now?” I asked, worried that with Ever dead and Knox here, there was no one there to make him stay put.

“He promised he’d wait until I returned,” Knox said. “Tobias isn’t well enough to travel.” His face fell, and he glanced away.

“What happened?” I asked.

“They got to Tobias before we did. They worked him over pretty good.”