‘Escort Brooke and Whitney and the rest to the safe area,’ said Maxie. ‘Then carry on up to the top, work your way down from there and join up with us when it’s all clear.’

‘Is gonna be bare quiet up there,’ Achilleus protested.

‘That’s the point. You’re hurt, Akkie.’

‘It ain’t so bad.’

‘Even so. You’ve done enough fighting for one night.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Jackson said to Achilleus.

Achilleus looked her up and down, getting the measure of her, and then slowly nodded his head.

‘Cool,’ he said.

‘We need to get the main doors shut,’ said Ollie. ‘Stop any more from getting in.’

‘Let’s chuck these bodies out first,’ said Maxie. ‘If you’re sure none of them are yours, Jackson.’

‘Get rid of them,’ said Jackson.

‘I’m on it,’ said Ollie and his team immediately went to work dragging bodies across the black and white tiled floor towards the doors.

Blue came over to Maxie.

‘So you in charge now, are you, girl?’ he said, half smiling.

‘You gotta keep up,’ said Maxie. ‘You’re just too lazy. You keep slacking like this, we’ll have to put you back to bed.’

‘We’ll see.’ Blue shot her a look and walked over to Jackson.

‘What’s the name of this kid who’s taking us down?’ he asked.

‘Boggle,’ said Jackson, and when she clocked Blue’s mystified expression she explained. ‘He’s got a Polish name, something unpronounceable with loads of consonants and no vowels. Justin nicknamed him Boggle, after the word game.’

‘Don’t know it,’ said Blue. ‘But he’s OK, yeah?’

‘Sure.’

Blue strode over and clapped Boggle on the shoulder. He was a big, chunky kid with stubbly hair so pale you couldn’t tell where his skin ended and his hairline began. He was armed with a thin sword covered in fancy inlaid decoration. The end had snapped off.

‘You do much damage with that toy of yours?’ Blue asked.

‘Is better than nothing.’

‘Maybes. You ready for this?’

Boggle shrugged.

‘Good. Let’s go then, hench. Get this party over.’

Chapter 3

3

Boggle led the way to the back of the hall, past the giant diplodocus, its immense long neck stretching out above them, and through an archway that supported one side of the main staircase. A smaller area here had served as one of the museum cafés; there were still tables and chairs laid out. Boggle went over to an ordinary-looking door that opened into an equally ordinary corridor, obviously part of the museum that had been closed to the public. He took a torch out of his pocket and switched it on. Blue did likewise.

‘The lower level was for museum staff only,’ Boggle explained as they walked down the corridor. ‘It was used for storage and that. It’s not all underground, there’s windows in some walls.’