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It's a world of technology and celebrity now The future is here, and London can't let go of its past That collective con-sciousness? It's dead, and it haunts the hs London down, just as hs ic of another age, put its ghosts to rest, and the city can finally shed the skin of its past and beco, vibrant piece of the future"

Jazz arched an eyebrow "That's a beautiful sentiment, but it's all a bit metaphysical for me How do you know this isn't all a load of shit?"

Terence leaned back and studied her "You can feel it, Jazz, down there in the tunnels Don't tell me you can't You must As for the restless spirits of old London, they're all too real There's little enough one What's left could be collected and harnessed My fa-ther knew that if the Blackwood Club eventually gained such e"

"Are you sure that would be such a terrible thing? " Jazz asked

"The city would remain a relic, antiquated, forever a part of the past London would go the way of Babylon If the Blackwood Club even allowed it to survive that long Don't you see? The e These men are not real sorcerers They're old, bitter, corrupt, and they could never use it for good Worse still, they're a occult energies of the past could only lead to catastrophe The entire city ed to control the ic for a time, they'd be cor-rupted by power Anarchy would tear London apart, hasten-ing its fall into ruin The only way to assure the safety and the future of London is to gather the hosts"

He drank more wine, and for the first time Jazz saw a break in his composure and confidence His eyes a-tery and his cheeks flushed, but she thought it was ht I understand," she said "Go on with your story"

Terence nodded "What happened next showed how right my father was"

"What happened?"

"So Until then, the club had apparently been a peaceful group Gathering knowledge, translating ical information every time the spirit of London screamed Sometimes years passed be-tween the screams; other times they happened every feeeks"

"Hour of Screams," Jazz said "That's what it's called"

Terence nodded, focusing intently on Jazz in the hope that she would sayfor hi changed Their thirst for knowledge had becoreed for power They dismantled the incomplete apparatus and spread its component parts about London

And ever since, I've been stealing them back"

"Why not destroy it? If they wanted the opposite of what your father wanted, why did they just break down the apparatus and hide it?"

Terence sri that accessed the ic in order to put it down And they saw that as the fast route to what they'd been gathering, piece by piece, for decades My father built that thing to help London ic before it can be destroyed The Blackwood Club didn't want the machine destroyed They wanted to use it to achieve their own ends, to gather the ic for themselves"

"And that blade I took from you is part of the appa-ratus"

Terence nodded "They've beento keep theear you have is almost the last part"

"So what's left?"

Terence poured e He still racefully, but there was a tiredness about him nohich Jazz was certain had to do with his murdered father "Your turn," he said

They killed myti, and beneath his cultured exterior there was a def-inite streak of danger

So more, but she knew that he was a man intent on his own needs and desires She could be far uess --and she was not sure that noas the time for such a revelation

"So you chose your course in life," Jazz said

"Strong people do"

"Not always So or weak, sometimes it can't be helped"

"Okay," Terence said cautiously "So ?"

"My round And when J was down there" She trailed off, confused now, not sure how much to say and how much to hold back "You met Harry Fowler"

She stared at hi in Her ive herselfit around herHe knows Harry!

"He tookTerence knew Harry, Harry was the photographer for the Blackwood Club, and they had both been trying to rob Mortiear for the apparatus contained in that place? He had not see the house ostensibly because it would hit back at the eance over what had happened to Cadge If he'd been after the gear, surely he'd have told Jazz what to look for?

"Were you in the Blackwood Club?" she asked

Terence frowned and sat up straight "No," he said "I've told you about them and what they did I haven't lied"

"How do you know Harry?"

"We used to work together"

"He was a photographer" Jazz watched closely, looking for any trace of a lie in Terence's response

"Did he tell you that?" he asked

"No I found out"

Terence nodded, frowned, tapped his ring against the wineglass again "In Keating's house?"