I spluttered awake. Intense pain spiked in my stomach, radiating up through my chest. The world was loud and full of confusing colours.

I glimpsed Rupert cowering against the far wall. The rifle lay near his feet, apparently dropped or thrown by Vincent, who now writhed on the floor in a struggle with Ang. She was clever, had made it onto his back where it was hard to reach, and had both arms locked around his neck.

I tasted iron in my mouth, along with an acid sting in my throat. There was no way I could stand. But I could crawl.

The computer console wasn't far.

I dragged myself to it, leaving bloody handprints on the floor. The shouts behind me were incomprehensible, no inkling of who was winning or losing the fight. All I could hope was that this stunt would give Ang a chance to get away.

I hauled myself onto my knees. Swung my arm up. I felt around blindly until my hand encountered the protruding shape of the USB stick. I grabbed and yanked.

It clattered to the floor and wobbled in and out of my blurry vision. I shoved myself backwards against the console so I could stretch out a leg. With an awfully pained grunt, I lifted my foot and smashed the heel down on top of the stick.

The first sensation was of fresh autumn wind, the crispest breeze. It washed over me like a welcome bucket of water.

Zawba'ah's voice whispered in my ear. 'I keep my word, mortal. What is your wish?'

Think carefully. Never try to be clever with a jinn. Keep it simple, stupid.

Blood dribbled from my mouth as I said, 'Open all the locks in this building.'

The wind swirled about my head and emitted a cruel, cackling laughter.

'It is done.'

Immediately, the alarms blared again. I clutched my head, blind both from pain and disorientation. In the background, other noises quickly built on top of each other. Squawks, shrieks, and grunts. The pounding of many feet and hooves.

Ang's distraught shouts penetrated the turmoil. Her small hands covered mine. I opened my eyes to see her steely grey ones grimly examining me.

The fuzzy dark shape of Vincent clung to the wall, staring dumbly out into the hallway where creatures – precious preternatural assets, no doubt – streamed past in panic.

'Y'should go,' I slurred.

'Don't be stupid, twpsyn.' Ang wrenched off her waistcoat and pressed it hard into my wound. 'Yer comin' with me, Jack.'

I looked up. Opposite Vincent, but unseen by him, stood Death. She inclined her scythe towards me.

'Not yet,' I muttered.

Vincent was backing away. He seemed ready to dive for his gun, but whatever had spooked him now stood in the way. It clip-clopped into the room.

Ang tried to wave it away. 'Geroff, yer nasty goat!'

Solemn, slit pupils met mine. I put a hand on Ang's shoulder. 'S'aright,' I mumbled.

The unicorn regarded me with that same peculiar sense of intelligence. Perhaps it was taking the measure of me.

It trotted closer and lowered its mutilated horn to my abdomen.

'Psssh.' I was on the verge of hysterics. Not me! I wanted to shout. This isn't meant for me!

A tingling warmth spread through my torso, like a perfectly heated bubble bath. The pain seeped away, and I saw a red vein pulse along the spiral groove of the unicorn's horn. It dipped its beardy chin at me and turned away.

To face Vincent, who'd picked up the gun.

'You idiot,' I groaned.

The unicorn snorted and lowered its head.

Vincent screamed at it. 'Get back in your fucking cage, you revolting beast!' His chin was flecked with spittle, his eyes bloodshot and wild. 'Scum!'

The unicorn charged as he fired. He missed, though the bullet drew sparks from the console next to my head.

He gagged on his own saliva and looked down at the head butted against his stomach. Blood-soaked horn protruded from the other side. The rifle slipped from Vincent's hands. His knees sagged, head nodding onto his chest, mouth lolling open.

Light glinted off a ghostly blade. The scythe swung across Vincent's neck, and Death faded away with her prize.

The unicorn withdrew and tossed Vincent's body limply to the floor.

It turned back to look at us briefly, a ghastly four-legged silhouette in the doorway, and then trotted out of sight.

'Bloody hell,' was all I could think to say.

