Double Cross Read Free

asked.
    â€œI don’t know,” Greg admitted.
    â€œPerhaps the stone has been broken into even more pieces,” Catherine suggested. “One is in the palace and the other is near this Crown of Minerva.”
    â€œMaybe,” Greg said with a grimace. The thought of tracking down one hidden piece of the stone was daunting enough, let alone two.
    â€œWhat does it matter anyhow?” Athos asked angrily. It was the first thing he’d said since Greg had begun his story. “We don’t have the first half of the stone—and neither does Dinicoeur. Milady de Winter does.” He stared daggers at Greg. “You let her get it.”
    Only because you didn’t listen to me and ran right into her trap, Greg thought, though he held his tongue. “I know. I’m sorry. The good news is, she doesn’t really know anything about the stone. She only knows that it’s powerful.”
    â€œBut she’ll figure out the rest,” Athos said. “Milady’s far more clever than anyone realizes. Plus, she’s probably halfway to Paris with Condé by now. Even if we could escape this place, we’ve lost too much time.”
    â€œWe still have to try,” Greg said. “If Condé sacks Paris and Milady gets all the pieces of the Devil’s Stone . . .” What he wanted to say was, All of human history will be changed , but he knew that meant something to him and not to the others. He was the only one who knew what the future of the world held and how Milady or Dinicoeur could ruin it.
    â€œIt will be very bad news for France,” Aramis finished. “And as Musketeers, it is our job to protect this country.”
    â€œI know what our job is,” Athos shot back. “But we’re not in any position to do it. La Mort wasn’t the most impenetrable prison in France. Les Baux is. We’re either locked out here in the pillory or in the dungeon. We’re surrounded by an entire army of guards, and there’s only one way out of the city.”
    Greg’s eyes flicked toward the city gate. It was an imposing structure, built to keep enemies from getting into the city, but it would just as well prevent anyone from getting out. A dozen guards stood watch there, and an iron portcullis hung from it, ready to drop at the slightest hint of alarm.
    â€œThe only other way out of the city is over a cliff,” Athos went on. “And since none of us knows how to fly, that option is out. So let’s face the facts: We’re not getting out of here.”
    â€œI don’t believe that,” Greg said. “If we all put our heads together and work as a team . . .”
    â€œWe’re not a team,” Athos said angrily. “Not anymore. Barring a miracle, tomorrow at dawn, we are going to die.”

TWO
    A T DUSK, THE GUARDS CAME TO RETURN THE PRISONERS to their cells.
    After eight hours of being hunched over in the pillory, Greg was thrilled to stand up straight and stretch his back, but the relief was short-lived. The guards clamped heavy chains around their ankles, wrists, and necks, then linked all the prisoners together front to back. They had to walk through a gauntlet of townspeople, who jeered, spat, and kicked them as they passed. “Behold the enemies of Condé!” the guards told the crowd. “This is what happens to those who will not support him!”
    To the west, the sun dropped below the lip of the cliff, sinking into the swamp below. Greg wondered if it was the last sunset he’d ever see.
    No, he told himself. Even if Athos and the others were resigned to their fate, he couldn’t be. There was too much at stake. The Prince of Condé couldn’t be allowed to overthrow King Louis. Neither Milady nor Dinicoeur could be allowed to obtain the entire Devil’s Stone. If any of those things happened, the history of the world—the events that had led to the future Greg was