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"Ugh!" she said, releasing one of my arms as she instinctively swiped at her face I jerkedthe force of lad I had soe of the circle I hit it, breaking the circle with a skid as I hurtled into a world of hurt, and the fire went out instantly I heard another thud after ained some comfort from the sound

"You stupid bitch!" she rasped, and when I looked up, I saw her, clawing the ground, pulling herself toward me like some demented zombie from a bad fifties’ pulp cover I took a deep breath and clawed as well, heading toward the gurgling brook I ed to crawl across it, the coldness froh me Finally, after what seemed like years, I made it to the other side and turned to see her, on her sto me thethe strength to speak, I flipped her off and then fell back onto the ground with a thud

I dipped into darkness then for a bit, and when I ca, albeit with a lot of pain,to protest every breath, every heartbeat, by shooting sharp shards of hurt through every nerve I lay back on the ground, asped for air, and when I openedback into ht to their source, Davina’s brightly dressed forround at the opposite side of the circle After a ht dissipated, and the world was silent and dark around us as we both breathed, at first loudly and with effort, and eventually slower, and cal the strength to speak out loud

You screwed up, hat cah I knew I had felt the words instead of heard them, I also knew they hadn’t co that had happened toto get a better look at Davina She stared back atin futile fury

If you think this was bad, Davina’s voice said in ain You ish you’d died tonight Just wait

"Just you wait, ’Enry ’Iggins, just you wait," I sang in a scratchy whisper through hed a bit, which sent pain radiating fros to my toes, and my eyes filled with tears

Ow

"That’s right, baby," Davina said, out loud this ti it on, bitch

"Liv!" A h the woods, familiar, but I couldn’t place it I could hear hard footsteps racing through the brush I stayed on the ground, thinking, Right here! but was unable to say anything Singing to Davina had used up what little strength I’d had left

"Goddahtened, whoever he was

I opened my eyes It was still dark, and cold, but there was a hint of the co dawn on the horizon I must have passed out, for a couple of hours at least I turned my head, which throbbed in response, and looked for Davina She was gone, as was her backpack As far as I could tell, all evidence of her ever having been there was gone I closed my eyes and tried to et up and walk away, and she hadn’t killed nized his voice, and the relief of hearing it washed overto die, sure, but at least I’d be with Tobias when I did I felt hot tears track down the sides of my face, but I couldn’t move I closedlouder, which et to ht, and fell into darkness again, co out only when I felt the booround beside h my entire body, but I was too weak to even whi his hand down entle touch, but it still hurt like a mother

I opened my eyes "Quit it!" I croaked, each word a torture in my ruined throat I tried to wrench ave me spasms of pain for ently touching my face "I need you to stay withto keep a calm facade, but underneath, there was panic in his eyes If I didn’t knoas going to die before, I knew it now Tears prickedto be fine" He shrugged aoff his shoulder and pulled a water bottle out, then put his hand under runted, but he ignoredliquid that was not water into th I had, finally feeling the desire to live, even though I kneas hopeless, and I started to cry

"Liv, listen to me," he said, his voice calm and even "You need to drink this You understand?"

I ed to focus my eyes on his face, his beautiful face His eyes were red-rimmed and frantic, his hair was a mess, and he looked like he could maybe use a shave, but he was my Tobias, and he was always beautiful to h my body, and I whimpered "It hurts"

"Yeah I know" He touched the bottle to my lips and squirted it into my mouth I sputtered a bit, the stuff tasted like flat beer with dirt in it, but once sed it was cool and soothing to ed to drink some I sed down aspain subsided, but then

"Oh, god, I don’t feel right," I said, and Tobias heldI’d ever consuround After a fewof his heart next to hme toward his warmth

"You all done?" he asked after a ht that was supposed to make me feel better"

"It’s supposed to save your life," he said "Can you s, which still felt leaden and cold Although breathing was no longer as painful as it had been before, just the idea ofmy toes made me start to cry "I can’t"

"Try"

"It’s too hard," I whimpered

"Liv, coed, and I could hear the desperation in it "Please"

"Okay" I sniffled, concentrated, and wriggledtoe a little "Can I die now?"

"No" He pulled a green hoodie sweatshirt out of his pack and slid it over h the sleeves, then settledhis bag back over his shoulders, the predawn sunlight bathing hilow that ined it all Maybe he wasn’t really there

Maybe I was already dead

Huh

He looked around, then put his fingers between his teeth and let out an ear-shattering whistle

"Ow," I said, and then I heard footsteps I pulleda point to my left Slowly, I forced my head to turn, but all I saere an old pair of construction work boots, and then a rough, Southern voice said, "She alive?"

