Contents
First Interlude: Gwen, Underfoot
Overview
King Sorrow returns, insisting the Easter sacrifice is annual. Gwen confronts him, loses her love for Arthur to a riddle but then stumps the dragon to win a mercy: the chosen will die without torment, and she receives a goblet of dragon tears.
Gwen uses the tears to give Llewellyn a painless death with Colin’s consent. A failed bid to recover the Enoch Crane journal ends as Sheldon torches Bridget Fleming’s home. Jayne’s prison letter primes Daphne for vengeance.
Summary
During a snowy December, Gwen is grabbed by King Sorrow in her basement; he declares their pact requires a sacrifice every Easter or one of the friends dies. She informs the group at The Briars, prompting fear and debate. Arthur cites dragon lore; Colin proposes an "Enemies List" of irredeemable targets. The moral burden looms as Gwen and Arthur share renewed intimacy.
Memories of their summoning diverge, but all recall opening a door to the Long Dark. Meanwhile, Llewellyn Wren, failing with AIDS, tells lurid war tales that Gwen later exposes as performative fictions drawn from his unpublished novel and consultancy work, not personal atrocities.
Seeking a way to end Sorrow, Gwen traces stolen books to Bridget Fleming in Boston. The group confronts Fleming but fails; a volatile customer, Sheldon, later sets her building ablaze. Gwen separately encounters Sorrow in her car. She loses his first riddle and must renounce her love for Arthur; then she stumps him with a bawdy riddle, winning a concession: the chosen Easter victim will not be tormented, and Sorrow gives her a goblet of his tears.
Gwen ends her relationship with Arthur, citing his coercive encounter with Tana. With Colin, she uses the dragon tears to grant Llewellyn a painless, transcendent death on the patio, honoring his wish and avoiding investigative poisons. At the memorial, Colin flees grief; Gwen and Tana later drive to Boston to steal the Crane journal but arrive to see Fleming’s home engulfed in flames, likely Sheldon’s work.
In prison, Daphne Nighswander receives a letter from Jayne naming Gwen, Arthur, Colin, Donna, Van, and Allie, a list Daphne fixates on as news of Jayne’s death reaches her, setting her on a retaliatory path.
Who Appears
- Gwen UnderfootProtagonist; confronted by Sorrow, bargains by riddle, renounces Arthur, obtains dragon tears, and helps Llewellyn die peacefully.
- King SorrowDragon; enforces annual Easter sacrifice, sets cruel riddle terms, then grants mercy and a goblet of tears after being stumped.
- Arthur OakesGwen’s love; helps debate Sorrow’s demand, shares intimacy with Gwen, later faces her breakup over Tana’s coerced encounter.
- Colin WrenOrganizer; compiles a targets list, aids Boston attempt, grieves and consents as Gwen administers dragon tears to Llewellyn.
- Llewellyn WrenDying mentor; spins embellished past, requests aid; drinks dragon tears and dies swiftly, peacefully, with Colin and Gwen.
- Donna McBrideArgues to target Quinn; confronts Fleming; supports Colin during memorial chaos.
- Donovan (Van) McBrideSkeptical, flippant; joins Boston trip, jokes through tension, urges retreat after Fleming strikes Colin.
- Allie ShinerLightens mood with humor; attends planning and Boston attempt; comforts Donna.
- Bridget FlemingBoston antiquarian; denies holding stolen books, injures Colin, later loses home to arson.
- SheldonObsessive customer with a torch; leads group to Fleming, later dances amid the blaze he ignites.
- Tana NighswanderMother of Jett; plans break-in with Gwen; past with Arthur triggers Gwen’s breakup.
- Daphne NighswanderIncarcerated matriarch; receives Jayne’s letter, fixates on the friends’ names, turns toward revenge.
- Jayne NighswanderDeceased; her letter from Reno names the friends and needles Daphne toward action.