Alex stared up at the Scarab, and at the terrified Yanit dangling from the creature's mandibles. He forced himself to stay as still as possible, waiting for the monster to speak again.

'Everything comes to he who waits,' the Scarab chuckled. 'And I have waited so very long for this moment. You are mine now, boy. I know you will do anything to stop me from ripping this girl in half. So, let's get started. Walk back to the cave entrance – slowly, mind – and reach onto the shelf of rock to the top left of the fissure.'

Alex did as he was told. As he reached onto the shelf, his hand closed around cold metal.

'What do you feel?' said the Scarab.

'I think it's a pair of manacles,' said Alex.

'Manacles, correct,' said the Scarab. 'Far less elaborate than your own, but far more suited to your position in our little drama. Bring them over here.'

Alex took hold of the rusty manacles and walked slowly back towards the Scarab.

'Stop there!' the Scarab commanded. 'Now, put them on.'

Alex adopted a dark expression, but he quickly moved to follow the creature's instructions. He tried to fit one of the manacle cuffs over the Manacle of Osiris, but he found that the mechanism would not lock into place.

'This won't fit over the Manacle of Osiris,' said Alex.

'How is that my problem?' the Scarab snarled. 'Make it fit, or Yanit gets bisected!'

Alex forced the rusty cuff around his lower arm just below the Manacle of Osiris. As he slammed the locking mechanism into place, he cried out in pain, anger and frustration.

'There!' he said, snarling himself now. 'It's on!'

'Good,' said the Scarab. 'Very good. Now, put your hands behind your back before you attach the second cuff.'

Alex did so. With some difficulty, he locked the cuff onto his left wrist. Both his hands were now trapped behind his back.

'Now turn around, very slowly, to show me that you have done the job properly!'

Seething with pent-up emotion, Alex slowly turned a full circle to show the Scarab the result of his handiwork.

'There now,' said the Scarab, 'that wasn't so difficult, was it? To see you like this before me, boy... oh, I can't tell you how happy it makes me! And it's all thanks to your charming young friend here. How fortunate I was to catch her napping.'

'There's no honour in capturing a sleeping Medjai,' said Alex.

'Honour is for fools!' the Scarab hissed. 'Now, kneel before Scarab.'

Alex stared up at the now familiar sight of Yanit in the creature's mandibles. He deliberately kept his gaze trained on the scene for several seconds, to etch the picture into the front of his mind, before he lowered his head and dropped to his knees on the floor of the cave.

'Yes!' the Scarab crowed. 'See how the Supreme Medjai abases himself before me! Are you disappointed in your hero, Yanit? Did you think I could possibly break him this quickly?'

'He... he's not finished with you yet!' Yanit managed to choke out.

'Is that right?' the Scarab laughed. 'You're even more of a fool than he is!'

'Move,' Alex muttered under his breath. 'Move.'

'I expect you're wondering how I managed to find your secret base,' said the Scarab. 'I am cleverer than you ever imagined possible, boy! It was the simplest thing in the world to locate you. Shall I tell you how I did it?'

'Move,' Alex said again, his voice slightly louder now. 'Move!'

'I followed the Minotaur!' the Scarab declared in delight. 'I followed him all the way from Morocco! I secreted myself in your dormitory block, and I waited for the opportune moment. And oh, what an opportunity presented itself to me! I heard every word that passed between your friends Fadil and Yanit here, and so I learned that she would be the perfect bait to lure you into my clutches.'

'Move,' Alex said, his voice now clearer and stronger than it had sounded for some time. 'Move!'

'This is to be a simple transaction, boy – your life for hers,' the Scarab continued. 'It will be a slow and agonising process, but when we finally reach the end of our journey together, Yanit will bear witness to your fate. She can then go back and tell the other Medjai what has happened to their precious leader, and what will happen to any of them who are foolish enough to cross the path of the Scarab! The horrors I have in mind for you will be excruciating to experience, boy. By the time I'm through with you, you will beg me for death! But first, I want to hear you beg me for her life!'

Alex's head remained bowed. He said nothing.

'Why do you delay?' the Scarab barked. 'Beg me for her life, or I end it right now, and then I end yours! Do not think you can defy me, boy! Speak, now!'

Alex snapped his head up to stare at the Scarab; his eyes seemed to be alive with fire.

'Move!' Alex yelled. 'I command you to move!'

