Curse of the Spider King (44 page)

“I knew that!” said Kat.

“Oh, stop!” Jett laughed.

After they placed their orders, Jett smacked both of his hands down on the tabletop so hard that half the dining hall turned and stared. “Uh . . . sorry!” he said. But then he lowered his head conspiratorially and whispered to the other three, “I just realized . . . it's a Thursday. We're missing school!”

The four of them exchanged somewhat guilty glances—which turned almost immediately to wry smiles and then full belly laughs. Their laughter went on through the morning meal, especially when they saw how much food Jett ordered.

“And I thought I was eating too much,” said Tommy.

“What?” Jett feigned innocence. “Doesn't everyone eat four stacks of pancakes, a half pound of bacon, quadruple home fries, and a whole cantaloupe?”

Breakfast went on like that until Mrs. Galdarro's cell phone chirped.

Everyone in the hall went silent and turned to their leader.

“Galdarro,” she answered. She smiled as she listened to the reply. After a few moments and nods of the head, she announced, “It's Nelly! And she has Autumn and Johnny safe!”

A great cheer went up from the room and persisted until Mrs. Galdarro shushed them. Her smile was replaced with a thin-lipped frown, and her eyes narrowed. She spoke quietly, shook her head, and ended the call with, “No, we're waiting for you.”

Mr. Charlie went to her when she closed the phone. The young lords were right behind. “What's wrong, Elle?” Mr. Charlie asked.

“No, it's nothing wrong, really,” she replied. “Nelly thinks we should leave now, told me she and the Briarmans would come when their flight gets in at ten.”

“But we don't even have Kiri Lee yet,” said Mr. Charlie. “And she doesn't even know what she is.”

“That's what I tried to explain to Nelly. It's better we wait and go together. Strength in numbers.”

“I think you're right,” said Mr. Charlie.

Mrs. Galdarro tried to smile through her worry. “We will wait for Nelly and her two wards. Looks like Kiri Lee will be able to perform her concert after all. Edward will be pleased. Would you be so kind as to spread the word?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Oh, and Charlie, one more thing. The enemy has left one portal open. They must be near, must be planning something.”

“I don't doubt it,” Mr. Charlie said. “We've got two hundred strong Elf warriors here. And since Monday, Edward's had Sentinels patrolling the grounds, all 'round the perimeter, I think. But I'll tell 'em all to stay alert.”

“Good, very good,” she said, nodding. “I lost the lords once to the Spider King. I don't intend to lose them again.”

Tommy found Kat leaning on a wall atop the castle's main gatehouse and staring downward. “What are you looking at?” he asked.

Kat flinched a little. “Oh, I didn't hear you coming.”

“Sorry,” said Tommy, joining her at the wall. “So what's to see?”

“Um, nothing really.”

“Hey, is that the new girl?” Tommy asked, looking down at a sleek limousine. The chauffeur held the door for an older woman and a raven-haired young lady carrying an instrument case.

“I think so,” said Kat, feigning disinterest. They both watched in silence as the new arrival entered the castle.

“There you are,” came a voice from behind. Tommy and Kat turned and found Jimmy and Jett standing there, looking suspicious.

“We looked fer yu everywhere,” said Jimmy.

“Yeah,” Jett said. “We need to talk.”

42

Crescendo

EDWARD, DRESSED immaculately as always, came bounding down the stairs. “Ready to visit the roons?” he asked, his voice every bit as sprightly and vivacious as the spring in his step.

“Yes, very much so,” said Kiri Lee.

“I should say she is,” said Mrs. Sherman. “She's done nothing but talk about it all morning.”

“Well then, let us not delay another moment,” said Edward.

“What's that?” Kiri Lee asked, pointing to a leather satchel under Edward's arm.

“Oh,” he said, “something fer later on. Shall we?” He held out an arm and Kiri Lee slipped hers through it.

Just then, a tall, blond woman, dressed in a neat, gray business suit approached. “Hullo, Edward,” she said. “Is this Claudia Sherman?”

Mrs. Sherman replied, “It certainly is.”

“Ah, Mrs. Sherman,” said Edward. “Allow me to introduce Rachel Tanner. She's head of ullic relations for Dalhousie.”

“Yes,” said Rachel. “I was wondering, Mrs. Sherman, if I might have a few minutes of your time. We've been looking forward to a visit from the governor for some time. As you may recall, last February, Major General McDowell himself expressed a desire to stay with us. I was hoping we could put that in stone today.”

Mrs. Sherman smiled. “Well, I . . . I didn't bring my appointment books, but”—she fished around in her purse—“a BlackBerry will serve, I think. Edward, would you mind terribly if I skipped the ruins? My ankle's been giving me some trouble anyway.”

“No, think nothing of it,” said Edward. “And rest assured, I will take good care of Miss Yuen.”

“What's this about?” asked Tommy. The four young lords sat atop the gatehouse.

Jett looked at Jimmy, neither one sure who was to start. “Yu know what we've gotten mixed up in, don't yu? Yu've read the book, right?”

