Mentally, Karla cheered as Mezhan Kwaad's body collapsed to the ground. Though she felt that the death had been quicker and cleaner than the one that she'd actually deserved, she knew that lingering messy deaths often haunted the killer, even if such things were perfectly justified.

And Tahiri had enough things haunting her already.

Which is why, rather than congratulating Tahiri, she crossed to where she was standing and went to lay a gentle hand on her arm. "Are you okay?" she asked, ignoring the laughter. "Does this act bring you guilt? Joy? Relief? Pain? You can tell me."