Cerulean Cape i.xiii : who was dragged down by the stone

She shook her head again, slowly at first, and then quicker as he spoke. Mou, I can't, she whispered, her eyes wide and staring. I'm with a Redhawk right now. It's. . .the girl's brother. The red girl that you took. He just wants to find her. He doesn't want to hurt me. But he'll hurt you. Maegi buried her face into the plush fur of his neck, trembling. They all want to hurt you.

She tried to breathe slowly, calm herself down. It took a couple of moments to compose herself before she could continue. They were going to kill me, Maegi continued, squeezing her eyes shut as she saw the behemoth woman leaping at her, jaws aimed to take her life. They didn't believe me. That you were dead. They're going to follow me. And they might not kill me, but they'll kill you.

With a ragged sigh, she half-collapsed against him, constantly making sure that his scrawny frame could hold her weight, feather-light as it was. I might be able to join you, eventually, she murmured. Or you might be able to come back to Blackfeather. But not now, Mou. It's too dangerous. Even the prospect of him crossing the flatlands several moons from now seemed dicey. They hated him with a vengeance she knew all too well.

They'd rip him apart. She couldn't bear it.