The Scarab screamed in agony as his massive mandibles were suddenly wrenched sideways by an unseen force; under the assault, he fell backwards and crashed to the floor of the cave.

Alex saw Yanit tumbling through the air. In the blink of an eye, he jumped to his feet and placed himself directly underneath her. As he could not raise his arms to catch her, he simply allowed her to land on top of him. The pair of them collapsed to the ground and rolled over and over, ending up in a heap against the far wall.

Alex squirmed his way back onto his knees.

'Yanit!' he hissed. 'Are you okay?'

Yanit could only manage a groan in reply, but she reached out and squeezed his knee in an attempt to reassure him. Alex gave her a relieved smile.

'Just try to stay down and keep quiet, okay?' he said. 'I'm going to take care of the Scarab for good!'

Alex jumped to his feet and ran across the cave, to the point where the Scarab was already hauling itself back up. Using the force of his run-up, Alex took a huge leap into the air and then twisted his body in mid-flight. He slammed his feet squarely into the Scarab's chest; the creature roared as it flew backwards and crashed into the far wall.

Alex deliberately fell into a crouch as he came back down to earth. With a tremendous effort, he pulled his legs backwards through his looped arms so that his hands were now in front of him. He raised them in front of his face, flexed the muscles in his arms and pulled his wrists as far apart as they would go.

'Break!' said Alex, fixing his gaze firmly on the central link of the chain between the manacles. 'Break, I command you!'

The link snapped with a metallic clink, and Alex's arms swung free. Just as he was celebrating his success, one of the Scarab's forelimbs crashed into his chest and sent him flying across the cave.

'You can never defeat the Scarab, boy!' the monster snarled. 'Now I shall make you pay for defying me!'

The Scarab scuttled towards Yanit, who was still looking much the worse for wear. However, when she saw the creature approaching her, she jumped into a crouch and swept her right leg into the path of her attacker. The Scarab growled and yelled as it stumbled and fell. Pleased with the success of her attack, Yanit took a wonky leap at the floored creature and slammed her feet into its side. The Scarab scudded across the floor, but it took the time to grab Yanit by one ankle on its way. Yanit screamed as she was dragged along with the monster.

Before the Scarab could check its momentum and attempt to get itself into a less vulnerable position, Alex was on top of it. He pounded his fists against the creature's armour-plated thorax, causing the rock-hard scales to buckle and shatter. The Scarab screamed in agony and lashed out with all six of its limbs, causing Yanit to be flung across the cave. She hit the wall and crumpled, before flopping into a heap on the floor.

'You have lost, boy!' the Scarab hissed through its sufferings. 'No matter what you do to me now, you have lost! She is surely dead!'

'I don't think so,' said Alex. 'Medjai do not die easily!'

With that, Alex flipped himself off the creature's front and onto the floor, where he proceeded to grab the Scarab by two legs and then hurl it into the wall. More of the creature's armour-plating was shattered; it had begun to ooze greenish slime from a multitude of grievous wounds.

The Scarab attempted a headlong dash at Alex, but it was hurled back with tremendous force. Again and again Alex pummelled the monster for all he was worth, and again and again the Scarab let out roars and snarls of agony as it was slowly but surely reduced to a shattered heap.

'You think... you have won?' the Scarab choked out. 'You think... you can do away with me... for good? You seek... to destroy... the mighty Scarab? Foolish boy... it... it cannot be done!'

Using the last of its energy, the Scarab hurled itself towards the unmoving figure of Yanit. Alex threw out his hands before him in a gesture of power; the Scarab was held fast. Alex swept his arms upwards; the Scarab crashed into the ceiling. Alex quickly ran out of the way; the Scarab fell to the floor of the cave and lay there, motionless.

'A cup without a handle is a bowl; a handle without a cup is useless... the power lies within...' Alex said to himself, staring at the Manacle of Osiris on his wrist. 'From stone you came; to stone you must return!'

A beam of golden light shot from the Manacle and enveloped the Scarab. Ever so slowly, the creature began to shrink. Alex grunted and groaned under the strain, and was forced to drop to his knees again. He saw that Yanit had dragged herself up onto all fours and was watching him, an expression of awe and concern on her face.

'Alex!' she called. 'Don't let it sap all your energy! Don't let the creature take you with it!'

'I... I have to do this!' Alex yelled through his exertions. 'I have to finish it now!'

