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“Service animal?” the woman questioned, an incredulous look on her features.
“Yes. I mean, not like a seeing-eye dog because obviously, I can see,” Paige said with a snorted laugh. “He’s an emotional support animal.”
“And I assume you have the paperwork for him?”
“I do. Sort of. I don’t have them on me right now because they are still in the mail. So, there’s that.” Paige winced, shifting her weight back and forth again.
The woman gave Paige an unimpressed stare and opened her mouth to answer when realization struck Paige.
“Oh my gosh, I just realized who I’m speaking to!” Genuine excitement sped Paige’s words as she clamped onto the woman’s arm. “Your Emma Fielding. Oh my gosh, I’m so stupid. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you right away.”
Emma’s chin pulled back to her chest as Paige continued to gush.
“You’re the one who figured out how to find the tomb’s location. You translated all those hieroglyphs in the middle of the desert to read the instructions from that staff. Oh wow. I remember reading about that and thought it was so cool.”
Emma’s brow furrowed as she stared at Paige. “Thanks,” she murmured, the words sticking on her lips.
“Yeah, you’re welcome. How did you do it? Gosh, you must be brilliant. I mean, I know the other girl, Maddie or Mitzy, or whatever her name is–“
“Maggie,” Emma filled in.
Paige pointed a finger at Emma. “That’s the one! Anyway, she seems to get most of the glory for the find, but really, without you, I bet they’d have just wandered around the desert for days. Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. I’m just fangirling a little.”
“Well,” Emma answered, “it was difficult, but if you’re well-trained, you can pull it off. At least enough to get the general gist of things. Then we pieced it together and went from there.”
“That’s just so cool. So super cool,” Paige said with a broad grin.
Emma offered her a smile in return and nodded. “Thanks. Anyway, I’d be happy to show you the tomb in depth tomorrow before you start work. I have a few special projects you could work on with me if you’d like.”
“Oh, uh,” Paige stammered, tracing the line of a stone in the floor with her toe.
“Don’t worry about it being overwhelming. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. What’s your specialty again? Translation? Identification? Preservation?”
“Artifact retrieval,” Paige answered, shoving her glasses up on her nose.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she wondered how she would get out of this conversation. She couldn’t risk leaving the tomb. They would quickly find out she wasn’t supposed to be here.
Emma screwed up her face and opened her mouth to question Paige when her features pinched. She stumbled forward a step, reaching behind her.
Paige’s eyes went wide as Emma twisted. A small dart poked from her back.
Seconds later, Emma slumped to the floor.
“Paige, get down,” Dewey shouted.
Paige dropped to the floor, checking Emma’s pulse while she crouched. “What is this?”
“Shrieking Pixie dream dart.”
“What?” Paige questioned as she found a strong pulse in Emma’s carotid artery.
A buzzing noise filled the air as tiny wings beat across the room.
“It’s a dart that puts the victim into a deep sleep. Also known for causing weird dreams. Let me out. We’ve got to find a way out of here before they hit you with one. Use what’s-her-name as a shield.”
“What?” Paige asked as she tugged the zipper open.
“Use her as a shield,” Dewey said, shooting out of the carrier and sailing up the wall. “I’ll search for a trigger to open a new passage.”
