Daniel frowned, and made himself concentrate. How do you kill something that’s already dead? That thought reminded Daniel of what he’d done at the Frankenstein gathering. He darted forward and grabbed hold of the mummy’s head with both hands. But even though he wrenched at it with all his strength, he couldn’t tear the mummy’s head off. Bandaged hands shot up and closed on his arms, the fingers tightening with hideous strength as they crushed his muscles. Daniel cried out despite himself, as an unbearable pain filled his arms. He pulled himself free with an almost hysterical effort, and stumbled backward. His arms fell to hang limply at his sides, screaming with an agony that wouldn’t let him think and only slowly died away as the torn muscles fought to repair themselves. The mummy came after him, and all Daniel could do was keep backing away around the circle, while doing his best to stay out of reach of the other mummies.
Tina was keeping their attention fixed on her, laughing mockingly as she danced among them, moving too quickly for them to keep up with her. She struck out at them with swift blows and vicious kicks, knocking the mummies off-balance and then darting back out of reach before they could react. Until a bandaged hand shot out with inhuman speed and grabbed Tina by the arm. She fought to break free and found she couldn’t, and the mummy threw her across the circle as though she weighed nothing at all. Tina turned end over end as she flew through the air, and then slammed into one of the standing sarcophagi, almost overturning it. She dropped limply to the floor and lay there, facedown, struggling to get her breath back. The sarcophagus rocked slowly back and forth, until finally it overbalanced and collapsed on top of her. It crashed down on her like the wrath of the ancient gods, and the sheer weight of it pinned her to the floor. Tina fought to get out from under it, her hands scrabbling helplessly on the waxed floor, but she couldn’t find any leverage. The mummies headed toward her, not bothering to hurry, their bandaged hands opening and closing with simple menace. Tina’s movements became even more frantic as she realized she was trapped—and helpless.
Daniel started forward, forcing his aching hands into fists, but the mummies were already between him and Tina. His head raced as he tried to think of something he could do, and then he saw one of the mummies flinch away as it got too close to the motionless burning mummy. As though just the heat it was giving off was a danger.
And just like that, Daniel knew what he had to do. The thought appalled him, so he moved quickly forward before he could think better of it. He drove himself forward into the awful heat, even as it seared his face, and grabbed hold of the blazing figure with both hands. He gritted his teeth as the flames burned him, but somehow made himself tighten his grip. He raised up the burning mummy, spun around, and used it as a flail to strike down the other mummies. The same way Tina had used one crocodile against the others. One of the other mummies immediately burst into flames, just from sheer proximity to the blazing heat, and rippling fires shot all over his body.
Daniel sobbed in pain as his hands blackened and crisped from the terrible heat. Flames shot up his sleeves, but he wouldn’t let go. He had to save Tina. He turned to face the other mummies, and they started to back away. Daniel showed them his teeth in a merciless grin, and went after them. He swung the burning figure back and forth, and in just a few moments all the other mummies were on fire. They went staggering blindly round the circle, slamming into one another and crying out in their forgotten language, blazing more and more fiercely as the ancient chemicals in their bodies fueled the flames.
The circle was full of a terrible hellish light. Shadows danced madly across the watching faces of the standing sarcophagi. One by one the mummies stopped screaming and fell to their knees, slowly bowing their burning heads as death finally caught up with them. In the end all that remained were so many motionless forms, burning steadily like funeral pyres.
Daniel tried to drop the burning thing he was holding, and found he couldn’t. His blackened hands wouldn’t open. Horrible pains shot up his arms as he shook them hard, but the burning shape seemed to cling to him. As though determined to bring him down too, whatever it took. Flames shot up Daniel’s shirtfront and licked at his face, and he cried out miserably.
There was a great crash from the other side of the circle, as Tina finally threw the sarcophagus to one side. She lurched to her feet and raced across the circle, darting past the burning shapes to rip the blazing mummy out of Daniel’s grip. Thick smoke rose up from his blackened arms and hands. Tina threw the burning thing to one side, and then beat out Daniel’s flames with her bare hands, not flinching once. And when it was done, they both dropped to their knees and breathed heavily as they waited for their burns to heal.
It took a while, but eventually Dr. Jekyll’s marvelous Elixir brought them back from the brink, one more time. Daniel’s breathing gradually slowed and steadied as the pain died away. He held his hands up before him, though it took him a moment before he could bring himself to look at them. The blackened, twisted things that had held on to the burning mummy despite everything were now completely back to normal, and Daniel let out a long, slow sigh of relief. He leaned against Tina, and she leaned on him. Though neither of them would ever admit it, taking down the mummies had turned out to be a closer-run thing than either of them had expected. They rose slowly to their feet, and looked round the circle at the burning shapes.
“It’s a pity we didn’t think to bring a few marshmallows,” Daniel said finally.
“Or some sausages,” said Tina.
Daniel winced. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for burnt meat, just at the moment.”
“Time we were leaving,” said Tina. “Someone must have heard something by now. A small army of heavily armed mercenaries is almost certainly heading in our direction, even as we speak. And loath though I am to admit it, I do have limits.”
Daniel nodded quickly. “Back to the sewers, then.”
Tina smiled. “But if we can find the time . . . I always did fancy a pair of crocodile hide boots.”
Chapter Eight
WHERE THE WILD
THINGS ARE
When Daniel and Tina entered the Jekyll & Hyde Inc. building a few days later, they didn’t even get as far as the secretary’s office. A message board had been planted in the center of the lobby, with a handwritten message instructing them to go down to the cellar.
“Well,” said Tina. “That isn’t at all foreboding.”
“I am getting really tired of being led around by the nose, just so he can give me a grand tour of his building,” said Daniel. “This had better not be tiger-related.”
“Oh I don’t know,” said Tina. “I am feeling a bit peckish.”
Daniel sniffed. “I didn’t know this building even had a cellar.”
“There are stairs at the back of the lobby.”
“And what’s in this cellar?”
“Beats me,” said Tina. “It’s always been Edward’s private domain.”
“More so than his playroom?”
“Definitely. I don’t know anyone who’s ever been allowed in the cellar before this.”
“Then how do you know how to get there?”
Tina smiled. “People tell me things.”
“Whether they want to or not?”
“Pretty much.”
Tina led the way to the back of the lobby, and a concealed door that opened onto bare stone steps falling away under a series of softly glowing lights. Tina started down the steps, and then stopped when she realized Daniel wasn’t following her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I really don’t like cellars these days.”
“You’re going to have to put that behind you one day,” said Tina. “Why not now?”