Just as she reached the edge of sanity herself, he threw his hands apart then brought them back together with a resounding crack. His head snapped back and she grabbed him with gentle hands before he could fall to the floor.

Now it was time for her gift.

Leaning close, she began whispering the formula they had selected to be his return trigger. His scattered mind brushed against hers, she caught the edges of his sanity and started to rebuild him. Each piece had its place in the whole, and she knew them all, exactly, her memory without fault.

“Cassy?” he whispered, trembling as he became more lucid by the moment.

“Here beloved.”

“Was it,” he gasped as the final piece of him slid back into place, held for the time being by her will. “Was it beauti…”

The door to their room opened suddenly and a Collector stepped in, walked to the recording unit, and pressed the blinking yellow button. “Reacher Cassandra, the populace will enjoy this. You have our gratitude. Without you…”

“It would be lost, I know.”