Chapter VII
Contains spoilersOverview
Charlotte flees Sabine and seeks refuge at the Way Down, where Jack and Antonia shelter her without surprise. After recounting the failed attempt to kill Sabine and her terror, Charlotte rests, then accepts their help to escape London by train. On the way, Jack shares a stark lesson about their kind’s slow moral decay and a binding promise he once kept, deepening Charlotte’s dread about losing her own humanity. Charlotte departs alone for the north, feeling the unbroken pull of Sabine but finding no pursuit.
Summary
At dawn, Charlotte arrived at the Way Down’s warehouse door, barefoot and in a nightgown, sick with fear and unable to enter because her prior invitation had lapsed. Jack appeared, invited her in, and with Antonia’s calm support settled her in a booth, their lack of surprise signaling they had expected her return after sixteen years.
Confronted with her blood-streaked reflection, Charlotte told Jack and Antonia everything: leaving to buy flowers, returning to find Sabine bathed in blood, laying Sabine in their bed, and failing to kill her because of a binding promise. While Antonia reassured Charlotte about the club’s safety, Charlotte’s exhausted mind wavered, imagining Sabine’s presence in the shadows. Jack offered a drink that softened her and Antonia coaxed her to sleep on her lap with the words, “We grow together in this garden.”
Charlotte woke at nightfall to clean clothes and the club functioning normally. Antonia provided a train ticket north, implying London was no longer safe for Charlotte. Charlotte declined an escort by car, and Jack instead walked her through the dark streets toward St. Pancras, while Charlotte’s fear transformed every shape into Sabine.
On the walk, Jack reflected that their kind are not truly immortal in spirit; compassion and care rot away, leaving only hunger. He revealed his maker, William, had bound him with a promise to kill William when he ceased to be himself, forcing Jack to judge when identity had eroded beyond recovery. He offered the grim comfort that some simply die more slowly, which made Charlotte fear for the erosion of her own humanity and to question when Sabine’s had faded.
At St. Pancras, Jack gave Charlotte the ticket and a parting blessing of courage. He also handed her a contact card from Antonia for America: a black rose emblem, the city Boston, and the name “Ezra.” Jack promised to remain on the platform until departure.
Charlotte boarded the train, feeling the taut, unbroken cord tying her to Sabine as the train pulled away. She waited for the cord to snap and bring relief, but it did not; Sabine neither appeared nor followed. Alone for the first time in a century, Charlotte took her seat and sobbed.
Who Appears
- Charlotte
narrator/protagonist; flees Sabine, seeks refuge at the Way Down, recounts her failed attempt to kill Sabine, rests, and departs London by train for the north.
- Jack
Way Down co-owner; welcomes Charlotte, walks her to St. Pancras, shares a story about moral decay and a binding promise to kill his maker William, gives her courage and a contact card.
- Antonia
Way Down co-owner; tends to Charlotte, provides clothes and a northbound train ticket, offers reassurance and the phrase “We grow together in this garden,” arranges a contact in America.
- Sabine
Charlotte’s lover; absent but looming presence after a blood-soaked spree and Charlotte’s failed attempt to kill her; felt by Charlotte like a taut cord but does not appear or pursue at the station.
- William
Jack’s maker; mentioned only; had bound Jack by promise to kill him when he ceased to be himself.
- Ezra
new; a contact in Boston noted on Antonia’s card, offered as a future ally in America.