The second gorge; Caleb smirked when he got to it - Aldarn had gotten across. He knew, because there was no choice of climbing from the bottom. There were stilts and several hundred Gurgers at the bottom; savage, killing monsters. He was surprised, that Aldarn got across, because the things could climb, and Aldarn had always been fearful. But Caleb took his time here; one wrong move, and he'd have been better off running.

...

Will found herself caught between breaths; the whole world had slowed down, and she could only watch as the web encased them. The mother span a web. A dome. To catch the food. And it shrank to keep that food in.. She could remember because Caleb loved it - granted not in this situation, but he was almost excited, by how clever it was. And it had been interesting too, and it really was clever, but she wished he hadn't told her. With any luck she'd be dead before he was."Will?"

"The trap! We triggered it early!" Everything sped up again, as Taranee shook Will into life, and Will found her heart pumping much faster than it should be; there was a chill, and the larveks had brought a rubbery smell.. She didn't know what to do! Caleb had been clear when it came to larveks and she felt dread. There was no way out. And all Will could think was that as much as her girls might not feel the same.. Caleb might get out of this.. Caleb wouldn't need to fight either way now.. If he died, it was for nothing.

If he killed.. He'd nearly have no one left. Caleb would never forgive himself, when he found out about Hay Lin; he'd mourn, when he found out about Irma; he'd be sorrowful, when he heard of Taranee; he'd.. She didn't know what he'd do when he found out about Cornelia, and she did find it was a comfort when her fingers found the the crystal bead to fumble with. She liked his jacket better; she could've closed her eyes and pretended he was here, because she was going to die, and it was silly, but she wished she'd had more time. But she supposed it was Caleb; to think of how she might want something that was a little less silly than an overcoat that was too big for him; nevermind for her arms. And it was heavy, and she couldn't keep it, and she'd checked. No one else had a bracelet. And she hated how special it made her feel.

She wasn't special; he'd given Cornelia flowers before; Hay Lin got the most of his care; Irma had his attention, and he tried with Taranee. He did try. But all he could produce out of Will and Caleb was a stupid bracelet. She didn't even wear jewelery. Except the Heart, and she didn't have much of a choice with that, and as she pulled it from around her neck, she resolved that she'd stop wearing it. Shove it in her pocket. Caleb was just an idiot, who didn't even know enough about her to notice that she didn't like accessories.. Maybe he'd got it for Cornelia - Cornelia was worried - maybe he'd got it for Cornelia, and just shoved it in her hands when he lost his nerve last minute.

Blue clashed with her hair; not that it mattered, hidden beneath her own oversized jacket. Everything clashed with her hair, and her mother had promised she'd grow out of the thirteen year-old's jacket. She'd be fifteen in four months. She didn't even know when Caleb would be sixteen. Was he already? She had no idea, and she glumly let Irma snatch her back from an approaching Larvek. She didn't even know when Caleb's birthday was. She didn't like to pry. He'd answer little questions if she asked him, and she knew he wouldn't mind.. But she'd never really thought of it. She'd assumed it would come up. "Will! C'mon!"

There was no point. "Guardians, unite."

...

"Taranee!" Cornelia frowned as Irma yelled out desperately, but Taranee only shrugged miserably.

"It doesn't burn, remember!" Will didn't even look surprised, and the girl looked grim, as Taranee called out for Hay Lin to try. Twice on two visits? Was Will giving up? Cornelia couldn't say she was surprised; Will hadn't really had a chance to become independent. Caleb looked after her; looked after all of them, and he'd fix this, she was sure. If only she hadn't been so damn hard headed, and maybe he wouldn't have disappeared yesterday morning. Maybe everything in Cavigor would have gone smoother. Maybe.. But it wasn't about her this time, and she'd like to blame Will, but it was Aldarn; it was Elyon who'd caused this.. If she'd done it. "Hay Lin?"

"Air just goes through it! It's shrinking!" If Caleb had just let Aldarn yell at Will... He wouldn't be Caleb. It was a real taste of war; the children of war - to see how easily the boys went from hugging to tearing each other apart, and Cornelia only wondered how forceful they'd have been with Will, if Caleb had ended up with an elbow in his neck. They didn't need a 'challenge' to kill each other. Would Aldarn have hurt Will? The answer in Cornelia's mind was not the one she'd prefer, and it was not the same as that of whether Caleb would have hurt her.. It was closer to her thoughts on him in Cavigor.

"RIGHT!" Cornelia scowled in frustration. Caleb was not going to die. They were not going to die. Elyon was not going to die. "THAT'S IT!"