Helen looked sheepish. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t really think about it.”

“Didn’t think about it?”

“Well, Turtle asked me to take him along, and you know how I feel about the fake stuff, so I told him to wait by the docks.”

“Wait by the docks? That thing just saved my life!”

But the crashing sound of metal on metal interrupted the argument, and the two darts saw Rex sailing through the air as the guardian had finally made contact with his remaining arm. Then the antique turned and faced them.

“Helen, we need to go now.”