Chapter 27, Extreme situations…

Siren clutched her harp desperately, her right hand pressed against her mouth in horror. Like a plaything for madmen, Gogo hit the floor several feet from where he had been crouching when Gestahl first saw him, needle-thin lightning bolts crawling over his twitching body. A big, burnt area now adorned the chest of his robes, looking far worse than the blackened holes Kerr had given him hardly twenty minutes ago.

The emperor marched over the floor, snarling in rage. With surprising strength he grabbed the fallen man's collar and glared at the pale face as if he needed to assure himself of what he had seen.

Gogo's eyes were closed but his lips slightly parted; the blow had thrown him out of the conscious world.

Gestahl's thinning gaze scanned the old burns on the yellow clothes and for a moment the frown eased a little in brief hesitation. Then his elderly, cruel face constricted in rage again.

"Kefka!" the emperor snarled with a glance over his shoulder, straightening up and throwing the helpless Gogo aside.

The mimic pathetically groaned when his helmet slammed into the floor, but he drowned in the darkness again before he could make it out.

Gestahl's long, graying beard and hair crawled against his regal, red robes like hungry snakes as he walked back towards the door in quick, powerful strides, his enraged mind set on somebody who would have to answer a few questions.

The door slammed shut and for a second it glowed in a sickly green light as the emperor renewed the lock to assure that the strange finding wouldn't go anywhere even if he woke up.

For a couple of seconds, Siren remained frozen in complete terror.

But eventually the harp slid out of her grip to float beside her as the esper's hands flew to her hair. Fingers drummed against the spirit's skull, desperately.

'What can I do, what do I do… what? What!'

But nobody could hear her silent cries.

'Gogo…!' she croaked, staring helplessly at the motionless body.

Even if she had been able to wake him up, it would help very little.

Him…

An avalanche would have hit her more gently than the merciless thought that attacked her vulnerable mind.

'No… no… not that…'

Siren wildly shook her head, refusing to accept that there was no other choice.

But staring at Gogo's broken form, sprawled painfully over the carpet, she had to face the truth.

Each second was too precious to waste, she knew that. Still, she had to press her hands against her face in order to collect herself before she reached out a set of trembling fingers and took a hold of the harp again. Pressing the instrument against her chest for both practical and psychological strength, she forced her mind into focusing. She had to struggle, two times her attempts failed because fear shattered her will completely. But the force of the situation was as merciless as the emperor whom she had to help fooling.

There…

Swallowing hard out of habit, she reached out.

The palace turned blurry around her as she pulled at the distance, biting her lower lip not to scream.

As she stopped Siren allowed herself a very brief respite in order to look around, to make sure that it was safe.

Safe?

She could have broken down in hysterical laughter.

He was just telling some tall, dark-haired man in the empire's shady uniform for generals that the soldiers should stop come crying for help in the middle of the night. The other man's eyes almost literally shot daggers; yet another one in the fan club.

Behind the two, soldiers were stumbling around a broken down shell of a magitek armor. It was smoking dangerously and one of the arms had been blown off – that one laid a few feet away beside another dark and sleeping armor by the wall. At least ten machines of destruction were lined up against the walls of the dusky, long room; it appeared to be a hangar for the weapons.

Siren struggled, her magicite was too far off and trying to rip her back. But she couldn't allow it to do so, she was already feeling weary from the night that had so far passed and the journey to the military base had taken a lot out of her. It was very questionable whether she'd be able to try this again, and the fact that she was apprehensive like a calve walking towards a butcher didn't help.

'Go away already!' she screeched, clutching her harp tighter.

Smirking he swung around and walked out of the open, dark slide doors of the storage, the general still trying to make his head fall off with glares alone.

There were more soldiers outside, but they fled away from him as he didn't look very pleased either.

Somebody would still see him, but Siren could wait no longer as the gravity of the remains of her body was clawing at her by now.

Closing her eyes tightly she flung herself forwards, past the wall of thoughts and emotions, into the core. The pull from her remains was cut instantly as she entered a new base point.

Kerr stumbled in surprise, his right hand flying to his forehead as an intruder plunged into his head.

The esper already knew that she sealed her fate one way or another by committing this sacrifice, but she was not sure how.

The first thing she felt was cracked, hard ground under the thin soles of her shoes, the impact forcing her down on one knee. It felt utterly alien to be "solid" again, but she had no time to care about such things.