Alex kept his eyes glued to the shrinking form of the Scarab until he was sure that it had become as small as it was going to get. With one final yell of exertion, he wrenched his right arm aside and the beam of light was extinguished. Alex collapsed to the floor in a heap. He looked up to see the Scarab Amulet arcing its way through the air in Yanit's direction.

'Quick – catch it, catch it!' Alex called to her. 'We mustn't lose it!'

Yanit trained her eyes on the tumbling artefact, hurled herself to one side, extended her left arm and caught the Scarab Amulet. Alex dragged himself to his feet, stumbled over to Yanit and collapsed on the ground next to her. She handed him the object she had caught.

'The Scarab Amulet,' Alex said. 'I can't tell you what a relief it is to see it looking like this again! I'm gonna get the damned thing encased in concrete or something, and I'm gonna personally make sure that no one ever releases the Scarab from it again!'

Alex slipped the artefact into his pocket. He then turned back to Yanit, who was already in the process of throwing her arms around his neck.

'I knew it,' she exhaled into his chest. 'I knew you'd come and I knew you'd save me. Even when he had me up there and he was slicing into me with his mandibles, I was never in fear of my life because I knew you'd come for me.'

'That must've been a nice feeling,' Alex laughed. 'I was in fear for both of our lives until about thirty seconds ago!'

'Oh, no,' said Yanit, 'that was impossible, Alex... not with you here.'

Yanit drew backwards slightly and looked into Alex's eyes. He met her gaze, and they both smiled. Then Yanit suddenly winced and clutched her side.

'Is it still bleeding?' Alex asked. 'Let me take a look.'

Yanit reached down and gingerly pulled her top up to the level of her chest.

'Oh my God, he cut right into you on both sides!' Alex said shrilly. 'Wow, that's nasty... but I don't think it's bleeding right now.'

'I'll live,' said Yanit, lowering her top. 'Of course, tactically speaking, you should have let him kill me, rather than take a chance on your own life to save me. My life for yours would never have been worth the sacrifice. You're the future of the Medjai Order, Alex – I'm not.'

'That's just where you're wrong, Yanit,' said Alex. 'You see, there's something really important that I want to ask you. I came to your room to talk to you about it, when I found the note from the Scarab.'

'I thought you turned up here pretty quickly,' said Yanit.

'You should thank Fadil for that, really,' said Alex. 'He told me there was a good chance you might still be awake, 'cause you and he were just talking.'

'So we were,' said Yanit. 'That seems an age ago now, but it can't really be more than a couple of hours!'

'But anyway, what I was gonna tell you... I mean, what I was gonna ask you... argh!'

Alex winced and clutched at his chest. Yanit's eyes opened wide in alarm.

'It's your turn now,' she said. 'Show me what's going on under there.'

Alex lifted his shirt to reveal extensive bruising to his upper body. Yanit gasped; Alex shrugged.

'It happened when the Scarab attacked me just after I broke the chain on the manacles,' he said. 'I've been in agony ever since, but that didn't matter while I still had to save you and defeat him!'

'Well, it certainly matters now!' said Yanit. 'You've probably got a few broken ribs – we need to have the doctor take a look at you as soon as we get back.'

'You're more urgent,' said Alex. 'We don't know if those cuts need stitching.'

'Okay, so we'd both better get back as quickly as we can,' said Yanit. 'We'll help each other to walk.'

'I brought a horse,' said Alex. 'He's tethered to the rope bridge. It's not far.'

Slowly and painfully, Alex and Yanit made their way back to the bridge. Alex calmed the restless horse as he untied its bridle from the wooden post, then he collapsed to the floor again with his right arm clutched to his side.

'You'd better let me take the reins,' said Yanit. 'I don't think you can really sit up straight; you must lean on my back, okay?'

'Yes... yes, okay,' said Alex. 'I guess that's the best plan.'

Yanit held out her hand, Alex grasped it, and by their combined efforts they both made it into position on the horse. Yanit took the reins and guided the animal back across the bridge.

Alex gripped the edge of his bed and winced as the Medjai physician pulled the last of the strapping tight around his body.

'That should do for now,' said the physician, 'but tomorrow you must go into Cairo and have an x-ray at the hospital, so we can see how many ribs are broken and whether we need to take any further action, or if we can just leave them to heal on their own.'

'Okay, Doc,' said Alex. 'Thanks.'

