Wolfe made it to the door, but it was fixed with a heavy lock. Jess pushed forward and fumbled for his tools; his head wasn’t clear, and it seemed to take forever for his fingertips to begin to sense the vibrations of the metal pins.

Somehow, despite the tension, the others managed not to yell at him, and he was grateful for the concentration. At last he felt the lock snap under his fingers and the door sag open. He moved through and held it open for the others, and at the far end of the Serapeum, one of the double doors shrieked and fell and a Roman lion bounded through and skidded on the marble floor, roaring.

“Go!” Jess shouted, though they hardly needed encouragement. Santi came through first, ready to shoot any opposition, but the hall was empty for the moment. Glain stepped through last, still facing back toward the Serapeum’s hallway as the lions crowded in. Jess slammed the door shut and locked it as the first of the pride fixed a red gaze in their direction.

Then they were running through the empty halls of the basilica. Jess managed to keep up without help, though he felt Morgan next to him, anxiously steadying him when he faltered. “I’m fine,” he told her, and she sent him a breathless, disbelieving look. “You were right about the lion. I’m sorry I couldn’t—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said, and her hand slipped into his. The warm touch of her hand pushed back the pain a little. “Come on, Jess. Just a little farther.”

Santi led them through a maze of corridors, avoiding High Garda patrols responding to the summons from the Serapeum, and Jess recognized where they were now: the hallways close to where he and Glain, a lifetime ago, had begun their patrol. “It’ll be guarded,” he told Glain, and she nodded. “Don’t hesitate to shoot, no matter who it is.”

“I won’t,” she said, and moved up to run with Santi. They rounded a last corner, and there, halfway down the long hall, lay the statue of Pluto with the hidden entrance behind him, and a group of five soldiers in front.

Blue Dogs—their own squad. Jess recognized the Englishman with the beard and a few of the others, and it hit him like a sick jolt.

Someone shouted, and the Blue Dog soldiers all turned to face them. One of them fired, but it was a wild shot and dug gouges from the stone above and behind them. Santi and Glain fired back, and Jess managed to get his own weapon up, too. Two of the soldiers dropped immediately, and another one followed in the next second, but the two on the left abandoned the open hallway and took cover. “Glain, Jess, with me!” Santi shouted, and they pelted forward. Another shot came their way, and this one wasn’t wild at all; it was well-placed, accurate, and hit Glain in the meaty part of her thigh. She cried out and went down, and Jess blinked at the splash of bright red blood left on the wall where she’d been. He dragged her up and pressed her behind the statue of Juno, then ran after Santi, who’d activated the secret entrance behind Pluto. He skidded to a halt and aimed at the soldiers who had already lined up on Santi’s back.