"Your brother is in danger!" she screeched above the strange buzzing sound filling her ears, blindly ducking in an attempt to avoid the attacks that his sensitive mind might instinctually launch at her.

Siren had been aware that it would take more to make him listen, therefore she was not very surprised when a chilly hand roughly grabbed her arm and forced her to look up.

All that was visible above the woman was a pitch-black sky torn up by ragged, grayish clouds. But closer to her and demanding more attention was a ghastly image of Kerr, completely true to life save the color. Siren could pretty much see her arm through his bluish hand, as well as the similar robes that waved threateningly in the sharp wind. And his eyes were flaming in a crimson glow, petrifying her with their merciless anger.

"An esper? In my mind!" Kerr hissed through his teeth.

She stumbled and lost her balance as he shoved her backwards, crashing onto both her knees. Desperately clutching her harp she forced herself not to cower as the burning eyes glared down at her, the madman's spiritual grip still holding her arm so tightly that it felt as if it would break. Of course, since they were both ethereal it was more like he was almost breaking off a piece of her soul.

"G-Gestahl found Ke-Kefka!" she snarled, unable to keep her voice straight.

She had to fight a scream of pain as his grip tightened even more.

"What did you say!" he roared, the glower burning her skin.

"The emperor!" Siren screeched, by now vainly trying to tear herself free, "he came looking for you!"

Kerr's eye thinned for a second.

With a snarl he flung her arm out of his grip and straightened up. The image froze like a statue, and instead his voice rung out from a distance:

"What are you staring at? Go find yourself something to kill!"

He couldn't concentrate on the world around him and his unwelcome guest at the same time… Siren leapt to her feet, quickly backing away from the ghastly personification and changing the grip of her harp.

As the image came alive again and glared at her once more, she had managed to assemble a few strands of courage. Enough to keep her standing and facing him.

"I came to warn you, demon," she said, forcing her voice to stay firm and cold, "Gestahl will want to know why you secretly kept a Returner in your room."

His eyes just thinned further.

"Humor me before I rip your head off," he spoke with a deep growl, "on why I would consider listening."

Siren figured that her only way to get out of this hellhole was brute force. Brute mind force. Sending a silent prayer to Bahamut, she spoke up again.

"I can give you two reasons. First the fact that your brother is currently lying unconscious on the carpet of your room with a rather nasty burn mark over most of his chest."

It was with extremely tentative hope she noticed a glistening of hesitance in Kerr's flaming eyes as he straightened up a little, still scowling death however.

"The second would be…"

'Please make it work, all good forces, please…'

Her fingertips strung a few golden strings, their melodic vibrations sending sharply red sparkles through the air. The magic fire disappeared after a moment, but the effect was immediate.

"Augh!"

Siren nearly sucked in her breath, forcing her eyes not to widen in the pang of relief at the sight before her.

The image of Kerr stumbled, pressing his hands against his head. It seemed almost as if the flames of his eyes dripped towards the ground when his eyeballs rolled, and as he finally managed to stand straight a moment later he seemed a little more transparent.

The gaze was however rather tangible.

"That," Siren said, hoping that her voice sounded less like a croak than she thought it did.

Kerr's harsh intake of breath made the entire area tremble, but the esper stood straight. Now she knew that she had a weapon after all.

'About time that anchor proved useful!'

Maybe.

"When I get my hands on you," Kerr sincerely spoke in a low hiss, "Thamasa will look like a moogle picnic."

Siren clenched her jaw at the mention of the massacre this man alone had completed. For a moment the part of her screaming for revenge for her people almost made her fingers run across her harp again – but she held herself back. She would not sink to his level.

"You keep your hands off, dirty old man," she replied instead, forcing a snicker which grew wider as he snorted, "or I'll fry your mind better than those pills could ever dream of."

"Really…"

There was still dangerous anger in his tone, but also something else which she couldn't define though it sent an alarming chill down her spine. She willed herself to push it aside not to risk any sign of weakness.

"Yes, really," she nodded, "now get moving or people will start wondering why you've been standing still, staring into space for several seconds."

"You're selling yourself with your orders," he promised, but the image froze again as his body acted.

A few selective curses whispered through the dark world, echoing and distant as they weren't spoken aloud but merely his thoughts.

