The other voyants were sprinting towards us now, towards Metyard and Anne. This was chaos. ‘They’re ours, Red Vision,’ one of them bellowed. Nick gathered his breath.

‘Get ready,’ he said.

I braced myself. He released the spool.

The knot of spirits careered between Anne and Metyard like a ball through skittles, knocking them away from each other, before it snapped back into his grasp. I could feel their attention turn to us.

‘Come on,’ he barked, and started to run. I followed, feeling Metyard plunge after us. When we reached the next street, Eliza was stepping out of the den. ‘Muse, the courtyard!’

Eliza retreated without protest.

The Threadbare Company were hot on our heels. We crashed through the wrought-iron gate beside the den, into the shaded passageway that led to the courtyard. Nick cleared the steps in one jump, chased by a furious Metyard and an equally angry Anne, while I turned to lock the gate – just as one of the Threadbare Company’s members slammed into it, his face contorted with such outrage that my hands shook in panic.

‘Let it go,’ he snarled, spewing spittle, ‘or I’ll carve a necklace on your throat.’

‘Can’t if you can’t reach me,’ I bit out, shoving the gate closed with my shoulder.

Sarah Metyard rushed between the bars, turning my skin cold. I twisted the key and ran around the corner and after Nick, leaving the Threadbare Company to scream their threats.

This was absurd. Absolute madness. I would have been laughing if not for the danger.

As I rounded the corner, I sensed Anne nearby, but it wasn’t Anne that scared me. I reached for the handrail and threw myself after Nick. He was standing at the far end of the courtyard with Eliza at his side, feet planted a shoulder’s width apart, both hands outstretched, palms facing Metyard. She had backed them into the doorway on the opposite side to this one, which was blocked by another gate.

Where the hell was Jaxon?

Nick gathered another spool to defend himself. I ran towards him. As Metyard rushed him, the spirits formed a shield, but she was stronger than all of them, older and incensed. He clenched his teeth as he tried to hold the spool together. The hangman had slain Sarah Metyard, but her lust for violence had followed her to the æther.