Lilith. Very well. We can do that. We're good at making deals. It's what we do, after all. That is why we agreed to meet with you here, John Taylor. Lilith's son. You will be our agent, our representative, in these negotiations. Talk to your mother and promise her… whatever it takes, to reach an accommodation. We have already revealed our presence to her and summoned her here to talk with us."

Walker stood up straight, pushing himself away from the wall he'd been leaning on. "What? Why didn't you consult me first? Do you know what you've done, you bloody fools…"

"Not now, Walker!" Harper didn't even look at him.

He was still doing his best to intimidate me with an imperious stare. "We are rich beyond the nightmares of avarice, Taylor. We can afford to be flexible, if we have to. Better to share the wealth of the Nightside with your mother than risk seeing it destroyed. It's just a matter of finding out what she wants… We're all reasonable people, after all. I'm sure we can come to an understanding with Lilith, with your help."

"Lilith isn't reasonable," I said. "She isn't even people. You have no idea what you're dealing with. She isn't interested in money, or even in power, as you understand it. She just wants to wipe the whole slate clean and start again. And replace Humanity with something more suited to her needs."

One whole wall of the private room suddenly disappeared, ripped away by an outside force. We all looked round, startled, to discover that the room now looked directly out onto the Nightside. Nothing stood between us and the dark, the blazing buildings, and the streets filled with smoke and screams. And there before us stood Lilith, naked and magnificent, with all her monstrous Court ranked behind her. The Authorities rose to their feet, stumbling and awkward, staring with wide horrified eyes.

The two former angels surged forward, to stand between the Authorities and Lilith, their power shimmering on the air around them like a heat haze. Lilith smiled at them and said Go home, and the light and dark figures both disappeared in a moment, banished from the material planes by the sheer force of her will. I had a good idea where she'd sent them, and I doubted either of them could expect much of a welcome back.

"So," said Lilith, stepping gracefully forward into the private room, her voice light and teasing, "you're the Authorities. The Secret Masters of the Nightside, the Big Men… We meet at last. Only, I have to say, you don't look very big to me. You look much more like little boys, way out of their depth. Come to me. Come to Mommie…"

Her presence ignited, filling the whole room, vast and overwhelming. I had to look away, retreating behind my strongest mental shields, while the ten most powerful men in the Nightside, and therefore the world, fell to their knees and went to Lilith on all fours, like swine before a goddess. Walker started forward. I grabbed him by the arm and hustled him towards the invisible door. He found the key and opened the door, his hand steady even though his face was torn with conflicting emotions. I looked back, briefly.

Lilith laughed, to see the high-and-mighty Authorities cringe and fawn at her colourless feet. "Why, you're so cute! I could eat you up… but I think you'd probably make me sick. Fortunately, my children have far more robust appetites…"

She laughed again, as her horrid offspring surged forward. I pushed Walker through the door, following him into the relative safety of the Club's lobby. As the door swung slowly shut behind us, I looked back one last time. And saw Lilith's monstrous children fall upon the screaming Authorities and tear at them hungrily, like wolves let into the fold.

Ten

A Chance for Revenge

I ended up having to drag Walker back through the lobby and out onto the steps of the Londinium Club. His eyes weren't tracking properly, and he was mumbling to himself. Once we were safely outside, I glanced quickly around to be sure we were alone, then sat down on the steps to get my composure back. With the invisible door shut again, Lilith shouldn't be able to come after us. For a while, anyway. Walker sat down suddenly next to me, all his usual poise and confidence gone. I suppose it's not an easy thing, to see the lords and masters you've followed all your life revealed as