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“Name it,” Ronnie said, grabbing a pen.

“Cleopatra’s tomb.”

Ronnie dropped the pen without writing even a single letter. “Nope.”

“Really? Not a single person?”

Ronnie pressed her lips together into a thin line and shook her head. “Sorry, kiddo. That’s way too high profile for the library to have a presence. Too many questions. I hate to say it, but you’re on your own. You’ll need to keep everything on the down-low. Get in, get the crystal, get out. If you’re caught, the library will disavow any knowledge of you.”

“Wait, what?” Paige questioned, her features crinkling with concern. “Like secret agent, black-ops stuff? If we’re caught, we’re on our own?”

“I’m sorry to say, Paige, but yes.” The phone rang, and Ronnie flicked her gaze toward it. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this. Good luck, you two.”

The screen narrowed to a pinpoint as Ronnie’s image disappeared.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Paige said, shooting an incredulous glance at Dewey. “On our own? We can’t do this!”

“We can’t risk the pixies getting the crystal either.”

“Maybe they already have!”

“Check your SupNet account,” Dewey said, jabbing a finger at Paige’s phone.

Paige unlocked the phone, tapped on the app, and scrolled through her saved posts to find the Luxor-based pixie.

She clicked on her account and scanned the recent posts. “Nothing.”

“Okay, so it’s still in play.”

“Maybe she got it and didn’t announce it.”

“Doubt it. She’s a show-off. They’re probably still making the deal, or still searching for it in the tomb.”

“So, we’ve got a chance to beat them to it,” Paige said. “Okay. How do we get to this tomb?”

“Well, we can fly in by chopper, which would have been my choice.” Dewey tapped his chin before he poked a finger in the air. He poked at the communication device again.

Ronnie’s image appeared again on the screen. She held a finger up as she spoke into her phone’s receiver. “Yes… Yes… Yes, sir, I know that… No…I am certain they are doing everything they can… I trust them completely… No, I haven’t heard from them, so I have no reason to suspect anything is amiss.”

Ronnie shot a pointed glance at the camera, arching an eyebrow. “I will do that as soon as I hear anything. All right, Director. Mm-hm. Bye now.”

Ronnie slammed the receiver down into the cradle and stared at them through the camera. “That was Director Crandall. He’s concerned that we are running out of time to retrieve these assets. You need to get this wrapped up as quickly as you can.”

“About that, Ronnie. We can’t get any help getting the crystal, but can you at least get us to the tomb?”

Ronnie tapped around on her keyboard, glancing sideways at them. “Let me see what I can do. We can’t make our presence known there. Especially with Paige’s purple skin.”

Paige winced, rolling her eyes at the complication. “Worst time ever for me to need to be cured of a deadly disease.”

“It may be for the best. If you were to say or do anything suspicious, we’re sunk. Okay, I got you hooked up with a few camels, a guide, and some provisions. He’ll meet you at the airstrip and get you to the tomb. He’s well aware of the library and its function, so no need to hide anything.”

“Okay, good,” Paige said with a nod. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Listen, before you go…” Ronnie lowered her eyes to her desk, her features pinching. “Don’t screw this up. If you don’t get that crystal and the wand…I’m afraid our branch will be shut down.”

CHAPTER 26

“What?” Dewey and Paige exclaimed simultaneously.