Church found it unrecognisable; it settled only when he was on his knees beside the Caraprix, scooping it up into his hands like a broken-winged sparrow, and then he was hurrying out of the room, the air filled with the terrible keening of the wind.
Ruth came round soon after with the sluggish awareness of someone waking from a deep anaesthetic. She made no sense at first, talking about a ship skimming across the sea, and then her wide eyes focused and locked on Church. He held her hand tightly, brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Beads of sweat dappled the pale skin.
'What did he find?' Her voice was a croak. Church maintained his demeanour; she looked past him, at Tom, and then Max, and a single tear crept on to her cheek.
They wondered if Dian Cecht was ever going to return. He kept them waiting for more than two hours in the cathedral silence of the precinct. When he did finally arrive, he was not alone. On either side were the young man and woman who were obviously his attendants, and behind them at least twenty others, some with the stern, shifting faces that signified high power. A grim atmosphere wrapped tightly around them.
Dian Cecht spoke in moderate tones; the others remained silent, but it felt as if they were on the verge of screaming. 'We cannot help you or your companions, True Thomas.'
Tom stepped forward and bowed slightly. 'Thank you for the assistance you have given, High Lord of the Court of the Final Word.'
Church couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Hang on a minute,' he said incredulously, 'you can't just brush us off like that!'
Dian Cecht surveyed him with aristocratic coldness, his warm nature suddenly departed. 'It would do well to maintain respect-'
'No,' Church said firmly. 'You respect me. I represent this world, these people. I'm a Brother of Dragons.'
Tom stepped in quickly. 'He has not learned the ways of-'
Dian Cecht silenced him with an upraised hand. 'For all your power, Brother of Dragons, you are powerless. You are a Frail Creature. Your voice may crow louder than your stature prevails, but in essence that is what you are and that is what you will always be. And even by your own meagre horizons you have failed so dramatically that you are not worthy of whatever position to which you so feebly aspire.' His freezing gaze washed over Church's face. 'You have no notion what has happened?'
'What did you find?' Church tried to maintain equilibrium in his voice. His contempt for the Tuatha De Danann was growing; he wanted to drive them all from the land at that moment, Niamh included.
Ruth's hand closed tightly on his forearm. 'Church. Don't.' He ignored her.
'The Sister of Dragons has been corrupted beyond all meaning of the word.' Dian Cecht's stare fell on Ruth, but he seemed unable to keep it there. 'She is the medium for the return of the Heart of Shadows.'
His words fell like stones in the tense atmosphere. There was a sharp intake of breath which Church guessed came from Tom. Church watched the Rhymer's hand go involuntarily to his mouth, but slowly, as if it were only confirmation of an idea he had not dared consider.
'What do you mean?' Church didn't want to hear an answer.
'The black pearl-' Ruth began.
'Was the essence of Balor, the one-eyed god of death, Lord of Evil, Heart of Shadows.' Dian Cecht's face filled with thunder.
Church's head was spinning; he looked from Dian Cecht to Ruth to Tom, who seemed to have tears in his eyes, then back to Ruth.
'The black pearl, the Gravidura, was distilled over time by the Night Walkers to maintain the consistency of whatever essence remained from the Heart of Shadows,' Dian Cecht continued. Church recalled the drums of the foul black concoction they had come across in Salisbury and under Dartmoor. 'It is the seed. He will be reborn into the world at the next festival of the cycles.'
Ruth turned to him, her face filled with a terrible dawning realisation. Tears of shock rimmed her eyes. 'What are you saying? That I'm pregnant?' Her hands went to her belly; she watched them as if they belonged to someone else, with a look of growing horror. 'Inside me?' She started to scratch at her stomach, gently at first, but with growing manic force until Church caught her wrists and held them tight. The look in her eyes was almost unbearable to see. 'What will happen?' she asked dismally.
'When the time comes, the Heart of Shadows will burst from your belly fully formed.' Church wanted to run over and hit Dian Cecht until he removed the coldness from his voice. 'No Fragile Creature could survive that abomination.'
Ruth looked dazed, like she was going to faint. Church slipped an arm around her shoulder for support. 'Why are you treating her this way? She's a victim, not a-'
'She allowed it to happen.'
'Don't be ridiculous-!' Church caught himself, tried a different tack. 'Look, you've got him here, your arch- enemy. If you can get the essence… the seed… out of her-'
'We will have nothing to do with the corruption. Even to be in the same presence fills us with…' He made a gesture as if there was a foul smell under his nose.
'But it makes no sense! If Balor is reborn he's not going to leave the Tuatha De Danann alone for long. He'll wipe you out like he's going to wipe out everything-'
The words dried in Church's throat when he saw Dian Cecht's face flare with rage, become insubstantial, shift through a range of alien visages. He suddenly acted as if Church were no longer in the room. 'We will deal with the Heart of Shadows and the Night Walkers if they become a problem, True Thomas-'
'Ifl' Church raged.
Tom moved quickly to push him and Ruth towards the door. 'Quiet, you idiot!' he hissed. 'You're close to having your blood boiled in your veins!'
'Leave now, True Thomas, and do not bring this foul thing to this place again.' Dian Cecht turned sharply and led the others from the precinct.
The silence that lay in their wake was all-encompassing. Ruth dropped her head heavily on to Church's shoulder. 'God…'
'Are you going to tell us your blinding revelation or what?' Laura tried to keep apace with Veitch as he marched back towards The Green Man. His face was flushed with anger and there was determination in every fibre of his being.
'I'll do more than tell you.'
Laura glanced back at Shavi, who shook his head dumbfoundedly.
Veitch burst into the pub like he was looking for a fight. Most of the action group had already gathered there, hunkering in serious conversation at the bar. They looked up in shock as Veitch marched up. He muttered something to one of the group which Laura and Shavi couldn't hear and then he spun round and was heading out of the door again. Laura thought about catching his arm to slow him until she glimpsed his expression. She dropped back several feet and let Shavi move ahead to keep up with the Londoner.
Night had almost fallen by the time they had reached the area of large, old houses at the top of the High Street. Only a thin band of pale blue and gold lay on the horizon and that was disappearing fast. Veitch ranged back and forth along one of the streets, his fists bunching then opening, his breathing ragged. Eventually he found the house he was looking for. One boot burst the wooden gate from its hinges and then he was racing up the path.
The door was locked. He hammered on it so loudly the glass in the front windows rattled. 'Open up!'
A hollow voice echoed somewhere inside.
'I said open up or I'll kick the fucking thing down and then you'll have nothing to protect you!' he raged.
Footsteps approached quickly and they heard the sounds of bolts being drawn. The door had opened only a crack when Veitch kicked it sharply, smashing it into the face of whoever was behind it. There was a groan as someone crashed back against the wall of the hall. Veitch pushed his way in with Laura and Shavi close behind. They didn't recognise the man who was desperately trying to staunch the blood pumping from his nose; it had streamed down over his mouth so that he resembled a vampire from some cheap horror movie. He was in his fifties, balding and overweight, with large, unsightly jowls.
But instead of berating him, Veitch marched past, glancing into the first room he came to before moving on to
