Considering Jamie’s condition, I doubted we could cover the distance in less than two days’ time. This was a problem. A big one. He needed medical attention sooner.

Still, Jamie insisted we try.

He was speaking clearly again, telling me where things hurt, helping me as I packed the serious wounds with sod. I tore the rest of Jamie’s slashed jacket into strips to form primitive bandages. Neither of us spoke a word about the Fury. His own horror was still too real, and I didn’t have a clue how to talk about Bobbie. I wasn’t sure I ever would.

Was she still nearby? I didn’t know. I kept a watchful eye, naturally, but if she was near, she was out of sight. Which made me wonder if she had the power to vanish at will.

Eventually I helped Jamie stand, then limp out onto the path. “You sure you can do this?” I asked.

“Yes. Anywhere but this place. We just need to get to the path I marked.”

He was far too slow on his own, so he draped his right arm around my shoulders and I lent him support. My legs were already burning from our exertion the day before, but I ignored the pain and tried to keep us moving at as steady a pace as we could manage. Finding Jamie’s marked path was a relief—at least we knew where we were going.

We stopped frequently so Jamie could rest, once at a creek. There I helped him to the water so he could drink and wash his face. The splash bath rejuvenated him for a while, but as the sun reached the highest point of the sky, he started to lose his strength again. Still, we pushed on. Two more hours at least, but by then Jamie was so pale and wheezing so hard that continuing was impossible.

I escorted him to the base of a large tree and helped him sit. Leaning back against the trunk, Jamie took slow and labored breaths. He looked down the path in the direction we were heading, then back up at me.

“You’re going to have to go without me,” he said.

“Not a chance. I’m not leaving you here.”

“I’m not strong enough.”

“Neither am I! I’m not going out there alone.”

“I’m not going to make it.”

“Stop that, of course you are. We just need to rest.”

He shifted and his face twisted in pain. Tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn’t leave him again. I just couldn’t.

“Listen to me,” Jamie said. “You’re going to have to get to Haven Valley and bring help back.”

He couldn’t be serious. He was the one who knew these paths and was leading me. I couldn’t go alone.

“We’ll never make it if you just keep dragging me along,” Jamie said. “This is going to kill me.”