IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND ELEVEN, and they drove back the way they’d come, then veered off, took a bumpy trail that someone had worn down through sheer stubbornness, until they got to the spot right on the edge of town where a police cruiser was parked, headlights on, facing the five Hounds.

“If you do this, Astaroth will kill us,” Milo said.

Novak ignored him.

“Please,” Amber said, leaning forward, “at least let us have a fighting chance. Take the handcuffs off.”

“Sit back,” Lucy warned.

“Chief Novak, please.”

“Sit back!” Lucy snapped.

Amber sat back. The handcuffs bit into her wrists.

The SUV stopped beside the cruiser. A cop was waiting for them, the guy they’d seen the previous night. They sat in silence for a moment, just long enough for Amber to start hoping that Novak would change his mind.

“Let’s get it done,” Novak said, and the car doors opened. Officer Duncan pulled Amber out into the cold night air. She didn’t struggle as she was walked towards the Hounds. There was no point.

Beyond the invisible barrier, the Hounds waited. They made no move. They didn’t say anything. They just stood there, with their beards and their stubble, wearing their sunglasses even now, as the gloom rushed in. Silently waiting. Expectant.

Duncan’s grip was solid. Amber could have shaken it off if she broke her wrists and shifted, but all it’d take would be the slightest of pushes and she’d be stumbling into the arms of the Hounds. Novak was beside her. Beside him, Milo, held by both Ortmann and Lucy.

Novak looked at each of the Hounds and they looked back.

Ten seconds dragged by. Fifteen.

Novak chuckled drily, and shook his head. “Oh, this is unfortunate,” he said at last, to the Hound right in front of him. “I would have handed them over, I really would have. If only you weren’t so smug about it.”

The Hounds, with their expressionless faces, didn’t react as Novak turned to Lucy. “Put them back in the car,” he said. “Release them somewhere else along the boundary. Your choice.”

“Sir?”

“There is no reason I can see why we should make it so easy for Astaroth’s pets.” Novak returned his attention to the Hound. “You’re going to have to sing for your supper, dog.”

Suddenly Amber was being pulled backwards to the SUV. Duncan opened the door, practically threw her in, as Milo was shoved in from the other side. Lucy jumped in behind the wheel, Ortmann beside her, and she gunned the engine and they kicked up pebbles and dirt as they turned. Amber looked back as the Hounds got on their bikes and prepared to give chase.

“You could let us out at our car,” Milo said. “Let us lead them away from here.”