‘You can call me anything you bloody well like,’ said Mister Three. ‘It doesn’t make any difference really, does it? I’m not going to be around for long. These little spurts of consciousness never last. They’ll start to take control again, them two, the sleeping beauties, and I’ll be sent back to Coventry. I’m just trying to take it all in, sorting through all their new thoughts and memories, but it seems like you’ve been filling their heads with all kinds of crap. There’s too much for me, it’s overloading my circuits. And the damned fallen, they are loud today! Woke me up with their singing. Never known anything like it …’

‘What do you mean?’ Ed looked anxious, wanting to know more. ‘You mean sickos? Grown-ups? What’s happening?’

‘There’s a lot of them on their way. There’s a wave breaking.’

Trio was stirring. She started to rise, pushing with her hands on the table top, dragging up Trey, whose head lolled down on a floppy neck. Trio looked drowsy and confused. She fixed on Lewis and tried to focus.

‘It’s him, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘He’s woken up. Embarrassing. I’m like a drunk at a teenage party who’s been at Daddy’s vodka. Oh wow, that is some monster headache. Ciao, Mister Three, how have you been?’

‘You can call me Colin.’

‘Yeah? Last time it was Neil.’

‘Ha, ha, yeah. That was a good one.’

‘Nearly as good as Roger.’

‘Roger and out …’

‘You going so soon?’

Mister Three stretched out his arms and yawned.

‘I don’t want to nod out, Trio. Truth is I want to stay forever, but you two are too strong for me. I was just telling your friends here about the wave.’

‘What wave?’

‘The fallen, they’re coming, sister. We need to be careful …’

‘Please. You need to tell us what you mean exactly.’ Ed reached out towards him, as if he was going to shake him to keep him awake, but he held back at the last moment, unsure of touching him.

Now Trey was coming round. His eyelids fluttered. He groaned, put a hand to his head and squeezed his temples with thumb and fingers.

‘I feel sick,’ he said.

‘At least you’re awake,’ said Mister Three and he sounded sad and disappointed. ‘You can smell the coffee …’ He yawned again. ‘Be careful …’

He closed his eyes, curled up and folded himself into Trinity’s back.

Ed swore and looked at Amelia who pretended she hadn’t heard.

‘Well, that was special.’ Brooke was standing in the doorway from the house. Lewis had no idea how long she’d been there. All their attention had been on Mister Three.

‘Sorry,’ said Trio. ‘He doesn’t get out much. Not a lot of social skills.’