She tensed, eyes flickering from ironhorse to Ash.

Claire could feel a surge of cold iron glamour, and Virus shoved Ash away, pushing him back in a flash of green. He recovered immediately, but before he could rush her again, Virus retreated, stepping off the mezzanine to float several feet in the air. Her poisonous green eyes found Claire and she smiled.

"Well." She sniffed and cast bemused glances at the chaos spread at her feet. Ironhorse, surrounded by Iron fey, still kicked and raged at them, though his struggles were growing weaker. More Thornguards came rushing up the steps, but these held crossbows with iron bolts, pointed right at her and Puck. "Claire Chase. You are full of surprises, arent you?" Virus smiled at her.

"Ive no idea how you managed to free the Winter prince from my bug, but it doesnt matter now. The armies of the false king are ready to march on Summer and Winter. Once they have taken the Nevernever and killed off the oldblood rulers, it will be our turn. We will overrun their armies and kill the false king before he has a chance to savor his victory. Then, the Nevernever will belong to m--"

She didnt have a chance to finish. Ash drew back and hurled a flurry of ice daggers at her face, taking her by surprise. She flinched, holding up the scepter; there was a flash of green light and a surge of power. The icicles shattered, bursting apart before they reached her. With angry shouts, the crossbow men released their quarrels even as Virus screamed at them to stop.

She froze for a second, staring up at Virus before her eyes flicker to the arrows coming at her. She immediately slides to the middle of the roof, avoiding the arrows flying at her.

The deadly storm of iron bolts flew toward her. She could feel them sailing through the air, Matrix style, leaving distorted ripples in their wake. A ripple went through the air. The bolts flew to either side of her, thunking into the walls and pinging off metal beams to clatter to the floor. Iron fey shrieked as they were hit, but not one of the half-dozen bolts touched either her or Puck.

The Thornguards gaped. Ash and Puck stared at Claire as if she had grown another head.

"Impossible." Virus spun slowly to face her, her face draining of color. She shook her head, as if trying to convince herself. "You cannot be the one. A weakling human girl? Youre not even one of us. Its a mistake, it must be!"

She stares at Virus, confused.

Virus started to giggle, sticking a green-tinted nail in her mouth, her laughter growing louder and more hysterical, until she stopped and glared at Claire with wide, crazy eyes. "No!" she screamed, making even the Thornguards flinch. "It isnt right! I was his second! His power should have been mine!"

Her mouth opened, gaping impossibly wide, and the Thornguards backed away. The air started to vibrate, a terrible buzzing filling the air, and Virus threw her head back. With the droning of a million bees, a huge swarm of metal bugs spiraled up from Viruss mouth, swirling around her in a frantic glittering cloud. Her smile was savage as she looked up at her, extending a hand from the center of the buzzing tornado. "Now, my dears," she said, barely audible over the droning of a thousand bugs, "we will end this little game once and for all. I should have done this when I first saw you, but I had no idea you were the one I was searching for all along."

She looks up at Puck for an answer, absolutely confused and lost, what was this woman talking about?

Puck shrugged.

Everything grew very still. The cold glamour buzzed beneath her skin, and she could taste metal on the air.
There were thousands of individual bugs, but also a single creature sharing one mind, one goal, one purpose. A hive mind. Control one, and you control them all.

She stares at them silently.

"Go," she screamed, sweeping her arm toward her and Puck. "Crawl down their throats and nostrils, into their eyes and ears and every open pore. Burrow into their brains and make them tear out their own hearts!"

The Swarm flew toward them, a furious, buzzing cloud. uck pressed close. A droning filled her ears as the Swarm approached, glowing bright with iron glamour, melded into a single massive entity. One mind. One creature.