‘A tribe called America,’ Zan replied. The name sounded odd and unappealing to Gadreel’s ears. ‘It has the most weapons, the most powerful armies. It is my tribe’s greatest enemy.’

‘Your tribe is also our enemy. Perhaps I should ally with this America?’ The Chinese looked decidedly unhappy, until Gadreel let out a mocking laugh. ‘All human tribes are a danger to us. For my people to reclaim this world, we must remove such threats.’ He pointed at the tracker’s screen. ‘Show them to me.’

Zan brought the map to North America. ‘Here, my lord.’

The Nephilim leader hid his concern. Seemingly arbitrary lines across land marked tribal territories; the one Zan indicated was huge, stretching from one coast of the unknown continent to the other. A single tribe controlled such a vast area? And while America was the most powerful, there were others on the world map as big, or bigger. The enormity of the challenge he faced started to become plain.

But it was one he would accept; that he had to accept. The humans had wiped out the People of the Tree, their capacity for raw violence outmatching their masters’ lofty intentions, and he was sure they would attempt to do the same to his own people even when faced with the superior weapons of the Nephilim – perhaps especially when faced with them. There was no animal more dangerous and vicious than a cornered one . . .

A statement had to be made, a display of power so great it would shock the humans into surrender. ‘Where is their largest city?’

Zan zoomed in on the east coast. ‘It is called New York.’

He pointed. Gadreel couldn’t read the text, but assumed the sprawl of grey where two rivers met in a bay marked the city’s boundaries. Several red lines ran close to it. ‘Then that is our target.’

He waited for Zan to fix the crosshairs, then went to his wife. She was in a fugue state, barely aware of the real world. ‘Sidona. Can you hear me?’

‘I can, my lord,’ she replied, voice distant.

‘There is a target in the machine. Can you sense it?’

‘Yes.’ Her expression became one of discomfort, that of someone with a small but sharp stone trapped in their sandal. However the tracker marked its target, it felt unpleasant to those with the gift. ‘It is a long way from here, but I will reach out.’ She closed her eyes, concentrating – then gasped.

‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘So many beasts,’ came the whispered reply. ‘They are so many! The city, it is huge. The one we saw is nothing to it. The buildings, they . . . I cannot even count them. Tower after tower after tower, stretching to the sky . . .’

‘No tower stands for ever,’ he said firmly. ‘Can you bring them down?’

‘Yes. I can shape the power, even from so far away. I can destroy them.’

‘Then do so.’