Xeke yawned. I should be asleep, he thought—for the dozenth time.

  That was easier said than done. Besides, he’d been waiting for this chance to speak with Teri alone since they’d reunited. Ruddy was off finding supplies—they’d given most of their food to the freed prisoners from the mine—and Corey was upstairs resting.

  Corey’s abilities had been taxed to the point of exhaustion. He’d managed to heal Teri’s arm and get Xeke out of danger, but that was all the strength he had.

  Xeke winced as Teri shifted her weight on the couch next to him.

  “Are you sure you’re up to talking?” Teri said.

  “It’s no big deal,” he said. “It’s just pain. It’s nothing compared to what was happening to the people here.”

  “Yes, radiation damage is no joke, but I think Corey will be able to help most of them once he’s rested,” she said.

  Xeke shook his head. “A uranium shaper. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “She’s the one who located the mine,” Teri said. “That’s why they came here. When they arrived it was the two of them and Richard, along with a mentalist named Danny. They took over the town and opened the mine. The slaves mined the ore, and she processed it right here. They were selling the best weapons-grade uranium anyone had ever seen—to the government, to buyers out west, to anyone who could pay. They got rich off it—well, Adrian did, anyway. The shaper was practically a slave herself once Adrian realized how valuable she was. Danny couldn’t stomach the slavery and tried to force a change, so they got rid of him. Adrian was hoping I’d take his place.”

  “I can’t believe the way they treated these people,” Xeke said. “Like animals.”

  “Worse than animals,” Teri said. “The mortality rate at the mine was high. It was easier to find more workers than to make the mine safe. Adrian’s people kidnapped whole communities, like the Apache reservation that used to be down the road. He left no witnesses—and with a mentalist, the people never stood a chance.”

  Xeke’s stomach twisted.

  Teri watched him for a moment. “You okay?”

  “Not really,” Xeke said. His stomach clenched into knots. He let out his breath, but instead of releasing the tension in him, rage sprang up as he exhaled.

  Teri stiffened. “What are you going to do?”

  “What the fuck can I do?” he said. “Obliterate another white nationalist village to even things out? This wasn’t even racists. It was afflicted. Maybe I should just end every single afflicted who had anything to do with it. I could, you know. I could kill them all.”

  He looked at Teri. Her eyes were wide.

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  He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “I know,” Teri said. “But - you do have a point. I’m worried about what to do with the rest of the afflicted. We can’t leave a bunch of slavers with powers to do what they want—but we can’t let the townspeople murder them either, and that’s what they’re going to do if they get a chance.”

  “That’s something we’ll have to figure out,” Xeke said, “But right now I’m more worried about you.” He chuckled. “I probably don’t need to tell you that.”

  “You kinda do. People think about things to work through them. Thoughts aren’t the same as saying things. I take people’s thoughts with a grain of salt ... especially Ruddy’s. But yeah, I do know how worried you are. You’re thinking I’m headed over the deep end, and you don’t know what you’re going to do if I lose it.”

  Xeke winced.

  “Well, you brought it up,” Teri said.

  “Yeah. I did. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I’m not even sure what to talk about. I have memories that dead end. Whole days are missing. I’ve never forgotten anything in my life, but in the past few weeks … let’s just say you’re not the only one who's worried.”

  “You’re not going crazy,” Xeke said.

  “You don’t know that … wait, you do know that.” She stared at him. “What are you not telling me? And how are you keeping it from me?”

  “You’re going to have to trust me,” Xeke said.

  “They were right, weren’t they?” she said. “I murdered someone.”

  “What? No! What did Adrian tell you?”

  “He said I killed one of my friends.” She picked a name out of Xeke’s mind. “Sean. That’s who I killed, isn’t it? Some guy named Sean.”

  “Sean isn't dead, and he's not just some guy, he’s ...”

  “He’s what?”

  “Well, you two had a thing … you sort of have a crush on each other.”

  “A crush?” Tears welled up. “But I don’t even know who he is!”

  Xeke put his arm around her, ignoring the pain that shot through his body. “It’s going to be all right. I promise.”

  “How can you be so sure?” she said. “And how can you know what’s happening to me and not tell me?”

  “I will, and I’m going to soon. I just can’t right now.”

  “I know you think that’s best, but … dammit!” Teri bit her lip. “What’s really getting to me is that I should be able to figure it out, or see it, or something. I can always figure things out! This doesn’t make any sense!”

  “Calm down,” Xeke said. He tightened his arm around her shoulders.

  She shook his arm off. “How can I calm down when my brain isn’t even working right? What’s wrong with me? Xeke, tell me!”

  Are you okay, Teri? Ruddy said. What’s wrong?

  It’s all right, Teri said. Xeke’s with me.

  Are you sure?

  I'm fine, Teri said. You can go back to what you were doing.

  I wasn’t … Ruddy said.

  Xeke felt a wall slam down between them and Ruddy. He looked at Teri.

  “I can’t talk to him right now,” she said. “He’s too uncomfortable with me. With everything. He’s got all this guilt and I don’t know what to do about it. Everything I do makes him feel worse.”

  “Ruddy’s going to be fine,” Xeke said. “Don’t worry about him.”

  “It’s not just Ruddy,” she said. “All of you feel that way.” Tears streamed down Teri’s face. “I know you said I didn’t kill anyone, but it’s obvious I did something terrible. I don’t remember what it was and no one will tell me!”

  Xeke stared at the floor. He had to tell her what was really going on.

  Xeke, you can’t! Terry’s voice was muffled. This whole place is about to explode. We’re barely keeping a lid on it. If you tell her now, there'll be a bloodbath.

  Stop telling me what to do, he said. I’ve made my decision. We’ve done this to her, and I’m going to fix it.

  But when he opened his mouth to tell Teri, the words wouldn’t come. He wanted to hate Terry for it, but she was probably right. It wasn’t a good time.

  He took a deep breath and let it out.

  “You have to trust me, Teri,” he said. “I swear to you, I have your best interest in mind.”

  She relaxed and leaned against him. “I know you do. But I don’t know how much longer I can stand not knowing.”