He felt Hakan nod against his neck. Felt Koko settle behind him. He closed his eyes again. Damien felt like the land inside him had been scorched, fields and forests reduced to nothing but exhausted ash. But Damien could feel, when he lay very still and concentrated on Hakan and Koko’s breath, a wind picking up. There was rain in the horizon that foretold good tidings. A softening of the earth.
