The talons caught in her hair, ripped out a chunk, but she had avoided being caught; she had evaded those teeth.
'The Baobhan Sith!' one of the Tuatha De Danann said in fearful awe.
But Ruth didn't need reminding of the bloodsucking creatures that had attacked them on the lonely Cumbrian hills when Tom had betrayed them.
'They did have bleedin' guards posted!' Veitch threw himself out of the way of clutching hands, rolled and jumped to his feet. He lashed out with his sword, but it either passed through the creature or the Baobhan Sith avoided the blade so quickly Ruth didn't see it.
Veitch grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the way of another of them. He chopped with his sword again. This time the spectral woman became mist as the blade cut through her, reforming as it passed.
'Christ, there's no fighting them!' He yanked Ruth hard and they both fell off the platform, landing with a bone-jolting impact on the hard stones of the track.
The Baobhan Sith moved up and down the platform wildly, twisting and turning in an imaginary wind, avoiding any attack the Tuatha lle Danann made with any of their weapons. As Ruth watched in horror one of the creatures distended its mouth seemingly wider than its head and the razor sharp teeth folded out like kitchen knives. It flew towards one of Lugh's soldiers and clamped on his neck, the teeth snapping through the substance to suck up the god's essence; and however much he threw himself around or lashed out with his sword it could not be removed. A moment later the golden moths began to fly.
'Let's get out of here,' Veitch said quietly.
'We can't leave them!'
'We stay here, we die. There's too much at stake.' He could see she was still unconvinced and added, 'They'll soon catch up with us.'
The Tuatha lle Danann already had formed a phalanx and were backing rapidly across the platform. One of the Baobhan Sith tore another from their midst.
'Look at that,' Veitch said. 'No point dragging our heels. Just bleedin' run.'
He made to grab Ruth's hand again, but she had jumped up to snatch a torch from the edge of the platform where it had fallen. Then she was sprinting at his side, glancing over her shoulder. One of the Baobhan Sith had left the platform to pursue them. 'They're coming!' Ruth gasped.
Their breath formed white clouds in the cold. Ruth was afraid she wouldn't have any energy left to escape. The ground was uneven, threatening to trip them, and the motion put the torch in danger of going out so that she had to shield it with her body. She didn't dare look over her shoulder any more because she couldn't go any faster if she tried.
'Which way? Where's the other tunnel?' Her thoughts fell over each other in her panic. This is a nightmare. The words blazed white against the background darkness of her mind.
'What's that?' Veitch was pointing into the shadows ahead; the edge in his voice turned her panic up a notch.
No more, she prayed.
There was movement on the ground ahead, not just in one spot, but in many. The soil and stone of the track floor was moving in little piles. Obliquely, Ruth realised it was the strange hummocks she had taken to be building rubble.
From one of them, a grey hand rose slowly.
Ruth couldn't restrain a brief shriek. They skidded to a halt. The hand became an arm as the stones and soil sloughed away. Across the myriad other humps the same scene was being played out as the Baobhan Sith emerged from their resting places. Earth showered from their wild hair and fell from their open mouths as they levered their shoulders up, then their torsos. Their faces turned towards Veitch and Ruth, all of them shrieking in silence, scattered from wall to wall and away into the shrouded distance. Ruth was too terrified to consider how many of them were waiting there in the tunnel.
The sheer weight of terror elicited by the Baobhan Sith emerging left Veitch and Ruth rooted for an instant. But then Veitch shoved Ruth forward and they were sprinting once more, throwing themselves into a wild dance away from grasping hands.
Behind them, the first to emerge were already on their feet, shaking off the lethargy of slumber, flitting in pursuit. Ahead, the hummocks in gradual upheaval stretched on forever.
The Baobhan Sith rose up with increasing swiftness, and however fast Veitch and Ruth ran it was obvious they would soon be surrounded. Talons bit deeply into Ruth's ankle. She yelped as Veitch's flashing sword forced the creature to become insubstantial. They continued to drive forward, knowing that if they slowed an instant they would be lost, but already the Baobhan Sith were massing ahead of them.
A few seconds later the route ahead was blocked with shimmering bodies. 'Shit.' Veitch ground to a halt and whirled round, his eyes feral. The Baobhan Sith swept up from all sides.
Ruth jabbed a finger excitedly. 'There's the tunnel!'
To get to it would mean passing through the flickering creatures. Veitch gave Ruth a reassuring smile. 'Head down. Stay right behind me. Don't let them get a hold of you.'
He barrelled into the mass of them, lashing his sword in front of him. Ruth kept exactly in his step, her heart thundering as hands clutched at her clothes; some caught but were pulled free; others ripped through her hair without getting any purchase.
Just as they were about to dive into the tunnel, one of the Baobhan Sith latched on to Veitch. Ruth saw the transformation from mist to solid form as its mouth tore wide to expose the unbelievably pointed teeth. The powerful jaw muscles heaved as the head swept down to Veitch's neck.
At the last moment Ruth jabbed the Spear into the creature's mouth. The fangs smashed down on it and the thing shimmered into nothingness. Veitch dragged Ruth into the small tunnel.
Though breathless, they couldn't slow down. They could feel the presence of the Baobhan Sith at their backs like an icy shadow. In the main tunnel they headed southbound, acutely aware that they might run into more Fomorii and be trapped between the two forces.
The torch cast barely enough light to see, and it was hard running across the uneven tracks without tripping, but the Baobhan Sith drove on ceaselessly.
'They're not going to let up, are they?' Ruth gasped. 'What do we dokeep running until we're face to face with Balor?' At the mention of the name the air temperature noticeably dropped several degrees and a deep, resonant rustling, like whispering voices, rose up on the edge of their hearing. Ruth resolved not to say that name again.
'We've got to lose those grey bastards before we can do anything.' Veitch spotted another side tunnel, this time leading to the northbound tracks. He headed towards it. They continued southbound, both beginning to flag. A hundred yards further on they came upon a doorway leading to the conduit for power lines and fibre optics. The Baobhan Sith were almost upon them as Veitch wrenched the door open, thrust Ruth inside and slammed it shut behind him. He jammed his sword into the frame and twisted it so the handle wouldn't open.
They could sense the Baobhan Sith moving beyond the door as they collapsed against the wall and sucked in mouthfuls of air. 'That should hold them until they raise the alarm.' Veitch rubbed his tired eyes. 'Good job they're morons with no initiative.'
'We better get moving before the Fomorii turn up,' Ruth said. 'I tell you, I could do with a sleep.'
'We'll get some downtime once we find a safe place to hole up.'
'I suppose we've lost the others?'
'We can't go back for them, can we? They'll be there.' A heavy pause. 'At the end. You can count on it.'
The conduit lay beyond another door. It was lined with cables and wires, but they could walk along it at a stoop. Every time they came to a branching conduit, they turned, right, then left. After half an hour they found another inspection door and exited into a tunnel.
'Well, I have no bleedin' idea where we are now.' Veitch headed left, hoping it would lead them back towards the City.
'All we need to do is find another station.' Ruth eyed the torch worryingly; the flame was burning very low.
They continued along the tunnel for a little way until their path was blocked by a large, dark object: a tube train. 'Don't worry-we can squeeze by it,' Veitch said.
