The Covenant of Genesis

else to resonate, shaking loose.

‘It’s a key!’ she cried. ‘A musical key!’ The note from the cylinder changed, the singer’s voice rising an octave - and the next bowl, smaller, also hummed with the same wondrous sound.

Music was not the first thing on Chase’s mind, though. ‘Nina, move!’ he yelled. The cherubim was almost upon her.

She shrieked and leapt away from the bowls, running round the edge of the room. The moment she took her finger from the metal contact, the turntable wound down, the song’s note dropping and dying. There was another click from the door - but there were still another two bowls, two more locks to open.

‘Oh, fuck this,’ said Chase, glaring at the nearest cherubim. He had timed the movement of its arms - he thought. ‘Give me the gun!’ He and Sophia swapped weapons. She looked puzzled. ‘On three, run across the room! One, two, three!’

Sophia skirted the statue coming for her and ran across the chamber - as Chase threw himself into a diving roll against the curving wall.

The blade whipped past, barely missing him as the statue’s arm swung around - but he was clear, gripping the Lee-Enfield by its barrel and swiping the wooden stock at the cherubim like a baseball bat.

It hit the bottom of one of the wings. Sparks spat up - but the metal was bent back by the blow, no longer touching the floor. Cutting off part of the current.

The other wing was still in contact, though, and Chase was forced to jump clear as the sword swooshed back towards him.

But it was slowing, and the cherubim itself seemed to be moving more haltingly . . .

He ran to the entrance, seeing one of the Covenant troopers pulling himself clear of the tunnel, a second man not far behind. He flipped the rifle back over and fired. A bloody rosette exploded across the wall directly behind the first man’s head, and he collapsed. The two corpses now blocked more than half of the low tunnel. The other man fired a burst from his SCAR in response, the bullets sizzling past Chase as he retreated.

Nina’s cherubim was still grinding after her. She kept moving, trying to repeat the same trick as before. ‘Eddie! I need to run across the entrance - can you give me cover?’

Chase pulled back his rifle’s bolt to load the next cartridge, aware that the sparking cherubim was getting uncomfortably close. He backed away. ‘Not with this thing coming at me! Sophia?’

She was edging away from her own statue, the Browning raised. ‘Do it fast.’

‘Okay, get ready,’ said Nina. The cherubim drew closer, off to one side of the line of fire. ‘Ready, ready . . . now!’

Sophia whipped round the corner as Nina ran across the entrance behind her. She saw the man in the tunnel raise his SCAR, and fired - but the bullet hit only the corpse he was sheltering behind. Sophia jerked back as another burst splintered the stone wall.

One of the cherubim was almost on her - and the only way she could get clear of its blades was to run across the opening.

Into the trooper’s sights.

Nina paused, waiting for the cherubim to cross the room’s centreline - then sprinted back towards the doors. The metal figure jerkily changed direction to follow. She had her shield.

But would she have long enough to play the rest of the song?

She slapped her hand on the metal contact. The turntable rotated again, the unearthly voice rising in pitch as it reached full speed. Again, a sustained note filled the chamber, the third bowl starting to hum in sympathy . . .

Chase saw that Sophia was about to be pinned down. His own cherubim was blocking the way to the entrance: he couldn’t give her any cover without making a wide circle round it. ‘Sophia, move!’

One of the statue’s arms swung at her, the blade slicing through the air at chest height. She hesitated - then dived towards it.

She rolled, passing just beneath the quicksilver slash to land at the cherubim’s feet. She swung the gun at one of the copper wings—

Crack!

A blue spark burst from the metal as she touched it. Chase had been insulated by the rifle’s wooden body; the Browning’s metal frame gave Sophia no such protection. She was thrown away from the cherubim, sprawling across the metal floor several feet away. Unconscious. Her gun skidded away to stop in front of the entrance.

Nina looked round, but couldn’t move, her fingers pressed against the contact. A clunk from the wall as the harmonic vibrations released another lock - but there was still one more note to play . . .

The cherubim advanced on Sophia. Chase swore: no choice but to run across the room to save her. He dropped the rifle and grabbed Sophia by one limp arm to drag her away from the lethal circles of steel.

The damaged cherubim was still following him, more slowly than Sophia’s statue. Chase dragged her in a curve, trying to guide them into a collision.

The blades almost clashed together - and then the two statues lurched apart, repelling each other.

The damaged one was in the lead. A sword tip clipped the Lee-Enfield, slicing it in half and sending the pieces spinning across the chamber.

The fourth note began. Nina didn’t take her eyes off the advancing cherubim as it drew closer.

Behind it, she saw more shadows on the walls as the Covenant members advanced.

Chase was running out of room, backing towards the wall, pulling Sophia with him. Whether he went left or right, the undamaged cherubim would round its slower companion to form a wall of spinning death. With Sophia down it was three against two. He needed to even the odds.

A way came to him.

He pulled Sophia against the wall, then rapidly shrugged off his leather jacket, holding it up like a matador’s cape . . . then tossing it to the floor directly in front of the lead cherubim.

It landed flat, the swords scything over it as the statue rolled on. The bent wing passed over it, the tip of the other for a moment snagging on the leather and pushing it along—

Then running it over.

The result was instantaneous. The cherubim stopped abruptly, the circuit broken, the earth energy feeding the crude motors cut off.

And with the power removed, so was the statue’s electrical charge.

With nothing to repel it, the second cherubim lurched forward, heading straight for Chase and Sophia - and its blades smashed into the inert statue with a horrendous clash of metal. The recoil sent the moving cherubim spinning back across the chamber, while the dead figure was thrown to the floor in pieces. One of the blades stabbed a foot deep into the wall beside Chase. The statue’s severed head came to rest at his feet, the lion face glaring accusingly at him.

He lifted Sophia. She was starting to recover from the electric shock. ‘Nina! How much longer?’

‘Not goddamn much, I hope!’ Nina cried. The fourth note was still playing, the bowl humming, but the final piece of the lock still hadn’t opened - and the cherubim was almost upon her.

Scuffling footsteps in the passageway. The Covenant were through the tunnel—

A click.

‘Eddie!’ Nina shouted as a crack appeared between the doors, the metal panels slowly swinging apart. ‘It’s opening!’ She kept her hand on the contact until it was just wide enough to fit through. The moment she lifted her fingers, the doors jolted to a stop. ‘Come on!’ She yanked the cylinder from the spindle and leapt through the gap just ahead of the cherubim’s glowing blades.

She was clear - but now that she was out of the room, the statue immediately changed direction towards new targets.

Chase pulled Sophia up. ‘Can you run?’

‘I’m not sure,’ she mumbled.

‘Get sure!’ They could go to either side of the cherubim near the door - but one way would put them dangerously close to its swords, and the other would expose them to gunfire.

He made his choice, and pulled Sophia with him towards the blades.

The cherubim rumbled towards them. One of its arms swung round to block their path.

‘Duck!’ Chase dropped beneath the blade as the other sword, a blur of cold light, slashed through the air