39 Clues _ Cahills vs. Vespers [03] The Dead of Night (17 page)

“Stop!” Amy ordered. “I’ve had enough testosterone in the past five minutes to last me a lifetime. We need to focus.”

She picked up Luna’s pink cell phone and tossed it to Dan. “Check the phone.” She looked at Jake and Atticus. “Help me get this stuff back in my pack.”

“Phone’s toast,” Dan said after a second. He threw it against a cement pillar and it burst into a hundred pink pieces.

“Was that necessary?” Amy asked.

“Probably not,” Dan answered, “but it felt good.”

Amy shook her head, then noticed something in the pile that hadn’t been in her backpack earlier. It was a small black velvet bag. She picked it up.

“What’s that?” Dan asked.

“‘A bag within your bag,’” Atticus said.

Amy loosened the drawstrings and dumped a diamond the size of a marshmallow into her palm.

Pompeii, Italy

V-1: Contact established with the Cahills. Exactly where you’d expect. Will track. Can kill. Awaiting instructions.

— V-4

V-4: The trap is baited. V-5 is in place. Proceed.

— V-1

Erasmus Yilmaz sat on the edge of a stone fullery in the city of Pompeii, wishing he didn’t know that in ancient times, slaves used fulleries to wash their masters’ clothes. In urine.

The fullery was indoors, but it gave him a good view of the square outside. Across from him was a large opening. He’d picked the spot so he could watch the crowds without being seen.

Pompeii is a dead city
, he thought.
And coming here was a dead end. But where do we go next?

Erasmus felt a rare grin cross his face.

We.

He hadn’t thought in terms of a team since he was a boy.

On the run with Mom . . .
The grin vanished.

When Erasmus was just three years old, his father was murdered by Vespers. Japan, Russia, India, Canada. Erasmus and his mom never spent more than a few months in any one location. Erasmus did not go to school, but he learned nine languages and read a thousand books during their run.

We.

They had almost started to believe the threat had faded when the Vespers finally struck. He was at his dojo when the fire broke out at their apartment complex. Several people had died, including Erasmus’s mom. The Vespers were only too real.

Erasmus turned his attention back to the crowd on the square where at least a hundred people had gathered. A smoking Mount Vesuvius loomed above them, but no one was looking at the volcano. Their attention was focused on the
Disaster Watch!
television van and its famous meteorologist, Sandy “the Breeze” Bancroft.

Erasmus had no problem picking his partners out of the crowd. Hamilton Holt was a foot taller and wider than anyone else there. Jonah Wizard was wearing a black hoodie, even though it was a beautiful day. He had to be hot with the hood pulled over his famous head and the fake beard Erasmus was making him wear.

Erasmus hadn’t been pleased when Amy teamed two teenagers up with him, but to his surprise he’d grown fond of them. They were both dedicated to the fight and willing to do anything — even travel with each other. The two boys were completely different. Erasmus grinned again.
Jonah has rap playing in his head, Hamilton wants to rap people on their heads.

Erasmus had sent them into the crowd and told them not to speak to anyone. Their job was to mingle and listen. He knew that they wouldn’t hear anything worthwhile, but that wasn’t the point. He was training them, thinking that maybe one day, one of them would take his place.

He was about to call the boys in when a text came from Jonah.

Luna Amato is here.

What’s she doing?
Erasmus typed back, feeling a tide of anger well up in his chest.

Watching the weather dude.

Did she recognize you?
Erasmus asked.

The response came immediately.
Nope. And I’m standing five feet away.

What about Hamilton?

He’s standing right next to me. He’s hard to miss. She hasn’t even looked at him.

Another text flashed across the screen.
Wait! She’s on the move.

Just five days before, William McIntyre, an important Cahill adviser and one of Erasmus’s few friends, had been murdered in Rome. Luna was either in on the murder, or knew who did it. And Erasmus was determined to squeeze every bit of information out of her.

Follow her. Like I taught you.

Erasmus pulled a pair of binoculars out of his leather jacket and watched. Sure enough, it was Luna Amato. His jaw clenched as he zoomed in. The Vesper spy appeared harmless — she looked like a retired schoolteacher on a tour. But that’s what made her so deadly. What allowed her to bring down people like William.

Erasmus lowered the binoculars and narrowed his eyes. All that was about to change.

He wasn’t going to let the Vespers get away with murder again.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011937771

ISBN 978-0-545-29841-4

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First edition, March 2012

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