The beast hung above the steaming sea, and the battle around it seemed to lose its nerve.
Its wings beat once.
Hot wind rolled across the water and flattened the waves, and the mist that had hidden the siren tore apart in long grey shreds.
Where the beast's shadow fell, the sea hissed. Bubbles rose from below, then broke into steam, until a wide circle of water beneath it was boiling. Dead fish floated up by the hundreds, and they were all cooked white.
The tide lost its hunger at once. Eels that had been throwing themselves at The Wall twisted and dove. A house-sized crab scuttled backward over its own kind, claws raised in front of its face like a shield.
On the eastern walls, a soldier tried to lift his spear and found that his arms would not obey him. Along the terraces, the crystal pillars flickered as if a draught had passed over candles.
Even the bells faltered. One by one, the ringers in the towers stopped pulling.
