They climb the stairs back to the top floor of the Langham, laughing and teasing each other, their stomachs full.
“I think I need to loosen my stays!” says Tiger.
But they freeze when they come to the end of the hall. Lear’s door is open. There is a hole in it, a big one, as if made by a sledgehammer, or an enormous fist.
Inside, the room is silent. And so is Lear.
He lies in his bed with his eyes staring wide and hardly breathing.
Lucy runs to her grandfather, shaking. She takes his head in both her hands.
“Monster,” he says, barely above a whisper.
“Another!” says Jonathan, his face white, coming up to the bedside with Tiger.
“Worse,” says Lear, “worse.”
“Don’t talk!” cries Lucy. “We’ll get a doctor.”
The old professor lifts his head and looks toward Edgar Brim. “It is coming for you all,” he gasps. And the light goes out in his eyes.