An hour or so later, everyone else was up, haggard and grim in the grey morning. Verity and Patience had prepared porridge, cooked over a little fire, and the villagers helped themselves. This was all that was left of the people of Starfall Isle.

Hope was still silent, but the priest was less dazed. He ignored everyone else, walked up to Verity, and sat next to her.

'Good morning, Verity,' he said.

There were dark rings around his eyes. His face was smeared with ash and mud, his black robes were ripped. He was still clutching the icon of his gods, the interlocked circles.

'Good morning, Father,' replied Verity. 'Would you like some breakfast?'

She offered him a wooden bowl and spoon. He smiled without warmth, took it, and ate. She set her bowl down, and stood to speak, and the weight of the villagers' attention fell on her.

'I'm going to the cave that Hope mentioned. I'm leaving in half an hour. I want to speak with the thing that calls itself Gull. Perhaps we can find out what it wants. The runes gave me a hint that there's a way out of this,' she said.

Hope grunted. 'The way out of this is death, no matter what your silly bits of bone say.'

'Perhaps,' said Verity. 'But I believe that the way out is to sour our taste to the demons. And so... I want to say that I forgive you, all of you for what you did. That includes you, Hope.'

'You don't believe that. You just want to live,' said Hope.

Verity's body still ached from blows and rope. Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered Hope condemning her to what she had thought was death. The ones who had carried out those orders were gone, but Hope was very much still alive, here sneering at her.

'Forgiveness is hard,' said Verity. 'It's like learning any new thing. You have to set your hands and mind to it, and work at it, or it'll be forgotten. So, yes, I'm not there yet. But every little stitch I make takes me closet to the finished garment. And, I'm trying.'

'Fine. Tell yourself that. I don't care.'

'But you do,' said Verity. 'Because you're going to show us the way to this hole in the ground.'

'No, I'm not...'

'Yes, you are,' said Patience. 'I'm sick of this. Verity is right. The way out is confronting whatever mistake you made when you first came here. You always told us that eastern cliffs were dangerous, and to stay away, and now I know why. You lied, and you dealt with devils, and you doomed us all because of it. Verity's too nice, but I'm not. I'll drag you there by you hair if I have to. So what's it going to be, Hope Fletcher?'

Hope stood, haughty denial on her lips; but Patience was standing too, and the other villagers; and they all had the rage of their losses in the set of their teeth.

Hope laughed. 'Well, looks like I don't have any choice, do I?'

No one spoke until they set off.