"What are they?" she gasped.
"You were ill in the van when they attacked before," Shavi said. "In the Lake District. They are called Redcaps. Tom said their natural enemy is man."
"Mollecht's favourite brood," Baccharus said, with something approaching contempt.
Others emerged from the smoke-Laura counted eight of them-and these were carrying short swords that were chipped and soiled. For the first time they saw Shavi and Laura, and the transformation that came over them was terrifying to see: savage before, they were now Berserker, ignoring the Tuatha lle Danann to drive towards the two humans.
Baccharus barked an order in his natural alien language and the Tuatha lle Danann formed a barrier between Shavi and Laura and the attacking Redcaps. Although the gods hacked and slashed in a constant blur of weaponry it did little to repel the ferocity of their attack. While they came at the gods, they were also continually circling to find a route through the defences to the two humans. Laura's heart beat even faster when she realised the Redcaps never took their eyes off her or Shavi for an instant; the look in those eyes was ravenous hunger.
The assaults continued relentlessly for fifteen minutes until it became obvious even the Tuatha De Danann would soon be worn down. One of the gods eventually made a slight error in his parrying that was punished instantly. A Redcap dragged the sword from his hand, oblivious to the deep gashes it was cutting in the creature's fingers, while the one closest to it dived in and ripped out the god's neck with its talons. He had been torn savagely limb from limb before he hit the ground.
An instant later the air was filled with the fluttering of golden moths. The rest of the Tuatha lle Danann saw them and froze, their faces registering unspeakable dread. The Redcaps sensed their moment and prepared to move.
"This is insanity," Shavi hissed, his guilt over the dead god almost painful. He turned to Laura. "Follow me." He dug his spurs sharply into his horse's flank and it shot off in the direction of the Serpentine. Laura was behind him in an instant.
Their escape stirred the Tuatha lle Danann, who were soon following in their tracks. Shavi glanced over his shoulder and was shocked to see how fast the Redcaps were moving in pursuit. Although they were only on foot, their leg muscles were unbelievably powerful. They weaved around trees and rubbish bins without slowing their speed at all, and were soon passing the Tuatha De Danann, who were urging on their terrified horses even more.
Laura noticed the Redcaps approach too. "Jesus, what powers those things?"
"Hunger. And hatred."
"Any idea where we're going now?"
"We could attempt to outrun them. Or we could find a place that will offer us sanctuary, somewhere to rest and lick our wounds."
"In this place?" She laughed mockingly. "Maybe we can take in some sights while we're at it."
The smoke rolled across the surface of the Serpentine where the abandoned boats bobbed and drifted. Shavi pressed on along Rotten Row until Hyde Park Corner came into view. The roundabout was choked with dead traffic, much of it blackened and twisted in the aftermath of a flash fire that had raged through the area. It still smelled of charred oil and singed plastic.
"They're closing," Laura gasped as she sent her horse along the pavement until they found a space to get through the traffic to Constitution Hill. The high brick wall of Buckingham Palace lay to their right.
Their manoeuvres had slowed them considerably, while the Redcaps merely powered over the heaps of blackened metal.
"Shavi," Laura said, "this is the time for your big idea. You have got one, haven't you?" The jungle cat-snarling of the Redcaps was now close behind.
Shavi guided his horse in close to Laura until there were barely two inches between them as they pounded down the centre of the street. With his left hand gripping the reins, he fumbled with his right for the twin-bladed sword, then held it out for Laura.
"What am I supposed to do with that?"
"It is easy to operate."
"Get lost. You're the one with the big soul-charge. The only spirit I've got is vodka and Red Bull."
"Take it."
Uncomfortably she accepted the sword and immediately thumbed the jewel in the hilt. The Blue Fire began to build. "Now tell me how I ride while facing backwards."
"Have you never seen Hopalong Cassidy?"
"Uh, no."
"The Lone Ranger?"
"Get real."
"I am sure you will pick it up."
Laura swore at him violently, then half-spun round in her saddle. The yell erupted from her lips unbidden. Three Redcaps were so close behind they could almost touch the horse's tail. She could smell the rotting-meat reek of their breath. When they saw her face, their eyes flared hungrily with a red light.
One of them threw itself forward. The charge leapt from the sword like a missile, tearing through the Redcap's face in a blue blast. When her eyes cleared, all three creatures were headless, still twitching on the road as their bodies struggled to catch up with the news. The other Redcaps had stopped and were blinking stupidly at this strange development.
"That'll teach them to wear hats out of season," Laura said weakly. This time it was Shavi's turn to catch the sword and steady her with the other hand as she threatened to slip from the saddle. "Shit, I feel like I'm coming off a six-day bender. Is this how it was for you?"
"I feel a little better now, but it will take a while to recover completely."
Baccharus rode up and then past them, urging them on. "Come! They will be on you again in a moment!"
Laura somehow managed to get her horse moving again before resting against its neck, hoping it would find the right direction by itself. Shavi once again took the lead. But they had barely got out into the wide open space surrounding the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace when a harpoon trailing fire tore through the air to impale one of the Tuatha De Danann, who fell from his horse.
Fomorii were swarming over the roof of Buckingham Palace, where they had sited an odd weapon that looked like a cross between a mediaeval siege machine and a piece of WWII artillery. Five Fomorii were loading it with another harpoon that mysteriously burst into flame the moment it was in place.
"They're changing the guard at Buckingham Palace," Laura said ironically.
The harpoon rocketed into the Queen Victoria Memorial, which exploded in chunks of stone.
"They are slowly picking us off." Shavi's face had grown dark with anger. "We must not allow this."
Laura felt a tingle run down her spine when she saw the Tuatha De Danann were waiting on the two of them for orders. "This is about as weird as it gets," she muttered.
When she looked back, Shavi had his head bowed and his hands over his face, one of the rituals he regularly used when he was meditating.
"Quickly," Baccharus insisted. "The Redcaps will be coming."
When Shavi looked up, Laura thought she saw blue sparks leap from his eyes. "Church did a good job," he said, moving his horse on.
"What do you mean?"
"The Blue Fire is all around now. So easy to see, I barely need any concentration."
Almost the instant he said the words, Laura realised she could see it too: in some areas just thin capillaries of sapphire, in others like a raging current beneath the ground, as if the road surface was made of glass.
"Trippy! So this is what it means…" Her words trailed off, unable to capture the depth of what she was feeling.
"Then this city is not dead to us," Shavi said. "Church suggested the force would be a weakening power for the Fomorii. They hate it, and what it represents. And here we can see the lines leading to the most potent sources."
"Come, then." Baccharus's voice was strained, his eyes darting all around.
"What is it?" Shavi followed his gaze, but could see nothing.