'They'll be here,' Blaine said, without looking at him. 'Now, no defeatism and we will win the day.' His comment was clearly aimed at Mallory. 'Captain Hipgrave will be giving direct orders during the attack. Be prepared to respond.' He nodded to them curtly and moved on.
Mallory had conflicting emotions; like the others, he felt good at being able to strike any blow, but there was something about the Fabulous Beast that he admired, the sense of wonder and magic it carried on its wings. It seemed clearly wrong to him to do harm to such a remarkable creature.
Gardener bore a sly smile; Daniels rubbed his hands gleefully. Only Miller showed a hint of being unsure. Mallory let his hands drop to his sides, then yanked them away; the hilt of his sword was almost too hot to touch. He thought of the dragons engraved there, of Rhiannon's talk of a Brotherhood of Dragons, and wondered if there was some overt link with the Fabulous Beast.
The tension increased a notch as the weapons were handed out. Most got some form of rifle — an Armalite — but one group was handed a cumbersome and dated bazooka. 'That should give the bastard a sting,' Gardener said gruffly.
'You really think this is enough?' Mallory said, examining the rifle, which seemed flimsy compared to what they were up against.
'If we're all firing at once,' Miller said. 'You know… someone will hit it.'
'It looked as if it had some kind of plating to me,' Mallory said. 'The scales gleamed as though they were made of metal.' But the others were too caught up in the moment to hear his doubts.
The only reply came from Gardener. 'Don't underestimate Blaine.' And Mallory accepted the truth of that.
They spent the next half-hour craning their necks to examine all quarters of the night sky while trying to guess from which direction it would come; Mallory still couldn't understand how Blaine knew it would be coming. They were interrupted by Miller who said, 'Gosh! Look at that.'
The Blues had emerged on to a large platform about a hundred feet away. They were as perfectly drilled as ever, falling into formation with a fluid ease, adopting postures that made Mallory think of Action Man dolls as they faced the eastern sky. Curiously, he noted that they appeared to be guarding something at the centre of their circle, but it was impossible to make out what it was.
A small team broke off and began to unpack crates on a separate flat section. They worked fast and diligently, gradually assembling the contents. The other knights gaped in awe as it took shape. 'Bloody hell, that's a big bloody gun,' Gardener said. Though still old-fashioned, the two-wheeled gun looked as if it could easily bring down a jet. Mallory's heart sank once more.
Silence fell across the rooftop. With the gun complete, everyone waited. Mallory kept his attention on the main group of the elite cadre. Two knights in the centre of the circle ducked down and a second later a blue incandescence flooded into the air like a searchlight.
'What in heaven's name is that?' Daniels said.
Nobody could guess, but the quality of the light reminded Mallory of the crackling energy that had formed a barrier between this world and the other deep in the catacombs. Instinctively, they all knew what it represented, though: a beacon. They turned to face the east, following the gaze of the Blues.
So heavy was the expectation, it seemed as if they waited an age, though it couldn't have been very long at all. The first burst of light in the distant sky raised a cry of exclamation in several quarters. Some pointed, others yelled for everyone to be prepared. It was coming.
Mallory glanced back at the Blues. 'What are they doing?' he said. 'Are they calling it somehow? What have they got up there?'
But everyone else's attention was fixed on the approaching firestorm. Although they couldn't yet see the beast, a column of flame would erupt down on to the landscape from time to time, followed by a period of stillness, then more flame, much closer. The advance was eerie; all conversation faded away. No one could tear their eyes from the trail of conflagration stretching into the distance.
Somewhere near Old Sarum, trees were burning.
'Nearly here,' Gardener said.
Hands closed tightly around rifles; they felt even more insubstantial. The roar of flame sounded like a blast furnace. A house near the ring road exploded in a shower of tiles and masonry. Echoes of the destruction boomed back and forth amongst the high buildings of the city; falling bricks rattled on rooftops, crashing through some. Smoke swept in along the streets like a river fog; they could all taste it on the wind.
'It looks like hell,' Miller whispered.
Mallory thought he could see the metallic glimmer of scales, red, gold and green, in the firelight. The heavy, rhythmic beating of leather wings filled the air.
Hipgrave appeared with one foot balanced on either side of the roof ridge. A hand shielded his eyes as he watched the Beast's progress. 'Raise your weapons,' he shouted. Across the roof, rifles went up as one.
Mallory had the strange feeling that he was watching the red light of a plane flying across the sky until he realised it was the beast's eye. It moved directly towards them. Although he knew it couldn't see them, he felt distinctly unnerved by its flight path, as if it sensed exactly where they were.
Another column of flame burst from its mouth, this time illuminating the creature clearly for the first time. Its body undulated with serpentine grace, driven forwards by the power of the enormous bat-wings that beat deceptively slowly. The scales covered most of the body, more colourful on the under-surface, darker near the top. A gnarled, bony ridge like the fin of some dinosaur ran along the length of its back. A corresponding bone structure protruded in strange, twisted horns from its head, some small, some larger. A tail lashed the air behind it. The blazing illumination of the flames cast bizarre shadows across its features, giving it a demonic appearance that brought a chill to the assembled knights.
'Take aim,' Hipgrave barked.
The column of fire destroyed the Woolworth's building on the High Street. The fire washed and backwashed as if it was liquid; almost, Mallory thought, as if it was alive. Glass exploded out in glittering shards. The bricks flowed like water under the intense heat. Yet it didn't spread to the adjoining buildings. Instead, it sucked into a tight core that was too bright to stare at; the glow illuminated all of the surrounding streets as if it were daylight.
'Fire!' Hipgrave yelled.
The volley of shots was deafening. Some flew harmlessly out over the rooftops, but several struck the target. Mallory secretly hoped the scales were as hard as they appeared, but he was quickly disappointed. The Beast writhed in pain as the shots rattled into it. With a deft twist, it performed a rapid manoeuvre and soared straight up, too high for their ammunition to reach. But once there, it twisted and rolled in the high winds in some discomfort.
'That was good,' Hipgrave shouted. 'Get set for when it comes back down.'
'What if it stays up there?' Mallory said. 'What if it turns back?'
He saw Blaine away to one side, grinning triumphantly. He looked as though he wasn't expecting any retreat from the Beast at all.
Just as Hipgrave said, it did one final roll and swooped back down, directiy overhead. They all raised their weapons and fired randomly, more out of panic than anything. It was still too high for most of the bullets to reach it.
'Wait for the order!' Hipgrave bellowed.
The Beast came down with the speed of a jet fighter, and it didn't appear to be letting up. The thought ran through all of them at the same time: it was going to smash into them, destroy them and the hated cathedral in a suicide attack. Several knights threw themselves flat and covered their heads.
'Get set!' Hipgrave ordered. 'Fire!'
Another volley of shots burst skyward. This time Mallory heard numerous tiny clangs as some were deflected by the scales, but others pierced their target. The beast writhed in the air, still driving down fast.
'Oh, God!' Miller mewled.
Mallory saw those gleaming red eyes bearing down on him and sensed something numinous lying just behind them. While the others dived for cover, he remained standing, strangely calm, locked into their depths.
At the last moment, when it was about to pile straight into the cathedral, it appeared to sense what lay below and twisted into a horizontal flight that rushed mere feet over them. Mallory was buffeted by turbulence and
