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A new set of footsteps, firm and confident, sounded from outside the study door. The lock clicked, and the panel swung open to reveal the lean form and cold eyes of Mr. Jacobs.

Dawson startled in his chair, fumbling his pen. “It’s about time you showed up,” he complained. “Do you know, I had to knock and shout for one of those Al-Saboors a few minutes ago just to relieve myself? I don’t see why I have to be locked in here like I’m also a…” He trailed off, casting an awkward look over at Neil—obviously realizing he was about to spill out the wordprisoner.

The professor cleared his throat. “What I mean is, someone ought to give me a key!”

Jacobs gave Dawson a tired, disdainful look. “He’d just take it off you.” He slid an assessing glance over Neil. “Maybe,” he modified flatly.

Neil felt both indignant and intimidated at the same time.

Did Jacobs’ reappearance mean that Ellie and the others had been sent on their way? Or had they managed to best the man and his fellows in a fight?

He looked for some sign that Jacobs had been on the wrong end of Adam’s fists, but couldn’t find any… perhaps because there hadn’t been any fight, and Jacobs had simply murdered all of them.

The demand to know rose into Neil’s throat—and choked there.

“What have you found?” Jacobs demanded.

Dawson went over a bit sniffy. “We are still working on the translation. This is a particularly challenging form of Middle Akkadian and requires a great deal of—”

“So far,” Jacobs cut in with exaggerated patience.

Dawson swallowed thickly. “The tablet mentions a tomb at the horizon of the sun, which clearly indicates a position to the west. Perhaps somewhere near the oasis of Siwa.”

Neil held himself very still, making every effort not to react to Dawson’s assertion.

Jacobs’ gaze snapped over to him like a hawk spotting a mouse. “Do you know anything more about it?”

The question should have been simple enough to deny, but for some reason, Neil felt exposed in the face of it. “I’m, ah… I’m afraid I don’t…”

“Ah.” Jacobs interrupted him with a smile. It was a veryknowingsort of smile, and the rest of Neil’s words died in his throat. “But that’s not precisely true. Is it?”

Why did he…?How could he possibly…?Neil’s thoughts spluttered helplessly. It would be one thing if Jacobs had simply suspected he was lying, but the look in his eyes didn’tfeellike suspicion.

It felt like certainty.

Beside Neil, Dawson had gone conspicuously quiet. When Neil shot him a panicked glance, the professor was eyeing him as though he were a chicken that had just been tagged for slaughter.

Neil turned his head back to face Jacobs once more—and jolted in his chair at the realization that the man had moved closer. He had done it without making a bloody sound, like some sort of ghost. Neil instinctively pressed himself against the back of his seat as though hoping he might sink through it and escape.

“Tell me,” Jacobs said evenly. “Have you any interest in the young lady upstairs?”

With a cold dart of fear, Neil realized he was referring to Constance. “She’s just…” he started, choking on the words. “I barely…”

Jacobs tilted his head. “That’s not what I asked you.”

Neil could only blink back at him, fear stealing his voice.

“It would be a shame,” Jacobs continued evenly. “If I had to hurt her to convince you to offer us your full cooperation.”

The quick, visceral emotion that snapped through Neil at Jacobs’ words surprised him.

By all rights, it should have been terror. After all, he was a scrawny, bookish academic who wanted nothing more in life than to translate hieroglyphs for hours. Facing the threats of a dangerously calm and extremely intimidating villain should have been far more than he could handle.

Instead, at Jacobs’ implied promise of violence against Constance, a snap of anger flashed through Neil like a gust of hot wind.

She might be reckless and unpredictable—a relentless danger gnome who had spent the better part of her childhood tormenting Neil in every way imaginable—but she washisdanger gnome. And he would be damned if he sat back and quivered while the cold-eyed bastard in front of him threatened to use her like a sacrificial goat.

All of which led Neil to make a response that was perhaps less prudent than he might otherwise have preferred, given the circumstances.