Could I stop him, knowing what I knew? No. There was no fatalism here; remember, I am one of the three who has seen The Listener. When I was fifteen and the Dark Mage was merely Thomas, my friend, The Listener whispered in my ear what the wind said about me, and the wind is eternal and never wrong about such things.

Your body will die in your own bed, Michelle, at his hands. Say what you must to him now, for he will not listen later.

And I told Thomas everything I felt before we entered The Cave Of The Fallen, and afterwards we had one good summer, kids in love who thought it would go on and on the way children do. But we grew up and apart and Thomas went onto a path no one should follow.

But remember what The Listener said. I did.

I made sure my parents were out, and then I prepared the rituals while I waited for my murderer to come for his vengeance. I have thwarted him again and again over the last six years, and I will thwart him yet again.

My body may die in my own bed, but we are more than flesh.