'Now I must bandage your wrists,' said the physician, 'then you must go to bed and try to get as much rest as you can.'

Alex nodded, then his expression brightened as he caught sight of Yanit hovering in the doorway. The physician turned and saw her too; he adopted a disapproving look.

'I told you to go to bed, young lady,' he said sternly. 'Doctor's orders.'

'On the other hand, I want her to come in and talk with me while you bandage my wrists,' said Alex. 'Supreme Medjai's orders. You've just been trumped, Doc.'

Yanit grinned, and entered the room. The physician scowled, but said no more. As he started preparing his bandages, Yanit came to sit on the bed next to Alex.

'That's a lot of strapping,' she remarked.

'I have a lot of broken ribs,' said Alex. 'Well, probably. I can tell you're not wearing your strapping.'

'I had to take it off,' said Yanit. 'It got in the way of the bandages. I look like Imhotep under here!'

'Did you get any stitches?'

'One or two; it's not so bad. But I have to admit, I do feel kinda weird without my strapping.'

'You shouldn't,' said Alex. 'I think you look much better without it.'

Yanit gave him a look; he reddened slightly.

'What I mean is... well, this is one of the important things I wanted to talk to you about, actually,' said Alex.

'How many important things are on the list?' asked Yanit.

'Three,' said Alex. 'And one of them is that I hope you'll soon decide to stop disguising yourself as a boy. You shouldn't have to pretend, Yanit – you don't have to pretend. Four of us know about it now – me and Ardeth and Fadil and the Doc – so it's not much of a secret anymore!'

'I... I want to stop,' said Yanit. 'But not everyone will be so ready to accept the idea of a female Medjai... what about all these Elders that are supposed to be coming to your investiture?'

'The fact that some people won't agree with it isn't a reason that it shouldn't happen,' said Alex. 'Anyway, it has happened and there's nothing they can do about it! The world is changing, and that's a good thing... well, mostly. In my Medjai Order, men and women are going to have equal opportunities... and you can help to pave the way, if you want.'

'Oh, Alex,' Yanit sighed, placing a hand on his knee. 'Maybe the world really will be a better place when you've finished with it.'

'I sure hope so,' Alex grinned at her.

'What are the other two important things?'

'They... well, they can wait 'til the morning.'

'Quite right,' said the physician. 'I have finished dressing your wrists, Alex – they will heal over the next few days. I am very concerned by your ribs, however. When you've had a good night's sleep, it's straight to the hospital with you, okay?'

'Yes, Doc,' said Alex. 'And thanks again. Sorry we had to wake you up in the middle of the night.'

'That's all right,' said the physician. 'It's part of my job really.'

He packed up his equipment and started to leave the room. When he turned and saw that Yanit was still sitting on Alex's bed, he frowned.

'I'll go back to my room in a minute,' said Yanit. 'I just... we need to say goodnight properly first.'

The doctor took the hint, and went on his way. Alex put his hand on top of Yanit's, where it still rested on his knee.

'Will you come and see me tomorrow, as soon as you're awake and with it?' Alex asked.

'What about the hospital?' said Yanit.

'I need to talk to you first,' said Alex. 'I need us to discuss the other two important things. I wish we could do it now, but the Doc's right – we both need to get some sleep!'

'Okay,' said Yanit, smiling warmly at Alex. 'I'll be back in the morning, as soon as I wake up. Goodnight.'

'Goodnight, Yanit.'

'And thank you,' she added, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, 'for saving my life.'

'You're welcome,' said Alex. 'I could never have done anything else.'

'I suppose you would've done exactly the same thing for any Medjai who'd been taken by the Scarab, wouldn't you?'

'No, I wouldn't. I mean, I'd have done something, obviously... and the end result would've been the same... hopefully. But I wouldn't have done exactly the same thing for any Medjai that I did for you.'

Yanit smiled, stroked Alex's cheek, jumped to her feet and left the room. Alex lay back on his bed, wincing in pain as his back touched the mattress. Tut made a few chattering noises, and snuggled up next to Alex's right hip. Alex reached down and stroked his pet.

'Am I barking up the wrong tree here, Tut?' Alex asked the mongoose. 'Or are we on the verge of something?'

Tut's response was non-committal and sleepy.

'Yeah, I guess you're right, buddy,' said Alex. 'We'll have to wait 'til the morning to find out.'