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such attacks took place among rival occultists; whether they worked could never be proved. He asked, “Who would do that? Had he made an enemy?”
    Deirdre looked at him with expressive brown eyes. He realised she was concerned for him. “It’s difficult. The person he quarrelled with was Lancelyn.”
    Ben was incredulous. “Are you suggesting that Lancelyn would launch such an attack?”
    He hadn’t meant to speak harshly, but Deirdre flinched. “Please, Ben. I know you’re close, but Lancelyn’s no angel. He has a wicked temper on him.”
    “But what did they quarrel about? If there was a disagreement within the Order, I’d know.”
    Again a hesitation. “I - I don’t know. But it was rancorous, and that’s when James’s troubles started. Nightmares, feelings of persecution. I could hardly believe what James told me, but I went and confronted Lancelyn and he -” She foundered, shaking.
    “Take your time,” said Holly. “Go on.”
    “Well, Lancelyn denied it, but his manner disturbed me. You know how he is. And now things are happening to me, too. That’s why I’m leaving. So I came to say goodbye and -”
    Ben cut across her. “What sort of things?”
    They made a maudlin tableau in the half-light; a fading poetess with the younger woman sitting over her in concern.
    Deirdre began softly, “I hear voices in my house when no one’s there. My housekeeper seems to look at me with Lancelyn’s eyes...”
    “No,” Holly whispered.
    “Last night I had a nightmare. I was lying in bed when the room filled up with dank air, so thick I could hardly breathe. Usually I see a strip of light between my curtains but this time it was pitch dark. I sensed a thing coming towards me. Something heavy and massive. A current of absolute evil. The bedclothes held me down as if they weighed a ton.
    “I heard a creature snuffling outside, like a huge pig. It got closer. Then the darkness split and I saw my curtains blown wide apart. A beast came surging in over the windowsill, breaking the glass and half the wall with it. It filled the room. And it was ugly, like an armoured rhinoceros, covered in tarnished brass plates, with a great head all dents and dimples. No eyes. A bluish-white steam came from under the armour plates, icy cold and stinking. I knew when the beast reached me, I’d be crushed to death. And it kept coming, pushing me up the bed until I was squeezed flat against the wall. I was suffocating. The weight on my chest was unbearable and I couldn’t breathe -” She broke off, coughing.
    Ben stroked her forehead. “Hush, you’re safe. How did it end?”
    “I woke up. I was dripping with sweat, but everything seemed normal otherwise. The window was intact and the curtains hadn’t moved. I went to look out and all was quiet... but on the sill there were gouges in the wood like great claw marks. I looked again in daylight and the marks were gone, but the night before - I saw them.”
    Ben’s reaction was absolute denial. He went to the window; birds fluttered and quarrelled outside. No one spoke. The clock cut the silence into hard sections.
    At last he said, “I’m at a loss, Deirdre. I’m sure you’re telling the truth, but Lancelyn can’t be responsible. He’s a scholar; he’d never hurt his friends.”
    Deirdre bowed her head, revealing grey strands in the copper. “I didn’t come here to argue. I’m telling you what happened, that’s all. If I don’t leave, it will be me next.” Her voice faded to a whisper. “It’ll be me.”
    “No,” Holly said firmly. “Lancelyn wouldn’t harm a woman.”
    Ben stared indignantly at his wife. Was she implying that he might harm a man?
    He said, “Have you considered that your mind is overactive because of James’s death? That James and yourself might be the victims of suggestion, rather than actual magic?”
    “Of course I have!” Deirdre snapped with a trace of her old spirit. “Don’t you understand that control of someone’s mind is the