Come over now.

Keep flashlight off. Stay silent.

And do not—do not—look at the statue’s face.

Our lives depend on it.

Moments later, Lily, Easton and Smiley joined Jack and, with the goldman in the tunnel still not moving, they scurried away into the next under-tunnel.

They left the dying Omega monk to his fate. He just kept whispering hoarsely through his melted lips: ‘. . . If we can’t get to Keter, Malkuth will lead us to the other realm . . .’

They hurried into the under-tunnel, setting off its water trap, but Jack quickly pressed his palm to the pedestal there and the water stopped and they raced up its far stairs.

The goldman did not follow.

They stepped up from that second under-tunnel into another long flat section of the main tunnel and Jack’s relief at passing the goldman instantly vanished.

Something was wrong here.

It took him a moment to realise what it was: this section of the tunnel was darker.

Totally dark.

It had no red orbs in its ceiling, just a line of maybe ten empty sockets where they should have been.

Jack tensed. Possible trap?

Not yet willing to use his helmet flashlight, he reached into his pack, grabbed his night-vision goggles and put them on.

With his head bent, he saw the floorstones at his feet in the green glow of night vision.

Then he swung his head back up to look at the tunnel and in that haunting glow he saw a figure with sharpened teeth rushing at him in a screaming rage.

The figure slammed into Jack, hurling him back onto the floor and knocking the night-vision goggles off his head.

Darkness. Blackness.

He was totally blind.

And then his attacker was on top of him, punching and scratching at his face.

Jack fended off the flurry of blows. As he did, he heard Lily scream plus scuffling noises.

A twee voice squealed: ‘Can you fight while blind! Can you, can you!’

In the split second before his goggles had been dislodged, Jack had caught a glimpse of his attacker:

A Vandal: nimble and wiry, it had been wearing a pair of its own night-vision goggles.

It could see and Jack couldn’t.

And there was at least one other Vandal in here, attacking Lily—

Boom.

Amid all the movement, Jack heard a dull echoing thud from somewhere behind them.

Was it the goldman?

Had it awakened?

Uh-oh.

He still couldn’t see a thing. Just infinite black.

The Vandal on top of Jack was still attacking him—hissing, punching and biting—so Jack raised his titanium left forearm to protect his face, and not knowing that it was made of metal, the Vandal bit viciously into it and squealed in surprise and pain.

‘Ow!’

Jack took the chance and lashed out at the darkness with his titanium fist, hoping to land a punch.

It landed.