A cat yowled nearby, followed by a flash of grey as the creature darted along a garden wall then vanished from sight. More yowls sounded, this time from the other side of the narrow street.

A shiver danced up Paran’s spine. He shook himself. ‘The last thing we need is a new player. The situation’s tense enough as it is—’

Two dogs locked in a vicious fight tumbled from an alley mouth just ahead. A panicked cat zigzagged around the snarling, snapping beasts. As one, the horses shied, ears flattening. In the drain gutter to their right the captain saw – with widening eyes – a score of rats scampering parallel to them.

‘What in Hood’s name—’

‘Spindle!’ Quick Ben called from behind them. The lead sorcerer twisted in his saddle, a miserable expression on his weathered face.

‘Ease off some,’ Quick Ben instructed, not unkindly.

Spindle nodded, turned back.

Paran waved buzzing flies from his face. ‘Mallet, what warren does Spindle call upon?’ he asked quietly.

‘It’s not his warren that’s the problem, sir, it’s how he channels it. This has been mild so far, all things considered.’

‘Must be a nightmare for our cavalry—’

‘We’re foot soldiers, sir,’ Mallet pointed out, with a dry grin. ‘In any case, I’ve seen him break up an enemy charge all by himself. Needless to say, he’s useful to have around ...’

Paran had never before seen a cat run head first into a wall. The dull thud was followed by a crazed scraping of claws as the animal bounced away in stunned surprise. Its antics were enough to attract the attention of the two dogs. A moment later they set off after the cat. All three vanished down another alley.

The captain’s own nerves were jittering, adding to the discomfort in his belly. I could call Quick Ben to point and have him take over, but his is a power that would get noticed – sensed from afar, in fact – and I’d rather not risk that. Nor, I suspect, would he.

Each neighbourhood they passed through rose in cacophony – the spitting of cats, the howling and barking of dogs and the braying of mules. Rats raced round the group on all sides, as mindless as lemmings.

When Paran judged that they had circumvented the market round, he called forward to Spindle to yield his warren. The man did so with a sheepish nod.

A short while later they reached North Gate and rode out onto what had once been a killing field. Vestiges of that siege remained, if one looked carefully amidst the tawny grasses. Rotting pieces of clothing, the glint of rivets and the bleached white of splintered bones. Midsummer flowers cloaked the flanks of the recent barrows two hundred paces to their left in swathes of brittle blue, the hue deepening as the sun sank lower behind the mounds.