“How could Truman have got to the Soul?” I said. “The family’s been adding layers of protection around it for centuries.”

“I know,” said Callan. “There’s only one answer, and it’s really not a very nice one. Someone in the family must have given him the necessary Words to unlock the guards. And that someone would have to be very high up. A traitor in the family . . .”

“Impossible!” said the Sarjeant. “It’s unthinkable . . .”

“Not after the Zero Tolerance debacle,” I said. “They were ready to destroy the family in order to rebuild it in their own image.”

“Just like you,” said Harry.

“Shut up, Harry,” I said. “This is grown-up talk. Recommendations, Callan?”

“Put together a major strike force, transport it straight here, and I will use it to hit Truman where it hurts, right now, while we’ve still got the element of surprise.”

“No!” I said quickly. “I know your idea of tactics, Callan; everything forward and trust in the Lord. You hold your position, keep watching, and report back if there are any new developments. I’ll work out a plan of attack and get back to you. Until then, stay put. That’s an order.”

“You can go off people, you know.”

“Strange, cut him off, and then talk to me.”

“Yes, Eddie. Callan is still talking to the War Room. He is not at all happy.”

“Wouldn’t recognise him if he was,” I said. “Tell me about the Soul of Albion, Strange.”

“I only know what the family knows, Eddie. According to your records, an unnatural, other-dimensional crystal fell to earth from the stars, thousands of years ago. Long ago, so long ago that history shades into legend, someone carried out a major Working with the Soul, harnessing its power to ensure that England could never be invaded. As long as the Soul stayed in position, under Stonehenge.”

“Could we use the Soul to stop the Invaders coming through?”

“I don’t know,” said Strange. “Its full capabilities have never been tested. It might protect England, if it was replaced in time.”

“All right,” I said. “How about you, Strange? Could you stop them? There’s some evidence in the old library to suggest that the Heart intervened to stop them, back in Roman times.”

“No,” said Strange. “You must understand, Eddie; there is so little of me here, relatively speaking. Even with all the extra strange matter I brought through to make your armour. In order to put up a barrier that could keep out the Many-Angled Ones, I’d have to manifest my whole self in this reality, and that would be just as disastrous as the Invaders coming through. Strange matter doesn’t belong here; it upsets the natural balance. You have no idea how far removed I am from what you think of as life.”