“That’s it,” said Happy, surging to his feet. “We are now officially way out of our depth. I think I’ll bolt for the exit now. Try and keep up.”

“Stand still, man,” said JC. “Melody, can you track this intrusion down, pinpoint its location?”

“Let’s not,” Happy said immediately. “Really really bad idea, people.”

“I can point you in the right direction,” said Melody. “Go and find it with my blessing, give it a good kicking, then drag it back here so I can poke it with a stick.”

“Love to,” said JC.

“I have fallen among mad people,” said Happy. “Am I the only sane person here? We are not trained, equipped, or armed enough to deal with Great Beasts or Outer Monstrosities, or any of the Abominations! We are ghost finders, not god killers! Being in the same place as . . . whatever this thing is, is playing hell with my head. I can feel it, out there, waiting for us. Waiting for us to come to it, so it can do terrible things to us! Please, JC, trust me; we are not ready for this.”

“Happy, you heard the Boss,” said JC, not unkindly. “There’s no-one else. Or at least, no-one else who can get here in time. We can’t let this spread, Happy. We have to stop it here.”

“How?” said Happy. All the anger had gone out of him, leaving only fatigue and bitterness. “What can we do?”

“What we always do,” said JC. “Hit hard, move fast, improvise wildly, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at the very last moment through superior gamesmanship and blatant cheating.”

“Oh, that’s what we do, is it?” said Melody. “I’ve often wondered.”

Happy turned his back on both of them, staring determinedly off into the distance. He would have liked to indulge in a sulk, but upset as he was, he still knew that JC was right. He had to do something. Because he was there. Because there wasn’t anybody else. Story of his life, such as it was.

“Ghosts,” he said loudly. “I can sense ghosts everywhere. All kinds, too. But most of them are irrelevant. Old stone tapes, stirred up by the arrival of the Intruder. No connection to what’s really going on. There is a purpose to all this. An intelligent purpose, with a definite end in mind.”

“It’s always the same with you,” Melody said cuttingly. “Every case we work, you always have to bring up the big picture, look for some sinister hidden intent, so you can fit it into your Grand Conspiracy of Absolutely Everything.”

“She does have a point,” said JC.