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Everyone ok?” With an eruption of dust, Morgan forced his way through the hatch.
    “Looks like ‘the shoulders’ made it after all,” Eve whispered.
    Cameron grinned. “Doing fine, mate. Why don’t you help us look for the wards now you’re up? What’s it doing here anyway?”
    “Got to be above all the doors and windows that need protected. Above the chimney too, if you’ve got an open fireplace.” Morgan brushed himself down. “Could be worse, eh? We could be clambering over the roof.”
    Cameron aimed his torch above his head and ran the light along the underside of the rafters. Hanging on a length of yellowed string was a stone disc about the size of a large coin. A design had been carved into the front showing a two-faced man. From under a mass of stylized curls, one proud nose pointed left, the other jutted right. A jagged crack ran straight across the middle.
    “That’s it. And it looks broken to me.” Morgan stepped nimbly across the beams, reached up and snagged the disc. The string snapped and it dropped into his hands. He turned the disc over and examined it. “There’s something written on the back…”
    “Let me see.” Eve studied the engraving. “It’s Latin. It’s quite simple. It says:
    THIS TOKEN GUARDS ALL PORTALS OF THE DWELLING PLACE OF ISOBEL IVES, FROM DAY OF ISSUE UNTIL ONE YEAR AFTER SHE DEPARTS THE HUMANIAN REALMS.”
    “Eve, you
are
amazing,” said Cameron. “How did you know that?”
    “You don’t work for a daemon for years without picking up the occasional dead language.” She gave him a haughty look, but he could tell she was secretly pleased. “It’s signed:
    BY THE ORDER OF JANUS.”
    “Janus!” Morgan whistled. “That’s a pretty classy ward. He’s
only
the Ancient Roman God of Entrances and Exits.”
    “Do you know him?” said Cameron.
    “By reputation. He’s got a bit of a connection to the pack. I might be able to lean on it. No promises.”
    “Do we need to go to
Rome
to get the wards fixed, and make us safe?” Eve was full of enthusiasm. “The only thing I ever liked about Mrs Ferguson was she used to play opera. I’ve always wanted to see Italy…”
    “Nah, you’re all right. No opera necessary,” said Morgan. “We can catch Janus here in Edinburgh. On the Parallel.”
    “What’s he doing there?” Cameron laughed andheld up a hand. “No, don’t tell me. It wouldn’t be the strangest –”
    “Oh, don’t be dull, Cameron,” Eve interjected. “The Romans got everywhere. It’ll make an interesting trip.”
    “Hold up.” Morgan gave Eve a hard look. “Who said you get to come? There’s no guarantee Janus’ll help. He’s meant to be a right Roman pain in the –”
    “I am
so
coming. You just try and stop me.” Eve’s eyes gleamed, and she took herself on a little dance, jumping from beam to beam. “And I know how to tackle the Court of the Parallel too – I’m the only one who does – but I’m not going to tell you how until
after
we’ve been.”
    Cameron and Morgan exchanged looks.
    “You’d better say yes, mate.” Morgan cast a wary glance at Eve’s clodhopping footsteps. “If she carries on like that she’ll have half the ceilings down.”
    Cameron sighed. “You realise this is blackmail, right?”
    “Is it?” said Eve. “How sweet of you to notice.”

CHAPTER 3
On the Parallel Line
    The Parallel ran through the world like a geological seam – at least that’s how Cameron always imagined it – a deposit of myth and madness and monsters, drawn in from the bordering Human and Daemon realms.
    He remembered the first time he’d heard about it, late one night in the kitchen on Observatory Row, not long after he’d moved in. The loss of his father had been recent, and he’d felt very raw and empty. His gran had seen that emptiness, and for reasons of her own, offered up the story of the Parallel.
    She had told him about the mages Mitchell and Astredo, and their bold plan to separate the Human and Daemon