'Unexpected, yes,' Merriman says. 'Not of the Light's doing, I should say to clarify myself. The Light barred her escape, but an outside force broke the Dark's power. Far stranger things have happened here.'

There's the briefest flicker of irony in his last statement.

'And so all that Will or I or anyone here can tell you is that she is gone. We do not know where she has gone, or if she will return, or if she can return. For if we knew, there would be no point in keeping it from you.'