Kingdom Keepers(66)

“Can I just say, you’ve completely lost it,” Maybeck said. “And by completely, I mean one hundred percent.”

“Gloves. Jez is wearing white gloves tonight. They go to her elbow. Amanda and I saw those same gloves at—”

“The car wash,” Maybeck answered. He’d seen them too.

Finn said, “Jez is a witch. And so’s her mother.” Philby and Maybeck looked stunned. “You want me to prove it, you’ll come with me.”

Following now, Philby said, “What if you happen to be right? In that case, what are we doing chasing a witch and her daughter? I mean, how stupid can we be?”

Maybeck huffed. “I’m going to have you guys institutionalized. Am I the only sane person left?”

“Wait!” Finn said, stopping them. They ducked behind a pillar in front of a Main Street shop. He pointed. Jez and the woman turned left at the plaza, just before the castle.

“How much do you want to bet they’re heading to Pirates?”

Remembering the conversation on the monorail, Philby said, “Amanda told us Jez disappeared there.”

“A figure of speech,” Maybeck interjected. “That’s all!”

As Finn led them left off the street as well, Maybeck said more seriously, “Listen, I’ve been there: where Charlene and Amanda are right now. Feeling sick like that. You do not want to mess with these people.”

“They aren’t people,” Finn said. “That’s the whole point. If they were people, then Wayne and the others could deal with them. This is up to us, you guys. No one else is going to do this.”

“We’re going in there after them?” Philby said. Jez and the woman arrived at the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. Sure enough, they headed inside.

“I do not like this,” Maybeck said. “What happened to voting?”

“All in favor?” Finn asked. He and Philby raised their hands.

Maybeck groaned.

They stopped short of the entrance and stared warily at the old Spanish-style building.

“Okay,” Philby said, “now I’m scared.”





30


At night, in the midst of a Halloween costume party, Pirates of the Caribbean took on a more menacing feel, something each boy felt as he entered. Flamenco guitar music echoed from walls that flickered in the light of dim lanterns. And while the mood was festive, the Halloween party was a special event, so the crowds were much smaller than usual. The result was an attraction with deserted hallways and a hollow echo to every sound.

The boys hurried down a stone corridor. Finn had lost sight of Jez and her mother just as he heard the older woman’s raspy voice saying, “Over here.”

This was followed by a slight squeak of metal, a door swinging on hinges, and a resounding clang that reverberated off the walls.

“You hear that?” Maybeck asked.

The trio slowed. As they reached a sharp turn in the hall, Maybeck bent down, pretending to tie his running shoe, to let a group of eager teens race past them. When the hall was empty again, Philby pointed to a short staircase set into the wall, cordoned off by a chain.

To the right of the hall was a pit, a jail cell holding a pair of pirate figures engaged in a game of chess.

Maybeck hurried forward, jumped the chain, and climbed the short stairs. He reported back down to the others, “There’s a pair of cannons and a kind of turret thing. Looks like the top of a fort or something.”

Philby, ever the academic, explained, “It’s a mock-up of a battlement, with twin eight-pound cannons and their shot in woven baskets.” He’d done his homework, as usual.

Finn’s attention remained on the jail cell and the sturdy iron bars mounted into the concrete. He tested its door, which swung open, making the same eerie squeak they’d heard only moments before.

Excited voices rang from the entrance to the attraction. More people coming.

Maybeck whispered softly, “If we’re going in, we’re going in. We can’t stand around staring at it.”

The boys stepped inside the heavy jail cell door and Finn pulled it shut.

They ducked into shadow as several groups of kids hurried past toward the start of the ride.

Finn then motioned down into the pit and the two pirates playing chess. It was a long way down, and there were no stairs.

Philby found a weighted rope connected to an over-head pulley. “Care to take the elevator?” He tested the rope, held on tightly, and stepped off. He floated to the bottom of the pit. A moment later the other boys had reached the jail’s floor.

“Okay, this is really weird,” Finn said, “but I know this guy.” He pointed to one of the pirates. He knew this figure from the laser battle. Looking more carefully, he realized that he recognized both pirates. He dared to reach over and gently poke the arm of the nearest pirate. Thankfully, it was a model, like a mannequin, and he relaxed.