Adila gazed at Aerlid with pity. ‘You used something to carry Seta and Onsa around between hosts. Where is it?’ ‘Just Seta, Adila. I only meant to save Seta.’ But he pulled something from the neck of his shirt. It was a necklace with a clear sphere hanging from it. Adila took it. She gazed at it for a moment. Then she sung one word. It disappeared, faded away into the sunlight. ‘Those other children, Aerlid, did you try this with them as well?’ Aerlid nodded. A flash of despair passed across his face. ‘I tried so many times. Babies, pregnant women, it never worked.’ ‘What happened to them?’ ‘I thought someone young would be better, then she wouldn’t have to fight with the original owner of the body. But Seta was so angry at being in a body that could barely move. And I couldn’t explain to her in between. They all went mad, none lived past a year.’ He spoke almost calmly, as if eager to explain himself and prove that he had been right. Only a trembling of his voice, the shaking of his hands, indicated anything was wrong.
