She arrived in time to see the moment of calm before the violence erupted. A jeering crowd of demonstrators, most of them wearing blank masks, were attempting to force their way past the Templer priests who were defending the stone stairs to the building. A rain of stones and bottles spilling liquid flew through the air to smash on the steps or dash against the walls of the Temple. In the shady light of the tall doorway, Selene could see a priest in scarlet robes assessing the situation. He talked to someone in the shadows behind him, nodding his head, but she couldn't read his lips to pick up his words. The tall walls of the temple loomed overhead, the edifice punctuated by small, arched windows and lines of stone statues staring down from plinths built into the walls.
With a roar, the blank-masks surged forwards, a number of the Templers falling and being trampled underfoot. It looked like the rebels would be able to take the stairs, but then a phalanx of City Guards charged in from one side, wielding their powered-up batons. The screams from the blank-masks rang out clearly as the guards beat them to the ground. Selene witnessed more than one blank-mask twitching in the dirt, control of their muscles lost, blooms of urine soaking through their clothes.
It was going to be a close fight. More guards were rushing in, but the numbers of blank-masks were swelling, too. She was sorely tempted to jump in, take the side of the revellers. Here was Concordance, acting through others to suppress revolt. With her enhanced strength and speed, she might make all the difference.
She forced herself to hold back. Concordance would be watching events very closely, and if they picked her out, they'd come for her. She still wore her demon-mask, but her enhanced physical attributes were clearly going to mark her out from the crowd. Could they trace her movements across the country? From satellite images? Perhaps. She couldn't afford to take the risk. She hung back on the edges of the mob, in the shadows of a doorway that would, hopefully, conceal her from the observation platforms circling overhead.
The fighting grew more intense, clubs and edged weapons wielded by both sides. She saw arms half-severed from shoulders, skulls staved in by bludgeoning blows. A group of the Guards forced their way through the melee to the stairs. The lines of Templer priests parted to let them through. The Guards formed a circle upon the wide space at the top of the steps, immediately in front of the arched doorway. Their actions troubled Selene; she could see no reason for them. They were up to something.
The blank-masks, their numbers swelled by more and more arriving from the surrounding city, had finally predominated. Now there were those among them wearing other masks: people not a part of the organized rebellion who had joined in when they saw what was happening. The few remaining Guards on the ground had retreated, and it was clear to Selene that the lines of priests would soon be breached as the crowd surged over them to reach the temple itself.
A great light blasted out from the top of the stairs, bright enough to blind everyone on the ground. Selene's natural eye couldn't react quickly enough, but her artificial eye filtered 99% of the energy out, protecting its delicate biomechanics. For a moment, she thought some explosion had been detonated, that a blast-wave would sweep through the crowd, throwing them back against the walls.
That wasn't it. On top of the stairs, within the ring of guards, three figures had appeared. Whether they'd come from inside the church or had arrived by some other means from above, she couldn't tell. The blast of light had been detonated to cover their arrival, suppress the mob.
There were three Void Walkers there, their grey robes unmistakable. Two of them she'd never seen before, but the third she had. In the centre, unmistakably, was Kane. The guards moved in formation back down the stairs to reform the defensive line, while Selene stepped forwards, heart hammering. She would kill Kane there and then, jab a blade into his neck as he had done to her father. Or failing that, take him out with a shot from the blaster. Not so personal, but it would do.
A hush had passed through the crowd at the sight – shock, perhaps, at the sight of the Void Walkers on the ground. The people of Migdala knew only too well what that meant. As Selene pressed forwards, she was aware there was something else going on. Masked heads were turning to each other, mutters of confusion passing among the mob. They seemed bemused at the sight of the three Concordance soldiers. Of course, they knew Kane. Kane was from their world.
The Void Walker held up his arms as if in greeting, or as if asking for calm. Selene muscled her way through the crowd, not caring if she was spotted and identified. She'd thought this Void Walker was dead, destroyed by Ondo's nukes at Maes Far, and now she would make sure of it. Images from another planet played through the back of her mind: Ossian, and the slaughter of the children at Kane's command. The parallels in the two situations were obvious. Intent on her revenge, she ignored the thoughts.
Kane turned from side to side, taking in the crowd like a performer on a stage. He looked as if he was going to speak. Instead, he lowered his arms rapidly, a gesture that clearly meant now. Immediately, beam-weapon fire lanced out from the arched windows of the temple, wide arcs of high-energy radiation licking backwards and forwards across the crowd. Where the beams struck, people died, their screams cut off as limbs or torsos
