"Because I had to." The answer slipped free before he thought, and that, he realised, may have been the answer. If he thinks, it's harder to remember. If he speaks, it simply... happens. "They had--

"No. They wanted something. An object. And I..."

Malik--

A name. Was it his? Malik and-- Kadar, no, the names weren't his. He could hear a scolding voice, and another so painfully eager. His heart rose into his throat. "Kadar is dead," came the words, slipping free once more, rough in his throat. "Kadar is dead and Malik wounded because of me. Because of the--"

And then his eyes went wide, one piece of knowledge, one defining bolt of horror going through him as he began to look around frantically because, "The Apple! If I am here, the Apple is unguarded!"