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Dylan watched e and track down the Ankh somewherewhere? By the wharf? Hoe knohat building?"

"I can narrow it down to a block," I said, thinking of the particular s to the lock of Evaline&039;s hair "The one with the fish-s? We&039;ll look for the one with the airship co her Sekhlanced at him, my palms damp and my insides heavy and rock-like That hat the facts told e-directions from the desperate woman who held my partner and anted the diadem above all else-commanded me otherwise

Yesterday, I wouldn&039;t have hesitated I&039;d have listened to e

But todayI had to decide whether to follow my instincts and my conclusionsor to follow directions and possibly put myself into a trap

But if I didn&039;t follow the directions, I risked Evaline&039;s life

Last night&039;sand inconvenient

Today&039;s decision was a matter of life and death

I looked at the clock,After six I had to make a decision

"I can&039;t risk it We&039;re going-" I drew in a deep breath, fighting ical mind I made the decision and immediately felt ill But I soldiered on I couldn&039;t afford to be wrong this ti to Fannery&039;s Square"

Miss Stoker

Miss Stoker&039;s Decision

With the Ankh gone, I investigated th ofto unlock the chains

One option was to pull the heavy statue over and unloop the chains from around her While that would free me from that massive anchor, it wouldn&039;t unlock my ankles or wrists I&039;d still be trussed And whoever was beloould hear the sound of Sekh to the floor There had to be another option

Two huge floor-to-ceiling s offered dirty light, but I couldn&039;t get close enough to draw attention to myself The roof was closed to the sky, but I could tell it was near twilight Chairs and tables lined the space, and an elow of coals cast an eerie red light in the darkening chaed at one end of the room This had been an office at so in a corner, as well as a trunk

The s fish and the distant sounds of water told me I was near the wharf, in a completely different area of town than Witcherell&039;s Pawnshop I wondered if Pix considered these streets and docks part of his domain

Surely he was back in the stews, ar with his friends From what I understood of his brief explanation in the opium den, he&039;d come to rescue his friend Jeht up with Miss Holirls to escape too And he&039;d taken advantage of h Pix see, he would have no way of knohere and how I&039;d come to be here, in the captivity of the Ankh

I looked around the room and at the altar There was no doubt what the Ankh had planned for me The mechanical device, with all of its wires, waited, eerie and foreboding, next to the sleek Sekh the diadem, the real diadem, to trade for me, and then the Ankh would have it She&039;d have all the instruments

She&039;d also have both of us

I wasn&039;t a fool No iving the orders Setting up a trap

It didn&039;t oddess could be reanimated, or if her power could be harnessed The Ankh didn&039;t care She&039;d keep trying She&039;d already killed toowomen She wasn&039;t about to stop there She&039;d keep killing and killing until she ed to raise Sekhmet

My path became clear Crystal and absolute

I had to stop the Ankh before Miss Holmes stepped into the trap

I looked up at the statue of Sekhly wires a portent of as to cohtness settled overin th of e of motion I inched toward the mechanical device and used my body to shift its position It had to be in the correct location, and I could only hope the Ankh didn&039;t notice

It was difficult work I had to usethecare not to tip Sekh into position, I was out of breath but satisfied

No sooner had I finished with ements than I heard the sounds of voices and footsteps Quickly, I scooted my bound body back over to the opposite side of the statue and tried to appear docile and hopeless

"The girl didn&039;t go to the station," someone said as the door opened "We waited, and she didn&039;t appear"

The Ankh swept in, and I could feel his rage He had changed clothing again, and this time was attired in trousers and a shapeless dark tunic A low hat was settled down to his eyebrows, and a mask covered him from eyes to nose A short dark beard shadowed his jaw and mouth

"What does she mean to do?" the Ankh said as he stalked into the chamber He was followed by Hathor, Bastet, and Amunet

They couldn&039;t find Miss Hol or not?

I wasn&039;t certain whether to be relieved or offended

"It&039;s nine o&039;clock" The Ankh looked over at me, his eyes dark and furious froree you to die"

"She lied, you know," I said "She doesn&039;t have the diade"

The Ankh swept over to the table "I&039;ll find her and show her what happens to one who tries to trick ht have caused a delay, but in the end, I&039;ll win As for tonight-I shan&039;t wait any longer I have everything I need" He looked at me and then at the crown Amunet had placed on the table "This one ork I&039;m certain of it And if it doesn&039;tI&039;ll continue to search for the real one"

I kept my eyelids hooded I didn&039;t want hi

Because I was taking him with me

The Ankh conducted the saht, and soon red sed un pressed intothe other still chained to the statue If I made any sort of move, they&039;d shoot mebut not to kill I was ony was up toanother chant to Sekhmet This time, he didn&039;t direct his words to the sky, but toward the largeI could see Sekhlass as the sky darkened outside and the firelight inside our chahtly

I was forced to stand facing Sekhton had done With a sharp wrench, Bastet forced old was cool and s cal from the mechanical device rapped aroundto die

And I was at peace This hat I was acy required of ood and safety of all

I drew in a deep breath and looked at the gear-ridden, wired device It was still where I&039;d placed it

Hathor tightened another wire around ainst Sekhht over the false diadem I trembled a little as she positioned the crown on my head I mentally reviewed the steps of my plan Me The one who never made plans If only Miss Holmes were here to witness an to pull the lever, I would have a few brief seconds to lunge to the side I&039;d pull the heavy statue over with medown and onto the Ankh

We&039;d fall into the ether, and thus entwined, the Ankh and I would together give our life forces to a Sekhmet ould never rise

My pulse was faster now The Ankh placed the dishes of s rose around me like a red curtain It was ti as to conorant of it, as Della Exington had been?

"I&039;an the festivities without me"

The familiar, pompous voice carried across the chamber

Mina!

A soft little pop of warhto ruin everything!

"Well, well, raced us with your presence after all," said the Ankh

I shifted inin the doorway She was holding a cloth-wrapped parcel, and

Bloody hell She&039;d got herself captured And the diadem too

Hathor&039;s counterpart proddedweapon Whatever it was-gun, Steam-Streaaze Either she was too stubborn or too distracted to see the e I sent: Get out of here!

"Please cohted that you&039;ve arrived in time to see your friend share her life force with in Osiris?"

The attendant followed the i the parcel fro her into the chamber

"I&039;m sorry I didn&039;t follow your directions,"taken by surprise or otherwise abducted while on my way to Fannery&039;s Square, which was, I&039;inal intent"

"Pish," said the Ankh He sounded delighted "But you are here, and it truly doesn&039;tanytime soon, and Osiris would have made certain you came alone"

At that ht behindacross the floor Miss Hol my eyes over her hand I turned to look in that direction, on the other side of Sekhmet, but no one was there

"Very well, then," said the Ankh "Where e? Ah, yes," he said,to the machine His hand rested on the lever, which I had positioned so he stood in the perfect place forthe statue down on top of hi to look at Mina, but she was too busy ed out and herI wanted to re before I died was Mina Holotten herself into

I heard another soft, ski across the floor I looked over as the Ankh began to lower the lever

I focused, waiting for the rightfor the first sensation of shock I must act before it paralyzed me

The lever shot down and I propelled myself toward the Ankh