"I can hear you just fine," Siren informed, as sternly as she could though some of those lines would give a dragon cold sweat, "meaning that you don't have to concentrate so fully on me to have a conversation."

She saw it coming and quickly raised a mind shield to protect herself against his retort; a mental image of what he was planning to do with her at first chance. The shield stopped the direct slam, but she still got a hint of the gross picture.

How the attack looked as a tangible thing was hard to explain, but since she was inside of a mind the laws of physics meant very little. The image appeared as a deformed bubble hurled from Kerr's mind avatar, the swirling form about the size of a normal head. It crashed against the lightly green, transparent wall Siren conjured between her and the attack.

"I am a mistress of the mind, demon," she hissed, with all her might using the shield to push the image away.

It dissipated and she heard a cold chuckle echo, completely devoid of humor.

'And I am a bloodthirsty psychopath, so watch your step, woman.'

"I can set your mind on fire at any second," she retorted.

'Touché,' he dryly thought, 'don't let your victory party keep me awake all night though. I'll need to be able to work on a list of all the things I'll let you survive before I crush you.'

Siren wouldn't allow herself be intimidated as long as her upper hand was still in effect. Even if she knew that behind the seemingly fruitless threats was a promise to break her grip – and she knew that he probably could find a way too. If she kept using the anchor against him he'd eventually find out how to duck away; she'd be a fool to believe that his insanity made him too unstable for things such as that. More ironic than ever was the fact that her reason to be a pain originally had been to heal him. Now that intent had surely expired in any case. The only thing to do was to keep him occupied with other things.

"You are too late," she proclaimed with dry triumph, "I'm already dead."

She should have trusted the little voice in her head saying that those words were of a poor pick.

'I know,' he replied, a hint of cruel cheerfulness in this information.

The chill went down her spine again, and this time it was so forceful that it shattered every hopeful doubt.

Somehow he had pinpointed that her magicite was somewhere in his room. There went a large chunk of hope.

'Damn it…'

Siren pressed her lips tightly together, nervously changing the grip of her harp before she could stop herself.

'Gotcha,' he smirked.

He won.

At least that round.

"You really are disgusting," she bitterly said, glaring at the dark sky.

'Why, thank you.'

His tone changed, so suddenly that she almost jumped.

'But for now, what of Kefka?'

The esper took in a deep breath and pursed her mouth, trying to assemble the last pieces of meaning she could find in the her situation.

"It's not for your sake I'm doing this, you know," she muttered, so bitter that one could cut it with a knife, "I'm not your informant servant."

'Of course, it had to be cute somehow. Sickening.'

"Just saying that it's his fault," she snapped before she could swallow the anger over his mockery.

'Whatever. I wouldn't care even if you were in love with a donkey.'

"Wha…!"

'Esper, just tell me what happened!' he growled, quickly growing impatient.

Seething at his idiotic insolence Siren was about to give him another dose of the more violent art of music, but again she stopped herself with the thought that she was far better than that. Better than him.

"Fine," she snapped instead, "but you might get wobbly so you better stay somewhere out of sight."

'There are paranoid morons everywhere I look!' he sighed with a scornful smirk.

Siren took in a deep breath and then spoke in a dangerously calm voice.

"Kerr. Gestahl already has one reason to believe that you are a traitor. Do you want him to find you acting strange too? Then again I for one would very much enjoy seeing you trying to survive in the Coliseum…"

'I'm sure you would,' he said in an idle voice, almost as if he was busy weighing her words against his pride.

"Oh yes. But it would mean Kefka dying too, and you are his only chance of survival. If there even is any at all."

She fought back a grimace for telling him that he was a hope, but it had to be said.

'I already conquered the world, so have a bit of trust in my abilities ye of little faith,' he smirked, sounding rather amused whether it was at her or his own twisted humor.

"I hope that cockishness will be your demise, o fool," Siren grunted with a roll of her eyes, "I might as well give up right now."

'Fine with me, but are you going to tell me what happened or not?'

Again there was a hint of impatience in Kerr's voice.

"Where are you then?" she pressed, finding a bit of bitter enjoyment in making him irritated.

There wasn't much else left that could remind of happiness now, so to her it was invaluable.

The annoyed snort almost made her chuckle, even.

'I've left the barrack area and is in one of the smaller corridors leading to the main one, there's not a living thing here at this hour,' he snapped.

