Kingdom Keepers III(11)
“I think I take the woman, while you two search for a temperature drop.”
“We don’t have phones,” Amanda reminded him. “So what good does your following the woman do?”
“If I keep my distance, I can see if she eventually tries to follow you two. If she does then we know she’s trouble—probably an Overtaker—and maybe by me following her she leads us to Wayne.”
“You’re dreaming,” Amanda said.
“That’s genius!” Jess said.
“And if she’s following you,” Amanda said, “which makes sense if she was watching you from in front of the school, then by following her you could be led right into a trap. Then, instead of looking for Wayne, we’d be looking for you and Wayne. That’s helpful.”
Amanda was typically gentle and good-natured. Yet it seemed that the closer they grew as friends, the more sarcastic she became. Or maybe it was the foster-home situation and the threat of her and Jess being sent back to Maryland that was making her this way. Whatever it was, he didn’t like her like this and wanted to say so, but Jess interrupted.
“I say we call for a vote,” Jess proposed. “All in favor of Finn following the woman?”
Jess and Finn sheepishly raised their hands.
“Whatever,” Amanda said. “But listen up, Alex Rider: if anything happens, you’d better leave us some clues. This park is gigantic and we’re leaving here together—the three of us—you got that?”
She sounded concerned—deeply concerned.
Finn bit back a smile. “Sounds good to me.”
“And me,” Jess said, chiming in.
Finn spotted a bright green balloon for sale on the cart. It was the only green balloon.
“Keep a lookout,” Finn said, “for that green balloon. I’m going to carry it low unless there’s trouble. If you see a green balloon following you, it’s probably me, and it means something’s wrong—like maybe the woman is following you, or I’ve been spotted, or something like that. If that happens, you split up. No matter what, we all meet back here in two hours so I can get home by dinner, and you guys can get to your place before curfew. Sooner than that if there’s trouble. Agreed?”
“I suppose,” Amanda said.
“You’re good at this,” Jess said.
“I’ve had a little practice,” Finn said.
He bought the balloon, and hurried off to catch up with the mystery woman.
5
“YOU WERE A LITTLE HARD ON HIM, don’t you think?” Jess asked as she and Amanda headed toward The Land. Not only was Soarin’ their favorite attraction in Epcot, but The Land offered a controlled environment—a cooler environment—and because of that, it seemed a good place to start in their search for signs of Maleficent or Chernabog.
“I was only messing with him,” Amanda said, answering her. “He shouldn’t be here. That’s the whole point of our being here, right? So what’s with that?”
“He’s worried about us.”
“Yeah, right. And who’s the one always getting in trouble?”
“We’ve had our share,” Jess said.
Neither of them could forget the nightmare of Jess’s being captured by the Overtakers, her escape that had led to her being trapped, and the resulting ordeal inside Animal Kingdom. Finn had been the one to find her, and Jess nearly reminded Amanda of that, but knew she didn’t need to.
“He’s handy to have around at times like this,” Jess said.
“I suppose. But it’s risky for him—for all of them. I think it’s stupid of him to come.”
“You’re worried about him! Do you have a crush on him?” Jess said.
“As if! You’re the one he can’t keep his eyes off of. Him and every other boy.”
“That is so not true!”
“We both know it is,” Amanda said. “Hey, I’m good with it, so don’t fight it.” She lowered her voice. “Why do you keep checking your watch? We’ve got plenty of time before we have to be back.”
“It isn’t that,” Jess said. “My watch shows the temperature. Elevation. A bunch of stuff. It’s like for rock climbers or something.”
Amanda moved closer trying to see the watch face. “And?” she asked.
“No change so far. Eighty-two degrees.”
“As in, boiling.”
“Yeah, but my watch may pick up on a change before we do. You realize we’re lucky it’s so hot out?”
“Because?”
“Because it’ll be more obvious if the temperature drops all of a sudden, like Finn says it will. And because any kind of sudden chill will need some kind of explanation. It’s not as if anything’s getting colder out here, you know?”