A whimper from the corner called our attention to Rupert. He hugged his knees, huddling amongst a knot of wires. I found I had the strength to be angry again.

I hurled myself upright, with Ang fussing at me to go easy.

'What were you doing with all of them?' I demanded of Rupert.

He buried his head in his knees. 'We just wanted to learn. There's so much we could discover . . .'

Ang strode over, yanked his head up by his greying hair. 'People, we are. Murderers, you.'

Rupert's eyes were glassy. 'We were going to save the world . . .'

I stiffened to a noise behind me. A pronounced, multi-faceted cracking sound. As one, Ang and I rotated to observe the tube presently containing Shu.

'Presently' because it was obviously not going to be for much longer.

Shu's tornado form strained against the glass. Three long cracks ran along its length.

'We should run,' I croaked.

'Aye.'

We leapt (in my case, staggered) past Rupert and into the zoological chaos of the corridors. The alarms still bellowed overhead and everything had been plunged once more into green-lit darkness.

I was knocked down by something that stank of sewage – Ang booted it off me and screamed some obscenities for good measure. Together we waded through bedlam.

Whatever miraculous healing the unicorn had granted me, it clearly wasn't perfect. I was utterly winded every few steps, and Ang led me like a child as I gasped and wheezed through our retreat. Finally she kicked open a door and fresh air spilled over my face.

I lapped it up like I was thirsty.

'Keep goin', gwas,' Ang coaxed. 'Nearly there.'

Howls pierced the night as other shapes darted from the building and spread through the estate. I hobbled after Ang to the gateway and gratefully collapsed when we reached the other side of the fence.

'How do you think we–' I started.

A deafening roar shook the sky as a portion of roof blasted off the lab. The explosion went up in a whirling column of debris. The twister pulled tight, raking slats off the roof, pulling walls from their foundations. Ang and I grabbed onto each other, and I hooked an arm into the fence for fear of being sucked in.

The giant form of Shu manifested briefly in the centre of the cyclone's destruction. It towered over the whole estate, dwarfing the tall Baines and Grayle office block – and brought a fist down on top of it.

Windows blew out under the pressure, showering sparks and glass across the car park. The building concertinaed, slowly collapsing as each floor gave way.

I shared a taught nod with Ang. We sprang across the road. My car welcomed us with its musty smells and homely stains. We lurched into seats, snapped keys in ignition as the wreckage of Baines and Grayle began tumbling our way.

'Fast, fast!' Ang cried.

We screeched into the road. Rubbish dashed across my windshield in the wake of Shu's storm.

In my rear-view mirror, I saw him stretch out high into the sky. Arms wide, like Nephthys had done. Shedding an old form, perhaps. The flotsam and jetsam gradually dropped out of his shape. The gale calmed, until finally there was only wind on an otherwise still and moonless night.

'Stop, gwas!'

I slammed on the brake, throwing us both forward in our seats. 'Bloody hell. What's wrong?'

'We gotsa passenger.'

I followed her pointing finger to the side of the road, where a bedraggled face grinned at me with crooked teeth. It was the homeless woman I'd spoken to outside the complex. I rolled down the window. 'You've been out here the whole time?'

She gave Ang a thumbs up. 'Said I was watching out, didn't I?'

'Her name's Minty,' Ang said. 'Took my kin to a safe place, she has.'

'Cor, what a dump,' Minty said as she climbed in the back seat. 'Take the next right.'

I followed her directions without question. If Ang trusted her, it was all right by me.

She led us to an abandoned bus station. Half its roof was missing, but at least it afforded some shelter from the elements. I didn't take too much of it in – I near enough collapsed as soon as I pulled up the hand brake.

Whatever damage the bullet wound had caused wasn't totally reversed. A lingering ache remained in my core. My joints were stiff and my eyes heavy. Several pairs of hands – quite a few small ones – helped pull me from the car and laid me onto a bed of cardboard and bin bags.

I slipped into sleep with a lasting image of many knockers peering out of the darkness, and Ang staring silently down her nose at me.

* * *