Kingdom Keepers VI(22)

“Meanwhile,” Finn said, “we’re keeping an eye out for the girl with the bright red streaks in her hair.”

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Maybeck said.

“Ha. Ha.” Finn wasn’t amused.

“But, Finn, if she wants to be anonymous, shouldn’t we let her be?” Charlene said.

Finn studied the people in the busy breakfast room. “She can help us,” he said. “But most important…the most important mission of all… Before we reach Aruba tomorrow, we need to find Chernabog. If we find him, if security locks him up, then it won’t matter what’s in the journal. We won’t have to do any of this.” He thought back to his communication with Wayne. “We get Chernabog, and we spoil their plans, whatever they are. He’s the key.”

“It’s not like they can hide him just anywhere,” Maybeck said.

“Well, he’s no longer in the box under the stage,” Willa said.

“But how far could he go without being seen?” Finn said. “Something like that? There are passengers, crew, cameras. Someone would have seen him.”

“So maybe he’s still backstage somewhere. There’s a lot of room there,” Storey said.

“Tonight, during the orientation, we’ll be backstage.” Philby’s voice rose with excitement. “We’re part of the program.”

“You remember what happened last time we were in the theater?” Maybeck asked. “As in: chaos?”

Maleficent had made a video appearance at an evening show that had resulted in thorny roses raining down on the passengers.

“But that’s the point, isn’t it?” Philby said. “What if the OTs are counting on us being too scared to go backstage?”

“They’d be right,” Willa said. “It’s a miracle no one was hurt the first time!”

“We’ll appear in the orientation as scheduled,” Finn declared. “But we’ll arrive backstage twenty minutes early—as a group. That’ll give us extra time. We meet at the stage door, starboard side. They’re not going to make us wait out in the hallway. They’ll let us backstage, and that’s our chance.”

“I like it,” Philby said.

As if I care, Finn nearly said. But the truth was: he did care. He not only needed Philby’s support, he wanted it.

“Willa and I can say we need a place to work on our makeup,” Charlene said. “That’ll get us separated into two groups, once inside. Two are better than one.”

“Nice,” Philby said.

“Boys take the backstage area,” Finn said. “Girls: the salon, costumes, and the other rooms downstairs.”

“There’s no way Security missed him,” Maybeck said. “Has anyone thought about that?”

“Depends on how well the OTs hid him,” Finn said. “And why.”

“Meaning?” Charlene said.

“Maybe the OTs don’t want Chernabog found because they haven’t figured out how to wake him out of this torpor thing yet. Maybe Tia Dalma isn’t doing so well with waking up her hummingbirds. Who knows? Maybe they’re worried about how they’ll control him.”

“The stuff in the journal,” Willa said, her voice a whisper.

“What if it’s more like an owner’s manual?” Finn said.

“You have to do it right. And then whoever wakes him…” Philby said, speculating.

“Yes!” Finn said. “Whoever decodes the journal properly and applies it to Chernabog as he comes out of torpor ends up in control of him.”

Maybeck coughed. “Us? Control Chernabog?”

“I like the sound of that,” Professor Philby said.





WILLA HAD DONE HER HOMEWORK and was eager to share what she’d found. The first to arrive in the unremarkable companionway outside the starboard stage door to the Walt Disney Theatre, she waited for the others. Impatiently. Overcome by the hallway’s dullness. Drab walls. No artwork. Several unmarked doors. At the end, the backstage entrance: CAST MEMBERS ONLY PLEASE.

In all likelihood, a monster lurked on the other side of that door. Where else would the OTs have hidden something Chernabog’s size? The engine deck seemed like the only other decent possibility, but something that huge making it down there without being seen? Impossible.

Wayne’s concerns about the balance of power were warranted. The OTs were dangerous enough, strong enough, without such a force on their side. With Chernabog, they’d be unstoppable.

Chernabog was the worst, Willa thought, feeling her gut twist. Evil incarnate. Both the Minotaur and the Mayan bat god, Camazotz, were said to have devoured their prey. Alive.