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“You think Hijruun might know something that could help you?” says Candy.

She hands me the list.

“Cacklers know a lot of arcane hoodoo. And I can’t just sit around here. Maybe if I warn Hijruun about the faction, he’ll trade me some information.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she says. “Do you know where Hijruun lives?”

“Technically in an alternate reality, but it’s a close one, so I can get there through the Room.”

“Great. I’m going with you.”

Alessa stands up.

“Wait. You told me he did this kind of stuff all the time.”

“He did,” says Candy. “When he was well. Look at him now.”

She goes to Candy.

“You told me, months ago, you were glad to not be doing this kind of crazy stuff anymore. The running around. The guns and magic and killing. You said you were happy.”

Candy looks at me a little guiltily, then back at Alessa.

“I am happy. But, well, look at him.”

Alessa shifts her weight, getting angrier.

“I am. Are you? He looks horrible. But according to you and Kasabian, he was always like this.”

“Not always,” says Candy.

“Always,” says Kasabian.

“Now he shows up after all this time, almost gets us shot, and you go running back to him,” says Alessa.

“It’s not like that,” Candy says.

“Then how is it?”

Candy takes Alessa’s hand.

“I love our life. I’m not running back to him. But Stark and me have a lot of history together. That means something.”

Alessa looks at me. It’s all in her eyes. She’s not angry. She’s scared. Not that I’m going to steal Candy from her, but that I’m going to do something dumb and get her killed.

“Alessa’s right,” I say. “I created this problem the moment I agreed to work for Wormwood. It was a selfish and stupid bargain and it makes me pretty much as bad as them. But it was my choice. I’m not dragging anyone else down with me.”

I start away and Candy says, “Don’t leave yet.”

She hustles Alessa into one of the side rooms. I head into the bathroom. Kasabian follows me in.

He says, “Spreading hope and sunshine wherever you go.”

I open the medicine cabinet and go through it, looking for anything that might help heal me. I look at Kasabian.

“Once upon a time, I thought we were friends, Kas.”

“That was then. This is now. Friendship only goes so far when one of the friends spends all his time trying to get the other killed.”