I put my ear to the door, and so did Katie. We held our breath and listened.
The noises were faint but ominous. It sounded like a struggle was taking place, with muted grunts interspersed with louder bangs and thumps.
“We’re too late!” I whispered. “She’s attacking them already.”
“I guess the time for subtlety has passed,” Katie whispered back. “We’re going to have to break the door down. It looks flimsy enough that a good bash with a heavy object should do the trick.”
“Okay.” I scanned round the almost-empty meditation hall. “Step one—find a heavy object.”
“What about that?” Katie indicated the life-size statue of the Goddess.
“It looks like it’s solid bronze,” I pointed out. “That would be too heavy.”
“But looks can be deceptive. Maybe it’s hollow.” She went over to the statue and
