Sebastian found himself tensing, but fought the urge to jump down. Rule One was don’t get distracted, and he figured getting horribly killed by a chain-mail-wearing lunatic would be a pretty big distraction, all things considered.

Then Auger ran from cover, holding a thick metal spear, and Sebastian actually sighed with relief. Arriving in the nick of time. Immediately, Auger’s friends Kase and Mahala darted from their hiding places, and they sprinted in from three directions. The burning-eyed man saw them coming, and roared. When the distance between them closed to five steps, Auger plunged the spear into the ground. Kase and Mahala did the same.

The spears started glowing. Threads of energy passed between them, trapping the burning-eyed man in a triangle. His roar of rage turned to a roar of panic. Mahala backed off. Kase too. Only Auger stayed where he was, eyes locked.

The spears grew brighter, the threads of energy getting thicker – and then the burning-eyed man arched his back and screamed, and the energy poured into him and turned him to ash.

The spears stopped glowing.

Auger ran to Ether and helped her stand. The others came over. Sebastian couldn’t hear what was being said. He had no idea who the burning-eyed man was, no idea why he had been after a teacher, but none of that mattered. Another monster had been stopped. Another threat had been averted.

He watched Mahala and Auger walk away with Ether, leaving Kase to gather up the spears and head in the opposite direction.

Sebastian didn’t know an awful lot about Mahala, but he’d done his homework on Kase. The funny one of the group, the one who used jokes to mask his unhappiness, the one who tried to hide the fact that his father had inadvertently formed a cult that worshipped Darquesse.

This made him interesting.

Sebastian followed Kase for a little under ten minutes. It was not easy, travelling across rooftops. It was even less easy to travel across rooftops while keeping track of the turns Kase was making. Eventually, Kase came to a house on Morwenna Row and sneaked in the back door. When he came out a few minutes later, he wasn’t holding the spears. He hurried off in the direction of the school, and Sebastian watched him go. He had arrived at his destination.

He jumped down, went to the back door and tried the handle. It moved easily. The door opened. Sebastian slipped inside.

Kase’s kitchen was a mess. Food-encrusted plates were stacked high in the sink. The table was covered in papers and battered notebooks. The floor needed a sweep, and a wash, and possibly a new floor.

Kase’s father was in the living room. Bennet Troth sat on the sofa, his head down, the TV on but muted. He had the same dark hair as his son, but like his house it looked like it needed a wash.