Raven and I are forced to catch our breath as the crowd swarms ahead of us.
Hecate’s wand sits in a glass display box, right in the open. “At least it’s still here,” I say.
“But for how much longer?” Raven says.
Her gaze roams the museum, taking in everything with wonder. She’s thinking the same thing. “How are we supposed to steal it? There are hundreds of people here, witnesses. They won’t just let us.”
She’s right.
“Come on,” I say, pulling her deeper into the exhibit. Laughter and clinking glasses fill the air. I look left and right, searching for Warden Stone. I don’t see him yet, but I know he’s here somewhere.
Finding Professor Evander is easy enough, though. He’s surrounded by a small crowd, men and women praising the exhibit. It’s like he’s holding court, gesticulating with a champagne flute at the museum around him to appreciative murmurs.
“Professor,” I say, leaning in close and whispering. “I need to talk to you.”
He looks startled at first, and then smiles at the other guests. “Of course! Excuse me, everyone, duty calls!”
I guide him to the outer perimeter of the crowd, and we hide behind a pair of columns. “What seems to be the matter, Mr.Winthrop?” he asks. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I need to take something from the museum. Right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“There’s an artifact here that is dangerous. Hecate’s wand, remember, the one that knocked me out my first day? In the wrong hands—”
Raven hisses in my ear, “Stone is here.” She motions toward the crowd, and I catch sight of him. He stands with a group of professors, looking right at us.
“Professor, please,” I plead. “It’s important. I believe someone intends to use it. We have to hide it.”
“What are you talking about?”
There’s a commotion. Guards have been called. Warden Stone is coming our way, directing security with a radio. They’re going to arrest us.
“Professor, everyone here is in danger. Something terrible is going to happen, and Warden Stone—”
“He knows all about the danger,” Professor Evander says.
“What?”
“The wand, it was his idea to store it here. It’s the safest place.”
“Not anymore,” I say.
A strong hand grabs me by the arm, and I look up into the face of a security guard as broad as a building. Raven lets out a yelp as another guard grabs her arm, too.
Warden Stone stands behind us, talking briefly into the radiobefore gesturing for the guards to move in. “You are trespassing at a private event,” Stone says.
“Warden Stone,” Professor Evander says, “is this really necessary?”
“Professor Evander, please listen!” I beg, as the guard twists my arm painfully behind my back, making me wince, and pulls me away from the professor, through the crowd of curious onlookers wondering what’s going on.
The guard’s hand on my arm is solid as a vise, twisting my skin. I grind my teeth and check him like I would at lacrosse. This is all going wrong. I have to think of something.
But then, from the far end of the museum, there’s a scream. High-pitched and wild.
The security guards stop pushing us to the exit to turn around and see what’s going on. There’s a rush of movement near the bar. Shattering glass and more screaming.
Professor Evander rushes toward the sound.
