Gabriel lowered the shard, his eyes darkening. Kaitlyn grabbed for Rob's arm, but he seemed oblivious to her.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Rob said, with a short, strange laugh, as if delighted to have hurt Gabriel. It was so vicious and contemptuous it didn't sound like Rob. "Mr. Z tells you what to do-and you like that. It's what you're used to, after all those years locked up in CHAD. Hell, you probably miss being in jail-"
Gabriel went white and hit him.
Not mentally-Kaitlyn had the impression that he was too angry for that. He hit with his fist, catching Rob square in the mouth. Rob's head jerked back and he went down.
With the fluid, easy movements of a predator, Gabriel reached for him again. Kaitlyn found herself on her feet and between them.
"No!" She fumbled for Gabriel, meaning to restrain him or at least hinder him-and somehow found herself grabbing the crystal. It was cold and hard. She held onto it and Gabriel, still trying to get to Rob, let go.
Lewis and Anna were around Gabriel now, seizing any part of him they could reach and clinging. Kaitlyn managed to detach herself from the group and back away, clutching the crystal to her chest. Gabriel didn't seem to care; his eyes were fixed on Rob.
Who was scrambling up, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked savagely triumphant at having gotten Gabriel to lose control. Kaitlyn realized he wasn't thinking anymore, just feeling. He was lost in his hurt and betrayal and anger, lashing out in a way she'd never seen before.
God, we've changed, she thought, sick with dismay. We've all changed from being in such close contact with one another. Rob used to be so pure and now he's furious . . . just like a regular human being, her mind added, unasked.
And he's wrong-and I've got to stop this. Before the two of them actually kill each other.
"Come on," Rob was saying. "D'you have the guts to go one on one with me? No hocus-pocus, just our fists. You man enough for that, boy?"
Gabriel pulled off his jacket, despite the efforts of Anna and Lewis to keep him still. Strapped to his forearm was a knife in some kind of spring-loaded mechanism.
Oh, great, Kaitlyn thought. She held on to the crystal shard more tightly. She knew she should get it to safety-but where was safety? Gabriel could follow anywhere she went; could take the knowledge of where it was hidden out of her mind. And besides, she couldn't leave and let Gabriel and Rob fight.
She decided to gamble.
"Here's the crystal, Gabriel," she said. "I've got it-and the only way you're going to get it is the way you did before." But I'm hoping you won't, she added mentally. You said yourself that it's not going to do us any good. We can't get to Mr. Z's crystal-so what difference does it make? Why not just go back and tell him you couldn't find it?
She was trying to give him a way out. If he didn't really want to hurt them . .
Gabriel hesitated. His mouth was tight; his eyes hard. But she could see uncertainty in his face. He stood very still a moment, then, abruptly, he started toward her.
Kaitlyn's mind blanked out in fear and surprise. Behind her, the door opened.
"Hey, are you guys still up-?" The sleepy voice broke off.
It was Tony, Marisol's brother, wearing cutoff shorts as pajama bottoms. He was rubbing his eyes and frowning. Clearly whatever Gabriel had done to keep the Diaz family asleep had worn off.
"Who's that?" Tony demanded, staring at Gabriel. Then he blinked and the frown disappeared.
"Hey, it's you. I remember you from last time. Come back to get the brujo, huh?"
He seemed happier to see Gabriel than he had been to see the rest of them, Kait thought. Maybe because Gabriel was somebody he could relate to-another tough guy. Or maybe because he thought that of all of them, Gabriel was most likely to be able to get Mr. Zetes. Tony hated Mr. Z with a passion; called him "El Diablo" or "El Gato"-both names for the devil, and longed for him to be sent abajo-down below to hell-where he belonged.
The five who shared the web were all frozen by the presence of a stranger, like figures in a tableau. Tony went on talking cheerfully; he didn't seem to feel the tension in the room or see the blood on Rob's chin.
"I see you got the cuchillo-the magic knife for Marisol. I couldn't believe it when they told me. A real old-fashioned charm, right? After all those doctors said she'd never wake up-we'll show 'em!" He grinned, his usually sullen features almost glowing. He did everything but slap Gabriel on the back.
Kaitlyn looked at Gabriel sharply, saw what she'd suspected-that he hadn't known the shard could cure Marisol. Maybe she should have told him, but she hadn't liked the idea of giving Mr. Z any further information. He'd find a way of using it against them somehow.
For now, though, it had given Gabriel pause. He seemed thrown off balance by Tony's gratitude and good humor. Embarrassed.
"Well, Gabriel certainly helped us to get the shard," Kait said-and that was true enough. If Gabriel hadn't defected, the Fellowship's crystal wouldn't have been reduced to shards in the first place. "And he would want Marisol to get well."
Rob was quietly wiping his bloody mouth again. He'd backed off when Tony came in, and Kaitlyn could feel through the web that he was calming down. Gabriel looked at him, then at Kaitlyn, and finally at Tony.
"We'll have a big party when all this is over," Tony said. "A real blowout. I've got some friends in a garage band. As soon as Marisol is better." He ran a hand through his curly mahogany hair.
Kaitlyn pressed the crystal to her chest and looked at Gabriel.
He held her gaze a minute with eyes as dark and unfathomable as storm clouds. For the first time that night she consciously noticed the scar on his forehead-a crescent-shaped mark left by his encounter with Mr. Z's crystal. Right now it seemed to stand out against the pale skin.
Then, looking suddenly tired, Gabriel shrugged. His eyelids drooped, hooding those depthless eyes.
"I've got to go," he said.
"You can stay," Tony offered immediately. "There's plenty of room."
"No, I can't. But I'll be back." He said the last to Kaitlyn and Rob, with heavy emphasis. Kait couldn't mistake his meaning. "I'll be back-soon."
He picked up his jacket and walked out the door. Kaitlyn felt her breath come out in a rush. She found she was holding the crystal so hard it hurt.