Ella was crying. Whether she was happy or sad she didn’t know. All she knew was that there were tears pouring down her face. She watched as Golden Boy ran over to Arno and the King and started waving his arms about and shouting. Other kids came down and joined them. Arno talked to them for a while as Malik rode round and round. Ella was so proud of him. He was the champion of the races. He was her hero.

Arno lifted up his staff and the crowd quietened down, the band stopped making a noise. Malik stopped in the centre of the arena, next to the Ascot boy.

‘There are some rules at the races,’ Arno shouted. ‘And there is one rule in life and that rule is that all grown-ups must be killed. It’s no different here. OK, so this one has shown he’s smarter than most, but we can’t let him go. Henry, if you don’t want to do it, you have to come away and leave it to someone else.’

The Ascot boy, Henry, shook his head.

‘Henry, your King commands it. That thing must die.’

Ella realized she was running, around the barrier to the King. She grabbed Arno’s sleeve and pulled it, bringing his staff down. He looked a little bit surprised and a little bit angry.

Ella turned to face the kids in the seats.

‘He’s not a thing,’ she shouted. ‘And he’s not a grown-up. He’s my friend. He’s a boy like you. You just never bothered to find out. He’s one of us. You have to believe me. He’s just a boy. Just a boy.’

Arno leant over and talked quietly to her.

‘Go back to your seat, little girl,’ he said. ‘I’m in charge here. I have to do this, OK?’

‘No … no … You don’t …’ Ella was crying again. She thought she was going to choke on her tears.

‘Holy crap,’ said Lewis, rising from his seat. He shook Ed’s shoulder. ‘It’s her, Ed. It’s Ella.’

‘What? You’re joking.’

‘Straight up. That little girl down there is Ella. We’ve found her, man.’

Ed stood now and made his way down to Arno with Lewis and Ebenezer. Arno raised his staff again just as they got there.

‘Wait!’ Ed shouted. ‘I think we should listen to what the girl’s got to say.’