Kingdom Keepers(45)

As Finn came to his feet, a crow flew from the teepee. The bird dove for Finn, its talons like dinner forks. Finn blocked the attack with his forearm and was off at a run.

The crow shrieked, rose high, circled once, and dove again, a flutter of feathers.

Finn ran hard and fast, thinking, She will not scare me. She will not scare me!

The bird dove again, this time striking the back of Finn’s head, its talons scratching his scalp.

Finn headed for the shore. He hit the water in a racer’s dive, knowing the crow couldn’t follow. But the crow tucked its wings, lowered its head, and dove for the water’s black surface. Finn heard a big splash and then silence behind him.

Charlene, Philby, and Willa, already in the water, swam to shore and clambered up onto the bank and quickly out of sight.

Finn realized the bird—the witch—had gone into the water but had never come out.

At that very moment, he felt something wrap around his ankle. Slimy and cold, it dragged him under.

A giant, black eel. It climbed up Finn’s body, wrapped around his middle, and squeezed. And squeezed. Finn tore at it with his hands, but it was like trying to grab a giant slithering bar of soap. The more he fought against it, the more it squeezed. He felt the wind being choked out of him. He couldn’t breathe. He was losing consciousness.

Finn heard a loud whine, like an…engine. The eel’s grip slackened just enough to allow Finn to take a breath.

Above him, Finn saw Philby in one of the jungle boats. Philby held the boat’s outboard motor tilted just above the water, its spinning propeller aimed at the eel.

As the propeller was just about to cut the eel like a meat grinder, the beast released its hold of Finn and slithered back down under the dark water. Finn pulled himself from the water as Philby ran the boat up on shore.

“We gotta go, right now!” Philby shouted to the girls. “We’ve got to get back to the apartment and get out of here.”

“Maybeck—” Finn said.

“We can’t wait!” Philby shouted.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you!” Charlene said.

“I hate leaving him behind,” Willa said, worried.

“We all do,” Philby said. “But they know we’re here. We’ve got to leave.”

Finn hardly heard any of this. He was not thinking of the water, nor the crow, nor the eel. He was, instead, thinking only this one thing, over and over: She knew my name. She knew my name.





21


Amanda stayed in the lead on her bike. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked any questions, and he took this as a sign they were becoming really good friends. He told her only that he had to see Jelly and that she was welcome to come along if she wanted. They locked their bikes beneath a sign that read: CRAZY GLAZE.

“You’re awfully quiet today,” she said.

“Yeah,” was all Finn could think to say.

“You want me to keep her busy while you check around back. Is that about it?”

He nodded.

Amanda entered the store, glancing back at Finn with a worried expression.

Finn found two fire escapes out back, made of slatted iron, servicing several doors.

Finn heard Jelly’s distinctive voice through an open window. This was followed by Amanda asking after Terry.

“Terry’s not feeling well,” Jelly said.

“I brought him some homework,” Amanda said. It was a white lie, because in fact she and Finn went to a different school than Maybeck; but she needed a reason to see him.

“That’s sweet of you, girl. I’ll be sure to pass it along.”

Amanda said, “Is it the flu?”

“Not exactly the flu,” Jelly answered. “You want to leave him homework, that’d be fine. But right now, I’ve got a lot do.”

“Can I help you?” Amanda offered. “Can I fill in for Terry, if he’s not feeling well?”

“Well…Terry’s asleep upstairs. That would be very good of you, Amanda. Thank you for offering. I’m happy to pay you, though I can’t pay much.”

Finn climbed up the fire escape. The rail was hot to the touch. If caught, Finn wasn’t sure what excuse he’d use, but he’d think of something. At the first landing there was a normal-looking door. Finn knocked gently. Nothing. Then he tried the doorknob; it turned, but he didn’t dare open it. That was just plain wrong, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Then the obvious hit him: that other landing below the adjacent windows. If he could make the jump…

Finn climbed over the rail of the landing, hung on, and jumped. His fingers hooked around the railing. He hung on for dear life, pulled himself over, and collapsed below the first window.

He got to his feet and peered in. He saw a television room with some very nice pottery scattered around. The next window, considerably smaller, was covered on the inside by a thick curtain—a bathroom, perhaps.