Olorus made a face. Hook frowned.

"Ahlund and I sensed them coming," said Zechariah. "I felt the blackness of their daemyn energies. I think they were demons."

"You mean coblyns?" said Olorus. "Have you any idea how much coblyn blood has greased by blade-?"

"Not coblyns," Zechariah said. "There are other kinds of demons. Higher forms capable of terrible power. But such things have not walked the Oikoumene since before my birth."

Hook's hands worked quickly, making ...