Whatever had been summoned, whatever was inside the cocoon Angelina had spun, it was squirming and twitching violently. A seam formed laterally around the radius of the cocoon. Seth watched, transfixed as the ball split vertically in half, a black line neatly dividing the cocoon in two. The split moved fluidly around the ball like a zipper.

First a toe, then one very human-looking foot dropped out of the ball to the floor. It was immediately followed by another. The ball rose up, expanding in size as well-muscled calves pushed out. Knees came next, then fell heavily to the ground. There was an incredibly large ripping sound as the ball pulled apart neatly into two halves. They caught fire and burned before they hit the floor, leaving behind a well proportioned, broad shouldered, mahogany skinned man.

The naked man stood, somehow still levitating above the center of the symbol, Anri’s blood now boiling violently around him. His long jet black hair was wet and stringy, hanging limply around his shoulders and down his back. He could have been a male model, his chest well defined, with every abdominal muscle accounted for. Seth was reminded of images of Native American gods, this new man’s body language screaming his confidence despite his full exposure to complete strangers.

Some type of tattoo or markings trailed over his shoulder and down his rust tinted, incredibly sculpted chest. He couldn’t really see it too well in the dim room, and with his head held at an odd angle in Anri’s steel grip. From what he could see, the mark looked a bit like the symbol on the floor.

Trailing his eyes further down the man’s body, Seth saw his large, uncut manhood hanging down like a heavy fruit between his legs. He blushed and tried not to look, yet was afraid to take his eyes from the newly arrived stranger. Angelina blush red, too, averting her eyes from the man’s exposed genitals.

Anri licked and nuzzled Seth’s throat slowly, his grip still steel. Angelina shook herself out of shock, walking over to edge of the symbol on the floor. She patted imagined dirt from her navy pants suit, pulled her fingers through her hair once, attempting to put it back in place. Seth watched as she approached the man, wearing her confidence like armor, her gaze locked on the man’s face.

She cleared her throat and then called out in a loud, dramatic voice, “General Raum, Duke of Hell, Commander of Legion of Thirty, I summon your strength,” she said, throwing her hands dramatically above her head as she spoke.

The dark skinned stranger looked around the room, then down at the etched symbol filled with boiling blood. His arms went above his head and he stretched out, lifting up on his toes and reaching towards the sky. He wiggled his back a little, then cracked his neck on both sides. Shaking out his body he stretched again, a deep whole body stretch as if he were just getting up for the morning. He groaned a little, a deep noise in the back of his throat.

When he finished with his stretching, he scanned the room appraisingly. He made eye contact with Seth for a split second, raising his eyebrow in question. His eyes felt like a physical touch and Seth shuddered against Anri. Anri’s eyes opened and he looked at the newly arrived, mahogany skinned man. He stopped licking Seth’s wounds, yet he didn’t remove his mouth from Seth’s throat. He glared at the naked man in a very possessive way that screamed Mine! and growled deep in his throat.

The man looked away from them as if he hadn’t noticed. The man, Raum, brought his gaze back to Angelina, looking her up and down. Her eyes had wandered back down his well toned body and were again locked on his manhood.

He chuckled, catching her looking. He looked down at himself, then moved his hands starting at his shoulders and bending down in a fluid motion to his feet. Black clothing covered him, a sleeved black shirt and dark leather pants. He even had shoes, also black. His clothing had an iridescence to it that reminded Seth of the black feathers of a crow.

Raum went to speak, then coughed as if something was stuck in this throat. He pounded a fist on his chest, then reached into his mouth and pulled out some black feathers. They burned to ash before they hit the floor. He coughed a little more and spit out a mouthful of smaller black downy feathers.

“That is better,” he said, his voice bassy and thick like honey. “You may be unaware, but the pain is incredible when a change is forced that expediently. To be summoned with a symbol that poorly engraved is painful enough, and then coercing me to another form? Absolutely brutish.” He looked around expectantly. “Did you perhaps prepare refreshment so that I may cleanse my throat? No? Of course not.” He looked at Angelina with a smile that could have frozen a lake.

