He has no choice, Jack thought in wonder. He has to obey me . . .

Holy. Shit.

This was the power Sphinx had sought. Total obedience to his every command. When combined with the power of the Siren bells to immobilise entire populations, it would indeed have made him the undisputed ruler of the world.

And now Jack had that power.

Sphinx made to step toward Jack.

‘Don’t move,’ Jack ordered and Sphinx froze on the spot, no longer able to command his own muscles, unable to take another step.

Jack’s eyes fell on the gold signet ring on Sphinx’s finger with its giant red gem.

The ring of the emperor, the ring that commanded all of the bronzeman armies, that overrode every other ring of command. Another awesome tool.

‘I think I’d better take that.’

He stepped forward and, as Sphinx watched—unable to move, helpless to resist—Jack slid the powerful ring off Sphinx’s finger and put it on his own hand.

Jack felt dizzy, sick even.

More than that, he felt unworthy, unsure he could handle all this power.

He was still reeling from those thoughts when Zoe and Lily scrambled up onto the platform and ran over to him. Alby, with his one hand, had of course remained below.

Zoe stared at Sphinx, immobilised in mid-stride.

‘Okay, what’s with him?’ she asked.

‘You’re not gonna believe me when I tell you,’ Jack said.

New York City, U.S.A.

Nobody and Iolanthe were still racing through the night-time streets of New York City in their Jet Ranger helicopter, fleeing from Chloe’s two attack choppers with the all-important Blue Bell in their possession.

As they roared through the urban canyons, banking and bending, Iolanthe suddenly had an idea.

She started shaking the Blue Bell.

It immediately issued a piercing, ethereal chime. If the song of the other Siren bells was ecstatic, this sound was of a higher order still: it cut through the air like an aural laser beam, like a glorious, all-encompassing call to life.

And suddenly the citizens of New York City—lying on the sidewalks, slumped in their cars—began to stir and rouse and stand, blinking in confusion, rubbing their heads and eyes.

‘It’s working!’ Iolanthe yelled.

‘Nice,’ Nobody said, yanking on his control stick, guiding the chopper around another corner, bullets from their pursuers slicing through the air all around it.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ve just about had enough of this. I grew up in Jersey, across the river from this town. Let’s see if these assholes know New York City as well as I do.’

He gunned the chopper south—shooming downtown as people on the streets below rose from their collective slumber like a giant Mexican Wave—before he cut left, out of view.