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Sam woke to dark skies, heavy clouds visible through the canopy of leaves above. His throat was dry, but his neck felt much, much better. He turned his head – that pulled muscle in his neck only hurting slightly – and found Eric sitting on the ground next to the bench, using it as a backrest. The blood had been scrubbed from his hair, and a strong apple fragrance wafted from the strands.

The events of the past few hours whipped through Sam’s mind in a blur. He reached out, brushing his hand against the back of Eric’s neck. He startled, then twisted to Sam. “Hey,” Eric greeted softly. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Much better. You?”

Eric’s pupils were the same size, which Sam took as a very good sign.

“Better.”

They stared at each other, Sam taking the time to find his words. “Roan made it to the ocean okay?”

“He wasn’t happy about leaving you, but yeah. He got there. I promised I’d bring you to the water as soon as you woke up, so we’re going to have to make a stop before heading home.”

Sam wondered if Eric had been told about the ghoul. Had someone explained the details to him yet? Before he could ask, red caught his eye at the kitchen doorway. He frowned, spotting stacked canisters of gasoline.

Eric followed his gaze. “They were in the attic. Fionn said they probably belonged to Gary.”

Had Gary come here to hurt Sam? And in exchange for that malice, he’d met something far more fierce than he was.

“The house stinks,” Eric said. “Everything in it. I couldn’t find a single book or T-shirt that doesn’t smell like a dead body. I got out all the photos I could. Most were ripped to pieces.”

Sam looked from the gasoline to Eric. “You want to burn it?”

“If that’s not what you want, we won’t,” Eric said. “But Sam, I think it’s safer for all of us—”

“Burn it,” Sam agreed. He would never set foot in the house again. He never wanted to see it again. He never wanted Eric in the house again. He never wanted his dad in it either. Dad . Sam forced the thought of Oisín away and lifted himself to sit up. An orange glow on the horizon, the opposite direction of the setting sun, lit the night sky.

“What’s that?” Sam asked.

“A fire. Apparently someone was burning gorse, and it jumped the road and spread. It’s been dry all week, so the grass is catching faster than anyone can stop it.” Eric rose to his feet. “Nobody’s going to look twice at our place. Let’s just make sure we have the hose running and it doesn’t spread.” His eyes were on the apple trees. “Dad would kill us if we let those robins lose their house over this.”

Sam studied the sky as he got to his feet. He’d spent enough time over the years watching the sky to identify an on-coming rain shower. “I’ll get the hose. We should move him, shouldn’t we? There will be bones left behind otherwise.”

“They’re both gone already,” Eric said. And when Sam asked where, Eric wouldn’t tell him.

Eric led the way to the front of the house where Ivan and Fionn were leaning against his car, talking in low voices. They both turned as they came out of the garden. “All ready here?” Eric asked.

“Ready,” Ivan confirmed.

Through the open front door, Sam saw that all the doors inside had been opened, and part of the wall halfway down had already collapsed.

Ivan followed Sam’s gaze. “That monster threw Jasper so hard into the wall the thing collapsed on the both of us.” His mouth twisted into a grimace. “Glad there was only one.” He went with Eric to get the gasoline.

Sam stood by Fionn, who was examining where his car was crumbled into the side of Sam’s house. “Story is, I came to visit. Accidentally drove into the side of your house, and the car caught fire, which then spread to the rest of your house and burned it down. You promise not to sue me, right?”

“I promise.”

“You going to be okay? With your dad?”

Fionn shrugged. “I guess I’ll see.” There was worry in his eyes, but he flashed Sam a smile anyway. “Car’s smashed already. Can’t do anything else about it.”

Eric had matches, but Ivan snatched them from him and threw the match that ignited the gasoline, and in that hot, dry, unnatural heat, Sam’s childhood home burned up like gasoline-soaked kindling.

***

Hours later, Sam and Eric were sitting on the end of the dock at Connor’s house, bare feet dipped into the water. After everything, Eric told him he was due another round with Adonis – apparently Eric had been filled in on that after also experiencing it himself – and Trevor insisted they all spend the night.

“I left him in the house with that thing,” Sam said. The ocean breeze was cool on his skin, and the ink-black water before him lapped in a soothing lull that didn’t reflect what he felt inside. Guilt, keener than Jasper’s dagger, stabbed him deep within. “I left him alone to be devoured.”

Eric’s arm wrapped around Sam’s shoulders, and he buried his face in his hair. His exhales were shaky, and his fingers were ice cold. “And I left you both.” Eric’s voice shook. “To that thing. I can’t remember it, but I know it. I know it.”

“I think he must be why I don’t remember you,” Sam said. “And I’m sure there’s so much more in my head missing. And Dad…” Sam exhaled. “Does he even have dementia, or was that thing just eating his mind?”