“Lord-General Raum, allow me to welcome you to the Human Realm,” she said theatrically, ignoring his comments. Seth was impressed she was able to respond with such confidence after his comments and with the look he was giving her. She didn’t seem to notice it. “I have summoned you here-”

Raum cut her off with a wave of his hand. “You ignorant witch, I care not for why you summoned me. This is your first time summoning something larger than a lesser demon, I assume? Lucky me. I know adolescents who might have drawn my seal better,” he said, toeing a line of boiling blood with one of his black shoes. He had a bit of an accent that Seth couldn’t place. It sounded slightly British, almost, but not quite.

Angelina sucked in a breath to defend herself, but Raum held up a hand, silencing her. “I believe I understand what is occurring here.” He looked at Anri appraisingly. “That vampire over there, correct?”

“I have summoned you. You must grant me a boon,” Angelina demanded petulantly.

Raum laughed low in his throat. “You silly witch,” he said scornfully. “There are rules. Did you even bother to learn them? From which half-written grimoire did you copy my symbol?” He shook his head ruefully. “Nevermind. I am but a humble public servant. What boon do you wish from the house of Raum, Mistress Witch?” Raum said gravely as he bowed, one hand tucked in front of his body and the other tucked against his lower back.

Both of Anri’s arms were around Seth, his mouth still latched possessively to his throat. Seth could feel his worry through their connection, and he could feel that Anri was not completely back from his lust yet, even thought he was no longer drinking. His possessiveness was incredible.

“Aid me in my time of need. Grant me your powers in this realm. I have an appropriate sacrifice,” Angelina said regally. She stared at Raum with a laser focus.

He narrowed his eyes at her in disbelief, then he laughed. His whole body shook with the effort of it. Angelina stepped backwards, her confidence slowly eroding. She looked over at Anri and Seth with murder in her eyes. Anri growled at her in the back of his throat, pulling them both back, away from Angelina and Raum.

Raum broke out in laughter. “Oh, this is most definitely unique. The most amusing part of this is that you are not gaffing. You are absolutely serious,” Raum said. “I have not witnessed foley of this magnitude in ages. Possibly a decade. Oh, you, my dear witch, you are priceless.”

He paused. Angelina didn’t say anything. She just stood there with a stunned look on her face.

“Dark heavens, you were not kidding.” Raum gestured over to Anri and Seth. “This was the vampire whom should serve as my sacrifice? The bloodbound vampire? The vampire who is currently, and quite literally, attached to his partner? The partner he is, as anyone with any type of sense would recognize, quite nearly bloodbound?” Raum’s face scrunched up in disbelief. “You do know that bloodbonds, true bloodbonds like the one those two share, are only breakable through the death of a partner? I trust that you were minimally conscious of something that elementary.”

Angelina looked over at Seth and Anri, her face purple with rage. “The two of you are bloodbound?” she screamed at them. “The wimpiest vampire I’ve ever met? When! WHEN Anri! You are mine! I am your Wren! ME!”

Raum looked at Angelina, then over to Seth and Anri again. Anri’s body was a high tension wire ready to snap. Seth was ready to move, too, adrenaline pumping through his veins, screaming at him to do something. Instead he remained statue-still against Anri. Their connection was a feedback loop of energy and adrenaline and Seth knew that he would be ready to move when Anri wanted him to go.

“Not to interrupt into a very one-sided conversation, but it is quite obvious they are bloodbound for those who know what to look for. And, ah, that would make that young man over there the vampire’s bloodbound Wren. So, as it appears, at least from my standpoint, you are not that vampire’s Wren, nor is he your Claret. As I have just arrived, I may have possibly overlooked some critical detail.”

Angelina’s glare towards Seth and Anri was venomous. “You! Whoever you are! You drank that weakling vampire’s blood? That…that’s just disgusting. And, you’re both men! So, you’re gay now Anri? You disgust me. If the demon doesn’t kill you, I’ll put you out of your misery myself.”

“Wow. Someone is incredibly disparaging,” Raum smirked. He placed his hands on his hips. “So, two rules you have broken already in your summons of me.” He held up a hand, ticking off fingers as he spoke. “One, you are not the Wren who can offer this vampire’s blood for my invokement. Two, you offered a bloodbound vampire as a sacrifice. An already bound vampire, who is not remotely bound to you. You do understand the objective was to bind the summoned demon to a vampire, gaining yourself the powers of my realm through the Wren-Vampire bond, correct? You are a simple novice,” he said condescendingly.