"Will do. I'll show you what I saw, so lean against the wall or something."

'Fine, fine… get going already.'

Siren didn't feel good about closing her eyes considering her position, but she had to in order to concentrate on her memories and hand them over to Kerr. Ribbons of silvery light flowed from her head and melted into the dark air of the madman's mind.

As she did this, she momentarily lost the memories herself and for a few seconds she found herself desperately wondering what in Poltergeist's name had driven her to show herself to Kerr. But in the next heartbeat he let out a low grunt aloud and the ribbons flowed back to her.

'Oh yes… that was it…' she briefly thought before Kerr started thinking again.

'There is no problem,' he snorted, 'Gestahl caught Kef looking like he was trying to get up from the floor and there were burn marks on his robe.'

"And now you are prepared to answer to him," Siren snorted back, "I have heard of your acting skills."

For a short moment, he didn't reply. Then, gruffly:

'Having a bloody point goes on the list of why I'll turn you inside out.'

"Is this when I should feel honored?"

'I don't have a self-help booklet for women in a jam, so you'll have to figure that out yourself.'

"Then I'll pass."

'Oh, I'll cry me a river.'

Siren opened her mouth to express her hopes of him drowning, but paused and took a step backwards, shaking her head as realization of what the heck she was doing came in.

"I've been around Gogo far too much…" she grunted, rubbing her forehead.

'"Gogo"?' Kerr repeated, idly bemused.

The esper grunted.

"It's what your brother wanted the other Returners to call him," she informed in a much stricter voice again.

Her host was silent for another moment.

'Gogo. Right.'

"Whatever!" Siren snapped, "are you still standing by the wall?"

'No. Way ahead of you,' Kerr snorted, 'now stop pretending you're a queen or I'll get cranky.'

"You mean in the way of hopping up and down like a frog, yelling 'I hate you' multiple times?" she smirked, "excuse me for not being intimidated by that one."

'Smartass.'

"Monster."

'Speak for yourself.'

"I'm an esper, there's a difference."

'Just because you obviously belong to Goddess and not Doom or Poltergeist's troupe.'

"It matters little. Now shut up."

'It's my mind, woman.'

"I'm not having this conversation."

'Funny, I thought it sounded like you did.'

Rolling her eyes, Siren just shook her head. This was getting ridiculous, fast. Trying to get her thoughts off the whole idiotic conversations she took the first good look around. The first thing she noticed was the end of the world a few steps behind her. The cracked ground she stood on appeared almost like newly cooled lava, but it wasn't shaped softly like the goo of red hot molten rocks would normally be. Instead, a sharp, uneven edge zigzagged against the black sky, the ends of it nowhere in sight. The buzzing sound seemed to come from below.

Siren took a couple of steps forwards for a quick glance. It turned out that it wasn't really buzzing, but a combination of pitch-black waves and whirlpools far below the cliffs, only seen due to the foam their force drove up. Like the cliff, the ocean went on forever.

"I wonder what would happen if I pushed you in," Kerr's voice said, his avatar standing just behind her.

Siren fought down a dear wish to shriek and fight against him as the ice-cold hands roughly grabbed her bare shoulders.

'Don't show fear, don't show fear, don't show fear…!'

"It'd probably be very uncomfortable for both of us," she snarled, trying not to let her voice be too high-pitched.

She could feel him smirk.

"Probably, but it'd surely be interesting."

Then his cold left her alone again and she nearly slumped to the ground in relief.

"And here comes the old geezer I think," he muttered as the image of him turned still again.

Siren tensed. Quickly stepping away from the edge of the cliff and more importantly from Kerr's frozen avatar, she reached out with her mind and sought for a way to see through her host's eyes. He obviously didn't like the idea of her mucking about his mind more than she already was, as her search hit an unseen mental wall that nearly sent her to the ground again.

'Sit still, you damn maggot!' his thoughts snapped, 'how much attention do you think I can waste?'

"The kind that lives for about three seconds unless there's blood," Siren growled more automatically than anything else.

Understanding that a struggle would leave obvious signs in Kerr's face if not also the rest of him, she resigned to the fate of just listening. It'd have to do.

In the corridor, Kerr halted his newly begun steps when Gestahl – as the lord had guessed from the sound of the paces – came around the right corner a few yards away, from the main corridor.

