Kingdom Keepers V(95)

Maybeck rolled out of the way of the open door so Luowski wouldn’t see him if he turned around. The woman was thirty feet away and closing.

“Me?” Maybeck’s face and body language said, proclaiming his innocence before actually opening his mouth.

“What are you doing?” the woman asked.

The sun had set; the area was dark. Maybeck crossed toward the woman, trying to keep her away from Luowski. He thought it weird that at this moment he was attempting to defend the despised Greg Luowski, but that was the thing about the Overtakers—they turned everything upside down.

“Someone left it open and unlocked,” he said.

Behind him, he heard Luowski say, “Roger, King Air, Tango-Charlie-four-five-two-two. This is Sandbar. Come around to vector thirty—”

The sound cut off as Maybeck eased the door closed and hooked the padlock through the hasp, but did not lock it. He hoped she wouldn’t come close enough to see it remained unlocked.

“And you are?” the woman said.

“Off the ship,” Maybeck replied, blocking her view of the door. He summoned the one piece of important information he could think of. “I was with Tim. The propane tank we found on the CO2 line—did you hear about it?”

She softened. “Oh! That was you?”

“Yeah. Me and Tim. We’ve been walking lines all day.”

“That was freaky.”

“Very strange,” he said. “So an unlocked shed…” He pointed. “Just didn’t want to take any chances.”

“Especially since the CO2 control is in there,” she said.

“Uh…” Maybeck should have figured that out—all the valves and tanks and meters he’d seen. Luowski. “Right.”

“I’ve got to go. See ya!”

“See ya.”

She took off.

Maybeck heard the first mortar launch, a deep, concussive sound that signaled the start of the fireworks. It came from the direction of the ship. A moment later, the sky exploded.

He hesitated, unsure if he should confront Luowski. The kid had been talking on the radio like an air traffic controller. The propane tank had been discovered connected to a line that ran near the island’s private runway. Tim had said the old runway was now only used in emergencies or in special situations by Disney.

More fireworks detonated overhead, briefly lighting up the island like it was the middle of the morning.

Maybeck took out his Wave Phone and sent a text to the four others:


plane landing on runway during firewrks = OTs



Finn or Philby would have to deal with that. He had his own hands full with stopping Luowski from doing whatever he was about to do.

He slipped the padlock out of the hasp and opened the shed door.

* * *

Where is everybody? Finn thought. He was out of breath, still recovering from his escape from Jafar. He was about to text the others when the fireworks began. A moment later, he received Maybeck’s text—a warning about the island’s runway.

As he turned to go in that direction, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye: a launch sliding through the water just outside of the marked-off swimming areas. It was taking the same basic route that the lifeboats had taken the night before, a route toward the cabanas.

His fingers hovered over the phone. He’d been ready to text that he was on his way to the runway, but his thumbs wouldn’t cooperate.


boat toward cabana—wll stay here



He had no desire to face Jafar or Tia Dalma alone. He knew that Jafar’s serpent staff was out there somewhere keeping watch. Just the thought of that gave him shivers on an otherwise warm night.

The explosions and bursts of light overhead, the appreciative oohs from the passengers, all facing the ship, mouths agape, made it a chaotic walk for Finn as he headed back toward the cabanas. As the fireworks exploded, the sand turned a variety of colors; Finn’s shadow spread out around him in a starburst.

It flashed green, and Finn looked up to see Maleficent standing ten yards off, staring at him. He stopped cold.

The beach went black, then illuminated again: she was gone.

Or had she been there in the first place? he wondered.

Don’t go, a voice inside him pleaded. But, as the launch turned and headed for shore, he saw no choice. It was loaded with ten or twelve Cast Members, not one of whom was looking up at the fireworks.

It was almost as if they were in a trance.

* * *

Using the fireworks mortar blasts as a beacon, Charlene and the returned Willa fled down the swamp paths in the light of the exploding colors. They took two wrong turns but easily found the proper path, working their way out of the maze. Out of breath, they found themselves on asphalt—the access road to the watchtower. It was only a matter of minutes before they approached the runway and, on the corner, the Disney-staged twin-engine plane that was overgrown with jungle life.