Haunted Wood see no [more] evil

When Bazi looked up again, Peregrine was gone - she didn't have a chance to ask him for help. The idea that a stranger would compromise their own safety for a woman and her injured boy was absurd, anyway - Bazi would never do it, and she did not expect it from anyone else.

Incredibly, new-found blindness seemed to have invigorated Swift. He spoke freely to her, using his very sure, very adult voice to soothe his shell-shocked mother. Bazi slithered off him, crouching close enough for Swift to feel her breath on his cheek. Whilst he spoke, she inspected his eyes - the fleshy hole still smelled bad, but it was definitely an improvement. Fresh blood and sticky, sap-like fluid dribbled onto her son's cheek, and she licked it away. He was completely blind. The repercussions hit Bazi like a stone. "I know him," she managed to squeeze out, plucking the memory of Peregrine from the jumble of her past. "From somewhere." The tears were streaming now, travelling down her dirty cheeks in continuous rivers. He could not see her face, so it didn't really matter, but Bazi nevertheless turned and offered the tip of her tail to her son. "Hold on to mommy's tail. It's right in front of you."