Rachel shrugged. She laid a hand on her dog’s neck, and the dog jumped. She sounded like she was trying to be soothing as she told Imp, “Forget I said anything. And you’re being annoying again.”

“Guys.”

“Rachel, you know I love you in the most hetero of ways, but telling people to calm down never works and it’s not working here.”

“I told you to stop being annoying, not to calm down.”

“It’s the same thing, with me. I get stressed, this is how I deal. And I get stressed when you say you know him—”

“She doesn’t, by the way,” Chris said. “Needs to be said again.”

“—I have a right to be irritated when you don’t finish the thought.”

“Thought’s finished. I recognize him. Thought started and ended.”

“How? Who? When? Where? When? Who? Explain.”

“Too much hassle now that you’re being annoying,” Rachel said. “I’m fine leaving it be.”

“I can and will do horrible things to you without you knowing,” Imp growled.

“I’m fine leaving it be too,” Chris said.

“Good for you two, but I’m not fine!” Imp retorted.

I pushed out with my aura, getting their attention.

“We have a job,” I said.

“Good,” Rachel said. Imp, meanwhile, only huffed.

We backtracked to rejoin the others. Chris stuck by me, adjusting his clothes so that the garment he wore in monster form cloaked him like a poncho, the folds covering his lower face. He wore the headphones, but he didn’t have the braces on.

“You’re okay?” I asked. “Not seeing things?”

“I’m seeing lots of things. I need distractions.”

“There are others who are comatose right now because she got to them.”

“Emotion powers don’t affect you as much, right?” Chris asked.

“Yeah.”

“Monsters don’t get to me.”

I thought about responding, but we were back where the others had gathered.

Sveta was with Weld, Narwhal had most of her team, Foil was with Parian, and Vista was sticking close to her team with Capricorn sitting next to her. She was saying something in Tristan’s ear, while he held the earplug just slightly out of his ear, ready to put it back in at a moment’s notice.

I needed to say something to her.

Rain was just far enough ahead of the others that I thought he wasn’t part of the greater group. He was with the stragglers in Narwhal’s team, Fluke included, and they were coming back from a brief excursion, carrying some of the injured they’d collected. The biker girl with the broken ribs was one.

“Can you hear?” Rain asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“We grabbed these guys because we need to see if we can shake them free of the effect. I wrote up more on my phone, to catch you up.”

“Snag did a number on you.”