Grace settles again, but he can feel and see her discomfort. Good. He possesses not an ounce of pity for her, even though she is the oldest Kin he knows. Grace was here at the beginning of everything, long before the Time when Kin walked fearlessly across the land, and she has seen and known so much in her long life. What is happening to her now is just another small part of her endless story.

He didn’t even know whether the glamour would work. He is delighted. Gregor, that old human fool, did his job well.

“Shall we go to war?” he asks. Grace does not reply, and he senses that she does not understand. Whatever is left of the fairy is deep inside, and she was mad even before he took control of her mind. Perhaps she doesn’t even hear. He thinks the same phrase, and she blinks several times, fluttering her eyelids as if to shoo away a fly.

“Shall we go to war?” he asks the three mad, infected Kin. One of them, the gargoyle, slavers and drools, its muscles knotted and primed ready to launch against any foe. Mallian understands that he would be as much foe as a human. These three are machines, corrupted and unclean. They are the Kin version of human missiles. He will set them on their course.

He looks around the strange valley. He’s not sure what has happened here, but he can see that this used to be a human place, and now it has gone to mud, dust and ruin. He’s excited, his old heart beating faster than usual. He feels a tingle of anticipation at what is to come. For two years he has waited, never knowing if or when the chance to escape would present itself. For many years before that he schemed and planned, again not knowing for sure whether his grand plans would come to pass. He looks down at Lilou’s remains once more, and this time he does not feel sad. She is the first casualty in the battle for Ascent and will be remembered as such. A hero.

“Yes,” he says, this time speaking to no one but himself. “Let’s go to war.”

23

23

Thorn hears the voice of his master, and knows that his whole life has come to this. For a while he is too giddy and excited to even think about what it must mean. He’s been waiting for a long time, and even though his loyalty has never faltered, hope and expectation has. He has never been able to shake the conviction that Mallian was gone for good.

Now the Nephilim is back.