“Hmmm. So. Kandarian all right. In remarkably good condition, given that it’s almost certainly over three thousand years old, judging by the style of the markings. But then, most Kandarian artefacts are very . . . enduring. They were built to last, using processes we can only guess at now. Kandar . . . Vile place, by all accounts. Demon worshippers. Gave themselves up voluntarily to possession by Beings from Outside. Subjugated every other culture they came in contact with, and did terrible things to them. Just because they could. Slavery, torture, ritual sacrifice; slaughter and suffering were meat and drink to old Kandar. Finally they went to war with themselves, and their whole civilisation was wiped out in the course of one terrible, blood-soaked night. Not one trace of their cities remains today. Their culture and their people utterly extinct. Probably just as well. All we ever see now is the odd amulet or weapon, preserved long after they should have crumbled into dust by the energies trapped within. We only understand the language because so many spells and incantations were originally written in it.”

“What about this particular glyph?” I said, pointing at the amulet. “I translated it as Invaders.”

“Hmmm? Oh yes, quite right, Eddie. Good to see you paid attention during some of your classes, at least. Yes, Invaders. Quite definitely plural. And the surrounding glyphs suggest that this was a summoning, to bring these Invaders through into our world. I think we have to assume that the Presence you felt on the other side of the Nazca gateway was just one, of many. Which in turn suggests . . .”

“That there must be other nests,” I said. “More gateways built by the Loathly Ones, to bring through a whole invasion force of these Beings.”

“Oh shit,” said Molly. “It was hard enough taking one down. How many could there be?”

“Who knows?” said the Armourer. “Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands? Nests set up in countries all across the world, and all of humanity under threat. A threat we would have known nothing about . . . if you hadn’t launched your attack on the Loathly Ones, Eddie.”

“This is major-league stuff,” said Molly. “The whole world under threat? What do we do?”

“We stop them,” I said. “That’s what this family does. Uncle Jack, do we need to unlock the Armageddon Codex again?”

“Certainly not,” the Armourer said firmly. “I opened the Codex for you once, and that was one time more than I ever expected to see the Codex opened in my lifetime. No, those superweapons are only supposed to be used as a last resort, when reality itself is under threat. And things aren’t that bad. Yet.”

“But if the world’s about to be invaded by Beings from Outside . . .” I said.