Caine brushed dirt from his knees and avoided looking Sam in the eye. “The gaiaphage owned me, okay? Back a long time ago, back after our first big fight, the one in Perdido Beach. I imagine you remember.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Sam snapped. “You and Drake tried pretty hard to kill me.”

“After that I went to the mine shaft. You know all this. And the gaiaphage . . . Look, it’s not something I can explain, okay, or at least not something you can understand.”

“But you fought against the gaiaphage later.”

“It was already weakening. And it was focused on Lana and Little Pete. It’s stronger now. Much stronger.”

Light, Chapter 17