The whole way from the shop to Wentworth, then all the way up to and across Cermak, Bri and Kim chattered non-stop. Although they occasionally tried to pull Amy into the conversation, for the most part they let her remain deep in thought.

“So, did Brookfield ever call you back about those wyvern rescue hatchlings?”

“Oh yes, they’re recovering nicely.” Bri replied excitedly. “They’re responding nicely to Tonya’s potions and my therapies. The poor dears may never fly or be able to go back to the wild, but at least they’ll have some decent quality of life. Even Dr. Hassle admitted we were right in forgoing surgery.”

“Wow, Dr. Hassle? That woman never admits she’s wrong.”

“I know, right?”

Amy wanted to keep up, to help celebrate her friends’ achievements, but it was hard. Her mind seemed irresistibly drawn to wandering.

‘we should wait until Lox replaces her lost companion’

It had been less than two months. The memories were still painfully fresh. The casual reminder outside the store had let them seep back into the corners of her mind, forging a dangerous waking dream.

‘Amy, I need you to tighten your hold on the net.’

‘I can’t get a good visual on it …”

‘The blaggit’s charging up again … wait, Loki, it’s too dangerous’

‘I can help’

‘It’s slipping … I can’t keep it powered’

‘Loki, get back …’

‘I got this!’

‘It’s getting away from me!’

‘LOKI!’

‘AHHHHHH!’

Memories of heat and loss were suddenly refocused into a forceful pull from behind

“Amy! Look out!”

Hands grabbed at the collar of her cloak, keeping her from stepping into the street.

“Hey!”

A quick shuffle of footwork and a vice-like grip behind kept Amy from stumbling headlong into the thankfully still stopped traffic. The forcefulness of Kim’s reaction had pushed into the rigid brim of Bri’s hat, making her step backwards with a clatter of heeled boots and a yelp of surprise.

“Amy! What were you thinking?” Kim chastised her fiercely.

“It’s all right,” Amy gasped. She struggled to backpedal over the bumpy crossguard and regain her balance on the sidewalk. It was a good thing she had tied the straps of her hat under her chin to ward off the wind, or it might have gone flying. “I should have been paying better attention.”

“Damn right, you should have. Doing something like that on a Hunt could get someone hurt.”

“Or killed,” Amy added sorrowfully.

Tears were welling up in the sides of her vision. There was a sound of honking, and then engine noise and the smell of exhaust as the cars delayed at the intersection began moving again.

Amy half expected the tirade at her foolishness to continue. In fact, she would have welcomed it. Instead, a soft hand pressed against the side of her back.

“Amy?”

She wanted to reply, but all that came out was a choked sob. A pair of strong fingers took hold of her chin, forcing her head to raise. Amy knew the ebony blob topped in red swimming before her belonged to Kim’s face, but she just couldn’t bring it into focus.

“So that’s what all this is about, isn’t it?”

“Kim, I …”

“Look, we both know Loki admitted it was his fault. We heard his spirit say how grateful he was that it was him and not one of us. At least he can be rebound to a new form.”

“I …”

The dark blob shifted slightly.

“Thanks Bri.”

A soft cloth pressed against Amy’s face, blotting the now freely flowing tears.

“Kim, I don’t need …”

She tried to reach up to stop her friend. But when she took hold of Kim’s firm, leather clad arm, all she could bring herself to do was hold on.

“Yes, you do.”

“Amy, we got some great telesma from Monday’s eclipse. All we have to do is run the binding ritual again! Everything will be great, you’ll see! So there’s no need to be sad …”

Amy wanted to assure her friend that she knew that was the case, but no words would come out.

“Bri, just let her cry for a bit longer.”

“Sorry.”

It might have been five minutes, maybe fifteen. Eventually the irrational despair faded, and Amy felt more or less herself again.

“Sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me.”

Kim’s usually laid back, cheerful face was still dead serious.

“You’ve been blaming yourself this whole time, haven’t you?”

Amy shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs and fog.

“No, not really. I know perfectly well I did what I could that day. And I know that we can bring Loki back. I swear I haven’t been blaming myself for what happened.”

“So why are you so upset?”

“Bri, that’s not helping.”

Amy wished she could reply. What was it that was putting her out of sorts so badly lately?

What was wrong with her?

A part of her badly wanted to know the answer. Surely knowing the answer would let her fix it, to make things all better again.

And another part of her wondered …

Would knowing only make it worse?