‘They’re massing, Ed,’ he’d said. ‘Something big is going down. Sooner or later they’re gonna make their way into the centre of town. And then it gets serious. We need to be ready for them. I can’t do it alone. The kids in London, they’re all in their own camps, their own little worlds, and they fight and argue and compete with each other. I’ve seen what they’re like. We need to unite, we need to join together and deal with this, or it’s going to be beyond bad.’

Shadowman knew more about sickos than anyone else around. He’d made a study of them. ‘You’ve seen it yourself, Ed,’ he’d said when Ed had questioned him over whether he really thought they could get organized. ‘The change in them. The way they’re wandering in from all over the place, as if something was calling them. And it’s St George who’s doing the calling.’

‘So what are they waiting for? Why don’t they attack?’

Shadowman didn’t know the answer to that one. He wanted to find out, though. He wanted to be back out on the streets watching them. And as soon as his sprained ankle was better – a couple more days he reckoned – that was where he was going.

‘Maybe they’re just waiting for more to arrive,’ Shadowman had said as Ed was leaving. ‘The call’s gone out. The London sickos have gathered. What if they’ve put out a shout? A big shout out to the rest of the country. What if there’s more coming from all over? From out where you’re going.’

‘You know what?’ Ed had grinned at Shadowman, trying to appear more unconcerned than he was. ‘Don’t worry about shit until it happens.’

‘But it does happen,’ said Shadowman. ‘Shit always happens.’

The more sentinels he saw on the road, the more Ed thought Shadowman was right. Something big was going to happen. Something big and something bad. He hoped they’d find Ella soon and not waste days searching for her. His place was back at the Tower with his people. He needed to tell general Jordan Hordern everything he’d talked about with Shadowman. Everyone had to join up, work together.

So what was he doing here, miles out of London?

This was all because of Sam, that stubborn, extraordinary little boy.

‘Lord preserve us,’ said Ebenezer and Ed turned to see him crossing himself.

‘What is it?’ he asked. Ebenezer pointed to their left.

‘It was in there,’ he said. ‘The church where the little ones died. It was horrible. We left them alone and they were slaughtered. That is a bad place. A place of death. I pray for them every night. I hope they have gone to a better place.’

‘You want me to stop?’ Lewis asked, slowing down.