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We had to get off the island Now

I gathered up dried pale from the bodies and ripped tents of the Sentinels that was burnable I found sooing It wouldn’t burn for long, but it didn’t need to, and while it was burning, I wrapped David in the cast-off clothes of dead h to stop shaking

It seemed to take forever for a boat to arrive When it did, it was full of Wardens, and Leas the first to step off the craft and onto the rocks

He didn’t exactly rush to our aid He looked ill, and almost fell as he made his slow, careful way over the rocks He wasn’t the only one All the rest of the Wardens looked just as bad

"What’s happened?" I asked "Lewis?"

He coughed, as if so was broken inside He wiped blood froainst a boulder as if he was too weak to keep standing

"When the portal leaked, you and David took the hit You absorbed it and stopped it fro any deeper into the earth If you hadn’t, ouldn’t be here right now" He stopped to cough again, and this time I wasn’t sure he’d stop When he finally did, his voice was scratchy and thin "But because you were joined when you took the hit, the shock bounced both ways Through the Djinn, and through the Wardens" Oh dear God"How bad is it?"

"It’s turned this whole part of the ocean into a giant black corner," Lewis said "We’ve got to get under way If we run the engines hard, we ht make it out of the dead zone before the Djinn start to die"

David raised his head for the first time "Won’t help us," he said "You and ing painfully into the edges of the stones

"What are you talking about?" I asked "What about us?"

"The blast - had to shift everything away to keep us alive - " Leas getting it now, that bad feeling I saw it as he straightened and lookedabout?" David grabbed one," he said "Had to destroy them Had to" I wasn’t sure I could even dare to speak I finally, slowly shook my head I wanted to reject this I wanted to believe that ere just wounded,

"You mean the impact left the two of you hu but - hu over his face He hadn’t been able to put enough words together, in his shattered state, to make sense out of it

Human

The two of us Human

I was suddenly aware of him in ways I’d never been before - of anxiety that I’d never felt before

He was mortal And I couldn’t protect hi that could fly at us - weather, fire, earth Demons I couldn’t even bat away a siile

"No," he whispered, and put the warh, Jo"

It was hard to push past the fear, the knowledge that ere somoment, and then I sahat he meant

We were both huether A norether

"But - " My treers touched and traced his lips The same lips, and different

"But you used to be - "

"I used to be huo And if I have to be huine a better partner for my life"

He kissed me It was a real, hu kisses hadn’t been, somehow Bordered by our oareness of mortality

"Hate to interrupt this tender moment," Lewis said, "but we’re fucked if we stay here And by the way, your powers aren’t gone They’re still out there, soy"

We both looked at him I saeary flash of utter hatred in David’s face No, being human hadn’t taken away any of that antipathy Definitely not "Someone else inherited our powers"

"The problem is we don’t knohere they went," Lewis said "Or who’s got the the black corner, we’ve still got to find out where your poent

Worst-case Warden scenario - soh power to destroy half the world and hasn’t got a clue what to do with it"

"And the Djinn?"

"Ashan," he said"Worst-case scenario is that Ashan is now the sole Conduit for all of the Djinn, and he’s going to be very, very pissed off about Wardens in general" I pulled David to his feet, and realized that I could barely walk My left leg and arm were covered with the scars that hadn’t had ti, but everything hurt, and hurt badly I fought back tears and braced David as he took careful, halting steps

He stopped, breathing hard, shaking his head Overwhelrabbed his face in both ive up on ether Don’t let hiether Huht?" He nodded, and a convulsive shudder went through him He put his arms around me, and his head rested on my shoulder The last of the Wardens boarded the rescue craft, and then it was our turn

I didn’t want to let go

"Fides et you back in time to save both of us?"

"I will always trust you" I kissed hiently on cheeks that tasted of sweat and sea "And I will always bring you home, my love"

Fides mihi

Now I had to make it count