“I know what he looks like,” said the cat head. “This isn’t him. No; a very interesting mind, this, very . . . odd. Not one of the Project’s people and not one of the Institute’s field agents. Very odd . . . I can see him, but I can’t lock on to him. He’s . . . protected.”

Erik and Natasha looked at each other. Erik made himself ask the obvious question. “Who’s doing the protecting?”

“Can’t you guess?” said the cat head. “The bad thing, of course.”

Erik rose painfully to his feet again. “My machine’s too limited for this.”

“Speak for yourself,” said the cat head.

“Shut up,” said Erik. “Melody wouldn’t have come down here without all the very latest devices the Institute could provide. They might be able to help us more. Can you tell us where they are, cat?”

“Of course. Southbound platform, not ten minutes’ walk from here. I can guide you right to it.”

“Institute agents always get the best toys,” said Erik. “I mostly have to design my own, on a budget significantly less than I was promised. And you have to order parts three months in advance . . . Luckily, I can usually make my own. Providing there’s a zoo or a hospital nearby.”

“I can feel too much information coming on,” said Natasha. “Move it.”

Melody’s precious machines were right where she’d left them, and Erik almost cooed with pleasure as he ran his fat little hands over them. It didn’t take him long to get the hang of the sensors and track down the Institute agents. Happy and Melody were still moving steadily through the deepest parts of the system, but JC, surprisingly, wasn’t that far away. Still chasing his ghost.

“We’ll take him from behind while he’s distracted,” said Natasha. “No time for anything fun; shoot him down. Aim for the body; I don’t want his pretty face damaged. We can use him as bait to attract the other two. And then . . . we can give our full attention to sorting out whatever it is that’s going on down here. After all the trouble I’ve been put through, I think I deserve a really big prize.”

“I think we need to think about this some more,” said Erik, diffidently. “The cat head said other-dimensional, and I’m inclined to believe it. These instruments are picking up some strange readings. Really powerful readings; almost off the scale. We don’t want to bite off more than we can chew.”

“You speak for yourself,” said Natasha.

SEVEN - TO WAR WITH DEMONS

SEVEN

TO WAR WITH DEMONS

If you go to war with demons, you must be pure in your intent.