Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos-Theo 1 by R. L. Lafevers, Yoko Tanaka Page A

around to the east side of the gardens, expertly dodging the straggling carts left over from the morning's market.
    We emerged at the west end of the gardens into the courtyard of St. Paul's Church. Of course—he was going to seek sanctuary inside the church! Brilliant!
    His other pursuers soon realized this as well. They oozed toward the stranger in front of us, moving with a lethal grace that reminded me of Isis when she was hunting mice. They fanned out, cutting off the victim before he could reach the church door. The three of us ducked behind one of the large columns to watch, hoping to stay out of sight.
    The man who'd attacked Tetley drew out his truncheon and crouched in a fighting stance. Outnumbered, he struck first, taking the attackers by surprise. The surprise lasted only a moment before they swarmed him, fists flying.

    Cornered now, he fought like a madman, swinging his bludgeon like a sword, using his elbows and kicking, but in the end, there were just too many of them. Two of the men finally grabbed his arms, and one of the others strode up to him, placed his arm around the man's neck as if he were hugging him, then jabbed him in the gut. As the assailant pulled away, the stranger collapsed to the ground. There was a vicious-looking knife in the other man's hand, covered in blood.
    "Blimey," Will whispered.
    "Blimey, indeed," said Henry, his eyes big and round.
    I elbowed him in the ribs. These men were truly evil. We would be lucky to get out of this with our lives, never mind the Heart of Egypt.
    "Shhst," Will hissed. "They're searching him like he did the other bloke."
    Quickly and efficiently, they emptied the fallen man's pockets of everything they found, including whatever it was he had taken off Tetley (and I was betting it was the Heart of Egypt by their excited voices). One of the men—the one who'd stabbed him—pocketed this find and shouted triumphantly.
    "That's German!" said Will.
    He was right. I turned to look at him. "How do you know that?"

    "Ain't I good enough to know German when I 'ears it?" he asked, sniffing.
    "Oh, don't be ridiculous. Of course you are! I just meant where have you heard it before?"
    "At one of them political rallies, that's where."
    Ignoring Will's fit of pique, I turned my attention back to the men, who had stepped away from the body and were having a quick, hurried conversation in low voices. Then, one man at a time, they left the churchyard, each going in a different direction.
    I was torn. We needed to check on the injured fellow. But I also needed to keep my eye on the Heart of Egypt. And at some point we had to get back to Tetley.
    I turned to Will. "Can you follow the one who nabbed the package out of that man's coat?"
    Will nodded.
    "Don't do anything! Just follow him and find out where he goes. And for goodness' sake, be careful."
    Will gave a quick nod. "Right-o. If I can get close enough, I might be able to pinch it right out of his pocket."
    I grabbed his arm and gave it a little shake. His eyes widened in surprise. "Do not tangle with these men. They just stabbed a man in cold blood in the middle of a church square. I hate to think what they could do to you."
    "Why, thank ye, miss. That's right kind o' you to care. But this is my territory. I'll be fine."

    He got to his feet, still crouching low, and slipped away. Henry jumped up and tried to follow. I grabbed the back of his coat and yanked him back down. "What do you think you're doing?"
    "I'm going to follow the German. With Will."
    "You'll do nothing of the sort. Will's a professional and can take care of himself. You'll just get into trouble. Besides, we need to see if we can help this fellow."
    Henry muttered something about a bunch of tommyrot.
    "Look," I whispered. "This is much more dangerous than merely following someone! He's a known attacker and basher of heads! He could still be alive and dangerous."
    Henry perked up at that and followed me as I eased out of our hiding place.
    We made our