Athos nods grimly in agreement. Though he hates to abandon these sad, huddled youths, he knows they must be absent when the authorities arrive. In a city that refuses to acknowledge the existence of its monsters, they will look guilty themselves if they are found. Damn it all. So many people see Darrow as a place of peace, but its injustices claw at Athos.

But before they depart, he kneels by the lad to whom Aramis offered his gun earlier, still seemingly the most alert of the bunch. “Help will be here soon,” he says. “You only have to look after them a little longer.” He nods, and Athos rises, tipping his head back towards the road.

“Gentlemen."