"Why, emperor?" the madman said, bowing exaggeratedly, "is everyone awake at this hour?"

Inside his head, Siren raised her eyebrows as she also heard the man's thoughts about the approaching emperor. How could such scorn for an old, slow fool not be obvious on Kerr's features? There was also a good deal of more obscure whispering that she couldn't really make out, but she was strongly guessing that it was forcefully suppressed worry about slipping on this test.

Gestahl was moving closer fast, and opened his mouth. He didn't look very pleased, no. Kerr quickly cut him off before he could speak.

"Oh, allow me to guess, it is because of the attack on Maranda? Ugly boy told me already, worry not. I'm…"

"Shut up, Kefka!" the emperor snarled, throwing out his right arm in a cutting movement.

"Eh? Now what?" Kerr said, raising his eyebrows.

The fact that he truly became a bit surprised at the pure force in his superior's voice was a blessing for his act.

Gestahl's arms folded across his chest, and the cold eyes flared with rage as they regarded the man before him.

"I sent for you, but you didn't answer the door which was locked," he informed in a chilly voice, "but as you know now, I required your presence since the Returners just started a riot in Maranda."

"You could have just called me through magic, emperor," Kerr cut in, managing a smirk despite the knowledge of where this was going.

"Subtlety, Kefka," Gestahl snapped, "now keep your mouth shut and let me finish!"

"But of course, sire…" the madman assured, raising his palms while still forcing the smirk to stay in place.

"Thinking that maybe you were asleep and didn't hear the call I went to your room myself and opened the lock," the emperor said, the growl growing deeper, "now, do you have any valid explanation to why you secretly kept your brother, whom you claimed had run off with the Returners, in your room?"

Kerr fully well knew that he was under a very scrutinizing stare, and he dared not risk trying to play stupidly and obviously falsely innocent even for a moment, despite the chances of it assuring his madness. But it was too dangerous. Instead he dove for the throat; raising his hand to press a bent finger against his lips while he raised his eyebrows. The touch helped the wry snicker to stay where it should.

"What, was he standing up or something?" he said with a forced, fake cough, "and I was sure that he wouldn't be able to move for at least a few hours after that…"

The anger in Gestahl's eyes flickered slightly, but only for half a second. He didn't answer, instead he kept watching his pawn with a dangerous blaze still there.

Siren bit her lower lip, the silence drawing out like a torture session. She was starting to seriously debate for risking a call of encouragement to Kerr when he finally spoke up again.

"My dear emperor," he said, wrapping up his cloak around himself in the well-known, fluid movement, "you must excuse me, but I am a tad bit egoistic. Can you blame me?"

"Hm."

That was all Gestahl said, but with that simple comment demanding a better explanation. Luckily for most involved, for once Kerr's sadistic mind was good for something.

"When I first told you of his return," he went on, gaining confidence as the emperor listened with slowly ebbing fury, "my full belief was that every last one of the cockroaches had run off, all the others were gone, no? However, after you had left that day, my dear blue-eyed fool of a brother revealed himself. Would you believe that he really was in the bloody wardrobe?"

The memory of that ironic truth helped Kerr to smirk, and also chuckle cruelly. Even Gestahl's lips twitched ever so faintly by vague surprise before returning to the petrified state.

"As I understood he had hoped to try reasoning with me once more, but I smashed that hope out of him rather quickly. Emperor, forgive a humble servant's simple pleasure of slowly squeezing the life out of his own flesh and blood."

Sarcasm could be reaped from that last line.

"I knew that you'd rather have him imprisoned or beheaded," Kerr continued, "but though I am fine with that, I felt that after all the time apart we both deserved a little… fun. And he wasn't going anywhere as I'm sure you noted with the door."

"He could have given us vital information, Kefka!" the emperor pressed, however the immediate anger had melted considerably as this explanation was quite believable – though it lacked common sense. But what could be expected of this psychopath, really?

Kerr nodded, smirking still.

"Oh, but he did. The ship I theorized about, remember that? While scheming normally isn't interesting I made an exception to get to keep him for myself a little longer. I assure you it was the only time that happened, it was too much a strain to keep a straight face."

"What of the Returners?" Gestahl demanded, the practical query now, at least for the moment, weighing higher than suspicion.

Kerr shook his head with a sigh.

