trouser pocket. “I’m sure Mr Furay can be persuaded to take us up straightaway.”
“There are also several possessed within the aerodrome perimeter.” Fletcher gave a confused frown. “One of them is wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“Odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not quite sure, only that he is odd.”
Louise glanced down at Genevieve, whose face had paled at the mention of the possessed. “They won’t catch us, Gen. Promise.”
“As do I, little one.”
Genevieve nodded uncertainly, wanting to believe.
Louise looked from the girl to the soldiers marching about outside, and came to a decision. “Fletcher, can you fake one of the army uniforms?” she asked. “An officer, not too high-ranking. A lieutenant or captain, perhaps?”
He smiled. “A prudent notion, my lady.” His grey suit shimmered, darkening to khaki, its surface roughening.
“The buttons are wrong,” Genevieve declared. “They should be bigger.”
“If you say so, little one.”
“That’ll do,” Louise said after a minute, anxious that the sergeant would return before they were done. “Half of these boys have never seen uniforms before. They don’t know if it’s right or not. We’re wasting time.”
Genevieve and Fletcher pulled a face together at the reprimand. The girl giggled.
Louise opened the window and peered out. There was no one in the immediate vicinity. “Push the cases through first,” she said.
They walked over to the nearest hangar as quickly as they could; Louise immediately regretted bringing their bags and cases. She and Fletcher were carrying two apiece, and they were heavy; even Genevieve had a big shoulder bag which she was wilting under. Any attempt to be inconspicuous was doomed from the start.
It was about two hundred yards to the hangar. When they got there, the central control tower didn’t look any nearer. And Fletcher just said that Furay was “near there.” The pilot could be well on the other side for all she knew.
The hangar was being used as a store depot by the army; long rows of wooden crates were lined up along the sides, arranged so that narrow alleyways branched off at right angles leading right back to the walls. Five forklift trucks were parked at the far end. There were no soldiers in sight. The doors at both ends were wide open, creating a gentle breeze along the main aisle.
“See if there’s a farm ranger or something like it parked here,” Louise said. “If not, we’re going to have to dump the cases.”
“Why?” Genevieve asked.
“They’re too heavy, Gen, and we’re in a hurry. I’ll buy you some more, don’t worry.”
“Can you use such a contraption, my lady?” Fletcher asked.
“I’ve driven one before.” Up and down Cricklade’s drive. Once. With Daddy shouting instructions in my ear.
Louise let the bags fall to the floor and told Genevieve to wait by them.
“I will search around outside,” Fletcher said. “My appearance will cause little concern. May I suggest you stay in here.”
“Right. I’ll check down there.” She started walking towards the other end of the hangar. The ancient corrugated iron roof panels were creaking softly as they shed the heat of Duke-day.
She was about thirty yards from the open sliding doors when she heard Fletcher calling out behind her. He was running down the wide aisle formed by the crates, waving his arms urgently. Genevieve was chasing after him.
A jeep drove into the hangar. Two people were sitting in it. The one driving wore a soldier’s uniform. The second, sitting in the back, was dressed all in black.
Louise turned to face them. I’ll brazen it out; after all, that’s what I’ve been doing all day.
Then she realized the man in black was a priest, she could see the dog collar. She breathed out a sigh of relief. He must be an army padre.
The jeep braked to a halt beside her.
Louise smiled winningly, the smile which always made Daddy say yes. “I wonder if you could help us, I’m a little bit lost.”
“I doubt that, Louise,” Quinn Dexter said. “Not someone as resourceful as you.”
Louise started to run, but something cold and oily snaked around her ankles. She crashed down onto the timeworn concrete floor, grazing her hands and wrists.
Quinn stepped down out of the jeep. The mockery of a cassock swirled around his feet. “Going somewhere?”
She ignored her stinging hands and numbed knee, lifting her head to see him standing above her. “Devil! What have you done to Mummy?”
His dog collar turned a shiny scarlet, as though it were made from blood. “Such a fucking great hurry for knowledge. Well don’t you worry, Louise, we’re going to show you exactly what happened to
“Do not touch her, sir,” Fletcher called as he came to a halt by the front of the jeep. “The lady Louise is my ward, under my protection.”
“Traitor,” Lawrence Dillon yelled. “You are one of the blessed ones. God’s Brother allowed you back into this world to fight the legions of the false Lord. Now you defy the messiah chosen to lead the returned.”
Quinn clicked his fingers, and Lawrence fell silent. “I don’t know who you are, friend. But don’t fuck with me or you’ll die to regret it.”
“I do not wish to draw swords with any man. So stand aside and we will go our separate ways.”
“Arsehole. I’m stronger than you by myself; and there’s two of us.”
Fletcher smiled thinly. “Then why do you not take what you desire by your might? Could it be I would struggle? And that would draw the attention of the soldiers. Are you stronger than an entire army?”
“Don’t push it,” Quinn warned. “I’m off this shit tip planet today, and nobody’s gonna stop that. Now I know this bitch from before, she’s smart. She’ll have a starship lined up to take her away, right?”
Louise glared up at him.
“Thought so,” Quinn sneered. “Well, lover, you’re gonna hand your tickets over to me. My need is one fuck of a lot greater than yours.”
“Never!” She groaned as Lawrence Dillon grabbed her by the back of her neck and hauled her upright.
Fletcher made a start forwards, but stopped as Quinn pointed at Genevieve, who was cowering behind him.
“Dumb move,” Quinn said. “I’ll blow you back to the beyond if I have to. And then it’ll go real bad for your little pal. You know I mean it. I won’t possess her. I’ll keep her for myself. Some nights I’ll hand her over to Lawrence; he knows some real kinks now. I taught him myself.”
“Sure did.” Lawrence grinned wildly at Genevieve.
“You are inhuman.” Fletcher put an arm instinctively around Genevieve.
“Banneth. Now she’s inhuman. She did things to me . . .” Spittle appeared on Quinn’s chin. He giggled, and wiped it away on the back of a trembling hand. “She did things, okay. And now. Now, I’m the one who’s gonna do things right back to her. Things so sick she’s never thought of them. God’s Brother understands that, understands the need in me. I’m gonna let my serpent beast devour her and then spew out the bits. I’ll turn my whole crusade on her if I have to. I’ll use biowar bugs, I’ll use nukes, I’ll use antimatter. I don’t fucking care. I’m gonna crack Earth wide open. And I’m gonna go down there, and I’m gonna take her. And nobody is going to stand in my way.”
