We use Barnes’s boat to cross the river, then make our way through the streets to Bow. The doc and Owl Man are nervous, afraid the babies or mutants will spot us if they’re still abroad. But the city is quiet. The zombies have retreated ahead of the spreading sunlight and there’s no sign of Mr. Dowling or his troops. They’re either searching for me elsewhere or they’ve retired, as Owl Man suggested, to consider their next course of action.
I want to bolt for freedom, but Owl Man hasn’t given me permission to stray, so I’m still bound close to his side. He’s also ordered my silence again, so that I can’t betray them if we have to hide. I keep trying to break free, to lash out at him and slit his throat, but he’s sunk his hooks deep inside my brain, where I can’t rip them loose.
After a short trek, we arrive at the gates of the Bow Quarter. Once a factory and then expensive flats, my dad called it the Beverly Hills of the East End. Now it’s been turned into a makeshift base for Dr. Oystein’s Angels.
The revitalizeds come out to gape as we enter. I don’t know what the doc told them about me, whether they think I’m mad or a traitor. All they know for sure is that I attacked their leader, Rage slaughtered two of their friends and Owl Man is a long-standing enemy. They’re not happy to see any of us and I understand why.
The doc pauses in the middle of an open area and beckons the Angels forward. I spot some familiar faces among the mix, my roommates Ashtat, Shane and Carl, the twins Cian and Awnya, Ingrid and Ivor. Master Zhang is present too, along with the living Ciara and Reilly–a dinner lady and an ex-soldier–who are standing slightly apart from the others, holding hands and looking worried.
“Say nothing,” Owl Man murmurs as the glaring Angels gather around us.
“Good news, my children,” Dr. Oystein says brightly. “B has returned. Rage has too, as you can see, along with another unexpected guest.”
There’s an uneasy silence. The Angels are looking at me dubiously, at Owl Man fearfully, at Rage with outright hostility.