The man they knew as Gregor was only a few meters away from them, where the beach became the machair. The sight of him chilled Ruby so that for an instant she couldn’t move or speak. He was dirty, unshaven, dressed in unfamiliar clothes. His lips were cracked, there was dried blood on his neck, but that wasn’t the most terrifying thing. It was that finally, he wasn’t trying to hide who he really was; she looked into his eyes and saw that the Gregor she had known was gone, if he’d ever been there at all. The creature standing in front of them was made only of spite, and hate. He looked as if he wanted to kill her, and not only that, but he was quite looking forward to it.

“Daddy,” said Leonie, and she was too far away to catch before she started running toward him.

Constance set off sprinting. Her fingers grazed Leonie’s coat as the man picked up the child and took several steps backward.

“Give her to me,” said Constance, and Ruby could tell she was making a huge effort to keep her voice steady.

The man laughed, a harsh, percussive sound. “What, so you can leave her alone on the seafront again? Not likely. You’re not fit to be a mother.”

“Fine, give her to Ruby then.”

“Ruby? She’ll run off with her, and I’ll never see her again. My own kid! What were you planning to do, anyway, Constance? Take her away to your backward little sect? To live like a bloody scavenger? I don’t think so.”

“You don’t care about her, Gregor. You never have. Just let her go.”

“You thought you were so clever, didn’t you? Sneaking up on me, spiking me when I couldn’t defend myself. But you can’t win at this. I’m in charge here. She belongs to me. And so do you.”

The man was holding Leonie too tightly. “Daddy, ow! Let go!” But he wouldn’t.

“Don’t, you’re hurting her,” said Ruby.

He looked at Ruby as if he’d only just realized she was there. “I’ll do whatever the hell I like with her. And I’ll have you know, for the record, that I could have done whatever the hell I liked with you, too, at any time. You were nothing to me. A game that got boring.”

“I won’t say anything,” said Ruby. “I’ll take her far away. We’ll start a new life, new names, everything. You won’t need to worry about us. I’ve got as much to lose as you, Gregor, if the police catch up with me.”