Kingdom Keepers III(96)

The group was silent for a long time after that as they mulled over what it all meant.

Then, before getting into what Charlene had said, Philby joined Finn in talking about their confrontation with Maleficent, Finn’s new sunburn, and the wreck of the car on Test Track.

“You can bet the Overtakers will have it all cleaned up by morning,” Philby said. “They’re clever that way.”

“I can confirm that after the wreck,” Amanda said, gazing at Finn, her face a knot of both concern and relief, “all sorts of characters headed in that direction. I heard and saw them.”

“Which is good for us,” Finn said. “That should keep them busy the rest of the night.”

“As if we’re going anywhere,” Willa said. “I’m so glad we found a place to hang out.”

She found herself the brunt of everyone’s staring.

“What?” she asked.

“Wayne left us a half dozen clues,” Philby said.

“He expects action,” Finn said.

“You have got to be kidding me! You two nearly got killed. Maybeck and Charlene had to be let out of that pod by Amanda or they’d still be locked in there. And Jess and I were nearly captured. You want to go back out there? Be my guest. I’m happy right here.”

“What’s any of it mean?” Jess asked. “What was Wayne trying to tell us?”

“‘A deception of the worst kind,’” Charlene read from her list.

“Betrayal,” Philby said, “is the worst deception.”

“Betray—” Willa spit out, unable to completely say the word. “No way!”

“A traitor?” Charlene choked out.

“One of us is going to betray the others?” Maybeck asked.

“That’s not possible,” Willa said. “Is it?”

“Anything’s possible,” Finn said.

Maybeck grew sober, suddenly more serious than any of the others had seen him before. “Are you going to tell me that after all we’ve been through…?” But he, too, could not complete his thought.

He didn’t need to: everyone understood him.

“Okay. Well, I, for one, do not believe it,” Willa said.

“Neither do I,” Charlene said.

“No matter what,” Finn added, “it’s bad for us to doubt each other, to question our friendship—”

“Or loyalty,” Philby said.

“But apparently,” Maybeck said, “that’s what Wayne had in mind.”

“I can’t see him doing that,” Charlene said. “Why would he turn us against each other?”

“To save the rest of us,” Maybeck said. “To keep us alert.”

The group sat in a deadly silence for a long time. Looks were exchanged, some of them suspicious.

“I think we should move on,” Willa proposed. “What’s next?”

Philby said, quoting Wayne, “‘We stand under it to get out of the rain, and it lives above our brain.’ That’s a hat.” He won nods from all. “And ‘The solution is in Norway.’ That’s the sword.”

“That has to be right,” Charlene agreed.

“But what about a hat and a sword?” asked Jess. “Do they mean something?”

“They must,” said Willa. “That’s the way Wayne is. It all means something.”

“And a pen is mightier than the sword,” Philby said. “Everyone knows that expression. But maybe not the Overtakers, which is why he left part of it out. It’s got to be Walt’s pen, right?”

“No doubt. But we have to figure the rest of this stuff out,” Maybeck complained. “I mean, I’m glad to know what he was trying to tell us—but what was he trying to tell us?”

Everyone turned to Philby. He collected himself and said, “As to the first part: he wants us on guard for a traitor. None of us likes the thought of that, but I think what’s done is done. We’re not going to look at each other the same way for a while, and we’re just going to have to live with that.”

Most everyone nodded.

“Wayne shot that video himself. That means he chose what order to tell us stuff in. So after the possible betrayal comes the hat. Right? We need to focus on the hat. Maybe the rest of the stuff will make more sense when we figure out the hat.”

“There are so many hats they sell,” Charlene said. “Princess hats, baseball caps—”

“Pirate hats.”

“Witches’ hats?” said Amanda.

“I suppose we should go look at them all,” Philby said. “In one of the stores, I mean. I’m not sure we can do this on our own.”