Nina looked back up at Gadreel, suddenly determined – then placed the key firmly against the floor. The parallel world of earth energy swallowed her.

‘Mom!’ Macy cried as her wounded mother went into a trance. ‘Don’t do it! You can’t let him win!’

But Nina didn’t respond. The ten-year-old stared helplessly at the scene, watching the door edge down and guessing from Zan’s nervous upwards glances that there was some other danger coming closer. She wanted to run, but was too scared – Gadreel was still pointing his spear at her.

Her gaze found the abandoned trikan. Only feet away – but she didn’t dare move towards it. If Gadreel was distracted, she might be able to reach the weapon, but right now, she was trapped—

She flinched at a flash inside the chamber. Gadreel and Zan also reacted with surprise. Another burst of light, and this time she saw the source: what looked like a tiny lightning bolt crackling across the crystal wall. Another followed, larger, then another – this one outside the pillar.

The Nephilim barked a command to Zan. The translator stammered a reply, then started towards Macy. ‘Professor Wilde!’ he said. ‘If you don’t stop whatever you’re doing, Lord Gadreel has told me to – to throw your daughter into the pit!’

Macy wanted to run, but Gadreel’s spear was still raised. Zan emerged from the chamber and advanced on her—

A frantic howl from above – and Cheng leapt down from the walkway at his countryman.

He hit Zan feet-first, kicking him hard in the back. The student landed heavily, but the translator’s own touchdown would be far harder. The blow propelled him over the edge, sending him shrieking into the unseen depths kilometres below.

Cheng’s unexpected appearance caught Gadreel by surprise. He whipped his weapon towards the new arrival – then saw Macy lunge for the fallen trikan. He swept the spear after her, thumb poised over the trigger crystal—

Liquid energy flashed across the chamber right in front of him. He jerked back – then whirled to face Nina. Shocked realisation crossed his face: she was doing here what Sidona had done to a whole city, creating a surge of earth energy that would build to an explosive release.

His baraka came up at her—

Macy flung the trikan with a yell of pure protective rage.

The bladed disc sliced through the air, curving beneath the chamber’s still-closing door . . . then angling back up as she willed it to save her mother.

It homed in – and hit.

Gadreel roared as the trikan, blades glowing with earth energy, hacked his hand off at the wrist in a spray of blood. The spear clanked to the floor, his fist still clenched around it. He staggered back, clutching at the spouting stump—

The walls came alive with seething, roiling power – then a bolt as thick as a tree trunk lanced out from beneath Nina and blasted the Nephilim leader in the chest.