The shutter clunked and rattled up noisily, the sliver of light coming from outside wideningmuch too slowly.

‘There… that’s enough to duck through,’ he uttered, winded from theexertion.

‘Ladies first,’ offered Liam. He turned to look back over his shoulder, almostinstantly regretting his chivalry. The seeker was making fast progressgliding towards them… almost upon them now, no more than a dozen feet away. Theamorphous cloud of scintillating particles seemed to rear up as it drew across the floor,forming the momentary outline of some kind of face. An angelic, childlike face, a littlegirl… Then the face decayed into some kind of nightmarish creature with empty eyesockets and an elongated jaw.

Liam wondered whether this thing was as spent as Foster hadclaimed, or whether it was still capable of doing harm.

‘Under you go, Liam,’ said Foster, tapping his shoulder, ‘quicklynow.’

Liam dropped down and squeezed under the shutter door, joining the girls outside. Fosteremerged a moment later, and with far less difficulty using the handle outside, worked theshutter down again. It rattled against the ground just as a faint tendril of blue light hadbegun to feel its way out through the gap.

‘It’s weakened enough that it won’t get through,’ he said with asmile.

He took a deep breath, and grinned apologetically. ‘Sorry about that. Now then,’he continued, turning to gesture at the world around them with both hands. ‘Welcome toyour new home.’

Liam turned from the corrugated metal shutter, daubed with messy paint — that he wouldlater find out was called graffiti — to witness a giantsuspended iron bridge right above him, crossing the glistening waters of a wide river towardsa glowing metropolis set against the blood red of an evening sky. He was stunned by a millionlights glowing and buzzing, flickering and changing colour, beautifully reflected in the calmwater in front of them.