Angelina’s face was a thunderstorm streaked with Seth’s drying blood. She said a few words under her breath and a vaporous cloud formed in front of her. She thrust her hand into it and a golden knife encrusted in red and white gems materialized from the vapor. Seth instantly recognized it as the one he had seen in Anri’s memory. She grabbed it and quickly launched herself at Anri and Seth.

She screamed, knife aimed at Seth. “You ruined everything! YOU RUINED IT! This is YOUR fault!” She vaulted over the gurney and landed with a grace that she shouldn’t have been able to pull off in the heels she wore. “If you’re dead this will still work. I can still do this! Die, you…you disgusting faggot!”

She stabbed down at Seth. The blade slashed through the air where Seth had been just seconds before with an audible whoosh, clanging noisily into the concrete. Anri pulled Seth’s body as if he weighed nothing, shoving Seth behind him. Seth’s neck was cold and wet where Anri’s mouth had been just a second ago. He shivered, frozen from shock. Anri scooted back, forcing Seth backwards until his back pressed against the wall. Angelina advanced on them relentlessly, crawling on her hands and knees, murder in her eyes, her disheveled hair haloing her head.

The door to the room banged open suddenly, the sound nearly deafening in the small room. Everyone paused to look at the door, which was swinging back shut with the extra force. The smell of blood filled the room.

Simone was there, her face a mask of pain, holding herself upright against the door frame. Her crimson eyes glowed with a feral need. Her arm was wrapped around her torso and blood dripped through her fingers to the floor.

Raum turned back to face Angelina. Simone’s head flew up at the movement and she practically flew through the room, catapulting teeth first onto Raum’s back. In one fluid motion she threw her head forward and latched onto Raum’s neck, biting deeply. Raum let out a grunt and fell to his knees with the force of her assault, though he still levitated above the remaining boiling blood. His hands went reflexively to Simone’s head.

Angelina’s advancements had stopped as she stared dumbstruck at Simone. Simone was on Raum’s back like a backpack, face buried in his hair and neck. Her blood splattered to the ground and she shifted, wrapping her legs around his torso. Simone bit down again, tearing at his the back of his neck, placing her mouth over the dark blood that seeped out of the gashes in his flesh.

On his knees, Raum’s eyes flew open wide as Simone’s hands laced through his stringy hair. She yanked hard, pulling his head back to gain better access to his neck. Raum’s eyes went completely black. His face went slack for a moment and he appeared to check out. Seth recognized the expression he wore, as he was growing more and more familiar with his own vampire’s affects on him. A moan escaped from Raum and he closed his eyes in pleasure. Simone looked ghostly white in contrast to his reddish-brown skin.

Raum swallowed hard, and when he opened his eyes again they looked normal. Raum pulled his head back down in a fluid motion, a strange mix of amusement and amazement on his face. He ran his hand carefully over Simone’s cheek in a gentle, soothing motion. He wore a wry smile on his face.

Simone had left a trail of blood like breadcrumbs on the floor during her flight into the room. Guilt flashed through Seth at the thought that she had been hurt by the bow-and-arrow guy.

“Seems like I caught myself a hungry little fox. Shh….” Raum cooed to Simone. Seth didn’t think she heard him, he could see the crimson red of her eyes lost to bloodlust.

His adrenaline was amped up and he was ready to run or to fight. The tension of the moment was humming through his veins, begging him to action. Anri shivered in apprehension and Seth knew he felt the same way.

Had his blood healed Anri enough? He definitely felt that Anri hadn’t take nearly as much as he had the last time he had been critically wounded. So much of Anri’s blood was in the symbol on the floor, and even more of it had been used to summoned the blood crow? Or was inside Raum? Raum was the crow? He had no idea what all had happened during the arrival of the strange new man, or how it worked. He felt completely out of his element.

“Is that your sister, Anri? Jesus H. Christ, people keep falling out of the woodwork! Everyone of you guys suck! Who invited you, you bitch?” Angelina shrieked. She looked back and forth, torn between trying to stab Seth again or going to destroy the new party crasher.

She made up her mind, returning her advancements on Anri and Seth. “Get off of him you horrible vampire slut! You know what? Nevermind. I’m going to fix this problem first, then I’ll deal with you, Simone!”

Anri growled deep in his throat. That he wasn’t saying anything was worrying Seth. Maybe he was still overcome with bloodlust? Seth didn’t really know too much about how it worked yet, all of this was so new. He hated not knowing.

