“They wouldn’t stop,” the dungeon master said.

The head of the trio came forward and dropped to a knee. They were all clearly members of the Blood of Ka. “Master Kree, I have word from the pharaoh’s bedchamber. He wakes faster than we expected. I think the two princesses suspect something is amiss. Especially that nuisance, Nefertiti.”

Kree shoved the cell phone into his robe. “I will go and speak with them. Calm those waters before suspicion ruins our plans. You and the others prepare more of the elixir. It is time we sent Pharaoh Neferhotep back to sleep. This time forever.”

He swept toward the door, trailed by the others. As Kree passed the dungeon master, he pointed an arm at Jake.

“Kill them. All of them. Slowly.”

Dogo nodded, relieved. He rubbed his palms together as the party cleared out of the chamber. Jake didn’t see the witch leave, but she was also gone.

The dungeon master crossed to the table, put his fists on his hips, and studied his spread of bone-breaking tools. Jake shifted his arms farther behind his back, hoping that Dogo hadn’t noticed that Kree had freed his hands earlier. He had one shot.

Dogo turned around with a wicked set of shears, like those used to trim hedges. The man’s gaze locked on Jake’s bare toes. He was choosing which one to cut off first.

To keep the ogre’s attention up there rather than on the shackles on the floor, Jake wiggled his toes. Dogo smiled, exposing a handful of missing teeth.

He lumbered forward, a glob of drool hanging from his lower lip.

Once his target was close enough, Jake swung both arms wide and slammed his cupped palms against the man’s ears. It was a Tae Kwon Do attack he’d learned, devastating enough to drop a grown man to his knees.

Or a grown ogre.

As Dogo fell forward, Jake moved fast. He jackknifed at the hip and clipped Dogo’s jaw with the crown of his head. It felt as if he smashed his skull against a boulder. Jake’s ears rang, but it was a thousand times worse for the dungeon master. Dogo’s head snapped back in a wicked whiplash, rolling his eyes back, too.

The big man crashed into a dead sprawl across the floor.

Jake swung back and forth from his ankles, keeping an eye on Dogo. The man stayed down. But for how long?

“Jake!” his sister called. “Quit hanging around and get us out of here!”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?”

Again that maniacal laughter rose from one of the cells. More faces appeared in the other windows. They stared at his efforts, hope shining in their faces.

Jake used his body weight to swing back and forth, higher and higher. The shackles cut into the skin of his ankles. Blood ran hotly down his legs, but he continued to swing. He reached an arm out toward the ring of keys, which hung again on the crossbeam in front of him. His fingertips strained, but the keys were still out of reach. He had to roll higher up.