A sound in her gullet. Struggling to place it. Ah yes. Weeping.

Julia rolled on to her back, drawing breath in shallow gasps. Her dress was cold and damp from sweat.

Vacant watery eyes set in the centre of a golden cloud of hair blinked at her. "Julie?"

Julia rummaged round for the name. So difficult, surely human brains weren't this inefficient. "Hi, Kats," she said weakly.

"I want to go for a pee."

Laughter and tears got dreadfully muddled in her throat.

"It's not funny," Katerina said in a wounded tone. "I'm bursting."

"Sure thing, Kats. Sorry." Julia was rather surprised to find her limbs doing what she told them. She managed to clamber to her feet, using the bed for support. The Armscor was lying on the carpet. The sight of it jolted her slowly coalescing thoughts. The klaxon was silent now. She was sure she'd heard it going off. Tried to consult her event timer without thinking, a null request. But it could only have been seconds ago.

Somebody had penetrated Wilholm's defensive cordon. A two-pronged attack, then. Her and Grandpa, and they'd nearly got very lucky.

The door handle rattled. "Julia? Julia, you in there?"

Kendric. Kendric will come for you.

"Morgan?" she called.

"It's Steven; open up, Julia." There was a thump followed by a muffled curse.

"Get Morgan," she told him. Trust Walshaw, Juliet. Trust him.

"Julia, open up." A louder thump, a shoulder hitting the door. She could see it quiver in the frame.

"Morgan, get Morgan here."

A third blow. She heard the sound of wood splitting.

"Morgan!" Julia grabbed hold of Kats and yanked her off the bed in one almighty burst of strength. Kats squealed and floundered about in the duvet.

"Stay down," Julia commanded.

She crouched next to Kats, bringing the Armscor up in a smooth arc, thumb flicking off the safety catch. Immensely glad she'd taken the time to learn the weapon.

The door crashed open, frame splintering.

"Morgan!" she screamed.

Pink-white light from the corridor shone into the dimly lit bedroom. A lone figure was silhouetted in the open doorway, Uzi hand laser held ready, stumbling forwards. Definitely male.

Kendric.

The maw of the Uzi swung down towards them, a malignant smile behind it.

Julia jerked her forefinger back on the trigger, holding it down. Bullet-sized pulses of intense blue lightning streamed out of the Armscor, so close together they were almost a continuous flare. They hit the wall around the door, splashing open with a loud crack. Wallpaper ignited in tight balls of garish orange flame. The bedroom was alive with strobing light, huge distorted shadows leapt up across the walls and ceiling.

"Shit!" yelled the silhouette. He was diving to one side, not quite making it.

One of the Armscor's pulses caught his leg as he was still going down. Beautiful. There was an agonised grunt, swiftly choked off. His whole body convulsed, hit by an invisible fist, buffeting him back into the corridor.