Betrayal
- Will is finally done reading the book. He's not sure how much time has passed (maybe a year?) but he knows it's been a while since one sentence or phrase could send him off to a different world or experience.
- He'd fly above the clouds, back in time, and see things he never knew happened or existed.
- We're not given the specifics of how it all went down, but we do know that Will is way more knowledgeable about how to fight the Dark now that he's done reading.
- The last page of the book shows six cross-filled Signs all connected in one circle. Hmm… maybe those are the Signs Will's collecting.
- Now that Will's finished reading, Merriman shows up. The guy's a little on edge since Hawkin is about to betray them. Say what?
- He tells Will that he loves Hawkin, but not quite in the way that humans love each other. Hawkin is about to realize that Merriman is willing to risk his (Hawkin's) life for the Signs by allowing him—a regular man—to time-travel across centuries.
- It's going to hurt bad.
- Will and Merriman watch Maggie Barnes butter Hawkin up, promising Hawkin that he can become an Old One and have power just like Merriman. It's quite simple really—all he has to do is follow the Rider.
- Will feels sick. How can Hawkin betray them? He wants to stop it, but Merriman tells him that it's already been decided—he knows Hawkin goes to the Dark and it doesn't end well for the guy.
- Before Will can do anything, Merriman jolts them back to the present where his brothers are still singing carols.
- Paul reminds Miss Greythorne that Will is eleven now, and she wishes the seventh son of a seventh son a happy birthday.
- They talk about voices and carols for a while before Miss Greythorne asks them if they want to see her collection of musical instruments.
- Pro tip: This is their signal for Will to go take the Sign from her house. She leads the boys off to where she keeps the instruments.
- The problem? When Will gets to the house, he can see Maggie and the Rider waiting. They are about to get Paul when Will shields his brother by creating a wall between them; then he shouts out to Merriman.
- Whoops—he was supposed to call the guy through their mind trick, but he did it out loud and now he's startled everyone.
- Back in the present, Will's brothers look at him like he's lost his mind. They want to know if he's okay. Why did he scream just then?
- Will makes something up about banging his funny bone and tries to act as nonchalantly as possible; as he does, Merriman communicates with him, telling him to be careful because the Dark has ways of reading their mental communications.
- Meanwhile, the family keeps on caroling at different neighbors' homes. Soon they realize they have to head back to their own house, though, so they don't miss curfew.
- Mary asks Will why he has so many buckles on his belt (which are really the Signs), and he pretends he made them in metalwork class.
- His brother James pipes up that he never saw that, but Will brushes it off.
- Everyone settles in at home and says goodnight.