"I was reluctant to use this when you were wearing the Heart of Egypt for fear I would destroy it. But that is no longer a problem," he said.
Before I could say anything, I heard the faint sound of someone calling my name.
Von Braggenschnott swung his gun toward the doorway. "If they find me, I will shoot them. Do you understand? The minute they walk through that door, they are dead."
I swallowed, then said, "I understand." I grabbed the Was scepter and stumbled out into the corridor, then hurried over to the bottom of the shaft.
"Miss Theo? Are you here?" Nabir! He was unhurt!
"Theo? Theo darling, where are you?" Mum's voice drifted down the shaft to me. Mum! Nabir must have gone back to get help. And if Mother was here, that meant--
"Theodosia Elizabeth Throckmorton!" Father bellowed. "Where in the blazes are you? Confound it all! Where is that girl? I'm telling you Nabir, if she is hurt or harmed in any way--"
"I'm down here," I called up the shaft as my throat suddenly
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tightened. "I've discovered another chamber!" And wounded two men and possibly killed another, but I kept that part to myself. I didn't want my parents wandering straight into von Braggenschnott's trap.
"Have you really, darling?" Mother's voice was closer now. A second later I saw her head, her lovely, familiar head, as she peered down the shaft at me.
Suddenly Father's head appeared next to Mum's. He surveyed the shaft and the long way down, then scowled. "What were you thinking, Theodosia? You could have been killed!"
His booming voice echoed down the shaft and reverberated throughout the tomb. An unfamiliar warmth spread through me. Father did care. In fact, the angrier he sounded, the more worried he was. Von Braggenschnott had got it all wrong.
I smiled. I couldn't help myself. Father's anger was like a balm to my soul. "Yes, I know," I called back. The little shard of betrayal that had been lodged in my heart began to dissolve.
It took them a bit to work out how to get down to where I was and still have a way to get back up again. I kept glancing worridly over my shoulder, but no sounds came from the chamber. Von Braggenschnott wanted to remain hidden as much as I wanted to keep my parents alive.
Eventually Nabir had the brilliant idea of pulling the ladder up into the tomb and placing it down the shaft.
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Father insisted on being the first one down, although I know climbing ladders can't be good for his leg.
When he reached the bottom of the shaft, he never even glanced at the tomb around him. His eyes locked on mine and he stared at me as if I were the most precious artifact he'd ever encountered. I must confess, all that direct scrutiny made me a tad uncomfortable.
He took a step closer. "What happened to you? Are you all right?"
Funny how a little bit of sympathy can make a person positively weepy. I blinked back a few tears and found that I wanted to throw myself into his arms and sob out the whole horrid story. About how close I'd come to being killed, about how we'd had a traitor in our midst the whole time. About how even now von Braggenschnott had a gun that he would use on any of us in a heartbeat.
"Oh, Father. I'm fine. Really." Except, my voice broke horribly and suddenly Father threw his arms around me and drew me into a fierce hug.
Pain surged through my shoulder, burning so brightly that it brought fresh tears to my eyes. But I didn't mind because right that minute, in Father's arms, my world was safe and warm again. The adults in my life were back in charge and I'd let them stay there.
For a bit, anyway.
I pulled away a little and narrowed my eyes. "Father, did
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you ever tell Nigel Bollingsworth that I wanted to marry him?"
"Good gracious, no! And embarrass all of us? I think not. Why do you ask?"
My knees grew rubbery with relief. Father hadn't betrayed me. Bollingsworth must have been spying on us and overheard. "Never mind. But you should know I don't want to marry him anymore."
"I should say not." He patted me on the shoulder. I squeaked as a jolt of pain crashed through me.
Father frowned. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?"
"Well, yes. I think maybe a little."
Just then Mum reached the bottom of the ladder. "Theo, darling!" She hurried over and grabbed my face in her hands and kissed both of my cheeks, and I had to be careful I didn't accidentally bean her with the Was scepter I'd forgotten I was holding.
"I say," Father said. "What is that thing you're waving around?"
"Why," Mother gasped, her hand flying to her throat, "it's the Was scepter!"
At last Father turned his attention to something other than me and had a good look at the scepter. "Very well done, Theo!" he said. Then he looked back at me. "Now show me where you're injured."
