After ten minutes or so, I came to the conclusion that the blood was not coming out of my top. It didn't bother me in the slightest though.
I was just about to make my way back inside when a scream erupted. It wasn't a baby's scream and nor was it coming from Jack and Lola's house. I instantly got to my feet and pricked my ears only to hear another and another and then a whole flood of chaos and panic.
"What's going on?" I asked Magnus as I saw him marching across the square.
"We're under attack," he announced in a deep, sincere tone. "Get to safety now."
I felt that sinking feeling in my stomach, the sort you'd get with bad news and intense fear put together, as I watched hell break loose in front of me. Children screamed and ran, parents clung tightly to their babies, terror flashed in everybody's eyes. Some of them had lived through Halimede's last attack; I could only imagine the dread their memories must have filled them with.