‘We came here to rescue Arnold and the crew of the Dionysius,’ said Imka with a hint of anger.

‘Of course we did. But I’m just letting you know how the law stands.’

Eddie made his way back up. ‘Well, Marc’s thrilled about having to wait outside,’ he said. ‘What have we got?’

‘Not much yet,’ Nina told him. ‘We were waiting for you before we went in.’

‘Needed a canary, did you?’ He peered through the entrance. ‘Steep floors. We might need ropes.’

‘Yeah, I thought that,’ said Nina. ‘How much do we have left?’

‘Hundred and fifty feet, maybe. Don’t know if it’ll be enough. Looks like this thing’s got two floors, maybe even three.’

‘You’re right.’ Seeing the object almost in profile, it appeared they were about to enter it on the lowest level. The ceiling of the entrance passage was about twelve feet high, while the eye-like windows were at least fifteen feet above. There was also a bulbous section rising out of the top of the fortress that looked almost like a separate entity, nestled into the larger structure.

‘We might need to go back to the ship for more,’ said Vorster.

‘We need to find Arnold and the others,’ Imka insisted. ‘Come on – we’ve got to go inside!’

‘Okay, okay,’ said Nina, gently but firmly moving to block her. ‘But let me and Eddie go first? We’ve got experience of this kind of thing.’

Eddie sighed. ‘Here we go again.’

Nina smiled at him, then raised her flashlight and stepped into the mysterious object.

Chapter 8

8

Even though Nina had crossed the threshold once already, this time it felt different. More portentous . . . more dangerous. She was entering the unknown. The only people who had been in here before her were mad – or dead.

She examined the rib between the orichalcum panels. The material was definitely crystal, glinting under her light. ‘Eddie,’ she said quietly. ‘Recognise this?’

He nodded warily. ‘It’s like the stuff inside the vault in Turkey. Think there’s another bomb in here?’

Imka had pushed ahead of Cheng, anxious to be near the front of the search, and overheard. ‘A bomb?’

‘You remember three years back there was a massive explosion over the Persian Gulf?’ said Eddie. ‘It was an antimatter bomb – a thing called a spearhead.’

‘An Atlantean relic,’ Cheng clarified. ‘Professor Wilde found it in Turkey.’

‘There’s another one here?’ said Vorster in alarm.

‘I don’t know,’ said Nina. ‘The vault holding the spearhead was made of orichalcum and crystal, like this. But that doesn’t mean this place has the same function. The vault was built by the Atlanteans, but this is much older. The same materials, but made by a different people.’

‘What people?’ Imka asked.

‘That’s a very good question!’