Redsand Canyon Hangman is comin’ down from the gallows, and I don’t have very long.

She attempted to control the shaking or, at the very least, calm it. But Towhee couldn’t stop. She scrubbed at her face, panting as panic began to take hold. What the hell was happening to her?

Towhee felt Maxim crouch down beside her. Still wracked with tremors, she looked at him and realized the babies were left alone on the bedding. Frightened as she felt, the newborns were her priority.

Call, Towhee muttered between chattering teeth, her tongue barely cooperating. Would he even be able to understand her? She couldn’t possibly sign right now. For. Aquene.

Maybe the medicus could help her, maybe not. But she could definitely keep those pups fed and warm, in case Towhee couldn’t. And as the convulsions worsened and she began to lose consciousness, she suddenly knew: I’m going to die.