"Yeah," I heard Tobias say, his voice tense "She’s not doing great, though"

There was a grunt, then the work boots stopped next to me A moment later, Cain crouched down and looked atwith cold assessment over my face, thento talk directly to me

"A little," Tobias said, his voice quiet

Cain reached out to touch my face, and I wanted to shrink back fro consciousness was about all I had it in me to do at thewith tears How could Tobias do this? Bring Cain toon? My vision started to darken, but whether it was a result ofdeath, I didn’t know

"We have to go back toforward to pick me up

"No," I whimpered, and ot her," Tobias said A er underjostled about in Tobias’s arms as he carried me out of the forest I tried to speak, to ask Tobias what the hell he was doing with Cain, but the pain of the movement was too much, and I passed into blackness instead

When I woke up, I was lying on a futon, staring at a nicotine yellow ceiling in a vaguely fah I couldn’t place where I’d seen it before I didn’t kno long I’d been passed out, but the light outside wasn’t full yet, so it couldn’t have been too long Or, it was so long that it was already dusk

Or, I was dead, and hell was a studio aparts At this point,

"Tobias?" I croaked, h and pained from all the abuse it had taken

I heard noise, the clanking of pots, pans, utensils, and I lifted h the cabinets in his kitchenette, pulling out little bottles and tins and setting them aside They looked a lot like the bottles and tins I’d seen Davina using

"Where’s Tobias?"

"What?" He opened a tin, sniffed it, then shook his head and tossed it aside on the counter

"Tobias?"

Cain looked at me over his shoulder, then opened another cabinet and continued ru I need," he said "He’ll be back later"

"Oh" I laid my head back down on the cushion I was covered with a blanket, butinvoluntarily with cold "Are you going to kill me?"

I couldn’t see Cain anys, he just continued his business in the kitchenette, ignoringto killme here to do it I had the job half-done for you in the forest"

He made a harsh sound, then said, "Shut up and let me concentrate"

"She tried to killwhile the bottles and tins clanked in the kitchenette "You tried to kill me I don’t understand why people want to kill me I’m basically a very nice person"

"I didn’t try to kill you," he said "I tried to kill her"

I blinked, trying to adjustI couldn’t put it all together

"Butthat night"

"I was following her She took the opportunity to put on a show for you"

I tried to wrap myit had been Davina "But she was knocked out How?"

He usted noise "She was never knocked out"

And then, the truth flowed overShe’d used Millie and Aet ray smoke Not Cain She’d never actually been knocked out that night in the woods; she’d faked it to fraht Cain to me to save me, not to kill me

I took a moment to adjust to this, to te affection for Davina with the knowledge that he hadn’t done any of the bad stuff; she had But the proof was simple; Tobias had trusted me to Cain, and I trusted Tobias

So that was that

"God, I’ pause, then, "You’re not stupid You just wanted to believe Get someone ants to believe, half your work is done for you"

I closed"Hey This is the apartment above Happy Larry’s, isn’t it? I was here for a party once in high school"

Cain grunted I took that as confirmation

"Happy Larry lied He told Betty he hadn’t seen you"

"A good man knohen to keep his ood ," I said "You paid him off, didn’t you?"

"Damnit Where the hell is it?" Cain opened a drawer, cursed, and shut it again

I stared at the ceiling and just repeated whatever thoughts ca that’s happening"

"Here it is," Cain , and looked up to see hi a pot I rested ers It hurt, but not as ers," I said "That’s good, right?"

"Don’tJust breathe and shut the hell up You’re not out of the woods yet You like Splenda? Don’t much matter, it’s all that’s in here" He ripped open two packets and dumped them in the pot

"I hate Splenda," I said "Any man who doesn’t appreciate a woin with, anyway" I reht we met, how much I had liked her My eyes filled with tears and I blinked the to deal with Cain’s certain surly response to rabbed a spoon and started stirring I went quiet for a while, staring at his ceiling, distracting inally white and had just been neglected into that nicotine yellow, or if Happy Larry the Sleazebag had actually thought that was a good color for the apart Cain, but then decided he’d just tell me to shut the hell up anyway

A fewwith a blue stripe around the top

"Hey," I said "I know thatDid Happy Larry steal that fro"

He put his hand behind my head and held the cup to od, not another putrid - " I began, but stopped as I sniffed "Wait That actually sht have passed for a sraced his lips, and he said softly, "Just drink it, okay?"

I leaned forward a bit with his help and sipped it It arm, not hot, and tasted of peppermint and licorice, and the feel of it in my ruined throat was incredible It wasn’t terribly sweet, but just enough, and as I drank it down, the pain in h, but Cain kept holding ently loweredto throw everything up again, am I?" I asked "Because that was kind of a mean trick"

Cain walked to the other side of the tiny roorabbed the pillow and blanket froht them back to me

"I don’t need those," I said "I feel a lot better Just give me a minute, and I’ll be out of your hair"

"Shut up" He lifted my head and set the pillow underneath, then flipped the blanket out over er Go to sleep"

"Stop tellingaszone "I’ain?"

I blinked a few times and took a deep breath "No"

"Good" His expression seemed to soften a bit, and I looked up at hi to accept the gentle transition from enemies towell, not exactly friends, but ere on the same side at least For the moment, anyway