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Archon turned towards him, flame erupting from beneath his cowl. ‘Too much for a child to comprehend,’ he said. ‘All you need to know is that Huntsman serves his so-called gods and they serve me. You are his apprentice and I have a task for you.’
    Sammy looked away from the Archon and back down at the wispy mesh of the Abyss. ‘I don’t want to go there,’ he said in a weak voice, whilst an altogether different part of him wondered what it would be like, what secrets it held.
    ‘What is happening now has happened before,’ the Archon said, coming to gaze at the darkness with Sammy. ‘Last time we failed. I trusted a philosopher named Aristodeus to bring down Sektis Gandaw, but he was not equal to the task. He succumbed to the deceptions of the Abyss, and it is there he now languishes.’
    ‘You want me to bring him back?’ Sammy asked, feeling suddenly rather brave.
    ‘No.’ The light spilling from the Archon’s hood flared. ‘He has sunk too deep into the mire of the Abyss. Yet he has a new plan to avert the catastrophe. He has cheated time, changed things in the past to influence the future. Players have been assembled and the game has commenced, but now our greatest hope has fallen at the first hurdle.’ The Archon rested a hand atop Sammy’s head. ‘Events are moving inexorably towards the Unweaving. Aristodeus’s hubris may have led him deeper into deception.’
    ‘Then what do you want me to do?’ Sammy asked.
    The Archon began to break up into tongues of fire that swirled around Sammy’s head. ‘Deacon Shader,’ a voice like a storm sounded from the flaming vortex. ‘The man who loves your sister.’
    Sammy stared into the fire, knowing he had only moments left and so much still to learn. ‘Deacon? What’s he got to do with any of this?’
    ‘Everything,’ said the voice of the Archon. ‘He was slain before his time and does not know the perils his soul now faces. I will go ahead of you. I cannot remain long in the Abyss, but I will leave a beacon there for you, something to guide you. Find him, child. Bring him back.’
    ***
     
    ‘The Archon hasss accepted him.’ Mamba’s yellow eyes bored into Sammy’s skull as he came to in the cavern beneath the Homestead.
    A shadow alerted Sammy to the looming presence of Murgah Muggui. ‘What did he say to you?’ she said, mandibles clacking with every syllable.
    Sammy sat up and rubbed his pounding head. Ignoring the great spider, he sought out Huntsman.
    ‘Who is Deacon Shader really?’ he asked, staring into Huntsman’s eyes as if he could read the truth there.
    ‘I do not understand,’ Huntsman said.
    Sammy nodded. Huntsman wasn’t lying. No matter. He knew who Shader was to Rhiannon and that was more important to Sammy than all the confusing things he’d heard from the Archon. ‘He’s lost,’ Sammy said, pushing himself to his feet.
    The hybrids formed a circle around him: Murgah Muggui as massive and as solid as the Homestead itself; Baru glaring like he meant to bite, but with his arms folded across his chest and great head nodding; Thindamura crouched, bulbous eyes rolling and tongue flicking. Mamba’s snake-head bobbed upon its long neck, the opening and closing of his mouth suggesting concern.
    ‘His piece of statue?’ Huntsman took a step towards Sammy and abruptly stopped.
    Sammy smiled to let him know everything was OK, but then noticed how quiet the others had gone. They were rooted to the spot, staring at him like they’d seen a ghost.
    Golden light danced on the tips of his fingers. He lifted a hand and watched the colour change from gold to blue, then red and green. With a thought, the light faded and he thrust his hands behind his back.
    ‘I don’t know about the statue,’ Sammy said. ‘But I know what I need to do.’
    He raised his hands and let brilliant green light burst from his fingertips. He turned his wrists, tugging the light into circles that pulsed before him, growing, deepening, swirling into