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Menshikov stared right at me "My, my…how kind of you to deliver yourselves Well done, Set"

"Hmm?" Set asked innocently "Do we have visitors?"

"Set!" Sadie growled "I’ll kick you in the ba for that, so help asped "Sadie Kane? How exciting! Too bad I’m stuck in this jar and no one will let me out"

The hint wasn’t too subtle, but surely he couldn’t believe we’d free him after he’d blown our cover

Sadie faced Menshikov, her wand and staff ready "You’re working with Apophis You’re on the wrong side"

Menshikov relasses His eyes were ruined pits of scar tissue, burned skin, and glistening corneas Believe ross way I can describe the side?" Menshikov asked "Girl, you have no idea the powers that are in play Five thousand years ago, Egyptian priests prophesied how the world would end Ra would grow old and tired, and Apophis would s hie the world into darkness Chaos would rule forever Now the time is here! You can’t stop it You can only choose whether you’ll be destroyed, or whether you’ll bow to the power of Chaos and survive"

"Right," Set chiht have to take sides and help someone"

"Shut up, Set," Menshikov snapped "No one is crazy enough to trust you And as for you, children, you are clearly not the threat I io?"

Menshikov laughed "Would you run to Desjardins and tell him what you’ve heard? He wouldn’t believe you He’d put you on trial, then execute you But I’ll spare you that eht now"

"How fun!" Set said "Wish I could see it, but I’m stuck in this jar"

I tried to think Menshikov was still inside a protective circle, which e I wasn’t sure I could bust through it, even if I could summon a co out different ways to destroy us Would he blast us with eles?

He threw his staff to the ground, and I cursed

Throwing down your staff ic, it’s bad news It usuallyto kill you while I stand safely inside h, Menshikov’s staff began to writhe and grow

Great, I thought Another serpent

But so with this one Instead of a tail, it had a head on both ends At first I thought we’d caught soenetic birth defect Then the thing sprouted four dragon legs Its body grew until it was the size of a draft horse, curved like a U, with reen scales and a rattlesnake head on either side It reminded me of that two-headed animal from Doctor Dolittle You know--the pushmi-pullyu? Except Doctor Dolittle would never have wanted to talk to this thing, and if he had, it would probably have said just Hello, I’ to eat you

Both heads turned toward us and hissed

"I’ve really had enough snakes for one week," I muttered

Menshikov smiled "Ah, but serpents are ing over his necktie--an amulet shaped like a snake "And this particular creature is ry mouths to feed Two troublesome children Perfect!"

Sadie and I looked at each other We had one of those moments where we could read each other’s expressions perfectly

We both knee couldn’t defeat Menshikov He’d let the pushmi-pullyu snake wear us down, and if we survived that, he’d just blast us with soet captured, and Bes had warned us about not getting taken alive After seeing what had happened to that de seriously

To survive, we’d have to do so so suicidal Menshikov would never expect it We had to get help immediately

"Should I?" Sadie asked

"Do it," I agreed

The tjesu heru bared its dripping fangs You wouldn’t think a creature with no back end could iant horseshoe and charged

I pulled my sword Sadie was faster

She pointed her staff at Set’s malachite jar and yelled her favorite command word: "Ha-di!"

I was afraid it wouldn’t work She hadn’t tried the destruction spell since she separated herself froreen jar shattered

Menshikov screah the rooainst the fireplace A wall of red sand sla sideways into a ht out of his protective circle and banged his head on a table He cru over him until he was completely buried

When the storm cleared, a man in a red silk suit stood in front of us He had skin the color of cherry Kool-Aid, a shaved head, a dark goatee, and glittering black eyes lined with kohl He looked like an Egyptian devil ready for a night on the town

He grinned and spread his hands in a ta-da gesture "That’s better! Thank you, Sadie Kane!"

To our left, the tjesu heru hissed and flailed, trying to get back on its feet The pile of red sand covering Vlad Menshikov started to , Evil Day!" Sadie commanded "Get rid of theet personal with the names"