Mal ran into the room, gun in hand, even as River’s scream still reverberated from the rafters.

“What the tyen shao duh is going on?” he demanded, then wished he hadn’t spoken quite so fiercely. The girl Molly was on the couch, wrapped in Freya’s arms and appearing terrified, while the look on his wife’s pale face was one of pain, although he couldn’t see any signs of physical injury.

Then he saw Inara, crouched in the corner next to River, who was holding her head and moaning, rocking backwards and forwards.

“River. River.” Inara spoke softly, trying to touch the young woman, to make some kind of contact, but she kept twisting away.

“Inara.” Freya spoke. “I need to … let me.”

Inara glanced across then quickly stood up, crossing to the couch and taking Freya’s place in one swift, elegant movement.

Freya immediately went to River’s side and reached out, grabbing the young psychic’s wrists. Her knuckles went white, showing the effort she was having to make to hold River still.

“River. Xiao nu .” Freya’s voice was almost a whisper, a gasp, but Mal knew she wasn’t just saying the words. “Let me in.”

River lifted anguished eyes and they locked gazes for what seemed like an eternity.

Behind him Simon clattered into the room, and Mal had to hold him back. “No, you don’t,” he said. “Let Frey deal with this.”

“She’s my sister!”

“And it’s working. Look.”

River was indeed stopping the keening, but the concentration didn’t break.

“Any idea what set this off?” Mal went on. “Why albatross took it into her head to have an episode right now?”

“No.” Simon was staring at the two women, answering distractedly. “Bethie said River was in pain … Mal, I have to go to her.”

“Not yet.” Jayne spoke from the open French windows.

“You heard?” Mal asked.

Jayne nodded and tapped his temple. “Riv. Kinda got this connection. Diyu knows what it felt like to the others.”

River suddenly slumped as if all her strings had been cut, and her eyes closed. Frey