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"Don't worry about my shoulder," I said. "You need to come back here." I shoved the scepter at Mother, grabbed his hand with my good arm, and began to pull him toward the chamber where Bollingsworth and von Braggenschnott lay.
"Your shoulder, Theodosia. Now."
"You are a bit pale, dear," Mum said. "You should let your father have a look."
Very gently, he touched my shoulder in a place or two and I nearly screamed.
"It's dislocated," he said. "Easy to fix, but painful. You'll need to be very brave," Father warned.
Brave! If he only knew ... I nodded, sure that after what I'd been through, I could handle anything.
"Brace yourself," he said, just before he twisted and shoved, sending the most blinding pain crashing through my shoulder.
Then I did what any brave person would do under the circumstances.
I fainted.
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HOMEWARD BOUND
***
I DIDN'T BECOME AWAREof my surroundings again until I awoke in a deliciously soft bed with my left arm tightly bound to my side. There was a cool breeze coming in through the curtain and nothing hurt anymore. Delightful.
I breathed deeply and smelled dust and figs and Egypt's own special fragrance. And a faint whiff of lilacs.
I turned my head to find Mum sitting on the chair next to me.
"How do you feel, dear?"
"Much better, thank you." Then, with a start, I remembered. I tried to push myself up to a sitting position, wincing when my shoulder screamed in protest.
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"Easy, darling. Easy. You must rest. Father's booked us passage back to England so we can get to Henry as quickly as possible. We'd like to try and leave first thing in the morning. Do you think you'll be up to it?"
I thought of the jostley train ride and grimaced.
"Father's arranging for a steam ship to take us to Cairo," Mum hastened to add. "You're not well enough to travel by train."
"Very well," I said. "But Henry's going to be all right. I promise you."
Mother's eyes were sad and worried. "Let's hope you're right."
"I am," I said, and she looked at me queerly.
"But Mother, what of the men in the tomb? What did you do with them?"
Mother frowned, clearly puzzled. My heart sank. "What men, dear?"
"There were three men in Amenemhab's tomb! One of them was Bollingsworth. He's a spy, working for the Serp-- Germans! They were the ones who stole the Heart of Egypt from you." It saddened me that even now I couldn't tell her the whole story.
"Calm down, dear. Calm down. You've had quite a shock with your injury. Besides, our first priority was getting you out safely. When we went back, there was no one there."
Which, of course, meant they'd got clean away. Then I
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realized what she'd said. "You didn't take a moment to peek at the new section I discovered?" My parents had passed up the opportunity to explore a previously undiscovered tomb? For me?
"No. Not even a peek. We needed to get you out and find the proper medical treatment. Were there others down there?" she asked. She leaned forward. "Were they from the B
ritish Museum?"
I shook my head. "No. I told you. They were Germans. Er, looking for things to sell on the black market."
She clucked her tongue in disgust. A wave of deep exhaustion swept over me. Since there was nothing more to be done, I decided to give up for the moment and let sleep claim me.
***
Henry and Grandmother Throckmorton were waiting for us at the train station. Henry looked wonderfully alive and well, but he kept giving me accusing looks, as if he were slightly put out about something. Grandmother Throckmorton, on the other hand, was so angry over my running away, she was barely speaking to me. I decided I rather liked this silent treatment of hers.
As we headed back to Grandmother's carriage, I pulled my brother aside. "Look, Henry. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I was going to Egypt, but I--"
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"I thought you trusted me," he said. "We were supposed to be partners from now on." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. "Or so I thought."
Oh, dear. I sorted through all the excuses I could give him, but none of them felt right. In the end, I settled for the truth. "Henry, for years you weren't interested in anything to do with the museum. Now all of a sudden, you are. You have to understand, it will take some getting used to. I'm so accustomed to going it alone ..."
Henry shrugged and kicked at a leaf. His cheeks grew quite pink. "It wasn't that the museum was so interesting this time around. It's just that you finally quit treating me like a squashed bug you wished someone would put in the dustbin."
"Oh, Henry!" Is that what he'd thought? Had he wanted my attention this whole time, just like I'd wanted Mother's and Father's? "I'm so sorry. Besides, it was Wigmere's idea. Orders, really. And he swore me to secrecy."
Henry's head jerked around, his eyes wide. "Really? Wigmere? So are you working for him now, like Will?"
"Sort of. Sometimes, I suppose."
