They were just putting a few trees between them and the Brothers, when Crunch spoke. ‘Don’t leave without your price.’

Sa-at froze.

Tal tried to pull at his arm. ‘Run for it!’

But Sa-at did not move, could not move. He was bound by the rules as surely as the Brothers were. There was no point trying to escape, it would only make things worse. The weight of that knowledge fell heavy on his heart and feet. ‘Here,’ he said, and gave Tal the stick. The light wouldn’t last for long, but the scent would linger, keeping other predators at bay.

‘Don’t go,’ said Tal.

‘I’ll find you, if I can.’

‘Please don’t go.’

There was nothing else to say, so Sa-at turned and walked back to the Brothers. Pits was still at their feet, his face a smooth triangle of red, flat and featureless.

Sa-at held out his hands and Eyesore slapped away his left while grabbing his right. He felt a pain as Eyesore pressed something into his palm, a pain so exquisite and so immediate that he did not even have time to call out.

The next thing he knew he was on his knees, clutching his hand to his chest, the pain like a living thing writhing in his palm. He felt his skin opening as the aperture that had been in Pits’ face burrowed inside, settling into its new home.

‘We will get you,’ said Crunch. ‘We will grind your feet and eat them. We will vomit you and make you eat it. We will grind your hands and eat them. We will vomit you and make you eat it. We will grind your shins and eat them …’

Somehow, Sa-at managed to get up. He was aware that tears were running in rivers down Eyesore’s face and that Crunch was moaning as he talked. Crowflies was shrieking, plucking at his sleeve. Somehow, he managed to stagger away, while Crunch shouted after him.

‘… We will grind your hips and eat them. We will vomit you and make you eat it. We will grind your wrists …’

Sa-at kept going and the words followed, carried in whispers by the trees.

The drum beats were like those of his own castle during a hunt, but they were not his drums. The drummers were different too, as was the size and construction of the castle, not to mention that the rubies in the walls had a different resonance to the sapphire he was used to, and they clustered in strange ways. All of these things combined to make a sharp but subtle dissonance in Vasin’s heart. He knew the rituals, but felt as if he was a pace behind, each beat and change seeming to come too fast.