By the time Nina, Eddie, Eleanor and Broates reached the chamber housing the sarcophagus, Miller, Harhund and the other men had come back down in the elevator and caught up, guns drawn. Miller glared at Eddie. ‘Why is he still alive?’

‘Because I need him,’ said Eleanor. ‘Which is something I often wonder about with you.’ She waved for the newcomers to lower their weapons, then moved to the great crystalline coffin at the room’s centre. ‘Although I have a better use for him than a mere hostage.’

‘Just don’t ask me to do any sex stuff,’ Eddie told her. ‘You’re not my type.’

Her face crinkled in disgust. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you have the attitude of an especially unpleasant teenage boy?’

Eddie grinned. ‘Been hearing it from Nina ever since I met her. She still married me, though. Dunno what that says about her tastes in men.’

Nina sighed. ‘I’m still questioning them.’

‘Broates, bring me the key,’ said Eleanor. The butler took it from Nina and handed it to the old woman. ‘Thank you. Now that I finally,’ a pointed glance at Harhund, ‘have the key, the sarcophagus and Professor Wilde, we can find out if the Chinese theories were correct.’

‘If they’re not, a lot of people have died for nothing,’ Nina told her.

She didn’t reply, instead dismissively turning to face the sarcophagus, arms outstretched to bring the key to the matching recess in its base. Broates moved to assist her, but she waved him back. ‘I want to do this myself,’ she said, straining to slot it into place. ‘There!’

The frisson of anticipation amongst the observers quickly turned to disappointment when nothing happened. ‘It’s not working,’ said Miller.

‘Of course it isn’t,’ snapped his mother. ‘Do you ever listen to a word I say? It needs somebody with the proper DNA profile to activate it – someone of Atlantean ancestry.’ She gave Nina a probing look. ‘Or Nephilim ancestry, perhaps.’

‘You think the Atlanteans are descended from the Nephilim?’ Nina replied dubiously.

‘The Chinese think it’s highly likely, based on their genetic testing.’

‘Seems like pointing out the obvious, but Nina’s not ten feet tall,’ said Eddie.

‘Probably a result of cross-breeding over hundreds of generations,’ Eleanor said, gazing up at the figure inside the coffin. ‘The human genes controlling the physical form became dominant. But there are more important questions to answer right now. The first is: can a human be put into stasis in this sarcophagus?’

‘I guess you’ll find out for yourself in a hundred years,’ said Nina.

A thin smile – with a hint of cruelty behind it. ‘Do you really think I’m going to climb into an ancient contraption filled with poison gas without knowing if it works? Somebody else will test it first.’ She pointed a bony finger at Eddie. ‘Him!’

Miller’s expression brightened. ‘And if it kills him, nothing lost!’