Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz Page B

and swung it round.
    She'd timed it exactly right. The end of the candlestick smashed into the side of the monk's bald head, knocking him out. Scarlett hit him a second time, just to be sure, then dropped the candlestick and made for the door.
    Someone appeared at the far end of the corridor.
    It was Father Gregory. He saw Scarlett and screamed something — maybe in English, maybe in his own language. The words were trapped in his throat. The door was now between the two of them, exactly halfway. Scarlett wondered if she could reach it. Father Gregory was dancing on his feet as if he had just been electrocuted. His good eye was wide and staring, making the other one look all the more diseased.

    Scarlett was about a hundred feet away, panting, gathering all her strength for one last effort.
    The two of them set off at the same moment.
    In a way, it was weird. Scarlett wasn't running away. She was actually hurtling toward the one man she most wanted to avoid. But she had to reach the door before he did. She had made her decision. It was the only way home.
    Father Gregory was surprisingly fast. His limp had disappeared and he moved with incredible speed, his fury propelling him forward. Scarlett didn't dare look at him.
    She was aware of him getting closer and closer, but her eyes were fixed on the door. There it was in front of her. She lunged forward and grabbed hold of the handle, but at the same moment his hands fell on her, seizing hold of the top of her coat, his fingers against her neck. She heard him cry out in triumph.
    His breath was against her skin.
    She didn't let go of the door. She wasn't going to let him drag her back. Instead, she dropped down, twisting her shoulders so that the coat was pulled over her head. She had already undone the buttons and she felt it come loose, falling away. Father Gregory lost his balance and, still holding the coat, fell back.
    Scarlett was free. She jerked the door open and threw herself forward. For a few seconds her vision was blurred. The doorway seemed to rush past. She heard Gregory screaming at her, suddenly a long way away.
    The door slammed shut behind her.
    She was lying, sobbing and shaking on the floor of St. Meredith's. And there was a man standing in front of her, a young policeman dressed in blue, staring at her with a look of complete bewilderment.
    "Who are you?" he demanded.
    "I'm…Scarlett Adams." She could barely get the words out.
    "Where have you been? What have you been doing?" The policeman shook his head in disbelief. 'You'd better come with me!"
    FIVE
    Front Page News
    Scarlett had only been missing for eighteen hours, but she was a fifteen-year-old student on a school trip in the middle of London, and her disappearance had been enough to trigger a major panic, with newspaper headlines, TV bulletins, and a nationwide search. Both her parents had been informed at once, and Paul Adams was already on a plane, on his way back from Hong Kong. He was actually in midair when Scarlett was found.
    Scarlett had begun to realize that she was in trouble almost from the moment she found herself back in St. Meredith's, sitting opposite the policeman, who had immediately launched into a series of questions.
    "Where have you been?" he asked again.
    Scarlett was still in shock, thinking about her narrow escape from Father Gregory. She pointed at the door with a trembling finger. "There…"
    "What do you mean?" The policeman was young and out of his depth. He had already radioed for backup, and an ambulance was on the way. Even so, he was the first on the scene. There might even be a promotion in this. He took out a notebook and prepared to write down anything Scarlett said.
    "The monastery," Scarlett muttered. "I was in the monastery."
    "And what monastery was that?"
    "On the other side of the door."
    The policeman walked over to the door and opened it before Scarlett realized what he was going to do.
    At the last minute, she screamed at him, a single word.
    "Don't!"
    She