“It’s dead now.”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll never hurt any of us again.”

Sam shut his eyes. It had almost been the end of them all.

There was a splash. Sam opened his eyes as Roan’s face rose from the depths. Roan met Sam’s eyes briefly, then immediately moved his attention to Sam’s ankle. Feeling it out, rubbing the muscle and bone, seeking out any pain. “Swollen,” Roan said. He then studied Sam’s knee. Hip. His palms, which were still scraped, his neck, which still ached in tenderness. As Roan’s exploration moved higher, Sam saw his torn gills, looking no better than before.

“Did Adonis not heal you?”

Roan grunted. “Useless.”

“Let him. It’ll help with the pain at least,” Sam insisted. Connor’s yacht was anchored in the bay, and he knew that they were both out there somewhere.

Roan’s answer was another grunt.

Sam sighed. Roan continued to fuss over every bruise and scrape, rubbing and soothing, all the while, that top lip began to quiver in anger.

Sam ran his fingers through Roan’s hair. He didn’t want to think about the fact Roan had almost died. But he would remember, always, that Roan had come to help. That he’d been willing to fight that ghoul, far inland, and at a sore disadvantage, for Sam. And that led him to think about Fionn too. And Ivan. And Laurence and Jasper.

And Eric.

Sam drifted sideways until his head rested against Eric’s shoulder. “I never got to ask, how did it go with Dad?”

Eric’s shoulder relaxed beneath Sam’s head. He leaned over too, resting his chin on Sam’s head. “He doesn’t remember me,” Eric said. “Doesn’t know that he has two kids and not one.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. And just so you know, I was nice to him.” A tense note crept into his voice as he finished the sentence.

Roan grunted. “I am nice as well,” he said.

Sam fought a grin. “I know.”

“Are you saying that to him or me?” Eric asked.

Sam let the grin win. “Both of you.”

Eric wrapped his arm around Sam, rubbing his back. “Thanks for coming to save me, Sam. I know that’s supposed to be my job, and I’ve been letting you down a long time now—”

“Eric,” Sam objected.

“I have. I ran away. I left you. But I just want to say that I’m back now. I love you, and I’m going to make sure nothing like that ever hurts you or Dad again. I’ll make up for it or do my best trying to.” Eric squeezed Sam into a hug. “And I promise to stop giving you a hard time about not remembering me.”

Sam returned Eric’s hug. He thought it was silly for Eric to feel like he’d let Sam down when he’d been driven away by a literal monster, but he caught himself before dismissing Eric’s words again. When Sam considered how he felt about leaving his dad alone in the house, he understood where Eric was coming from.

“We’ll make new memories,” Sam promised instead. “Like Roan said to me in the hospital, we can begin again from the start. And I like you as a person, Eric. I know that hasn’t really been clear, but I do.” Eric’s collar muffled Sam’s words, softened his voice.

Eric ducked his head, hiding in Sam’s hair. “I don’t want to cry in front of your mer-boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend’s very nice,” Sam said. “He’ll never mention it.”

Roan rested his chin on Sam’s thigh. He hummed his agreement.

Sam let himself relax into Eric’s arms. Exhaustion clung to every nerve ending in his body, but he fought the instinct to shut his eyes. It was so late that the creeping approach of daylight lit the horizon line. Sam used to get up at this time to squeeze in an hour on the boat before school.

Footsteps swished on sand and without pulling back from Eric, Sam peeked behind to see Ivan approaching down the pier. His arm was still in a sling, and he had a picnic basket hooked on his elbow. The closer he got, the more Sam saw of the dark circles under his eyes, the greyish cast to his skin. His bloodied eye. All of them were exhausted.

“Food for everyone,” Ivan said.

Eric pulled back from Sam, opening his mouth.

“Don’t say a word about not being hungry. We’re eating. All of us, and then we’re going to sleep for a few days,” Ivan said before Eric could get a word in. “There’s a breakfast roll for each of us.” Ivan offered the basket to Eric, then toed off his runners and socks and sat beside Eric. Eric opened the picnic basket.

Sam wasn’t hungry. Not until the smell of the breakfast meats reached his nose. After that, he was ravenous. He took one of the rolls and surprised himself by devouring the entire thing. And once it was in his stomach, keeping his eyes open was no longer an option. With a sigh, Sam lay back on the boards, the cool wood beneath his head grounding him. Roan swam over so that he was lined up with his head and then a warm hand enclosed over Sam’s.

As Sam drifted off, he heard Eric’s worried voice ask, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Ivan said. “He’s a tough cookie. He just needs to rest, same as you.”

He heard crying and Ivan’s voice, soothing and steady, full of reassurances and platitudes, and in his half-asleep state, Sam vowed to stop picking fights with Ivan.