Tomb of Doom (5 page)

‘But I rescued you from the sarcophagus!' said Zac angrily. ‘You'd still be stuck in there if I hadn't come along!'

‘You didn't rescue me,' Caz sneered. ‘I didn't become the top player on
Pyramid Panic
without learning where all the booby traps are! I only pretended to be trapped so you would feel sorry for me and help me steal the diamond. Why should
I
do the dangerous work when I could trick you into doing it instead?'

Zac stared at Caz in shock. He couldn't believe anyone could be so devious.

Caz pressed a button on the side of her spy shoes and two lines of wheels dropped into position. The shoes were instantly transformed into rollerblades.

‘Bye, Zac Power!' said Caz. ‘You're not a bad spy.You're
almost
as good as me.

Maybe you should join BIG too?'

‘I'd never work for BIG,' said Zac angrily.

‘That's too bad,' said Caz, shrugging.

‘See you later,
loser!
' And she skated towards the door.

Zac checked the time.

Things were going terribly wrong. Caz was escaping with the Golden Sun Diamond and Zac knew it wouldn't be long before his iPod went flat.When the music stopped those cobras were going to attack him for sure. And then things got even worse.

Zac heard a low, rumbling sound.

At first he thought it was another earth tremor. But then he realised the sound was coming from the hole that the diamond had been covering!

In shock Zac watched as a giant scorpion scuttled out of the hole. It was twice the size of his hand! Another scorpion followed behind the first. And another.

Then hundreds of scorpions came flooding out, like water from a burst pipe. Zac couldn't help noticing that their tails were already up in the sting position. And they were heading straight for him.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Zac tried to leap out of the way. But he was too late. The scorpions swarmed all over him. So Zac stood very still, hoping that they would think he was a rock.

The scorpions ran under his clothes and over his face. Their legs were very ticklish, but Zac didn't feel like laughing.

It's only a matter of time before I get stung,
he thought.

He just hoped there was some antivenom in the Pyramid-Pack. But to his amazement the scorpions ran right over him and out the door.

They're chasing Caz!
realised Zac.
They know she's got the diamond!

What should he do?
I could
just wait until the scorpions catch her,
thought Zac.There was no way she could outrun that many angry, giant scorpions, not even on skates.The other option was to rescue her. If he did then she would have to admit that
he
was the better spy. And she'd have to apologise for calling him a loser!

Zac liked that idea. But how was he going to rescue her?

He checked his Track Changer sandals. Maybe there was an animal on that dial that could help him out.

Fox? No good.

Coyote? Nup.

Kangaroo? Bingo!

He switched the shoes to ‘Kangaroo' and took an enormous jump.

SPPPRRROOOOINGGGG!

Zac leapt straight over the snake pit and took off down the passageway. It wasn't long before he could see Caz up ahead. She was skating fast, but the scorpions were catching up.

Zac jumped as hard as he could. Soon he was right behind the scorpions. Zac bent his knees. This next jump was going to have to be the biggest one he'd ever done.

SPPPRRROOOOINGGGG!

With an enormous jump Zac leapt over the swarm of scorpions and landed right behind Caz. He reached out and grabbed her backpack firmly in his hand. She jerked to a halt as he turned and jumped back over the scorpions.

‘Hey!' yelled Caz angrily as she found herself pulled backwards through the air. ‘What are you doing?'

‘I'm rescuing you,' replied Zac.‘We have to return the diamond or you'll be stung by those scorpions.'

‘There's no way I'm being rescued by you, Zac Power!' snarled Caz.

Still in mid-air she wiggled her arms out of the backpack and fell to the ground in a commando roll. She landed right in the path of the scorpions. But they scuttled right over the top of her without even stopping. They were after the bag with the diamond in it. And the bag was now in Zac's hand!

The walls began to shake again. They shook so much it was like the pyramid had suddenly been turned into jelly.

‘Forget the diamond!' yelled Caz. ‘This place is about to collapse. I'm outta here!' Then she skated off into the darkness.

Zac checked his watch as he bounced back towards the statue.

There was no time to chase Caz now. As much as he hated to do it, he would have to let her escape. He had to stick to his mission now and return the diamond.

Anyway, he had a feeling they would meet again.

CHAPTER
NINE

The scorpions were close behind … and were getting closer with every second! But Zac managed to stay just ahead of them.

A few bounces later he was back in the Treasure Room. Zac opened Caz's bag and yanked out the diamond.The statue was still a couple of leaps away, and the scorpions were closer than ever.

Zac skidded to a halt.

Blocking his path was the trench.

The cobras!

The iPod had stopped playing and one look at the snakes told Zac that they were no longer in a trance. In fact, they looked nastier than ever.

Zac thought fast.
I'll have to throw the diamond back over the snake pit and into the statue's lap. I'll just pretend I'm playing basketball.

Zac was an excellent basketball player. But this was a high-pressure shot. Zac kept imagining Caz laughing at him.
You'll never make it
, she was saying in his mind.

But Zac ignored the voice. He had to make this shot. Sure, being a spy was a drag sometimes. But like it or not Zac Power was a GIB agent and he had a mission to complete. He took a deep breath and lined up the shot. Then he threw the diamond at the statue of the Golden Sun King.

From the moment it left his hands Zac realised he'd made a mistake. He'd thrown it way too hard! Of course, if he had been on the GIB basketball court this wouldn't have mattered. It would have just hit the backboard and bounced in but today there was no backboard for the diamond to bounce off.

There was just the statue's head.

CRRRRACKKK!

The diamond hit the statue right in the face. Zac held his breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

As if in slow motion the diamond rolled down the statue and into its hands. It wobbled there for a long moment. Zac could hardly watch. Would it stay put or would it end up rolling into the pit?

Finally, the diamond stopped wobbling. Zac leapt up in the air. Awesome shot! He just wished there was someone around to high-five.

The moment the diamond was safely back in its place the cobras disappeared into the trench and the scorpions ran straight past Zac and back down the holes in the walls. Zac wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. But he couldn't just yet. He had to check that the statue was OK.