I look at Win. “You fell asleep?” I say. I can’t believe it. We managed to survive the tunnels in the mountain, being chased by wolves, the underground river, and a freezing trek through the snow. And then Win fell asleep.

He stops struggling and looks at me with big eyes. Then he nods.

Hati laughs. “And we just strolled in and found you waiting for us. I enjoyed the chase, but the end was far too easy. You didn’t even lock the door!” She gives the empty chair a kick. “Sit here.”

I remember the last thought I had before I fell asleep, and I decide there’s no way I’m going to let Hati Skoll think I’m scared of her.

“No,” I say.

Hati lurches forward and grabs hold of me. “You’ve not got it, have you, Arthur? Everyone does what I say!” Then she whistles and the wolf guarding me bites the front of my onesie. Together they tug me out of the hammock. I crash to the floor and I’m dragged to the chair, shouting and kicking. Hati yanks my hands behind my back and ties them together. For good measure, she slings a rope around me and Win and pulls it tight.

The only thing left free are my legs. I’m about to start banging them up and down, but something stops me. Perhaps it’s the realization that if I keep fighting I’m going to end up with something stuffed in my mouth like Win, and then I won’t be able to speak to Rose.

Hati walks around the room, opening drawers and poking the stuffed parrot. She picks up Mitch’s bag and shakes it upside down. Everything Rose has collected rolls over the floor: some ink from Mitch’s tattoo kit, the bottle light, a shell necklace, a shriveled apple. Hati sends the ink flying with her foot, then steps on the necklace, crushing the shells.

Then, like a child who suddenly realizes how much fun it is to break stuff, she starts stamping on everything. The apple is mashed into the floor, the compass is crushed, and a pot of ink is cracked open. While she does this I try to get Rose’s attention, but she’s staring at the floor, flinching with each stamp of Hati’s foot.

Hati abandons her game when she sees something out the window. “We’re going,” she announces.

“Going?” I say. “Where?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know, but I’ve spotted a ship and I’ve always wanted to take a long trip somewhere. I’m going to hunt at sea.” She walks over to Rose and stands too close to her. “And you are coming with me!”

Rose shakes her head.