Motif · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade

The changelings

Shape-changers on Hump Street and in the bubbles — a school of principals, Svern's card, Henrik's confession — hunted for one creature, fed against Compression Sickness, promised a home on the sixth floor and a Gate they would not use; the survivors fly beside a house as geese to the Hunting Grounds. Carl's promise to bring them down every floor.

Segment appearances

Chapter 3 — Quasar
Chapter 8 — The Night Wyrm's web
Chapter 23 — Congratulations, Murderer
Chapter 52 — Gehenna Bramble
Chapter 54 — The blood bar
Chapter 56 — Zerzura
Chapter 57 — I Take it All Back
Chapter 58 — The last stall in the women's bathroom
Chapter 59 — The sheriffs of the wild west
Chapter 63 — Enchanted Hammer of Fast Forward
Chapter 64 — The attendant entrance
Chapter 65 — The Oak Mother's sacrament
Chapter 66 — The Sugar Cube
Chapter 67 — Slate Butterflies
Chapter 70 — Anaconda
Chapter 72 — Cat-nac the Magnificent
Chapter 73 — Wonderwall, again
Chapter 76 — Cage Fight Extreme

Progression

Juice Box's people, whom Carl has promised to help get down, some of the children sick with compression sickness, in the saferoom and then the castle: Ruby, Skarn, the bear cubs, the children in human form (ch. 56–ch. 59, ch. 63); dead in the castle fight and alive with the castle on the ninth floor (ch. 72, ch. 73, ch. 76).