"It worked, Silver. Not well enough for Dani, but at the end, I was able to spare Sooraya. When she didn't...take right...they were playing with her. Just to see what would happen. The waters and the fire and...."

The room returns to normal ambience as his skin settles into the rich carmel of a Brazilian. "I thought I'd go blind. I've never absorbed that much light in my entire life. It was enough to burn the first wave before they came close. The goggles, they weren't strong enough. Dani and Sooraya and Stephen, they really were blinded. I tried. Oh, God, Silver. I tried!"