The second meeting in the forests outside Rallsburg was much quieter. A young man sat on another log, quite like the one Robert had recently vacated, and he too was tossing pinecones about the trees. Unlike Robert, he had full confidence that his appointment would be kept.

  "Hi," she said, appearing out of thin air next to him.

  He frowned. "What were you doing? You're a little late."

  "Are we really going to do this? We haven't talked in weeks."

  The young man sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit on edge."

  She looked at him sympathetically. "We all are." He put an arm around her, meaning to hug her, but she pushed him away. "Don't, please."

  "What's wrong?"

  She looked at him like he was insane. "Where do I start?"

  He held up a hand. "That was a stupid question."

  "I know you have your rules, but seriously. You could have helped end this."

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  He hesitated. "Maybe I should have. We argued about it for hours after the first few deaths."

  "You and Jackson?"

  "No, I meant at home."

  "Oh." Her silver-grey eyes softened. "Are you guys okay?"

  "We're still together, yeah. I would have kept arguing, but he stopped it before we said things we'd regret. He's angry, but he and I still agreed in the end. The rules are there for a reason."

  "Until he broke them," she pointed out.

  He shook his head. "He never did. All the first attacks were carried out in self-defense or by surrogate. He was never the aggressor. Even at the end, it was in self-defense, since he was being targeted by their magnet ritual from halfway across town."

  "This is all so weak."

  "Why do you think we're still arguing about it?" He sighed. "I swore after that night I'd stay out of it. I keep my promises."

  "Is it worth keeping a promise to the letter if the other guy's going to find every possible way to get around it?"

  He picked up a pinecone, examined it for a moment. He dropped it back onto the ground. "What are you going to do now?" he asked.

  She sighed. "Find a new place to live, I guess. I liked staying with Boris and his books. I went back to look for some, but a lot of them burned up. Their stories are done. I'll probably take the rest to him whenever he settles down, but I don't think I can stick around them anymore."

  "You could—"

  "No," she replied, cutting him off. "Thank you, but no. I'm okay on my own."

  He shrugged. "The offer's open. Always."

  She didn't answer. After a minute of silence, she vanished, with only a faint breeze reminding him that she'd been there at all.

  He picked up another pinecone, then dropped it again. "See you around, BB," he whispered to the empty forest.