Kingdom Keepers VI(15)

Storey’s eyes went wide. Then she put on her own set of headphones, and Finn could hear she’d cranked up music so as to not eavesdrop. He thought all the more of her for doing that.

“I cannot confirm or deny my current location,” Wayne said. “What I can tell you—because we haven’t much time—is that your situation has taken a precarious turn.”

“As in dangerous.” Finn told him about the hyena attack on Jess.

“I’m sorry to hear about Jezebel,” Wayne said, using a name the girl had once been given by Maleficent. It struck Finn as an odd choice for Wayne; he did not question it. “But I was actually referring to the incident on Castaway Cay. Ship radar has confirmed the landing of a plane.”

“Yes! Chernabog,” Finn said. “They’ve brought him on board.”

“Then you must find him. You must work with Bob—Uncle Bob, they call him. Security.”

“I’ve seen him around.”

“He may not believe you. That may pose a bit of a problem—”

“You think?”

“But now Tia Dalma’s presence there makes much more sense.”

“Because?”

“She’s…clever.” It wasn’t often Wayne was at a loss for words. “She’s powerful and cunning and, as you found out, no one to tangle with.” He paused. “To resist her power is futile. With her you must lose yourself to win.”

“What does that even mean?” Finn asked.

Finn heard noises in the background. Wayne rushed his next words. “How’s your mother?”

The question hit Finn as awkward. “My mother? I…ah…haven’t seen her. I afraid she may have…vanished.”

“No, actually, she hasn’t. Worry not. Certain factions loyal to our cause have hidden her. They are taking care of her.” Wayne often spoke cryptically. Whether to overdramatize or to motivate, Finn wasn’t sure. But it bothered Finn because it worked. His heart sped up.

“You won’t see much of her on this voyage,” Wayne continued, “if at all. But don’t let that worry you. She’s resting. Recovering. She’s going to be fine.”

Finn knew better than to argue, but couldn’t help himself.

“If it’s all the same, I’d really like to see her,” he said.

“It’s not advisable. We have concerns. Threats…”

“We always have concerns,” Finn countered. “She’s not involved.”

“But she was seen as being part of it. She drove you to your meeting at Typhoon Lagoon. That made her part of it.”

“I want to see my mom.”

“And put her at risk? At additional risk? You saved her, Finn. Leave it at that for now. Allow her to fully recover.”

Finn didn’t want his mother to be any part of this. As much as he wanted to see her—needed to see her—he wouldn’t forgive himself he put in danger again.

“We have more pressing matters,” Wayne said. “First is the Base. We have signs that our friends are regrouping, possibly for a major offensive.”

The Overtakers had been attempting a siege on Disney World’s Engineering Base for some time. Seizing control of Base would give them not only full control of the attractions and electronic security at all the major parks, but access to the DHI servers, which had recently undergone a software upgrade. DHI 2.0 eliminated bugs and exponentially increased hologram performance. Like going from a bicycle to a Porsche. Loss of the Base would cripple Wayne and the Imagineers in their efforts to keep the parks functioning as usual; it might also put the Keepers out of business for good.

“We doubt very much,” Wayne went on, “that any attempt will be made until the leaders are off the ship. But there’s a catch: if they’re able to restart their own holograms, all bets are off. Their DHIs could lead the battle for the Base while their bodies sleep on the ship, Finn.”

“I understand.”

“That must be prevented at all costs: they must not get a server restarted.”

“We lost their data.” Finn blurted it out for Wayne to digest. “It was…messy. We had it, and we lost it.”

“All the more critical, then,” a troubled Wayne said.

“I understand.”

“I hope you do.”

Wayne rarely scolded Finn, but Finn felt horrible nonetheless for letting him down. The old man didn’t speak for several long seconds; Finn could have sworn he heard the hum of engines in the background. Again, he thought: The sub. He marveled at the idea that King Triton might actually have saved him by summoning Captain Nemo, and that Wayne could possibly be on the Nautilus with him. As much as Finn was ready for his role as a DHI to end, for life to go back to normal, moments like this made him want it to go on forever.