'He's going to get himself killed!' hissed Alex.

Will did not answer. He had to concentrate. At times like this, he felt intense resentment for those who thrived on adrenaline. Those who lived for it. They said it made them more focused, like they could see nothing else but the goal ahead of them. Nari proudly declared that all he knew in the heat of battle was the next face to introduce to his fist, the next arm to be twisted, or neck to be broken. Small, vulnerable points in sharp focus. Everything else faded into the distance, he said.

All Will saw was darkness. For him, everything else blended into one confusing, noisy mess. With that cursed red blob in the centre. The training helped, but it still caught him off guard occasionally. Damn adrenaline.

'Where'd everybody go?' Will said. 'He's on his own!'

'There aren't many left,' Alex said. 'Most of them have run away.'

'Thought they wanted to help us.'

Alex laughed. 'What did you expect? These people are civilians. Sure, they want to look after their kids, but that's why we're here, right?'

'Right.' It did not sit right though. The crowd that moments ago had been so anxious, so concerned for their priest, for Davey, all gone? Even if they believed the children were safe, a few should have stayed at least. They would have to fight eventually. Someone had to fight.

It did not sit right at all. The Shadow beckoned.

Pay attention!

Will hummed quietly to himself. A little tune he had practised for years. It was forced, but the effect was instant. The notes pushed the darkness aside, and he was able to risk another look.

The big Indian, Nari, was a whirlwind of violence, a lone figure in the middle of an ever-widening circle. Five black-clad figures danced around him, ducking and diving, darting in here, landing the odd soft blow there. Some already lay on the ground, a couple moaning and struggling to crawl away, others deathly still. Their weapons scattered on the ground. A master at work. As Will watched, the Indian caught one of the Seekers mid-leap, bringing him down onto his knees with a crack and a scream that reverberated through the village square. At the same time, two more attacked from behind and he fell.

'Dammit Will!'

He barely heard Alex's exasperated gasp. He did not wonder at the way the figures suddenly grew as if through a zooming camera lens. The sensation was as familiar to him as breathing.

He was beginning to Shift.

They should have had a nicely poetic name for the phenomenon, but nothing seemed to give it justice, no word carried enough meaning. It felt like he had moved onto a different plane of existence. In the world but not of the world. As if he and the world had shifted out of sync. After the actual moment, or moments, of 'Shifting', Will often found he had moved physically, without experiencing the journey itself, and was standing in the place he had wanted to be in the split second just before it started. This did not translate well into words. So he gave it a name, and the others allowed him the benefit of the doubt, whether they understood what he was on about or not.

Sure you know what you're doing, kid?

Sure. Will thought, and breathed out slowly.

Focus.

Then he was standing in the middle of the circle of fighters. Nari, back on his own feet, was frozen mid kick, his foot raised higher than Will's head. The unfortunate victim of that particular blow, already in the beginning of a graceful parabola, sported a twisted neck and a hideously dilocated jaw. It glowed faintly. An orange-red that Will had long associated with great pain. No need to interfere there. The man would be dead before he hit the ground.

There. See? Looks like you got here just in time.

Behind Nari, two brightly glowing sliver blades hung in the air, one pointing to his kidneys, the other aiming straight at the back of his throat. Will smiled to himself. Objects still carried their momentum when he came out of the trance. Painful experience had taught him to see everything as a minefield of potential energy, and when he understood this, his mind allocated colours to the different states of motion. A dull green for a stumble. Bright red for a landed blow. A silver glow for speed. Will plucked the knives out of the air and carefully turned them back towards the assassin who had thrown them. That should surprise him.

Of course it would be easy to stab the bastards where they stood, move Nari out of the way and watch him spin himself hilariously into the ground. But it would be too easy. Davey had taught him better values than that. He like to think of himself as enabling people to bring about their own destruction. And besides, there was also the thought of the Big Indian's painful revenge. He still had the bruises from the first time. No, this was better. This way Nari could continue his fight, and all Will had done was stop him from being killed too soon. He just had to move the others around and let them finish themselves off. The colours helped, showing him the direction of movement clearly, in technicolor like an old film.

The colours wavered. Will blinked.

Hurry up kid, you're running out of time.

I know! Will carefully moved two of the other figures to face each other. With a bit of luck their heads would meet and they would be stunned enough for Nari to finish them off.

One left. This one had just left Davey's house and had paused on the step by the front door, staying out of the way of the battle. He had spotted the flash of red hair a hundred meters away peeking round the corner of a building and looked ready to give chase. Will smiled. He would deal with this one himself, in real time. If this one was the last to leave the house, that meant… He frowned. It did not bear thinking about. Not yet, anyway.

He positioned himself in front of the man, and raised his fist.

Time caught up.

Like the reverse of a tornado, or the death of a whirlpool. Everything spinning in a sickening, almost instantaneous implosion. Gravity remembered that things were supposed to be heavy.

The man in front of Will looked shocked at his sudden appearance. Will smiled.

'Looking for someone?' he said, and drove his fist into the man's jaw. Two yelps to his left told him the daggers had found their mark, quickly followed by a satisfied deep-throated grunt indicating Nari's final blow.

'Wondered when you'd show up,' Nari panted, unperturbed by the sudden change in scenery.

'Yeah. Sorry it took us so long.'

'Bah, I was fine. Had worse.' He stretched his right arm with a loud groan. There was a sickening crunch. 'Ah, that's better.'

'Better get this lot processed. Any left alive?'

'This one - and this one. Oh, and a couple over there.' Nari jerked his head over to an old well in the village green. Will heard the faint echoes of ineffectual scrabbling and grinned.

'Good one,' he said. 'Any sign of Stagnetto?'

It was a strange thing, seeing Nari wince and shudder, especially so soon after a victory. 'No Man in Black today,' he mumbled, then looked over his shoulder instinctively, as if the mention of his name would summon him.

'Shame,' Will said. 'Davey was sure he would be here.'

'Nope. Kids?'

'Yes. We can get them now.' He turned to call for Alex, but the red-haired girl was gone.

'Dammit!'

'Must have gone for the children,' Nari said.

'Without us?' Will said stupidly. He knew, of course, that Alex was quite capable of handling a couple of Seekers without them. But if Stagnetto had sneaked in while they were occupied, now that was another story. Much as he would like to confront the man himself, he needed a while to recharge after the Shifting.

'Tunnels?' said Nari helpfully.

Will sighed. 'I'll check. But you know she could be anywhere. You be alright here?'

'I'll gather the bodies. Be at the Bunker in a couple of hours.'

'Don't hang about, alright? She gets all,' he tried to find a suitable word to describe the creature Alex became when she thought Nari was in mortal danger, 'edgy when you're late.'

Nari chuckled. 'But the bruises heal quickly, no?' he said.

'I'll get the kids, then we can give the old man a proper burial,' Will said.

He started towards the church.