An inhuman shout from the passage. Two Nephilim ran towards her. Both carried trikans. The leader whipped out his arm, the disc spinning from the handguard. Its blades sprang out, shimmering with strange energy – just like Excalibur—

She threw herself into cover behind the doorway as the trikan flashed past, then reached the end of its wire and whipped backwards. She saw it coming just in time to drop. The weapon clipped the door frame, chopping a thumb-sized chunk from the metal before returning to its owner.

Nina recovered from her shock and sprang up, leaning out to point the spear down the passage. The leading Nephilim was less than thirty feet away, trikan spinning again—

She jammed her thumb into the recess and willed her weapon to fire.

It did.

The cover at the spear’s end snapped open, revealing a spiral of metal and crystal identical to Gadreel’s makeshift weapon – and the air before it split apart.

A crackling, shimmering bolt of heat haze lanced from the qigun. The Nephilim tried to dodge, but wasn’t quite fast enough. The disruption caught his arm – which exploded like an egg in a microwave. His trikan fared no better, its disc-shaped body bursting apart.

‘Holy shit!’ Nina gasped, horrified by her weapon’s destructive power – and relieved that she was wielding rather than facing it.

The wounded Nephilim crashed against the wall, screaming and clutching at the blood-spouting remains of his arm. The second giant hastily flattened himself behind a crystalline rib, then glanced out to locate Nina.

She thrust the spear at him and thumbed the trigger again—

Nothing happened.

The warrior flinched, then stepped out further, throwing his trikan.

It rushed at her, blades singing. She shrieked, instinctively ducking as it shot past – a move that saved her life. The disc reversed and spun back along its line, rolling ninety degrees in response to a flick of the Nephilim’s hand and slicing just above her head.

Panting in fright, she peeked around the doorway. The first Nephilim was still slumped against the wall, moaning as blood gushed over his body. The second advanced again – and a third warrior hurried into view further down the corridor. She looked at her weapon. The cover had clapped shut. Either it could only fire a single shot, or it took time to recharge.

Hoping it was the latter, and that the recharge time was seconds rather than minutes, she jabbed the spear back out and pressed the trigger again—

Another crackling burst of energy erupted from the qigun. The nearer Nephilim dived, but the man behind him was caught by surprise. Only luck saved him as the rippling burst of earth energy missed by inches and struck the wall. A dazzling flash came from the adamantium panels, sparks flying and the metal glowing red hot. He darted into a storeroom.