"Ah-- no, I don't! Don't look so worried." Bariyan couldn't help but laugh, though. "I won't be dying here. At least, not in any way that I can predict."

Unless Cat was here, and just hadn't found Bariyan yet. But Cat seemed so remote now, in the face of all this new strangeness, and Bariyan wasn't convinced that he'd been followed. Still, he nearly shuddered to think of what might happen if Cat stumbled upon him with Martin. Martin had spoken of protecting....

"You won't have to worry about that," Bariyan murmured.