The alarm in the museum screamed like a wounded animal.
Red lights flashed across the marble hall as security guards rushed toward the broken display case. The air still shimmered faintly where the jade hummingbird had been only seconds ago.
Alex Ryder bent down and picked up the glowing shard at his feet.
The moment his fingers touched it, a surge of energy rushed through his body.
Images flooded his mind.
Ancient temples buried beneath jungles.
Massive golden cities rising under two suns.
A dark figure made of pure shadow standing at the center of a shattered clock.
Ryder staggered back.
"What… was that?" he gasped.
Anya grabbed his wrist.
"You touched it?"
"Yes!"
"That means it chose you."
"What do you mean it chose me?"
But Anya didn't answer immediately. Her eyes were fixed on the wall behind them.
The shadow had grown larger.
And now it had shape.
Two long arms stretched across the stone wall like cracks spreading across glass.
"It's coming through," Anya whispered.
"What's coming through?"
Before she could answer, the air suddenly froze.
The museum lights went out.
Total darkness.
Then—
Two glowing red eyes opened inside the shadow.
The guards froze in fear.
One of them whispered, "What… is that thing?"
The shadow peeled itself slowly off the wall like ink dripping down glass.
A deep voice echoed through the hall.
"After centuries… the seal weakens."
The temperature in the room dropped sharply.
Anya grabbed Ryder's arm again.
"We have to leave. Now!"
The creature's voice continued.
"The Shard awakens… and so does its keeper."
Ryder looked down at the glowing crystal in his hand.
The creature suddenly turned its gaze toward him.
"You."
The word shook the entire room.
"You carry the key."
Then the shadow lunged forward.
Anya pulled Ryder toward the emergency exit.
"RUN!"
They burst through the door just as the shadow slammed into the marble floor behind them.
The museum shook.
Somewhere in the distance, police sirens began to wail.
But Ryder already knew something far worse had just begun.