Free Casino Infernale by Simon R. Green Page B

door. Molly and I stood together, leaning on each other as we got our breath back. Coll brought up the rear, hacking and coughing noisily. Troy paid no attention to any of us.
    And then we heard it. From somewhere outside, beyond the closed door, came the clear and distinct sound of approaching hooves. Slow and steady and deliberate, and much heavier than they should have been. Troy whimpered out loud, one hand pressed against her mouth. Morrison put both hands on her shoulders, and pulled her backwards, away from the door. Coll looked at the closed door like a man looking at his death.
    “I could go and open the door,” I said quietly to Molly. “See what’s really out there.”
    “Really not a good idea,” said Molly, just as quietly. “First, you can’t use your usual . . . protection, in present company. And second, we didn’t see anything on the beach. What makes you think you’ll see anything here?”
    “No one is to open that door!” said Coll. “Monkton Manse has its own protections! I don’t think it can get through the door.”
    “Are you crazy?”
said Morrison. “It’s already got in here once, to kill Phil! We need to get out of here! Out of this house, and off this cursed island!”
    “Best idea I’ve heard so far,” I said.
    I turned away and got out my Merlin Glass. But when I tried to activate it, nothing happened. The hand mirror remained just a mirror.
    “Okay,” I said quietly to Molly. “That’s . . . unusual. I didn’t think there was anything here powerful enough to block the Glass.”
    “If there really is a living god out there . . .” said Molly.
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not convinced. This doesn’t feel right. I think we’re missing something. . . .”
    “It’s the Horse,” said Coll. “It’s found me.”
    “Shut up!” screamed Troy. “If you brought it here, then this is all your fault!”
    “Easy, Steph,” said Morrison. “The enemy’s out there, not in here.”
    “Maybe we should head for the back door,” I said. “The Fae Gate could get us all off the island.”
    “You really think we can get to the Gate before the White Horse catches us?” said Coll.
    “Come on,” I said. “It’s just a horse! How dangerous can it be?”
    “You saw what it did to Phil,” said Morrison. “I served two tours in Afghanistan, and I never saw anything that brutal.” He glared at Coll. “You should have told us. We’d never have brought you here if we’d known. . . . Why don’t you go open that door? Go outside! You’re the one it wants!”
    “Take it easy,” I said quickly. “If that really is a living god out there, the last thing we want to do is present it with a human sacrifice. So, let’s take a little time and think this through. Figure out exactly what we’re dealing with. No more stories, Hadrian; give us the facts. What exactly are we facing here?”
    “It’s a living god,” said Coll, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. “An idea given shape and form and power, by those who worshipped it for so long.”
    “Listen!” said Troy. “It’s stopped . . .”
    We all listened. There were no more noises from beyond the closed front door.
    “Is it gone, do you think?” said Troy.
    “Either that, or it’s standing really still,” I said. “Want to go open the door and take a look?”
    “What is the matter with you?” said Coll. “Why are you so eager to let the bloody thing in?”
    “Sorry,” I said. “Danger makes me flippant.”
    “If it’s there, I can hit it,” said Molly. “I ain’t afraid of no Horse.”
    “You would be,” said Coll, “if you’d seen it.”
    Morrison turned suddenly, and ran back down the hallway. Troy called out after him, miserably, but he just kept going. Didn’t even look back. I started to go after him.
    “No!” Molly said immediately. “In situations like this, it’s always a bad idea to go rushing off on your own. It’s so much easier to pick off