Angelina’s advancement forced Anri to slide Seth down the wall, his back already firmly against it. She held the knife that he saw materialize in front of him out of thin air. Literally, it had not been there, then there was some mist, and then a knife. No, not even a knife. A freaking dagger, straight out of an RPG. The blade was maybe six inches long, the handle golden hilted with those gaudy red and white gemstones glittering beneath her hand on the pommel. He didn’t doubt for a second that it was still as sharp as it had been when she used it on Anri. It was probably spelled or cursed or something, too.

Angelina’s face contorted in rage and she slashed forward. He watched, almost in slow motion, tracing the knife’s trajectory. It was on a collision course straight for Anri’s chest. He had to do something. He couldn’t let Anri get hurt again.

Without thinking, Seth moved. A subtle shift of his body sent Anri falling back towards the wall. Seth reached out, trying to grab Anri to stabilize him before he slammed into the wall. He realized his mistake a millisecond too late. Angelina’s magic dagger sliced down in his arm, slipping easily between the bones. The knife lodged directly between the radial and ulna bones in his arm with excruciating precision.

He stared down at the knife lodged in his arm in shock. A second later there was pain like nothing he had ever felt before. Seth screamed and fell to the floor grasping his arm, the pain a bright white light blocking everything else. The world narrowed down to sheer agony and the dagger that denied him the ability to move his arm.

His vision spotted as he began to hyperventilate, and he thought he might have heard someone call his name, but he couldn’t hear it over the sound of the screaming. Who was screaming?

Oh, he was screaming. That made sense. The pain was a solid wall of torment pushing him down inside himself. He could feel Anri through their connection, his dread, his anger, his rage, but they seemed so far away. Like memories on a distant shore. Small and far away. The only thing he could think about was the madness burning through his arm.

Maybe seconds later, maybe centuries, the pain receded just a bit as the dagger carefully slid out of his arm, gently pulled out by two tiny little baby hands. Seth tried to look at whoever had just helped him but his eyes wouldn’t focus right.

In front of him there were too many eyes in a soft black feline-like face. Seth closed his eyes and collapsed to the floor. His lungs and throat hurt and his breathing was still too ragged. He felt warm wetness on his arm where the knife had been lodged. The small logical part of his brain told him he was probably bleeding profusely from his ulnar artery, a possible life threatening wound, especially after the amount of blood he’d given to Anri.

He couldn’t bring himself to care. The excruciating pain died down to a throbbing pain that screamed through his brain. He tried to cradle it to his chest but something was pinning it down to the floor. The pressure on his arm increased as he felt something rough moving over his wound. He cracked his eyes open but he could make no sense of what he was seeing. Something black and fuzzy was holding his arm down and it had way too many legs. The logical part of his brain wondered if it was possible to have multiple vision. There were just too many legs on that weird looking cat.

He tried to shift again to pull his arm to his torso. The fuzzy creature with too many legs turned its head and looked at him with a feline face that had too many eyes and an absurdly large cheshire grin. It winked at him with four of its eyes and turned its head back to his wound. The creature clamped down all of its legs like a tourniquet from his hand to his elbow like a fuzzy black cast. Seth felt its raspy tongue rake over the torn flesh of his arm.

Seth pulled his arm against his body. It was easier than he expected, the creature was surprisingly light. He tried pulling the creature from his arm, but he couldn’t seem to get his fingers under any of the legs. His good hand didn’t seem to be working, either. The creature had a tail, Seth noticed hazily, which was twitching around in agitation. At the end of the tail appeared to be the barb of a scorpion, but that couldn’t be right, could it? He wished he could wipe his eyes but his arm was heavy and awkward and it seemed like so much effort.

The tail whipped around and lashed out, neatly piercing the flesh on the inside of Seth’s elbow. There was a needle prick sensation and then…the pain muted to a dull throb. As the pain receded, Seth turned his head, still laying on the cold concrete. He pried his eyes open, afraid to examine the extent of damage to his arm, but needing to know.

The black-furred creature was wrapped around his whole forearm. He lifted his arm and the furry cast shifted, but did not fall off. It was lumpy, but not obtrusively so. It was weird, the sensation of the creature licking his wounds from inside the fuzzy cast, the roughness of its tongue against the wound.

