Page 191

A Buzzer was in front of us, in broad daylight, right in the middle of Rome.

The fog made it hard to see in full, but its white eyes locked on mine, glowing like full moons. It lunged at a man, catching him in its great scythes of claws, and ripped him in half.

‘What—’ Mistry had a fixed stare. ‘What just happened?’

I gripped the back of his seat. ‘Are you full-sighted?’

‘Yes.’

The Buzzers’ corrupted auras stopped the full-sighted from seeing them well. Mistry must have watched the man disappear into darkness, then come out in two pieces.

Nearby, a few vehicles smashed into each other in their haste to escape. Mistry sprang back to life. As he circled around the Buzzer, it swung for the car, its claws raking across the window, smearing blood in their wake. Mistry took a sharp left turn and drove along the bank of the Tiber. I could see Terebell, her blade glinting in the pale sunlight.

Just ahead were two more Buzzers, neither of them paying attention to the Rephs. They outpaced us with ease, their stretched limbs lengthening their strides. A third Buzzer leapt from a rooftop, colliding with a man on a moto.

Mistry stopped the car at the end of a bridge, the brakes squealing. There was another Buzzer ahead of us, blocking our way across the Tiber. Several bodies were scattered around it, and a lamppost had fallen across the pavement. A pair of voyants faced the beast, gathering spirits to spool. Mistry scrolled the window down, sweat beading on his face.

‘Antoinette!’

‘Rohan.’ Carter came to the car, sporting a nosebleed. ‘It’s bedlam out here. Where are you headed?’

‘Paige knows how to stop this. Her allies can—’

The Buzzer drowned him out with one of those appalling roars. The number of terrified voices tripled, coming from both the crowd and its throat. Carter jammed her fingers into her ears. Anyone who had frozen now ran for their lives. That was one good thing about humans – we knew how to adapt to danger. Nobody had a clue what the Buzzers were or why they were here, but it was clear they were bad news.

I was about to get out when Jaxon stepped into my eyeline, just as the rampaging Buzzer clamped its jaws around a man. He cast Weeping Sukie – one of his poltergeists – towards it, forcing it to drop its prey.

‘Paige,’ Arcturus said, ‘Jaxon could be useful.’

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Jaxon was the most powerful binder I had ever met.

‘Fucking hell, fine.’ I leaned out of the window. ‘Jaxon!’

He spotted me and strode over, Sukie racing after him. Herne the Hunter – a nasty piece of work, even for a poltergeist – was also at his side. The injured man crawled away from the Buzzer, leaving a trail of blood.

‘Hello, darling.’ He raked a strand of hair out of his eyes. ‘I see you escaped your cell.’

‘Shut up and get in, Jax,’ I said over the din. ‘We can use your ’geists to hold the Buzzers off.’ To my surprise, Jaxon got in without a word of protest, taking the seat beside Mistry. ‘Carter, Verca is heading for the Trevi Fountain. She could use your help.’

Carter acknowledged me with a nod. She turned with her archangel, which spread its apport wide, forming an invisible shield between her and the Buzzer. The creature swung for her, but the archangel deflected its claws, the clash radiating through the æther. Even now, after seeing it before, I was transfixed by the archangel – a spirit that had loved someone enough to protect their bloodline for as long as it could.

Mistry gripped the steering wheel. Once more, Carter wielded the angel, hurling the Buzzer clean off the bridge, and Mistry floored the accelerator, leaving her behind.

Jaxon glanced over his shoulder. ‘Why in blazes are there Buzzers in Rome?’

‘Scion was ready to punish Sala. They’ve dumped a bunch of starved Rephs here. They’re like catnip to Buzzers in that state,’ I said. ‘Sukie and Herne could help us reach them. Do you have Jean, too?’

‘I have them all.’

I clung to the back of the passenger seat as Mistry sped up again. ‘You were a red-jacket in Oxford. Did you learn anything useful about fighting Buzzers?’

‘I never faced them in Gallows Wood’ – Jaxon stopped when Mistry drove over something that jolted the whole car – ‘but I do recall that spools can be used to distract them. The spirits will tryto get away, but force a spool close enough, and the Buzzer may give chase.’

I looked at Arcturus. ‘Is he right?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m always right,’ Jaxon said. ‘Rohan, where exactly are you driving us?’