“The Supreme Council forbids your entrance!” shouted Hesaan, a brave man even without his cricket bat.

“Government entities mean nothing to us,” said Peshwar, her voice a hoarse, harsh scratch. “We are the law now.”

How had The Order known they were at the museum? The friends had taken every precaution to avoid being followed, but once again, here they were. And this time, Peshwar had waited until the Keepers were inside — until they were trapped.

As she walked through the door, Alex realized that it wasn’t a mask she was wearing. It was the actual skull of what must have been a massive lioness. She gazed out through the eye sockets in the sun-bleached bone. Her suit from the day before had been replaced by thick, blood-red robes.

Hesaan maintained his defiant pose, standing tall in the center of the room. But his next words were softer, just loud enough for those around him to hear: “We must run.”

A lean, stone-faced man came through the door after Peshwar, and a second was on the threshold.

Alex’s left hand was already on his amulet. He felt the copper wings of the ancient beetle dig into the soft flesh of his palm as his pulse began to race. His mind cleared, and one thought formed very clearly:

We did enough running yesterday.

His right hand shot up, his fingers spread slightly. The scarab was a symbol of resurrection in ancient Egypt, and his amulet dealt with life, death, and rebirth. But those things took many forms in this thirsty land. The wind that comes before the rain … As the words formed in his mind, a column of desert air rose up and rushed forward. In front of him, glass display cases shivered and stone statuary wobbled. Alex bunched his fingers more tightly, and the wind gained focus and strength.

The lioness staggered backward a few steps, her robes whipping in the sudden gust. The Order thug steadied her and the two leaned forward into it, like sailors weathering a storm on deck. If either of them had been the target, the attack would have been a failure. But Alex had another goal in mind.

The heavy main door slammed shut. A thick crunch and a pitiable wail could just be heard over the whipping wind as the forearm of the man about to enter was pinned in place by the heavy door, with the rest of him still stuck outside.

“That’s gonna leave a mark,” said Luke, wincing.

Alex refocused just in time to see a red glow sprout from Peshwar’s closed right hand and form itself into something like an icicle: a jagged, uneven shard of crimson light. No sooner had Alex spotted it than she had whipped her hand back behind her head.

“Watch out!” said Todtman.

Peshwar’s hand came forward in a blur, and the glowing energy dagger flew through the air — straight toward Ren. Alex looked over and saw her squinting at the glowing missile, trying to understand rather than avoid. He leapt toward her and gave her a two-handed shove. As she stumbled backward out of the way, the blood-red slice of light pierced the elbow of Alex’s outstretched left arm. He felt a staggering jolt of pain, as if someone had hit his funny bone with a red-hot sledgehammer.

“Aaaaaah!” he shouted, dropping to one knee.

“Alex!” called Ren, from the spot where she’d fallen.

He looked up and saw her scrambling to her feet, the image refracted by the tears welling up in his eyes. Another blade of crimson light sizzled through the air as Ren headed toward him. She dodgeballed it with a quick stop and start, and it missed her stomach by inches. He could feel its heat as it passed between them — and hear the crunch of its impact.

“No!” cried Hesaan.

Alex whipped his head around in time to see a large alabaster urn topple off its pedestal. It hit the marble floor and shattered. Ancient ash spilled out and was instantly pulled up in a swirling dust devil. As the gray particles rose, the whispers rose up with them, louder now, angrier. The ash formed a face, deep black eyes and an open mouth, and then dispersed, falling back to the floor. The whispers persisted for a few moments more.

“We cannot fight in here!” called Hesaan, his tone now pleading and desperate.

The lioness disagreed. She had paused only briefly at the sight of the whirling visage, and now her hand glowed red as another energy dagger took form. Behind her, the first Order thug freed the arm of the second, and three more armed men surged through the open door.

“We have to go!” called Ren.

Alex wanted to stay and keep fighting, but he knew Ren was better at calculating the odds than he was. The friends were outnumbered and outgunned this time.

“This way!” called Hesaan.

Ren helped Alex to his feet, tugging him by his good arm.

“Does it hurt?” she huffed through the effort.

“Not too bad,” he answered, but his arm was hanging limp and a fire burned inside it.