Kingdom Keepers IV(105)

“Is this their general, I wonder?” Jess reached into her pocket and passed down the sketch of the uniformed officer. It reached Ariel and stopped. She studied it, looked up, and studied it again.

“What is it?” Finn asked.

“This is no general,” she said. “It’s Captain Peter.”

“WHO?” Philby, Finn, and Maybeck said in near unison.

“Captain Peter Roseman. The Disney Magic. The cruise ship. I’ve worked with Captain Peter before, several times.”

“The cruise ship,” Philby said.

“They want to steal the Magic,” Willa said. “Not the magic—small m. The Magic—capital M.”

Finn stood up so quickly, his DHI knees went through the chain banister. “That’s the next Keepers installment! The cruise line! We have that opening scheduled for what—?”

“Two weeks,” Maybeck said. “A Saturday. Grand opening is Port Canaveral.”

The other Keepers clambered to their feet. Only Ariel was slow in getting up.

“We’ve got to say good-bye for now,” Finn said to the mermaid.

“I hope you’ll come back and visit?”

“Actually, we may need you.”

“And your other friends,” Charlene said.

“We’ll see if Wayne can arrange some kind of character spectacular on the cruise,” Finn said.

Ariel nodded, not knowing exactly what they were talking about. “Sounds lovely.”

Finn thought of Minnie and Pluto. He pulled the fob out of his pocket and held it before them. “Everyone ready?”

Nods all around.

“How strange that a thing so small possesses so much power,” Finn said.

“But it does,” Philby said. “That thing is the key to it all.”

Finn nodded. He held his hand over Ariel’s and said, “Will you hide this for us?”

“Of course,” she said. “Willa knows how to find me.”

Finn looked around at the faces of the Kingdom Keepers, thinking: We’re not done here.

And then he pushed the button.