“Dear me,” said Sebastian, smiling widely. “Threats of death and torture, to a helpless prisoner? What are the Droods coming to?”

“The safety of the world has to come first,” I said.

“Oh it does, it does. But can you save the world by damning yourselves? Can you fight monsters by becoming monsters?” Sebastian’s tone was openly mocking now, though his face was utterly expressionless, not even trying to seem human anymore. “The Hungry Gods are coming, Eddie, and there’s not a damned thing you can do to stop us. No one’s ever stopped us. Hello, Freddie.”

Molly and I looked around sharply as Freddie came uncertainly forward to join us. He nodded briefly to Molly and me, but his attention was fixed on Sebastian. I hardly recognised Freddie. All his usual glamour and flamboyance were gone, stripped away by events. He looked smaller, diminished, staring at Sebastian with an awful fascination.

“Hello, Seb,” he said finally. “Are you still Seb? Do you remember me? Do you remember being my friend?”

“Of course I remember you, Freddie. I haven’t changed, not really. I’m just being more honest about what I am. I remember our friendship, all the good times we had together; I just don’t care any more. Never did, really. All part of the job. You were just a means to an end, I’m afraid, a plausible way of gaining entry to the Hall. I knew it would go easier if I had you there to vouch for me. Eddie might have called all the rogues home, but he had good reason not to trust me.”

“Were you infected, even back then?” I said.

“I’m not going to tell you. Now hush, I’m talking to Freddie. I couldn’t believe it when you just went dashing off again, Freddie, right after I’d brought you here. I needed you, and your extreme personality, to distract people from me. That’s why I made such a point of calling you back here, to be one of Harry’s advisors. You never had a useful thought inside that pretty head of yours in your entire life. But I made a point of seducing you, to make sure you’d stay this time. You’re so larger than life that no one ever looked at me when you were around.”

“Did you ever really feel anything for me?” said Freddie, almost whispering.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Sebastian. “Perhaps. Sometimes. Sometimes . . . I’m more human than at other times. But it doesn’t matter. That’s all over now. There will be no room for real human emotions in the world that’s coming. You’ll love us because we’ll make you love us, to make the transition easier. But we won’t care. We are the Hungry Gods, the Many-Angled Ones. And you’re just food.”