Alex squirmed in the microscopic backseat of Aditi’s car. There was no place to put the heavy suitcase, so he hugged it under his bound hands and watched as Dr. Aditi darted through traffic.

“Uh, lady? You’re on the wrong side of the road!” yelped Luke.

Aditi looked over at him, smiled, downshifted, and stomped on the gas. “Not over here, luv,” she said.

Ren ducked her head between the seats. “They drive on the left in England,” she shouted over the sound of the overworked engine.

Aditi executed a daring double pass, darting between two larger cars, both of which honked angrily.

Alex followed her eyes. She was spending at least as much time looking in the rearview mirror as she was watching where she was going. He wouldn’t have minded if they weren’t going quite so fast, or if their vehicle offered more than a soup-can level of protection. He hugged his suitcase tighter.

“I can keep an eye out for the van if you want to watch the road!” he called.

“You think they’ll follow us?” said Ren, wheeling around to look out the back window.

“Not necessarily …” Aditi began.

Alex saw Ren’s shoulders relax a little.

“They might be waiting for us when we get there,” Aditi added.

Ren’s shoulders bunched up again. Alex remembered the museum’s name, painted in red on the car door. What was Aditi thinking? She’d given away their destination!

“I think you’re right,” said Luke during a brief lull in the traffic noise.

“About what?” said Aditi, scanning a side mirror.

“Everyone else is driving on the left, too,” he said. “Just, you know, slower.”

Now Aditi looked over at him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Luke,” he said.

Aditi looked at him blankly.

“I’m his cousin,” he said, hooking a thumb back toward Alex.

“But Todtman didn’t mention …” Aditi continued. Her eyes found Alex’s in the mirror again, and she gave him a What’s the deal? look.

“He’s not, like, with us,” said Alex. “He’s here for sports camp.”

He leaned forward as far as his bulky suitcase would allow. “Luke, man, you can’t say anything about this to your mom and dad, all right?”

“What, why not?” he protested. “It’s a good story!”

“Come on, man!” pleaded Alex. His aunt and uncle were his legal guardians with his mom missing, and he was afraid they’d have him on the next plane home.

“I’m just kidding, man,” said Luke. “This camp is gonna rock, but if the ’rents found out they’re snatching up American kids over here, they’d have me home before my first high jump.”

Alex leaned back and exhaled, glad they were more or less on the same page.

“But they’ll probably hear about the algae thing on the news,” added Luke.

London’s towering center loomed up in front of them as they quickly left the city’s outskirts behind. They melted the zip ties off with the car’s lighter as they bumblebeed down the highway. At every point along the way, at least one of them was looking back, either in the mirrors or out the rear window.

Finally, they reached their exit. Alex scanned the signs as they made the turn: BLOOMSBURY, FITZROVIA, BRITISH MUSEUM …

Alex tried to make eye contact again in the mirror, but Aditi was too busy merging back into the city traffic. The Order had already known who was meeting them at the airport — he could still hear Liam mangling Aditi’s name — and they would definitely know where they were headed now. He hoped she knew what she was doing. He watched her eyes work as she drove, quick and alert. He knew she was a member of the same secret group of scholars as Todtman. Ren called them “the book club,” and there was no doubt they were a far-flung group of museum-working nerds — but they were also mysterious and powerful. Alex wondered if Aditi had an amulet, too, something to match Todtman’s formidable falcon.

He looked back through the window. No van, he thought. Not yet. And as the light changed and they scooted through a busy intersection, he thought he might be able to keep it that way. His head was clearer now, and his hands were free. He reached up and wrapped his left hand around his scarab amulet. The rush overtook him, and he looked back again, feeling his pulse quicken as he narrowed his eyes.

He stared at the traffic light and it instantly turned red. A chorus of honks rose up, and he turned back around, knowing it would stay that way for some time.

Despite everything they’d been through, and the dangers that could still be waiting up ahead, Alex couldn’t help but gawk from his cramped perch in the backseat. Though his mom traveled for work all the time, Alex’s shaky health had always made going along too big a risk. He’d always dreamed of being able to go to cool, far-off places.

Now London sprawled all around them: an unfamiliar city full of fresh names and new sights. As the car skirted around a crowded public square, Alex eyed a winged statue and read the sign: Piccadilly Circus. The buildings on one side were fronted with neon billboards, and on the other with ancient stone. It seemed half Times Square and half medieval metropolis.

A few more quick turns and suddenly they were pulling up to a grand stone building that towered above them, as large as a city block.

“The British Museum,” Ren said in a reverent whisper. “My dad always talks about this place.”

Alex nodded. His mom had, too. It was beautiful.

Aditi pulled up to a gate in the tall iron fence and slowed to a halt as she reached a little guard booth. She lowered her window and flashed an ID badge at the guard, who didn’t bother to look at it. “All good, then, Glenn?” she said to him.

“Near as I can tell!” he said, waving her through.

Alex was glad to see the security, but Aditi clearly wasn’t satisfied. She pulled the little car to a stop and parked it near the fence. The overheated engine sounded like a deflating balloon as she switched it off. “Right!” she said. “Out we go. Quickly!”

They all piled out of the car — and into the one next to it. It was a dark blue sedan, as generic as the museum car was distinctive and, mercifully, quite a bit larger. Even better, this one didn’t have their destination painted on the side. “In, in, in!” called Aditi. “Luggage in the boot.”

“The what?” said Luke.

Aditi answered by popping open the trunk. Barely a minute after they’d pulled into the employee lot, they pulled back out again. Glenn gave them a slightly baffled wave and then went back to his paper and tea.

As they drove away, Alex took a quick look back through the tall iron bars. He felt a wave of relief: This lady knew what she was doing after all. The little car was clearly visible from the street. Its cheery red-and-white paint scheme called out like a billboard to any thugs, cult operatives, or other interested parties. We’re in here, dummies, it seemed to say.

“Now, then, Luke,” said Aditi, “where is this camp of yours?”

And just like that, they were off to their first destination.

The blue sedan was barely out of sight when Glenn rose from his seat in the security booth once more.

“Delivery!” called a large, moon-faced man leaning out the driver’s-side window.

Glenn eyeballed the van. It was a little ragged by museum standards. Clearly not delivering any priceless artifacts. Maybe food, thought the guard, or toilet valves. “What’s in the back?” he said.

“Oh, just supplies ’n’ such,” said Liam. “Got all ’at paperwork right ’ere.”

Liam’s head disappeared back into the van, and when Glenn leaned in for a closer look, Liam was waiting. He grabbed the back of Glenn’s head with one powerful hand as the other one shot up toward the guard’s neck. The gleaming metal point of a large hypodermic needle sank deep into the soft, pale flesh of Glenn’s neck. For a moment, he twitched and jerked and tried to pull away, but as Liam pushed the plunger down with his thumb, the guard fell still.

The Order was making its presence felt.