*
"You've gained weight," Fareed said as he stepped to the side carefully. Anas kept his eyes on him, only briefly glancing at Noor and Aliyu. The crossbow was heavy in his hands, and the open wound on his shoulder was throbbing painfully, but he wasn't about to relent. Three more arrows leaned against the wall behind him, just within arms reach.
"Is that the best you can come up with?" Anas raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you were dead," Fareed said. "I expected you to be dead."
"And yet here I am," he smiled. "What a wonderful and unfortunate occurrence that is, wouldn't you say so?"
"I should have known," Fareed shrugged. "You have always had a knack for refusing to die even when the world pleads with you to do just that."
"Spare me the compliment, Fareed," he said. "We both k