Tommy and Kat nodded.

“Look,” said Jett, “traveling by plane always seemed kind of weird to me, right? Before you leave there's snow on the ground. A few hours later, you're on a beach. Well, we're about to leave our
world
. Imagine what that's going to be like.”

“You're having second thoughts?” said Kat.

“Not exactly,” Jett said, relieved that Kat apparently was not reading his mind at this moment. “I know what we're getting into. I've fought Drefids and seen the dark trees. My parents did, too. They gave me permission to go, and they know why I'm going. And Jimmy here . . . he knows what—”

Jimmy put a hand on Jett's forearm. “I'll speak for meself, if yu don't mind. I'll tell yu, Tommy . . . Kat, I've got nothin' to lose here. I grew up in an orphanage. Misery, it was. Finally, I got a home, only to lose it when me adopted parents had a
real
son of their own. Probably the only two people in this world who cared about me turned out to be Elves . . . and I'm goin' where they're goin'. It's that simple.”

Tommy glanced at Kat. Maybe she knew where Jimmy and Jett were going with this, but he sure didn't.

“So, we're in,” said Jett. “But you two have families, and they don't really know what's going on, do they?”

Kat blinked back tears. She'd struggled with her parents for a long time, ever since the
poly
. But she loved them. And now, she was abandoning them. Kat cringed, remembering how she'd brushed her mother off the last time she saw her.

“Do they?” Jett asked again.

“Mrs. Galdarro left a special note . . . a scroll behind,” said Tommy.

“So did Anna,” said Kat.

“Uh-huh,” said Jett, taking charge. “What Jimmy and I need to know, what the Sentinels need to know is . . . are
you
having second thoughts?”

“You might not know this,” said Tommy. “But I've experienced the Drefids, too. And while I don't exactly know if I'm ready for all this, I'm going. The Spider King wants to kill a whole race—our race. And who knows if they'll stop there. It'd be like having a chance to stop Hitler, but chickening out. I couldn't live with that. I'm going, . . . even though I'm afraid.”

“Good,” said Jett, nodding approval. “I like that. That's what heroes really are, right? They can be scared out of their mind, but still do the hard thing anyway. Looks like, ready or not, we're on our way to another world.”

They stood up and went their separate ways for the rest of that afternoon. Kat was grateful that Tommy had satisfied Jett's and Jimmy's curiosity. She was incredibly relieved that Jett hadn't asked her again if she was having second thoughts. She would have hated to lie.

After a glorious walk across the oceanic green lawns on the castle grounds, Edward led Kiri Lee down into a wooded hollow. A well-defined path began its serpentine journey to the ruins.

“What exactly are these the ruins of?” asked Kiri Lee as they walked.

“A castle,” he replied. “An outpost, really. It was built in 1712 by Jacobite Highlanders, led by Lord Drummond. They attempted an overthrow of Edinburgh Castle in 1715. They ultimately failed, and what with Dalhousie Castle so close, the old Highlander outpost fell into disrepair. Remarkable place really. Full of tunnels and mysterious staircases.”

It was only a few minutes walk through the trees when they came to a tall, freestanding stone arch right at the wood's edge. “This,” said Edward, leading Kiri Lee under the arch, “was the old entrance to the garrison. It used to have a tall, thatched roof through here. Of course, that's all gone now.”

Kiri Lee found herself enraptured, touching the ancient stonework and listening to Edward's tales. He seemed to know so much about the history of each piece of stone. They traveled into dark halls where light invaded only from little, round windows high above. They hopped over hunks of stone and even walked across the lower walls. Kiri Lee continued to be amazed by Edward's strength and endurance. “I hope I'm in as good of shape as you when I'm your age,” Kiri Lee said. “Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply—”

Edward raised his hand. “Think nothing of it, me dear. I am quite old. But I come from a very strong bloodline. As do yu.”

“What?”

“Nothing, Miss Yuen. Oh, here we are. It's just 'cross this bridge.” He motioned, and Kiri Lee followed him across a bridge that connected two large, squarish stone buildings. On the other side, a narrow stair broke off from the bridge and led down beneath it.

“What are we going to see?” asked Kiri Lee.

“My favorite part of the roons,” he said. Beneath the bridge, a long tunnel lit with intermittent porthole-size windows stretched far into the heart of one of the large, stone buildings. They came to the end of the tunnel, and that's just what it was, the end. There was no door or corner to turn. Just a solid stone wall.

There was, however, a pile of stones—some very large, some quite small. Edward gestured for Kiri Lee to sit. She did. The stone was cold, but not uncomfortably so. “Um . . . I guess I don't get it,” said Kiri Lee. “What are we looking at?”

Edward laughed. “That's just it, isn't it?” he asked. “Not very impressive at first glance. But doesn't it seem odd that this tunnel would lead to a dead end?” Kiri Lee nodded. “Agreed,” Edward went on. “One might wonder if the seeming dead end actually hides something of great worth . . . a treasure perhaps . . . or a secret passage.”