Seth’s head was fuzzy, probably due to the blood loss. The primitive part of his brain screamed at him to remove the creature, get it off, get it off, but that voice was small compared to the part of his brain that remembered how much his arm hurt just a few seconds ago. He gently stroked the black fur with his good hand. The creature was really soft and fuzzy, like a kitten. Maybe he should try to get it off his arm?

Whatever, the pain was manageable, so he would worry about it later. As he sat up, his foot hitting something metal, Angelina’s ridiculous dagger. It lay on the floor next to him, obviously forgotten. With his good hand he picked it up, it might be useful for something. Mostly he just didn’t want it getting back to Angelina. He heard her shouting, drawing his attention back to the room.

Angelina was next to the overturned gurney, panic marring her doll-like features. Anri stalked towards her, backing her up towards Raum’s symbol on the floor. She didn’t seem to notice how close she was getting to the still boiling blood.

Where was Simone? She was no longer on Raum’s back. He looked around the room, spotting her, slumped over outside of the boiling symbol on the floor. Seth tried to stand, tried to go to her, but he couldn’t seem to make his legs work right. His head spun and the room spun with it.

Anri’s eyes were burning red embers. His anger filled the room. “Oh, Anri, you gods be damned bunnicula, even enraged you’re still a freaking pansy,” Angelina spat shrilly. “Some people are just meant to be victims. You will never be anything like me. You’ll always be weak and I’ll always be strong.”

Anri advanced on her, fangs bared, murder in his eyes. She backed up another step, then another, away from Anri and closer to Raum. Her hands were in front of her like a shield. Raum stood stoically in the center of the boiling symbol, his feet somehow still above the symbol full of lava-blood. He just stood there. His face looked bored and indifferent, but his body was tensely poised.

Anri took another step and flicked a quick glance back at Raum. Raum nodded subtly, just a slight tip of his head. Anri leaned towards Angelina and spit in her face, his spittal red with blood, re-wetting her already blood streaked face. She blinked in surprise, hand going up to wipe it away reflexively.

“You’re right, Angelina. I will never be anything like you,” he said darkly. She stepped back again, her left foot mere inches away from the symbol that held Raum. Anri leaned back and then surged forward. Raum grinned as Anri pushed Angelina backwards into the symbol. There was a deafening peal of thunder as Angelina entered into the spell. The blood on her face began to glow. Angelina’s eyes went wide with panic as Raum grabbed her by her hair and yanked her hard against his chest.

“You see, little witch,” Raum said as he wrapped his other arm around her, “you should learn when it is your time to desist. You have lost your familiar, your vampire, your entire power base and you are about to lose your life. And you still think you are better than every other creature else in this room. You are just going to love Daeva, you thasnaol witch. You will fit in perfectly.”

Seth tried to stand again, but his body refused to respond. A warm, fuzzy feeling was moving from his wounded arm up into his body, making it harder to think. He sat up but the ground was hard on his face, so maybe he hadn’t actually sat up. The room spun like a merry-go-round.

Angelina looked scared for the first time as she struggled against Raum. He held her tight. She wrangled one hand free and attempted to claw at the demon’s face, but he just laughed at her as he caught it easily. He kicked her feet out from under her and she fell heavily to her knees, her hand still clutched in his.

She screamed as her knees and other hand hit the boiling blood. The blood climbed up her arm and legs, wrapping around her in long, juicy-looking tendrils. It climbed her body like vines, winding around her until the etchings on the floor were empty. The tendrils throbbed and pulsed as they encircled her body, coating everywhere they touched in a red sheen. She screamed and thrashed, unable to escape the tendrils or Raum’s hold.

When the tendrils reached her wrist, Raum gingerly dropped her. He lithely stepped back out of the symbol, his feet finally touching the floor, Seth noted. The tendrils surged forward, encasing her hand and face, throbbing and boiling against her skin. The tiny bits of Angelina’s face that were still visible were contorted in pain and hatred.

“It hurts, does it not? When you are clumsy with summoning, it hurts the creature you are invoking like madness. Pain really is the best teacher,” Raum said casually. “Although being forcibly pushed through a summons symbol that is not yours always hurts. I am sure you would agree.”

