Treasured Dreams by Kendall Talbot Page A

shattered the silence.
    Ginger screamed, as did someone on the top balcony. Glass shards rained down and Alessandro yanked Ginger to the floor. As he draped his body over hers, red powder blossomed around them.
    His heart thundered in his ears as he stared across the floor at Sezoine’s bulging eyes. The professor remained still but his eyes darted about the chaos. Alessandro shifted his vision to the shards of fine, clear glass lying everywhere. His eyes snagged on a twisted spring of wire. It took him a while to realise it was the coil from a light bulb. Something or someone had shot at the lights. His thoughts snapped to Nox, and he covered Ginger more.
    â€˜Are you guys okay?’ It was one of the men from the balcony.
    â€˜What was that?’ Alessandro yelled.
    â€˜Something shot out of the fucking statue.’
    Alessandro blinked, trying to make sense of it. Professor Sezoine pushed up from the floor and Alessandro climbed off Ginger. ‘Are you okay, il mio dolce ?’ He wanted to cup her cheeks, to see her eyes.
    She nodded. ‘I’m fine. What the hell happened?’
    â€˜Pressure dart.’ Sezoine smiled. ‘Lifting the lid off the statue triggered a dart. Ancient booby trap.’
    â€˜Geez, lucky we weren’t looking into it,’ Ginger said.
    Sezoine ran his finger along the red dust that caked the table. ‘Oh dear,’ he said, as he stepped back.
    â€˜What?’ Even through the suit Alessandro read the fear in Sezoine’s eyes.
    â€˜Hematite powder.’
    â€˜What’s that?’ Alessandro asked.
    â€˜It’s a sharp metallic dust that the Egyptians used to cover tomb floors. It would cause a slow and painful death to the grave robbers who inhaled it.’
    â€˜Holy shit,’ Ginger said, and Alessandro agreed with her.
    Alessandro had to see inside the urn. His heart still thundered in his chest as he stepped forward, stood on his toes, and glanced in. A powder the colour and texture of ground coffee filled the urn three-quarters full, but it was what was centred in the middle of it that caught his attention. A circle of gold attached to a blue cylinder, about seven centimetres in diameter, protruded from the powder.
    â€˜What’s that?’ He pointed inside.
    â€˜What?’ Sezoine stepped forward.
    â€˜It looks like a cylinder.’
    â€˜Mmm,’ Sezoine mumbled. ‘An urn within an urn.’
    â€˜Pull it out, let’s see,’ Ginger said.
    â€˜No,’ Sezoine snapped. ‘It may contain another trigger.’
    â€˜How do we get it out then?’ Alessandro asked.
    They were all silent as they contemplated the situation.
    â€˜Have you got any kitchen tongs?’ Ginger suggested.
    Alessandro looked at Sezoine for confirmation, and when the professor nodded, he glanced up at his friends.
    â€˜I’ll be back in a sec,’ Leonardo said before he disappeared from view. A minute or so later, there was a knock on the door. ‘Leave it there and go back upstairs,’ Alessandro instructed.
    Once Leonardo was back up top, Alessandro opened the door and clutched the tongs in his gloved hand.
    â€˜Think there’ll be any more surprises?’ Ginger asked, as Sezoine reached in with the tongs.
    â€˜We’re about to find out,’ the professor said.
    Alessandro put his arm across Ginger’s waist and nudged her backwards with him. He stared wide-eyed as a cylinder the colour of the Mediterranean Sea was gradually lifted from the urn. Even from this distance, Alessandro noticed the intricate drawings painted in gold upon the tube.
    Ginger let out a slow whistle. ‘Wow.’
    Sezoine’s fingers trembled as he lowered the cylinder to the table. He let out a huge breath and stood back. ‘It’s made from lapis lazuli,’ Sezoine said. ‘A semi-precious stone that’s been prized since antiquity for its intensely rich blue colour. They even found it on the