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"What—" he said, and then groaned softly as realization crossed his face. "Abigor."
Julian exhaled, and it was only then that I realized that he had, only a moment before, been coiled and tense with fear.
"Yes," he said. "I brought him forth."
I exchanged a horrified glance with Theo. "But Luca's not the one—" I started to say.
"I know," Julian growled.
"Do we stop?" Theo got to his feet. "This seems like it's about to backfire."
"No!" Luca said vehemently. He pointed at Julian. "It won't happen again. My friend—continue."
But Julian didn't move. He just stood there, hands smeared with dirt and moss, his broad shoulders tense, his eyes dark and wary.
"We need something to—" Theo looked around, as though the answer lay in the shadows of the cave. "To keep Abigor in, right? While we pull Lilin out?"
"I didn't feel anything," I said desperately, turning to Theo for confirmation. "Did I?"
He shook his head. "Didn't look that way."
"What if—" I got up too, wincing as the wound on my hand reopened and began to bleed. "What if we held hands or something?"
Theo raised his eyebrows. "Like a séance?"
"I don't know!" I cried. "Do you have any better ideas?"
"Wait." Julian held up a hand. "River—that might actually work."
I blinked. "It might?"
"Yes." Julian turned to me. "Your touch will remind Luca of his humanity, and at the same time, Abigor's touch might draw Lilin forth."
“Is there anything I can do?” Theo said, glancing from Luca to me. "Starting to feel like I might be a fifth wheel here."
"It will take more than River to keep Abigor from emerging," Julian said grimly. He surveyed the fire, still blazing wildly behind him, and nodded. "Sit down."
Biting my lip, I sat. Theo and Luca did, too, shifting until we were in a triangle, our knees touching.
"Do we—" Theo held up a hand, and when Julian nodded, he reached for me. On my other side, Luca curled his fingers around mine.
I gasped. It was as though a current of electricity surged through me, blazing from Luca's touch to Theo's, lighting every nerve along the way. My vision clouded, and I blinked hard.
All three of them were staring at me. "Um," I said. "What?"
"You blanked out for a second," Theo said. His brow was furrowed with concern.
I gave a weak laugh. "Well," I said. "That's the idea, isn't it?"
From behind me, I heard Julian's grunt of acknowledgement, and the sound of something else being tossed onto the fire. I took a deep breath and peered up at Luca. "Are you okay?"
His face was very pale, but he nodded. "Yes," he said. He looked down at our joined hands, and then at his other hand, which was clasping Theo's. "This is…I think this will help."
Theo's lips thinned. "It better," he muttered.
I looked back at Julian. He was holding the charred, bloodstained wood in both hands. "Now what?" I asked.
Shadows ricocheted off the angles of his face, making him look even more foreboding. His dark eyes gleamed.