"It took me forever just to make him choke out that of the boat. He didn't know exactly where they had landed, only that it was somewhere south of the western cliffs. Since we already had our forces searching that area I felt no need to spill those beans."

"But nothing was found," the emperor pointed out, eyes thinning again, "they got away by the ship then?"

"Oh trust me, had I managed to pry him open earlier I would have reported immediately, but he's grown tougher over the years," Kerr assured.

The emperor pursed his mouth.

"Well? Where was the ship from then?"

'Shit!' the madman thought before the question was even finished.

That was one thing he'd forgotten to plan and his brother hadn't even told him anything about a ship to start with. He couldn't afford hesitation, if he stumbled the whole act would crash.

"A fishing ship of Figaro, what else!" Siren shouted as she felt the thoughts starting to race above her.

She could have said Thamasa as was the truth but then that town would pay the bill. Figaro castle was safe at least, and already under full blame. One more accusation wouldn't change anything.

"A fishing ship of Figaro, what else?" Kerr automatically spoke, despite the surprise of his own reaction remembering to shake his head with a grimace, bowing his head slightly to veil the true feeling.

"Of course."

Gestahl scratched his chin thoughtfully, the sound seeming to echo in the silence.

"As much as I dislike your course of action I suppose that I can accept it this once," he finally said and continued with a much sharper tone, "just don't let me catch you doing anything like this behind my back again."

"Certainly not, sire. I apologize a thousand times," Kerr assured, raising his hands in a shrugging movement.

"I'd rather see your brother dead or inside your wall, however," the emperor stated, frowning.

Kerr sighed.

"Dead? How boring… he's spent a good time in the wall already, my dear emperor, he's probably starting to like it even. Probably better than waking up on the floor with half of his bones broken."

The emperor had regarded his pawn in silence during this whole rant.

"And to think," the older man finally said, "he chose to return by own will, Kerr."

Siren flinched as she noticed from the whispering thoughts that her host didn't react on the name, too used of hearing it from his brother.

'By Bahamut, you idiot!'

"'Kerr'! He called you 'Kerr', Doom take you!" she shrieked, her nails nearly breaking the strings of her harp as she clawed at her instrument's heart.

Flaring sparkles rushed into the dark air, streaming from the esper's single weapon as chords broken and false by the panic fell from the golden threads.

On the outside, this caused Kerr's face to constrict in sudden pain – but when it came to him, all pain went hand in hand with anger.

"What?" passed between his teeth, more to Siren than to Gestahl.

But the emperor wouldn't know that last fact, with satisfaction watching the reaction that his test had called forth.

Trust Kefka's word, how believable the twisted logic might seem? Not so fast. But apparently the imperial lord hadn't dulled one bit about his name, and therefore his hatred for the who could question that name couldn't have sunken a single inch.

Just to make sure.

"Either he's stubborn beyond belief, or his madness rivals yours," the emperor added.

Just to add up.

He didn't fully know what he caused with those words.

Siren shrieked in surprise as a sudden earthquake shook the dark world, so violently that she was flung onto her stomach. Despite deeply missing her body, the pain of having her skin scrapped against the rumbling, uneven ground was something she could have lived without – which of course was something she normally, as merely a soul, wouldn't have felt. Pressing her harp against her chest she curled up, assembling all her powers to create a pool of peace.

A protecting, shimmering bubble formed around her, completely still in the shivering world of Kerr's soulscape. Letting out a sigh of hesitant relief she got to her feet, worriedly looking around and upwards.

She couldn't see much of the ocean due to the curve of the cliffs, but the clouds were swirling around as if a tornado was forming.

That just couldn't be good.

"I… wouldn't… say… that…" Kerr snarled, his eyes starting to glaze over with a red mist of rage.

"Oh, of course not… Kefka," Gestahl mildly said.

He nodded at his slightly crouching, shivering pawn.

"We will arrive at Maranda in about an hour. I will call you then, so be prepared."

The only reply was a wordless, animalistic snarl.

Smiling slightly Gestahl walked past Kerr, heading towards the barracks to speak with general Aglie. The smile turned into a full smirk as he heard the explosion behind him.

Excellent.

As stumbling, shock-awakened servants and soldiers came running to see where the sound had come from, all they found was a large burn mark on the metallic floor, the iron still red hot and in the middle of the mark even just beginning to coagulate again. Kerr was long gone, on his way to his room. And his brother.