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'Are you sure?'

'Yes I'd quite like liquorice, though, if you have any'

'Have you had so?'

'Well, not in chocolate combat, no,' said Lu-Tze 'But is it not written, "If you have another one you won't have an appetite for your dinner"?'

'You really mean you will not eat a second chocolate coffee bean?'

'No, thank you' Susan looked across at Unity, as tre 'You do have tastebuds, don't you?' she said, but she felt a pressure on her aret behind that cart over there and run when you get the signal,' said Lu-Tze 'Go now!'

'What signal?' We'll know, said the voice of Lobsang Lu-Tze watched them hurry away Then he picked up his broom in one hand and stepped out into the view of a street full of grey people 'Excuse me?' he said 'Could I have your attention, please?'

'What is he doing?' said Susan, crouching behind the cart They're all going towards hi So the orders,' said Susan Are you sure? 'Yes They've learned fro orders They need persuading' He's telling theot a plan I think it's working Yes! 'What's he done? What's he done?' Come on! He'll be fine! Susan leapt up 'Good!' Yes, they've cut his head offFear, anger, envy E you alive, which is a brief period just before you die The grey shapes fled in front of the swords But there were billions of the Passive, subtle ways 'This is stupid!' Pestilence shouted 'They can't even catch a common cold!'

'No soul to darey shreds that rolled away froer,' said Faet at it!' The horses were reined in The wall of greyness hovered in the distance, and began to close in again THEY ARE FIGHTING BACK, said Death CAN YOU NOT FEEL IT?

'I just feel we're too damn stupid,' said War AND WHERE DOES THAT FEELING COME FROM? 'Are you saying they're affecting our minds?' said Pestilence 'We're Horsemen! How can they do that to us?' WE HAVE BECOME TOO HUMAN 'Us? Human? Don't make me lau-' LOOK AT THE SWORD IN YOUR HAND, said Death DON'T YOU NOTICE ANYTHING? 'It's a sword Sword-shaped Well?' LOOK AT THE HAND FOUR FINGERS AND A THUMB A HUMAN HAND HUMANS GAVE YOU THAT SHAPE AND THAT IS THE WAY IN LISTEN! DO YOU NOT FEEL SMALL IN A BIG UNIVERSE? THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE SINGING IT IS BIG AND YOU ARE SMALL AND AROUND YOU THERE IS NOTHING BUT THE COLD OF SPACE AND YOU ARE SO VERY ALONE The other three Horse from them?' said War YES IT IS THE FEAR AND HATRED THAT MATTER HAS FOR LIFE AND THEY ARE THE BEARERS OF THAT HATRED 'Then what can we do?' said Pestilence 'There're too many of them!' DID YOU THINK THAT THOUGHT, OR DID THEY? Death snapped 'They're coain,' said War THEN WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN 'Four swords against an army? That'll never work!' YOU THOUGHT IT MIGHT A FEW MOMENTS AGO WHO IS TALKING FOR YOU NOW? HUMANS HAVE ALWAYS FACED US AND THEY HAVE NOT SURRENDERED 'Well, yes,' said Pestilence 'But with us they could always hope for a remission'

'Or a sudden truce,' said War 'Or-' Faan, and hesitated, and said finally, 'A shower of fish?' He looked at their expressions 'That actually happened once,' he added defiantly

IN ORDER TO HAVE A CHANGE OF FORTUNE AT THE LAST MINUTE YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR FORTUNE TO THE LAST MINUTE, said Death WE MUST DO WHAT WE CAN'And if that doesn't work?' said Pestilence Death gathered up Binky's reins The Auditors were much closer now He could make out their individual, identical shapes Remove one, and there were always a dozen more THEN WE DID WHAT WE COULD, he said, UNTIL WE COULD NOT On his cloud, the Angel Clothèd all in White wrestled with the Iron Book 'What are they talking about?' said Mrs War 'I don't know, I can't hear! And these two pages are stuck together!' said the angel It scrabbled ineffectively at them for a moment 'This is all because he wouldn't wear his vest,' said Mrs War fir I-' She had to stop because the angel had wrenched the halo froes, with sparks and a sound like a cat slipping down a blackboard The pages clanged apart 'Right, let's see' It scanned the newly revealed text 'Done that done that oh' It stopped and turned a pale face to Mrs War 'Oh, boy,' it said, 'we're in trouble now' A coer as the angel spoke It fla away and revealing, as it closed with the Horsemen, a chariot on fire It was a blue fla in the chariot wore a full-face helhtly like the wings of a butterfly and rather e, alien creature The burning horse, barely sweating, trotted to a halt; the other horses, regardless of their riders,a hand in disgust 'Not him, too? I said what'd happen if he came back, didn't I? Remember that time he threw the minstrel out of the hotelin Zok? Didn't I say-' SHUT UP, said Death He nodded HELLO, RONNIE GOOD TO SEE YOU I WONDERED IF YOU WOULD COME

A hand trailing cold steam came up and removed the hel tihed 'Heard you were doing well,' he said 'Yes, indeed,' said Ronnie, in a careful tone of voice 'There's a real future in the retail lanced at the Auditors They'd stopped , watchfully 'Well, the world will always need cheese,' said War desperately 'Haha'

'Looks like there's soan WE CAN'T, said Death YOU CAN SEE HOW IT IS, RONNIE TIMES HAVE CHANGED WOULD YOU CARE TO SIT IN FOR THIS ONE? 'Hey, we haven't discussed-' Falared at him Ronnie Soak put on his hellass clock, looked like the intrusion into the world of soreat deal more complex 'Some old man told me you live and learn,' he said 'Well I have lived, and now I've learned that the edge of a sword is infinitely long I've also learned how to h this is not a skill I intend to eet' em, boys?' Far down, in the street, a few of the Auditors moved forward 'What is Rule One?' said one of the axe waved them back 'Obedience is necessary!' The Auditors wavered, watching the cleaver They'd learned about pain They'd never felt pain before, not in billions of years Those who had felt it had no desire at all to feel it again 'Very well,' said Mr White 'Now get back to-' A chocolate egg spun out of nowhere and smashed on the stones The crowd of Auditors rippled forward, but Mr White slashed the axe through the air a few times 'Stand back! Stand back!' he screamed 'You three! Find out who threw that! It came from behind that stall! No one is to touch the brown material!'

He stooped carefully and picked up a large fragment of chocolate, on which could just beHand shaking and sweat beading his forehead, he raised it aloft and flourished the cleaver triuh from the crowd 'You see?' he shouted 'The body can be overcoood, there may be brown e! Ah' He lowered his ared towards hiade' He walked towards the captive 'What will it be?' he said 'The cleaver or the brown material?'

'It's called chocolate,' snapped Unity 'I do not eat it'