There was a brief pause and then the announcer said, 'That is all. This is the BBC, calling-'
Laura flicked off the radio. They remained silent for a long moment and then Witch said, 'It's started, then.'
As if in response, a fire erupted magically on the hilltop close by; there was no fuel anyone could see, and though it blazed powerfully, it didn't seem to scorch the surrounding grass. Then others burst like tiny fireflies on nearby hilltops, spreading out across the land as far as the eye could see.
'The Beltane fires,' Tom said quietly. 'The season has turned.'
They stood together looking out at the flickering beacons, feeling lonely and insignificant in the vast chamber of night. The world was no longer their own. The Age of Reason had died, and a new Dark Age had dawned.
