Unable to help myself, I threw my arms around him, nearly beaning him with the heavy satchel. "Oh, Will."
"Geroffme!" he said, sounding a bit panicked as he pushed me away. Once I was safely at arm's length, he straightened his jacket and cleared his throat. "Now, we can't stand here jawing all night. Let's move out."
As we headed down the street, I heard someone else behind us. I started to mention it to Will, but he said, "Don't worry 'bout 'im, miss. It's just Ratsy. We work better in pairs."
"Oh," I said, understanding. "He watches your back like you're watching mine."
"Exactly, miss." Will beamed as if I were an exceptionally bright pupil.
On the way to the Embankment, I explained to him the plan Awi Bubu and I had worked out. Will decided that he and Ratsy would get in position and hide until they thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, and then they'd make their move.
The rest of the journey passed in solemn silence, our footsteps muffled by the fog. I could barely make out Will next to me, and I couldn't hear his brother at all, which seemed unusual in and of itself.
The hardest part was when we reached Wellington Street and had to march past Somerset House with its hundreds of windows. I couldn't help but think of Wigmere, glad that he was attending the exhibition opening and not sitting in his office. That would have made it worse somehow, having to actually sneak by him.
Then we were on the Embankment, clinging to the garden side of the walk. The fog reeked of the Thames, and the well-spaced lampposts cast a peculiar greeny-yellow light down on the concrete. It was cold and damp enough that there was little other traffic. It was impossible to see more than a few yards ahead, and I was half afraid we'd walk right by Cleopatra's Needle. Not to mention that Sopcoate and his band of Chaos agents could step out of the fog and ambush us at a second's notice. I readjusted my grip on the satchel.
At last the monument came into view. Actually, it wasn't the needle itself I saw first but the hindquarters of one of the sphinx guardians. I stopped walking and put my hand on Will's arm. "We're here." I whispered just in case Sopcoate had decided to come early.
Will nodded. "You go on, miss. Whistle if the coast is clear, then we'll come get in place."
"Whistle?" I asked. "Don't you think that's a bit obvious?"
Will rolled his eyes. "What signal would you rather use?"
"How about if I just clear my throat?"
Will looked at me askance.
"Loudly," I added.
"Oy, all right, now get moving before them others get 'ere!"
Feeling horribly exposed, I crossed the Embankment, darting out from the shelter of the trees in the park to the concrete steps that led up to Cleopatra's Needle. There was no sign of anyone else. I climbed the short flight of stairs to the base of the obelisk, careful to watch my footing on the slick wet pavement. I peeked around to the other side to see if anyone was lurking there. There wasn't.
That left the stairs down to the dock on the Thames. I stepped around to the back of the needle and peered down, but all I could see was thick billows of fog undulating gently in the breeze coming off the river.
I cleared my throat, then waited.
Very faintly, almost as if they were merely heavy raindrops, the pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard, one set off to my left, the other on my right. I dearly hoped I hadn't made a horrid mistake by allowing Will and Ratsy to accompany me. Not that I could have stopped them, but still ... After Henry's recent disaster, I could hardly bear the thought of being responsible for anyone else's safety.
I sat on the bottom step, tucked my satchel under my knees, and settled in to wait. Sopcoate had said to meet at five o'clock. It was a quarter to now. I assumed that Awi Bubu was in position somewhere, but that was only a guess.
Before long the sound of more footsteps reached me. They were coming from the left, opposite the direction we had come. I couldn't see anyone yet because of the fog, but I strained to listen, and there seemed to be dozens of them. Surely that couldn't be right? How many men did Chaos need to hand off one simple package?
The first figure emerged from the mist, and I recognized the short, barrel shape of Sopcoate immediately. He had traded his sailor disguise for a top hat and an enormous overcoat against the weather. My heart sank at the sight of the tall German on Sopcoate's left, von Braggenschnott. He had a personal vendetta against me and was a bit of a loose cannon.
I got to my feet as the rest of the Chaos agents appeared out of the mist. There were nearly a dozen of them. Sopcoate stopped when he was alongside the sphinx. "You've come," he said. "You must have gotten my warning."
At the reference to my grandmother, my temper flared. "Yes, that was quite brave of you, burgling a defenseless old woman." My anger still fizzing through me, I lifted my gaze from his and surveyed his followers. "Just how many men do you need to take possession of one measly tablet anyway?" Perhaps not the wisest thing to say, but there was something about having my back to the wall that made me throw caution to the wind.
Von Braggenschnott's single hand twitched and he took a step forward. Sopcoate reached out and stopped him. "We have learned to underestimate you at our own peril. Furthermore, we thought we'd need the others to subdue you."
A small alarm bell went off in my head. Subdue me? That did not sound good.
"You see, we have no intention of leaving you behind this time. You're coming with us. You are arguably too valuable to eliminate, but you are far too much of a liability to leave behind. Not only can you identify me and the others, but your instinct and talent for meddling is uncanny. Besides, when we find the cache of the gods, your unique skills might come in handy."
They meant to kidnap me! Why had I ever thought they'd keep their word?
He took three steps closer. "You have interfered with our plans for the last time. We will take you with us and make you an agent of Chaos, whether you wish to be or not."
A squeal of fear rose sharp and hot in my throat, but I swallowed it back. This was far worse than I had ever imagined. It had never occurred to me that they'd take me with them.
"Before we proceed, I want to see the tablet. I'll have none of your tricks now, so open the bag slowly."
I leaned over and set the satchel on the damp concrete step, then opened it and drew out the dull green tablet. Sopcoate's eyes fastened on the artifact, and his face lit up. "It is ours, then. We will finally have access to all the power of the gods. Hand it over."
There was a faint rustle behind me. "I'm afraid there has been a change in your plans." Awi Bubu's voice floated down from his hiding place up by the needle, filling me with relief. His tone possessed an underlying menace that I'd never heard before.
Sopcoate took a surprised step back. "Who are you?"
"Merely an Egyptian who has a more valid claim to this artifact than you do."
Sopcoate barked out a laugh. "The only valid claim is that of the one who can take it by force. As you can see, you are greatly outnumbered."
There was the scuff of a heavy shoe on the concrete up by Awi Bubu. "As you can see, I do not come alone," he said.
Sopcoate laughed again. "One man—even such a large one as that—does not put the odds in your favor."
"Perhaps not, but then, I have never been one for putting my faith in odds. I put my faith in higher things. Ah, look. We have even more company."
Sopcoate whirled around to see where Awi Bubu had been looking at the gardens that abutted the Embankment. Eight men wearing long flowing cloaks stepped out from behind the trees. The lamplight reflected off the bald white head of the middle one: Aloysius Trawley. Almost against my will, my eyes searched the scorpions; I felt a sharp stab of disappointment when I spotted Edgar Stilton among them.