The shrill scream Angelina uttered echoed confusingly in the small room as the red sheen seemed to shimmer with heat. The tendrils flattened against her, and then she was completely encased within them. The etching on the floor glowed once, then peeled up slowly out of the concrete. The impossibility of it hurt Seth’s mind. The only things he could think of were those Dali paintings, like the one where the clocks were all melty. He couldn’t remember what it was called now, he couldn’t think clearly, couldn’t focus. The symbols flopped around like strange, two dimensional fish out of water.

Then the lines found her, all of them snapping to attention at once. The edges snapped up together, encircling Angelina’s prone form, congealing tightly around her until loops of black light enveloped her body. The etchings squeezed, there was a slight change in pressure in the room, and then Angelina… popped out of existence.

Just like that. Nothing else, no bright flash of light or loud sound, just a small pop and Angelina was gone. Seth looked around, expecting something a bit more flashy.

Raum was standing over Simone’s slumped body. He found Anri staring at him from the other side of the gurney. There was a moment where they all just stared at each other, rigid with tension. Then Anri turned his head to Raum, murder in his eyes.

“Get away from my sister,” he growled menacingly at the newly arrived man.

Raum put up his hands in a placating manner. “Listen, vampire, Anri, I just saved you and your Wren’s lives. And this girl, your sister? Her, too. She is safe. I promise. I willed her to sleep. I guarantee I did not hurt her.” He placed his fingers over his neck, black blood drying in his hairline. There were no signs of Simone’s fang marks. “She did nick me a bit, though.” He smiled a bit, then sobered again.

“Understand, I comprehend why you do not trust me. I was called to this realm with your magically charged blood, vampire. Under the laws of my realm, I cannot harm you or yours. I am physically incapable of hurting your kin. I can only assume you know not the rules, but that does not change that fact that I must honor them.”

Anri stared at him appraisingly. Raum sighed. “Come check her and verify for yourself.” Raum stepped away from Simone. Anri surged forward and practically fell onto her still body. He ran his hands over her face, then lifted her shirt up to examine the wound on her side.

She had been stabbed, he could see it from there, but it appeared that she had already healed over the worst of the damage. Being a vampire definitely had its perks. Simone moaned and shifted under Anri’s hands.

“Simone!” He said it too loudly in the small room and he cringed. Seth smiled at Anri’s concern and compassion for his sister. How was he so cute? And his Anri had been so strong against Angelina, he knew his fear of the witch.

His Anri. He giggled at the thought. The room lurched and he felt like he might throw up. Instead he slumped back down to the floor, his injured arm at a painfully awkward angle from his body.

Raum cleared his throat. “Listen, your Wren needs your help. The girl is fine. She is my responsibility now, surprisingly, so I will care for her.”

Anri looked up at Raum, acid in his glare. Raum sighed. “I already told you I cannot hurt you or your kin. Everyone in this room is blood-kin to you. You are all safe from the big bad demon. I will help her. The witch called her Simone? I will help your Simone, you go to your Wren.”

Anri looked back and forth between Simone and Seth, conflict evident on his handsome features. He was handsome, wasn’t he? Seth decided he had good taste in men.

No, he had to focus. He had to tell Anri that he was fine. Everything would be just fine if the room stopped spinning. He opened his mouth to insist he was fine, but instead of words coming out, he threw up. His stomach was empty, so it was mostly just dry heaving bile, and it hurt like hell. It felt thick and sticky, and tasted of copper and stomach acid and ashes. Anri scrambled across the floor and was at Seth’s side in a heartbeat. Not copper, he decided. Sulfur, his mouth tasted like rotten eggs.

“I call parlay. We shall go back to whatever hovel you call a home, get your kin stabilized, then discuss and debrief,” Raum said from somewhere. Nothing was in the right places as the room wobbled all over the place.

Anri looked Seth over. He tried to smile, but he couldn’t be sure if his face made the right motions. Anri’s hands gently cradled his face. His mouth tasted bad. Like, really bad.

“Seth, fuck, Seth, are you okay?” Anri breathed, his face close. He leaned in, resting his forehead on Seth’s, his hands on either side of his head.

“Anri, my mouth tastes bad,” Seth mumbled numbly. His tongue was too big. “It tastes real bad.” Black spots covered his vision and his last thought was that if we wasn’t already on the floor it probably would have hurt when he fell down.

Chapter 18, Enter Stage Right, Part A

Chapter 19: The Long Way Home