He waited for her to get clear, then searched the fallen soldier. ‘Arse!’ A spare mag, but no explosives. The nuke had obviously been more than enough.

No weapons – but maybe the Chinese could provide a defence . . .

Nina overcame her shock at the Nephilim’s recovery and swung the spar—

Sidona whipped up an arm to intercept it.

The metal rang with the impact, the priestess screaming and scrabbling backwards. Damn it! Her expanded senses had felt the life within the pillar – and warned her the intruder was there. Nina swung at her again, catching her shoulder. The key clanked to the floor.

Sidona jumped up, towering over her attacker. Her physical presence alone made Nina waver, but she swept her weapon at the Nephilim’s knee. Sidona twisted away, the strike only glancing, but enough to cut her skin.

The giant’s mouth curled into a pained snarl. She charged at her opponent. Nina tried to dodge, but Sidona used her sheer reach to backhand her hard in the face – then grab her ponytail.

Nina shrieked as she was hauled off the floor by her hair. She felt strands snapping, her own weight tearing hard at her scalp. She flailed the bar at her attacker’s arm. It hit her elbow, drawing blood – but too late to stop Sidona from hurling her off the ledge.

She screamed as she fell—

Her cry was cut off as she slammed down on the spiralling path fifteen feet below.

But she was not safe. Her legs were over the edge, tipping her into another fall—

She dropped to a lower turn of the pathway. Her left knee hit the crystal with hammer-blow force. Another scream, but she managed to roll against the wall beneath one of the frozen figures.

An angry exclamation from above – and Sidona started down the spiral to finish the job.

Nina looked around. Where was her weapon?

An echoing clang gave her the answer. The spar had fallen all the way to the bottom of the chamber.

‘God damn it,’ she snarled, tasting blood. Pain coursed through her knee, and the back of her head burned where her ponytail had almost been ripped from her skull. But she forced herself back to her feet. She had no choice. If she didn’t fight, Sidona would kill her.

But how could she defeat a foe almost twice her size?

Memories rushed back: Eddie training her in martial arts, many years previously. After her experiences in the hunt for Atlantis, where she had been forced into cooperation by more physically powerful adversaries, the lingering humiliation had made her want to protect herself. She was far short of Eddie’s combat prowess, and had not actively trained for some time, but could still deliver a bloody nose to anyone who underestimated her.

The problem was, she couldn’t even reach Sidona’s nose . . .