‘You get away from her!’ she screamed.

The slenderman turned to face the bigger kids, saw that there were too many and left Ella behind. Made a dash for the stairs. More people were coming up from below.

‘Watch out!’ Ella shouted as he got near to them. ‘He’s got a knife.’

‘Who?’

‘It’s him! It’s him!’

The slenderman reached the top of the stairs at the same time as the first of the kids. He barged into them, knocking two of them back down on top of their friends, and then he howled and carried on around towards the tree room at the back of the hall.

Maeve put out her arms and scooped up Ella, hugging her close to her body. Ella so wanted it to be over, but didn’t know if the slenderman had got away or not. She could hear running, shouting, the sounds swallowed up and echoing away around the building. She looked into Maeve’s face.

‘Will they get him?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ said Maeve. ‘They’ll get him. You come with me. I’ll take you back to the minerals gallery.’

‘Don’t ever let me go,’ said Ella.

‘I won’t, darling,’ said Maeve. ‘You’re safe now.’

Ella closed her eyes, enjoying for a moment the lies that Maeve had told her. Dreaming that in another world they were true. The world that Sam lived in. She knew that they wouldn’t catch the thing. She knew that she wasn’t safe and that Maeve would let her go. Sometime. She’d have to. She couldn’t hold on to her forever.

Chapter 84

84

Maxie was ready for him this time. She stood in the centre of the hall, close to the diplodocus, her feet planted wide apart, tensed, knees slightly bent, katana held high, up behind her head. She would get him this time. Whatever his problem was – and right now she didn’t really care – he wasn’t going to do any more damage.

She’d watched him push past the other kids and go round the upper level into the tree room at the back, and out into the west gallery. And there he was, at the top of the flight of stairs that went up the left-hand side. Down he came, jumping three steps at a time, four, his long legs pumping away, arms flailing, knife waving in the air.

‘Over here, dickhead,’ she shouted as he reached the bottom. ‘Come and get it.’

He skidded to a halt, hesitated, weighing up his chances, trembling. Close enough for Maxie to see the sweat pouring from his forehead. His red, feverish eyes. His teeth yellow against his bone-white skin.

He tilted his head back and howled like a trapped animal and Maxie ran at him, ready to swing, ready to take his bloody head off. Roaring.