‘I’m saying that’s possible. Or this whole thing is deeply unofficial. A… How do you people phrase it? A rogue operation. Sending for a high-level magos biologis would have raised flags. I don’t know if Master Eisenhorn is a real inquisitor or not, but I think what he’s doing here is strictly off the record.’

‘I think you’re paranoid,’ she replied.

‘After last night, aren’t you?’

She snapped the aid-box shut.

‘Well, it’s moot anyway,’ she replied. ‘The storm’s cleared. The up-link is re-established. I’m going to contact the area governor this morning. Establish an emergency situation and ask him to mobilise the Territorial Guard. If the Archenemy is here in Unkara, it needs to be contained, and this little group of ours isn’t up to the task.’

‘I don’t think Eisenhorn’s going to like that,’ said Drusher.

‘He can stick it up his arse for all I care,’ said Macks. ‘I’m Magistratum, and I have a duty.’

He smiled at her.

‘That’s what I always loved about you, Germaine.’

‘What?’ she asked.

‘You, being you. Never backing down.’

She grinned.

‘I did last night,’ she said.

‘Last night was different,’ he said.

‘Very,’ she replied. ‘You were very different. You faced that thing down. You saved me.’

‘I think that was Nayl.’

‘No, you kept it at bay. You didn’t stop trying. Not like you at all.’

‘Must be the mountain air.’

She suddenly hugged him tight and planted a long, loud kiss on his cheek.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

She walked to the door.

‘Oh,’ she added, turning to look back. ‘Nayl’s cleaning out the mess in the parlour. The bones and stuff, they’ll have to be quarantined. But there were some books you’d brought down from the library. I told Nayl not to move them without checking with you. I didn’t know if they were important.’

Drusher went down to the parlour. He felt uneasy returning to the scene of the horror. Daylight made everything seem very ordinary, but he could still smell burned sawdust and cold decay.

Nayl, wearing surgical gloves, was scooping the brown bones into a hazard waste sack.

‘Books,’ he said when he saw Drusher. He pointed to a side table in the corner. ‘Do you need them?’

‘I might,’ said Drusher. He walked over to the books and began to gather them up.

‘How did you kill it?’ he asked.

‘Head shot,’ said Nayl.

‘You made it look easy,’ said Drusher.

‘Nothing easy about it.’

‘I fired the riotgun at it multiple times. So did Macks. No effect. It somehow neutralised the force of the shots.’

‘Yeah, I heard you gave it a go. Good for you, magos.’

‘And that combat weapon of yours. You dumped some serious las into it.’

‘I did.’

‘With no effect. Yet a single bullet…’

Nayl looked up at him.