Except, at the precise moment he thought they'd gotten everything back to normal, sharp pain hit him from behind his head. Everything around him started accelerating and his vision worsened. He was stumbling; by instinct, he held Ayla but he felt his strength flowing from him.
"What...?" Liam tried to twist, only to receive another hit, this time harder. His legs were rubber, and he fell, but he still held Ayla tight as best he could.
The last thing he saw was an imposing shadowy figure standing above him before the world turned black. The cold, detached voice echoed in his ears as, indeed, darkness closed in around him, "You should have stayed down. Just like I said.
Liam's blaming thoughts skittered away, tripping over each other trying to find the way back to her. He could ma
