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but I needed the Morpheus Initiative out of the way, preoccupied. Needed their focus elsewhere, so they wouldn’t be tipped off about this.”
    “There was a woman,” Alexander said. “She’s scary.”
    “God, kid, you’re good. Maybe you’re more like me than I thought.”
    Alexander withered under the man’s gaze. He felt like he was being analyzed by a crocodile looking for a hint of fear, or just the juiciest area to bite first.
    Montross said, “I saw my parents killed before it even happened. It did wonders for me, let me tell you. That kind of freedom, at such a young age. I spent so many years believing that what I saw, what I drew, could have the power to kill. That it was my fault.”
    “But that’s not what it does. You’re just seeing the future.”
    “I know. But when I was your age, I saw the world a little differently. Thought I was so much more.” Montross looked down at his empty hands, and Alexander wondered if the thief imagined himself holding some scepter of kingship or a torch of knowledge. Whatever it was, Alexander didn’t care.
    “Are you going to kill me and Mom?”
    Montross turned to him and sighed. “Listen, I’m not a killer, not normally. That’s why for those times where it’s necessary, I use someone like that woman you saw, like Nina. But no, you can help me. You and your mom will be having pie and ice cream in no time, waiting for your daddy to come home. Just a nice happy family again”—he bent to the lowest shelf, took out a peg and moved it all the way to the left—“minus one Emerald Tablet, of course.”
    #
    Up at the farmhouse, Lydia sat at the kitchen table, the two mercenary types standing at the door, hands on their guns, while Robert made another pot of coffee.
    “Robert,” she whispered. “It’s not too late. Call this off. Send these men out of here before someone gets hurt.”
    “I’ve searched too long for that tablet, given up so much. We both have.”
    “I know, but if Caleb does have it, he only has our best interests at heart. And, knowing him, he’s probably rigged the lighthouse basement with some god-awful traps, and heaven help you if Alexander is down there when they go off.”
    “Montross has it figured out. Don’t worry, I trust him.”
    “Like I trusted my husband?” Lydia shook her head. “Robert, this artifact is too powerful. It makes liars out of everyone. How do you know he won’t just turn around and kill us all once he’s found it?”
    “He won’t.”
    “He could be just like Waxman. Have you thought of that?”
    “I have, and he won’t. Besides,” Robert patted his side where Lydia could see the outline a gun strapped under his heavy sweater in a shoulder harness. His face darkened and his eyes tinted with a heady sense of power she had never seen in him before. “We Keepers have our defenses.”
    Lydia shook her head, eyeing the two guards. “This is insane. And my son—your nephew—might be down there.”
    Robert smiled. “Something tells me Alexander can take care of himself just fine.”
    #
    “I don’t understand,” said Alexander, a little braver now that he didn’t feel like his life was in immediate danger. “I felt like I was close, but couldn’t figure it out. How do the shelves relate to the ‘As Above, So Below’ thing?”
    “You’ll see.”
    “I could get it if there were just two shelves—a top and bottom, above and below, but the middle one messes everything up.”
    “Because you’re not seeing the full picture.”
    “But the above and below puzzle at the door, it doesn’t make sense. The letters don’t match. They’re not mirror images, and it’s not even like the lower one is the reverse of the top. The letters don’t move, they’re not on blocks, you can’t—”
    “Just settle down, kid.” Montross worked faster now, rearranging pegs, moving from top to bottom, then to the middle, setting them into different holes. Occasionally glancing back to the other