29Lael stormed toward the three men as they lay panting in the lagoon, heedless now of the water and mud.
‘I told you to stay!’
‘There were people, kids … we had to help,’ Rick protested. His ribs ached and his stomach still twisted itself in knots. He’d never been so sick in his life. If the mere scent of Ghouls wracked him so completely, surely he could only be a hindrance. The thought chilled him to the bone.
‘They were already gone … Others were at risk. Others still are!’
‘They were children! A mother … vanished…’ Rick couldn’t believe that this was the same woman he had shared his bed and shower with just that morning. So soft then, so hard now.
‘That is nothing compared to what will happen if we fail here tonight.’
‘Are you so heartless that the death of innocent children mean
