Most of the windows were garbage bagged, including the bedrooms. Katelina lay next to Jorick in Loren's bed and wondered where the house's real owners were. Despite her morbid curiosity, she fell asleep, wrapped in the protective circle of Jorick's arms. It was a dreamless sleep and when she woke the next evening she felt better than she had in days.

She rolled towards Jorick and mentally traced his face with her eyes. His long, dark hair was spread out over the pillow in a ...