"I say, Theo. That's prime!" Admiration shone in his eyes, and I felt myself relax a bit.
A slight shift in the crowd right behind Grandmother Throckmorton drew my attention as a grimy little hand reached out for her reticule. I opened my mouth to say
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something, then clamped it shut. What was it she had said when I got off the train? That I was nothing better than a street urchin. Well, perhaps she ought to have a taste of a real street urchin's antics.
Will looked up and caught my eye. He winked, then slipped back into the crowd.
"Theodosia?" Father said, turning around. "What are you doing back there?" he asked, scowling. "We've gone to a rather lot of trouble over you, and I don't want to lose you so close to home." Then he put out his hand for me to take. "Come along."
A warm, syrupy feeling ran through me as I put my hand in Father's. Then, hesitatingly, I put my other hand out to Henry. He looked at it, then rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered, but he took it all the same. Then we all headed for home.
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SAFE--FOR NOW
***
WE'VE BEEN HOME NEARLY A WEEK NOWand today is the first day I've been allowed back at the museum. Honestly! All this hovering is getting sorely on my nerves. Father, the dear, even brought Isis home to keep me company (and he was sporting a rather vicious scratch on his left cheek for his efforts).
Mum and Dad have decided the Was scepter will be a focal point of our new exhibit, and they are listing me as the person who discovered it! Can you imagine? Me, an eleven-year-old girl, will have my name listed on the museum exhibit. I was quite speechless with joy (which doesn't happen very often).
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As I sat in my workroom, trying to draw a diagram of my newly discovered tomb from memory, I heard a loud squeak outside my door. I froze. Fagenbush, maybe? Even though he wasn't a spy, I still didn't trust him.
Before I had time to get well and truly worried, there was a light rap on the door. Visitors who mean you ill rarely knock.
"Come in," I called out. The door opened a crack and Lord Wigmere peeked in. "Are you up for a visitor, Miss Theodosia?"
"Oh, yes! Do come in. I've so much to tell you."
"Yes," he said as he closed the door. "I rather imagine you have."
He limped to my desk and lowered himself into the extra chair. "How did you get in here?" I asked.
He lifted one of his bushy eyebrows at me. "My dear, I am the head of a clandestine society of the most highly trained operatives in the country. I should think I could safely make my way to your ..." --he glanced around the room-- "office."
I leaned forward eagerly. "Did you use the spell Mordecai Quirke talks about in Black Magic of the Pharaohs ? The one that allows you to pass by people undetected?"
"No. I told the watchman--Flimp, was it?--I was a doctor your parents had consulted." He smiled rather sheepishly. "Now, then. Tell me all about your adventures."
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So I did. He listened with rapt attention the whole time, until the end.
"Blast it all!" he said, thumping his cane on the floor in his agitation. "They got clean away?"
"Well, I can't imagine how, what with being stuck to the wall, and broken legs and such. But yes, they did. I'm sorry," I said, hating the bitter taste of failure.
"Oh, I'm sure they had help. Probably had backup nearby. But even so, my dear girl, you've nothing to be sorry about! You served your country in a time of great need. You saved us all. It's just a shame we don't know where they are. It just means we'll have to keep an eye out for them."
"Yes, but you do realize it's not just the Germans they're helping, don't you? Germany is only the beginning. The Serpents of Chaos are intending to reduce the entire world to chaos and then step in and dominate everyone. If we're not careful, the whole world will be at war with itself."
Wigmere sighed deeply. "I knew they had a grand design; I just didn't know what it was. This information will be invaluable as we go forward. How indebted we are to you, I cannot even begin to say. Here. I have something for you." He reached into his coat pocket and fiddled about, then pulled out a tiny silk pouch and handed it to me.
Nearly beside myself with curiosity, I opened the pouch. A stunning gold and lapis beveled ring fell into my hand. "It's just like the one you and Stokes wear!"
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"It is. We all felt you earned the right to become an honorary member of the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers. You've certainly played your part."
"It's lovely." I sighed in satisfaction as I tried it on. It was small enough so that it fit me perfectly. I looked up at Wigmere. "If I'm an honorary member of the Brotherhood, does that mean I can have one of those tattoos?"
"On a young girl?" Wigmere looked startled, then began to chuckle. "I think not!"
Bother.
R. L. LaFevers, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos
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