“I would have advised following your father’s suggestion and waiting until help arrives—but Hemslock’s taken that option out of our hands.”

I look down. I’d subconsciously drawn a symbol in the sand. The eye figure from the cave. “The only way out is to give the Diwata what He wants.”

“Dad still sees Mom. Are you saying he’s a potential sacrifice?”

“Unfortunately.”

Chase considers that carefully. Then he smiles—a determined, grim look. “How do we help Him choose Hemslock, then?”

His fingers feel nice. Gentle. “I don’t know if we have any say in that anymore.”

***

I don’t realize that I’ve fallen asleep, only that I am dreaming.

I dream of the cave. I dream of Hemslock and his men pushing their way back toward the tree with the curiously carved face. I want to scream at them to stop, but nothing comes out of my throat. I am forced to watch, helpless, as they draw closer.

“Keep your eyes peeled for more of these beasts,” I hear Hemslock instruct. He turns toward one of the twisted roots, the one that holds Goatee.

It takes some time, but the men manage to dig out Goatee a second time. Nothing else attacks them.

Once freed, Goatee kneels on the ground, looking around him with an odd detachment, like he hasn’t spent the last few days trapped here. His voice sounds muted, like he’s speaking from somewhere farther away. “You should have left me to dream.”

“My quota for unhinged madmen has been reached for the day, Karl. Don’t tell me you’re gonna start babbling nonsense like Steve did.”

“I dreamt inside the tree,” Goatee says. “It changed me. It was wrong of us to come to the Godseye, Reuben. It was wrong of us to desecrate the island. But my mind is clearer now. I was full of anger when I came here, just like you. Angry at my ex-wife. Angry about the divorce, about her taking custody of my kids. I sinned. I killed a young thing who wouldn’t let me go, the girl I cheated with. I was never arrested for her murder. But that doesn’t matter now. Cleanse yourself of your anger, Reuben. It’s the only way to live.”

Hemslock aims his gun at Goatee. “Are you even Karl? Or did some fucking pod person replace you inside that goddamn tree?”

“You always think the world is out to get you, Reuben, and sometimes there is a reason for it. I was glad that I’d gotten away with killing her. You’re the same way. You never think about how you hate. You always looked at Gail as being beneath you. And all the other women who accused you of harassment—Hannah, Josie, Brenda. You hurt them, and then you blame them instead of yourself.”

The gun in Hemslock’s hands trembles, just slightly. “How the fuck did you know Josie? Or Brenda?”

“The god knows everything. It sees into your soul, manifests your fears and dreams into life. It has looked into your heart, Reuben, and it only sees hatred. Anger about the things you yourself had caused.” Goatee bows his head.