‘Dead,’ Gadreel replied with no small satisfaction – though not enough to dampen his rage. He ordered the newly arrived warrior to join the hunt for the woman, then looked out at the distant city. It was huge, larger than any he had ever seen before. The humans had done much in his long absence . . .

But it was time to remind them they were not the true inheritors of this world.

He marched back to the central altar and held his hands over the crystals and stones set into it. Only a priestess could control earth energy for complex and subtle purposes – but all Nephilim, men and women alike, could use it in more simple ways. And simple did not necessarily mean weak. ‘Help me fly the fortress,’ he said.

Sidona came to him. ‘What are you going to do?’

Another resurrected warrior entered, unsure what was happening. ‘Go below and charge the lightning spears!’ Gadreel told the man, who hurried from the chamber. The Nephilim leader put his uninjured hand flat on the console. He felt the tingle of force run through it – a force he could guide. ‘We shall show these beasts the true power of the Nephilim!’

An effort of will – and the energy he felt through his hand changed, its flow altering as if rounding a stone dropped in a stream.

The entire fortress responded.

Sidona braced herself as the floor tilted. The city slid across the windows until it was directly ahead. Gadreel moved his hand again – and the fortress slowly picked up speed, gliding away from its burial pit.

A voice echoed from the altar, one of the glowing crystals pulsing. Sympathetic energy vibrations linked it with another in a room below, allowing the man he had dispatched to communicate with him. ‘The lightning spears are ready, my lord.’

Yet another warrior emerged blinking from the mausoleum, realising from his leader’s look that he was needed for immediate action. ‘Go to them,’ Gadreel ordered. ‘Raze that city to the ground!’

Both helicopters’ engines were running, but their rotors were not yet at take-off speed. Wu Shun used her angry impatience to dam her tears. The monster who had killed her father would pay, no matter the consequences—

Shouts and gasps from the soldiers nearby. She turned – to see the fortress moving, blotting out the sun as it passed overhead. The very air trembled with some invisible force, dust swirling across the ground. From below, it resembled a dragon more than ever, an elongated body behind the head bearing elaborate fins and spines. The iridescent glow rippling across the hull grew brighter.

Her rage surged: they were escaping! She snatched a rifle from the closest man and opened fire on the behemoth. The other soldiers followed her lead, sending a storm of bullets up at the dragon’s belly.