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rematerialised on a night-dark mountain near a village. It was a landscape of bare rock and poverty. Above them stars and spy satellites circled. This was a war zone, a place of pride and violence and scrabbled survival.
    “Thank you.” Khan breathed deeply. “Thank you for bringing me home.” He strode away and the shadows of the village swallowed him.
    Sara sniffled.
    Andrew handed her a tissue.
    She jumped, dislodging a fistful of stones that rattled down the rocky slope. The other angel had appeared silently, unexpectedly.
    “What are you doing here?” She overrode her own question urgently as memory nudged. “I have a cure for young Todd. A cure for his bone infection.”
    Todd’s guardian angel leaned on his sword, looking across the valley at a pinprick of lamplight. “Todd died an hour ago.”
    There was a moment’s silence, then Sara swore. Too much pain, too much grief. At every turn life demanded courage, tested your hope and faith.
    Andrew handed her another tissue.
    She blew her nose. “Is that why you’re here, to tell me about Todd?”
    “No. I’m Khan’s guardian angel. I’m here to give thanks for his safe return.”
    “Tangled lives.” Sara stared at the stars, willing away her tears. She’d failed Todd. “I didn’t know you knew Khan.”
    “For good or bad we all affect one another.” Andrew leaned forward and kissed her forehead. It was quite a gesture from a reserved soldier. “Go back to your djinni, Sara. He needs you.”

Chapter Eight
    Filip needed her?
    Sara didn’t stop to ask Andrew questions—not that he’d have answered them. Imagine being so close-mouthed that she hadn’t even known he was Khan’s guardian angel? There hadn’t been a hint of his presence when Khan tortured Filip or when Filip threatened to kill Khan. Andrew had the discipline—and ruthlessness—to let his charges live with the consequences of their decisions.
    But Todd hadn’t chosen to have an accident and to suffer the agony of broken bones and infection and their treatment.
    That little boy. So brave and so young. How were his family? How did you survive losing someone you loved?
    Her heart clenched. If Filip was hurt, died…
    The world whipped past Sara and she landed with a jolt at the billabong. She staggered and grabbed at a low-hanging gum tree branch. Her left foot slipped on the gravel but she managed to bring herself to a stop an inch from the water.
    She glanced around, but instinct had led her wrong. Filip wasn’t here. The billabong was cold and dark, the water still. Around her the desert spread out, silently waiting for dawn.
    “Idiot.” Sara let go of the branch. Filip wouldn’t have brought Jay here. She’d be in Vince’s house. Not that her father would be there to meet her or reassure her with a hug. He was flying to Melbourne, intent on killing Khan.
    Sara was pleased to think Vince would be disappointed. Afghanistan wasn’t safe, but Khan would have the advantage of home ground if Vince held onto his grudge and sent thugs after him.
    But why had Andrew said Filip needed her?
    She whisked herself into Vince’s house and received a shock.
    Vince was at home.
    ***
    “How long does it take to rescue one girl?” Vince raged at Filip. His grey hair stood up in angry spikes. He wore a blue shirt with black trousers, and a discarded jacket hung over a library chair. He ignored his daughter.
    Jay clung to Filip’s hand a minute before retreating to a wingback chair and curling into its shadows.
    “Never mind.” Vince dismissed his daughter and her rescue. “I decided to have Khan brought to me here, rather than hunt him in Melbourne.”
    Filip understood. If Vince flew to Melbourne, he’d have been following Khan’s orders. Even the hint of such a suggestion would give the man indigestion. Having Khan brought to him underlined their respective power. Filip hoped like hell that Sara got out first. When Vince’s hired muscle arrived, there would be a bloodbath because