As soon as the gargoyles turned to me, I ran to the back of the garden to where Larson lay. As I felt for a pulse a fireball whizzed over my head. Larson was alive, but I wouldn't be, unless I did something about those gargoyles!

I got up and ran, dodging the fireballs when they flew in my direction. As soon as I could I ran behind the gatehouse. This was going to be hard. I thought for a moment, as the flickering light of the fireballs bathed me every few minutes. But the couldn't get me from here.

I smiled and drew my weapons. I turned to face the wall of the gatehouse, before side flipping out from cover. I shot the gargoyles as they turned to face me, but side flipped back behind the building before they could hit me with any fireballs.

I continued this, periodically replacing the clips, until I heard a loud cracking sound. When I flipped back out to shoot the gargoyles some more, I saw one of the heads had disappeared. In its place was a small burnt patch and a small pile of gravel.

Soon enough, I heard two more cracking sounds as the last two heads disappeared. Cautiously I peered around the corner to make sure the heads were gone. They were. So I holstered my guns and walked towards the door. I carefully placed the Venus Stone and the Mars Stone in their places and the door opened.

In its place was a rainbow-coloured sheen to the air. It looked almost like a bubble on the surface of some water. It was beautiful. I walked up to it, and looked at it closely. It seemed safe. I carefully reached out a hand and touched it, but it felt just like air.

Gathering my courage, I put my hand through it, and then my arm. Since nothing happened, I stepped through it, and spun. The garden was still there on the other side of the swirling colours. I relaxed a little, and turned my attention to what was before me.

Ahead of me was a small peninsular above a pit of spikes. Just beyond that was another ledge, and then . . . I sucked in a sharp breath. The Philosopher's Stone! I glinted red in the golden sun streaming down at the wall in which it was inlaid.

I took a running jump, and leaped over the spike pit, watching for hidden traps all the while. I could see none, but that didn't mean they weren't there. I grabbed the edge of the platform and pulled up, just missing the spikes below.

I walked to the edge of the ledge and looked around. There was nothing that looked even remotely like a trap near the stone. And that made me frown. There were always traps near an artifact of this magnitude. Always. It was like a rule.

I looked again, even more carefully this time. Nothing. I thought back to the books I had read, but none of them had actually said anything after opening the gate. Maybe no one had ever gotten this far.

I smiled wryly. Only one way to find these traps . . . so I leapt forward and landed on the golden tiles below the Philosopher's Stone. And the floor gave way beneath my feet. I landed on a slope below, the impact jarring my ankles and knees.

As I slid down the slope, I tensed in case I needed to jump out the way of something. But I soon came to a stop on a dirt floor. I drew my guns and waited. Nothing ran at me and no blades swung down at my head.

I gradually relaxed, but not entirely. I ran forward and looked about. There was nothing there but dirt and skeletons of those unluckier than I was. I frowned at that.

I ran forward again, until the floor changed. Ahead of me was a narrow corridor paved with small grey tiles. I holstered my guns to keep my hands free. I smelled a trap. Taking a deep breath, I sprinted along the corridor and felt the tiles shake beneath my feet.

As they fell away, revealing a pit of boiling lava, I put on a burst of speed and jumped to grab the edge to the pit before I fell. The fall jerked my arms and the stone bit into my exposed skin. I felt the dust cling to my still wet clothes.

I pulled myself up and found the exit blocked by a large stone wall. I groaned and gave it a kick from frustration. I turned and looked back at the pit. The walls were too smooth to climb, and the gap was too far to jump . . .

Then I spotted a gap in the wall to the right of the edge in front of me. So I turned and dropped, grabbing the edge so I didn't fall. I then traversed my way around the edge until I could pull myself into the crawlspace.

I crawled forward and then somersaulted into a small dirt room. Inset into the wall was a square grey button. I walked over and pushed it. There was an echoing click when I did so. I returned back around the pit and found the exit open. I walked through and slid down the ramp.

As soon as I reached the room below, I heard a low growl from my right. I spun with surprise and saw a very large and very mean looking lion on my right. I dropped and rolled, reaching for my guns.

I felt a burning pain in my left shoulder as the lion's claws ripped through my unprotected skin. I winced, but came up firing. The lion was dead before it could turn around. I glanced around the room and spotted a closed door and a button on the wall.

Seeing no danger for the moment, I knelt in the dirt and rummaged around in my backpack for my medical kit. Blood was beginning to run in warm streams down my arm. When I found it, I pulled the things I needed out and cleaned and bandaged my bleeding shoulder.

When I was done, the gash had begun to throb dully, but I ignored the pain. I could worry about it later. I stood and walked over to the button before pressing it. The door slid open. Just as I was about to move, I heard a soft thud behind me.

I immediately rolled and came up firing. The lion fell dead at my feet. My heart was still beating a little fast when I jogged through the open doorway. I found myself in an empty room except for the skeleton in the corner and the ladder on the back wall.

I climbed the ladder into a room containing another door and a pedestal. I raised an eyebrow when I saw what was on it. The ruby was so dark it looked almost purple in the faint light. At its base was a thick gold rim that looked as if it was meant to be part of a circle.

I grabbed it and headed to the door. When I entered the large rock-walled room, with stone pillars running from floor to ceiling, I heard a noise to my left. The gladiator that charged at me looked almost like a mummy, with sunken flesh and brown skin. He carried a large shield and sword, and had an eerie gleam where his eyes should be.

I killed him before he reached me, and repressed a shudder. There was a ramp in front of me, and I jogged up it, the guns a comforting weight in my hands. When I reached the next level, another gladiator charged at me from the left. I shot him.

On the right was a wide doorway, and I took a deep breath and walked through it.