Kingdom Keepers IV(84)

Minnie waved at them more frantically—the Big Bad Wolf was climbing up the shore. Now shaking the water off.

“Overtakers?” Amanda said.

“We know the pirates belong. There’s no question about that. So why guard the island? The same island where Stitch attacked Maybeck and me. It doesn’t make sense. This island’s of no importance. It isn’t even that popular an attraction.”

“Because the Queen knew you might figure out the waterwheel’s importance?” she said.

Finn nodded. “Makes sense to me. He’s here to stop us, or to catch us, or both. And the only problem with that is—”

“He won’t be the only one.”

“Bingo,” he said.

Minnie was jumping up and down and pointing to the wolf, who was now back on the path in the distance, lumbering toward them, his pink tongue swaying from his teeth.

“So we’ll need to be careful,” Amanda said.

Pluto jumped onto the raft as they climbed aboard. Minnie tossed the line to shore, stepped behind the wheel, and skippered the raft across the small waterway. The wolf reached the loading dock, but too late, stretching toward the raft now just out of reach. Minnie, behind the wheel, reminded Finn of Mickey in a very old black-and-white cartoon he couldn’t remember the name of. It might have been the first animated cartoon Walt Disney had ever drawn.

“Where is Mickey, I wonder,” he said to Amanda.

“I don’t think she wants to hear it,” Amanda said.

“No. But it’s troubling.”

“Everything about this place is troubling.”

She reached down and placed her faintly outlined DHI hand atop his, and he felt it, his own outline dulled somewhat by the sense of excitement and terror her reaching out to him represented.

“I like you a lot, Finn.”

“Same here.”

“You like you a lot, too?” she said. And they both laughed. “Thank you for everything you’re doing for me.”

“I got you into this in the first place,” he said, guiltily.

“I’m a big girl,” she said. “No complaints.” She rubbed the back of his hand with her fingers.

The raft bumped to shore. Pluto jumped off. Minnie hopped onto the dock and expertly secured the raft to it with a line. She extended a hand and helped Amanda off the raft. Finn jumped down.

“We shouldn’t be long,” he said, eyeing the waterwheel that was only a matter of yards away.

Minnie saluted.

“We might need a quick escape, so maybe you could wait for us here?” he proposed. He didn’t want to get Minnie in any more trouble.

Her big black eyes tracked across the water to the Big Bad Wolf, still lurching from the dock and looking to be considering the swim.

“One thing at a time,” Finn said.

Minnie nodded.

Finn, Amanda, and Pluto headed up the path, turning toward the waterwheel at Harper’s Mill.

“This feels too easy,” Finn said, fearing a trap.

Amanda squeezed his hand, and he looked down to realize he was not pure DHI. But he was not about to let go to fix it.





MAYBECK WOKE UP in an office with gray carpeting, three gray desks, chairs on wheels and trash baskets lined with clear plastic bags. He caught sight of a pair of running shoes with gold-and-silver sparkles thrown into the covering like sequins and knew it could only be one person.

“Charlene?” he whispered dryly.

She crept around to him on hands and knees. For once, she was not wearing her nightgown but instead a black leotard top and black jeans. And those cheerleader shoes.

“Where are we?” She’d dressed and gone to sleep, as Philby had requested. Maybeck, on the other hand, had heard from Philby.

“It’s an electrical power plant on Disney property. We’re about ten miles from the Parks. Philby tracked the OTs’ DHIs here. We’re supposed to observe and report.”

“Observe what?” she asked.

“We’ll know when we see it.”

They came to their feet and approached the office door. Maybeck opened it a crack. The facility emanated a constant low-level hum, a rumbling that came up through the floor. The two were looking down a bland corridor, office doors on either side. At the end of the corridor in both directions were lighted exit signs.

“If you’re wondering which way to go,” Charlene said in a whisper, “check out the wear of the carpet. I’d say, right.”

The hallway carpet was discolored and worn to the right; it grew progressively lighter and less-used to their left.

“Good catch,” he said.

“The thing is,” she said, “if something should go wrong, we don’t want to both get caught, and to be honest, I’d rather you try to rescue me than me try to rescue you. So why don’t you let me go first? You keep watch, but hang back.”