Mark Chadbourn - The Hounds of Avalon

The row of mighty oaks soared more than thirty feet above Laura’s head, and the barrier was at least the same distance thick. Almost all her reserves had gone into constructing it, but she knew it would not keep the Lament-Brood out for long. Already she could hear the hacking of their weapons against the trunks. They would not tire, would not defer to serious injury; they would just keep going until they crushed everything in their path.

Laura walked away in search of shelter to recover, only to be halted in her tracks by gunfire coming from the buildings on either side of the wall of trees. Knowing instantly that it signalled a change in tactics, she angrily stormed into the nearest building and climbed the stairs to the second floor where two soldiers were pumping rounds wildly into the swarming Lament-Brood on the other side of the defence.

They were so preoccupied with their task that Laura could creep close enough to see past them. The Lament-Brood were clambering up the side of the building to get access to the windows so that they could bypass the trees. Some were smashing their weapons into the brickwork to gain foot- and handholds; others were simply clambering up on top of compacted bodies. But at the head of the climbing ranks was the Lord of Lizards. The glow from the street lights glistened on its skin, its entire body writhing with the packed combination of snakes, toads and newts. Its appearance revolted her, but what made her feel worse was the hunger that gleamed in its reptilian eyes.

The soldiers’ slugs ripped through it with little effect and the two men were growing increasingly scared as the beast drew nearer to them. Soon it would be in a position to pull itself through the window.

Laura leaned against a wall and closed her eyes. In her mind, she could see one final blue spark of power burning in the depths of her. Would it be it enough? She coaxed the spark higher and focused.

Just beyond the window, the Lord of Lizards paused as an odd sensation moved through its body. Deep in the stomachs of the many creatures that made up its form, biological matter was starting to move, change, grow.

Laura concentrated. She had all but exhausted her abilities; one last drop remained, one minute amount left to be squeezed out.

The pressure inside the Lord of Lizards grew. Laura gave it her last burst of energy. A holly bush, a rowan tree, a hawthorn and several other small shrubs and plants grew within the Lord at once, ripping through weak flesh in an instant. The amalgamation of lizards exploded in a puff of purple smoke and a sudden shower of red roses. Laura thought that was a nice touch.

Too weak to be any more use, she lurched back down the stairs to the street. Her actions had bought them a little time to find the Void, that was all. But as she headed back towards the city centre humming an old Basement Jaxx song, she reflected that she’d at least got a little pleasure from her last wanton act of violence.

Sophie brought the jeep to a sharp stop, the wheels skidding in the snow.

‘Anything?’ she asked.

Shavi shook his head, the strain on his face starting to show. ‘It used to take an intensive ritual to contact the spirits, but recently I have been able to do it easily. Often they felt as if they were always around, so that I could talk to them at any moment. But now…’ A shiver ran through him. ‘They are not answering my call.’

‘Come on, Shavi, we have to find the Void. It’s all down to us.’

‘You mean it is all down to me. I know. I will not fail you.’ He looked around, then said, ‘Get me inside one of the buildings. Away from this cold, I can concentrate, set up a ritual…’ There was a faint note of desperation in his voice that to Sophie sounded out of character. They clambered out of the jeep and struggled through the snowstorm towards the nearest buildings.

Hunter was aware of Mallory’s arrival, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the Lord of Flesh. The scores of snapping animal mouths threatened to tear at his flesh whenever he came close. He’d already discarded his gun as useless. After that, he’d wrenched a spear from one of the Lament-Brood’s limbs in the hope that it would allow him an arm’s length attack, but it had simply passed through the churning furry bodies without inflicting any serious harm. Now he was left with a rusted sword, the jagged forearm of one of the Lament-Brood still hanging from the hilt.

‘I’ve taken one of these things down already,’ Mallory yelled, as he guided his horse in a circle around Hunter and the Lord of Flesh.

‘Aren’t you the big-shot?’ Hunter replied through gritted teeth. He attempted another flailing lunge that resulted in a ferocious snapping of jaws.

‘You need a hand?’ Mallory swung Llyrwyn and sheared through several of the Lament-Brood who were drawing too close for comfort. The brilliant light from the sword made the others shy away.

‘What do you think?’ Hunter snapped.

Mallory directed his horse to the opposite side of the Lord. The creature ranged back and forth, attempting to strike at one, then the other.

‘I prefer my weapons a bit more on the modern side,’ Hunter said.

Mallory grunted. ‘A poor workman always blames his tools.’

‘There’s only one tool around here.’ Hunter relished landing a blow that took the head off a badger. ‘And it’s not me.’

As the Lord of Flesh responded furiously to Hunter’s attack, Mallory seized his moment, driving in to hack at the creature’s head from behind. A mass of furry bodies rained across the area. Before the Lord could recover from Mallory’s blow, Hunter had leaped from his horse and was slashing at its legs. Bloody chunks fell all around and within seconds the Lord had crashed down into the snow.

Together, Mallory and Hunter jumped in to finish the thing off. They didn’t stop chopping until there was no recognisable shape left amongst any of the animals that had made up the Lord’s form. Mallory held Hunter back as purple mist drifted up. ‘All right,’ he said, ‘he’s done for.’

They ran to their horses and mounted them quickly. ‘We’ll regroup further down the street,’ Hunter yelled above the wind. ‘I wonder if these things burn?’

‘Got a plan?’

‘I wouldn’t quite call it that yet-’ Hunter reined in his horse and looked around. ‘Can you hear that?’

At first, Mallory couldn’t. But then a low drone began to float in from the darkness beyond the city, growing louder, gradually becoming even louder still. The wind suddenly and mysteriously dropped.

‘Look,’ Hunter said.

The Lament-Brood had stopped moving. It was an eerie sight to see them all standing stock-still like statues. They were waiting for something.

‘What’s that noise?’ Mallory said, rubbing his ears. The rising sound felt as if it was drilling deep into his brain.

Hunter knew: he’d heard it before and the memory brought a strong, queasy response. ‘I think,’ he said, ‘that the king is about to enter the building.’

Blood stained the front of Hal’s shirt and crusted his top lip where he had been punched repeatedly in the face by members of the arresting party. His jaw ached and one eye was so swollen that he could barely see out of it. The guards had made it quite plain that there would be no trial, judge or jury: it had already been decided that he was guilty of the assassination plot.

He’d lost consciousness at some point during the beating, but now, as he looked around, he saw that he was in one of the cells in the high-security area in the Brasenose/Lincoln complex. Through the walls, he could hear the dim cries of the supernatural creatures that had been imprisoned down there; they all sounded distressed, frightened.