17
‘Charge!’ Jack Frost’s order rang loud and the crowd became a stampede.
‘John!’ shouted Mary.
She reached out but their fingers lost contact as other Londoners thundered past, snagging her dress and throwing her off balance. A wedge of bodies rushed between them, forcing them apart. Stella tried to hang back but she too found herself being pushed forward, locked in a mass of bodies.
Bang…! Bang!
More shots. Rifle smoke billowed from the trees at the south end of the bridge. The Queen, it appeared, wasn’t as unguarded as they assumed. A scattering of wanderers picking through the forest beside the bridge emerged: military personnel.
‘The firework!’ shouted Jack. ‘It was a signal!’ Left and right, people fell. Gore bloomed on tunics and dark stains spread across chests. Humans went
