He started across the abandoned graveyard, raising a hand to his forehead so that it was like a visor. He continued to squint, but more in confusion now than because of the rain. Had his eyes deceived him? Had Ben been closer to the woods than he’d thought? But he could have sworn Ben had been standing right beside that pile of stones. If he’d made it all the way across the clearing, Isaac would surely have caught sight of him dashing between the trees.

And then he spotted it.

Right there, amid the stones.

There was a hole.

More than a hole, it was an entrance. There were steps, just visible, leading down.

‘What the …?’

Isaac moved closer, but there was no way to see beyond the gloom. It was like peering into a cavity filled with tar. He placed his foot on the topmost step, and this time, instead of looking, he angled his ear. He thought he heard … crying. Or moaning. Or …

He stepped lower, trying to ignore the feeling that he was descending into an open grave. ‘Be—’ he started to say, and that’s when a hand shot out and grabbed his ankle.

Isaac gave a cry of shock. He felt his leg being pulled from under him, and he landed heavily on the base of his spine. The steps were as slippery as a water slide, and there was no way to stop himself falling. He jolted, jarred, his way to the bottom, every step delivering another blow. When he finally hit the ground, his head rocked back against the earth, and for a moment all he could focus on was the pain. He tried to move, just to see if he still could – but then something landed on top of him, and the hand that had grabbed his ankle closed instead around his throat.

Isaac couldn’t see, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. There was a noise as though from a wounded animal, and it took him a moment to realise it was coming from Ben.

Isaac tried to speak, to say Ben’s name, but his hand was like a clamp, his ferocity like nothing Isaac had ever known. It was as though he thought Isaac were trying to attack him.