“I’ve tried talking to him about it. Have you noticed how hard it is to get a straight answer out of that guy?”

“Milo has a complicated history.”

“I’d imagine so.”

In the morning light, at this angle, and with his hair swept back, Amber could see now the lines round Warrick’s eyes and across his forehead. She realised he was older, much older, than she had originally thought. In his thirties, certainly. Maybe even early forties.

“Kelly’s in the living room,” he said. “In case you wanted to talk to her before you leave. You know.” He shrugged, then went back to examining the van.

Amber walked into the house through the open doorway, passing Milo on his way out. They nodded to each other. Kelly wasn’t in the living room, but Austin sat on the couch and Linda had her arm wrapped round his shoulders. Javier was in the armchair in the corner, eyes fixed on his phone. No, not his phone. Virgil’s phone. Its screen had lit up.

“A text from his daughter,” Javier said, his voice hollow. “She wants to meet him for coffee.”

Amber didn’t know what to say to that.

“What about you?” Linda asked Austin. “Do you want us to call your folks? We could let them know you’re okay.”

Austin took a long moment to answer. “No,” he said. “They let me be taken. Why should I go back? Why should I stay?”

“Because it’s over,” said Linda gently. “The mayor and the Narrow Man are both dead. There’s going to be no more sacrifices, which means no more Hell Nights.”

“So?” Austin looked up. “You think that’s gonna make folks here into better people? Really? Just because they won’t be able to transform into demons doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change them. They looked the other way while we lost one kid a year to that thing in the cell. My parents looked the other way when they lost me. And all of you are gonna get in your cars and vans and drive off and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Nobody said anything until Ronnie walked in. “You try to have a normal life,” he said.

Austin’s mouth twisted, but Ronnie kept talking.

“You do your best to be happy. You go to school and you make friends and you get educated. And then, when you’re done with school and you’re done with this town, you call us, and we’ll come back for you.”

Austin’s eyes widened. “I can … I can come with you?”

“Always room for one more in the van,” Warrick said, walking in. “If that’s still what you want.”

“It will be.”