Matis' eyes were drowning in tears. He wanted to rub at them, but he kept still. He had dropped the hammer as soon as Flo had seized him. Flo shouldn't have come for him. It had been too dangerous. But it had worked. The hammer would only have weighed them down. And he didn't need it anymore as they were both on their way out.
If Matis strained himself, looked for the other world beyond this, he could see the lit panel that represented the gate to Nott's world ahead of them. Just a few more beats of Flo's wings and they would break through it. They could fly up and vanish in the Tree. The infected blood would be theirs to do research with and then destroy the rest. A few more yards. Some feet left.