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Thorne looked anxious. She pointed towards a narrow alley and started running. I followed her into the shadows. At the thirteenth peal the tolling stopped. In the new silence I heard screams and wails of terror from every direction.

‘What is happening?’ I demanded.

‘That bell serves more than one purpose,’ Thorne told me, ‘but right now it signals an immediate threat. Now predators are permitted to hunt whoever they like. It’s best to hide until a single chime signals that the period of danger is over. Predators are legion and take many forms. Look! There’s one above us now!’ She pointed upwards.

Something large swooped low over the alley, letting out a raucous screech. It hovered directly above our heads, bathed in the light of the blood moon. It looked like a giant bat, with glowing eyes and long, bone-tipped wings terminating in clawed hands.

‘It’s a chyke – one of the lesser daemons. They hunt in packs and we’re their chosen prey!’ cried Thorne. ‘They are very sensitive to the fresh blood of new arrivals to the dark. That is why it’s found you so quickly! It will be directing other predators towards us. Hopefully the second bell will chime soon.’

Anger flared within me. It was not my way to cower in an alley like this, hoping for a bell to save me. I listened carefully. There were cries of fear and pain all around us, but they seemed to be concentrated ahead of us, in the direction of the moon, where they were accompanied by screams of agony. That was where most of the predators and victims must be gathered.

I turned, gestured that Thorne should follow me, and began to run towards that baleful red moon; towards those cries.

‘No!’ Thorne’s voice shook. ‘That leads to the basilica square. That’s the killing ground!’

I ignored her, gathering speed as I ran through the narrow streets, each turn taking me closer to those terrible screams. I could hear Thorne running close at my heels.

‘Please, Grimalkin, listen to me!’ she called. ‘There are too many of them to fight. They’ll rip us to pieces. You can die again in the dark. And if you do, you become nothing. You fall into oblivion!’

‘Better to be nothing than to cringe in fear!’ I retorted.

Now I was sprinting, easing the first of my blades out of its leather sheath. The square was a vast flagged area with the great stone walls of the basilica rising up beyond it, even higher than those of Priestown Cathedral.

Who prayed within those walls? To which dark entities did they offer worship?

In front of the basilica, the square was a scene of carnage. The flags ran with blood and there were bodies everywhere, some dead, others still twitching or attempting to crawl to safety. The air was full of chykes that swooped and tore, slaying those who cowered below. The sound of screams rent the air, but loudest of all was the infernal beating of huge wings.