TELLING EVERYONE THAT ONLY ABAKUM AND THOSE WITH Gracious Hearts could leave Edefia was hard for Oksa. Jeanne and Pierre were devastated, the members of the Knut clan put a brave face on things, but they were obviously disappointed. All of them, including Bodkin, Cockerell and Feng Li, would have to stay behind and wait.
“Tugdual! Don’t go!”
Oksa ran after Tugdual, who’d just left the Round Room and was disappearing down the corridor. He passed through a wall and Oksa followed him, not even noticing that she’d managed it easily. She found him on the terrace of the fifty-fifth floor, staring at the soft dawn light, his face expressionless. Like him, she leant her elbows on the railing and their shoulders touched. Tugdual shifted away, putting some distance between them.
“Hey!” said Oksa, stung. “What have I done to upset you?”
Tugdual didn’t say a word, and turned his head away.
“Maybe you think I wanted things to turn out like this?” cried Oksa hoarsely. “This is hardly my fault, is it?”
Her nostrils prickled and she gripped the parapet, her arms tense. She felt a terrible desire to scream, then take flight and disappear. A growl of frustration and anger rose in her throat, twisting her face into a grimace.
“Don’t you think things are complicated enough already?” she continued, tears brimming. “But no, you have to make things worse and blame me.”
Tugdual whirled round to stare at her. His expression shook Oksa. Hot, black, corrosive ink seemed to be spreading over his eyes. Oksa thought she’d never seen such a tormented expression in her life.
“I’ll come back quickly, I promise!” she said. “You won’t have to wait long.”
Her tone had softened. Tugdual started to say something, but couldn’t.
“Speak to me, please,” begged Oksa. “Don’t leave me like this.”
The words refused to come.
“Is it because of Gus?” persevered Oksa.
Tugdual tensed.
“I love you, Tugdual.”
This murmured declaration surprised even her. She’d never said that to anyone. Never. Did Tugdual realize what it meant?
Looking devastated, Tugdual caressed her cheek lightly with his fingertips, then silently took off into the sky, which was veined with purple streaks.
The news spread like wildfire: the Portal had just started to open! Pavel and Abakum were the only ones who knew it wasn’t true—only Oksa could begin the process. However, spreading this rumour ensured that Orthon was bound to be informed about it by his spy.
The guard had been strengthened around the entrance to Thousandeye City: no one was allowed to leave under any pretext, and the Corpusleoxes were keeping close watch with one of the trusty brigades. Endless searching hadn’t located the breach made by the Felons, though, and Oksa was almost relieved. It didn’t really matter. The quicker Orthon was informed, the quicker he’d attack and the sooner this unbearable wait would be over.
From her balcony, with Abakum and Pavel at her side, Oksa watched the silent city through a Reticulata as big as a pillow. For the past three days Naftali and Sven, the Servants for Granokology and Protection, had been working flat out to perfect a strategy based essentially on mobility and the use of unconventional weapons that were likely to take their enemies by surprise. Vantage points had been cleared of rubble, priority targets had been identified, Granok-Shooters had been filled to overflowing and everyone was on the alert, trembling with impatience and fear.
It began with a soft noise, like a flag floating in the wind.
This noise swelled to resemble the beating of thousands of hands on thousands of drums, drawing closer and closer and becoming louder and louder.
Finally, it appeared.
A vast, buzzing swarm darkened the sky and the horizon. Above the Vertifliers surrounded by Vigilians in the front line were thousands of Chiropterans. Their wings clicked frantically and from between their pointy teeth erupted a shrill whistling noise which was agony on the ears.
Powerful creatures, each more frightening than the last, pounded over the ground: slimy, nauseating Abominaris; blue rhinoceroses with improbably long horns; enormous tigers with silver fur and canines as long as swords; thick, gleaming zebra-snakes.
“They’ve managed to tame them,” murmured Abakum, lowering his Reticulata.
“And we’ll make mincemeat of them!” exclaimed Oksa, keeping her eyes on the throng heading for Thousandeye City. “We managed to beat the Leozards, didn’t we?”
“There weren’t nearly as many Leozards,” objected Pavel.
Oksa looked at him in exasperation.
“Dad! Surely we’re not going to let a few beasts scare us?”
Pavel anxiously raised his hands in surrender and turned his attention back to the advancing enemy. When the humans and creatures reached the edge of the Aegis, they fanned out to surround the transparent membrane. The monsters on the ground pawed the earth impatiently around the bottom while the Vertifliers and Chiropterans positioned themselves so that they covered as vast a surface area as possible. In a few minutes, the Aegis had turned completely black, as if attacked by a lethal gangrene.
At the top of the Column, Oksa held her breath.
“It’s time you made your way down to the seventh basement,” said her father hotly.
“But Dad…” she groaned.
“Oksa, would you please do what I tell you for once?”
“Orthon will be focusing on you,” said Abakum. “He needs you to lead him to the Portal. He won’t endanger your life, but things are bound to get rough, so you should stay somewhere safe.”
“Whereas with me acting as bait, you could get at him much more easily!” snapped Oksa.
“We’ve already discussed this,” snapped Pavel. “It’s out of the—”
It wasn’t Oksa who prevented him from finishing his sentence. Granok-Shooters in hand, a hundred Felons were gathering on the west side of Thousandeye City to lead an attack that threatened to exceed even the gloomiest expectations. Pavel looked at his daughter one last time then took flight, his Ink Dragon deployed above him. A tongue of fire split the gloom, accompanied by a long roar. Abakum grabbed Oksa’s arm and pulled her out of her apartment. Without a word, they took the lift down to the Column’s first basement.
“Take shelter, Oksa. One of us will come and get you when this is over.”
He studied her intently, then turned and went back up to the lobby and left the Column. As soon as Oksa was left alone, however, she retraced her steps instead of going down to the underground passages.
“As if I could hide underground while they’re all risking their lives!” she declared passionately. “Orthon and his cronies are going to find out what a real Gracious is like.”