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Chapter 1
The Cavern Under the Cliff
Hal flew low over the sea, heading toward Old Earth’s familiar coastline. Crashing waves sprayed the sheer cliffs. Up on top, long grass blew in the wind. In the distance to the south, a city gleamed under the morning sun.
The last time Hal and Abigail had been here, they’d had no magic. With Robbie’s help, they’d half-dragged a very sick Emily along the sandy clifftop trail, eventually veering inland toward a military building nestled in the trees. Rather than seek help from the soldiers there, who at the time had been ‘the enemy,’ Hal and his friends had instead hopped into the back of a truck for a ride into the city. And that was where their trouble with scrags had begun.
A few things had changed since then. Soldiers were allies now, the young shapeshifters had regained their magic, and portals between the two worlds had been reopened. But the scrags were still a deadly threat, and right now the scarred gang had Molly and Blair hostage in a castle overlooking the town of Brodon.
Their primary demand was the reason Hal and Abigail had returned to Old Earth . . .
Hal tilted his wings and changed course, following the long, overgrown trail that ran for miles along the cliff edge.
“Slow down,” Abigail called. She was perched on his back, her legs slung over his powerful reptilian shoulders and around his neck, clinging to him as he flapped his leathery wings. “I think it’s just up ahead.”
Hal squinted down at the trail, seeing nothing in particular that stood out, just grass and a few trees. Then he spotted a cluster of boulders, and his heart leapt with excitement—and a touch of dread. This was the place.
He thumped down on the backside of the boulders, away from the cliff’s edge. The long grass had been brown last time he’d been here, the weeds dead and cold. Now everything was turning green and thickening up, which made their search a little more difficult. But the tunnel was here somewhere. They just had to nose around.
Abigail slid down off his back and began picking her way through the grass as Hal reverted to his human form. He’d barely noticed the wind on his hard, green scales, but it felt cool on his pale, sensitive skin, and he shivered and pulled his thin shirt tight around his shoulders. His enchanted smart clothes gave out a bit of heat, but not much.
“Here!” Abigail exclaimed, dropping to her knees. She pulled the grass back, exposing a narrow but very deep pit.
“Down you go, then,” Hal said, kneeling beside her. “I’ll wait here.”
“No, that’s okay, you go. Honestly, I don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind, either. You found it, so you should be the one.”
“Seriously, I’m okay with you taking my place. Be my guest.”
They grinned at each other. Hal leaned forward and peered into the shaft. There was nothing to see, and all was quiet. Sighing, he sat on the grassy rim of the shaft and dangled his legs inside. Once he had a slight grip on the rocky sides, he let himself down carefully.
“Better not be any miengu down here,” he muttered.
“They’re long gone,” Abigail assured him. “Go ahead. I’ll follow you down.”
The hole was tight, but it soon opened into a small underground cavern lit by thin, slanted shafts of light from numerous holes in the ceiling—holes he and Abigail had been lucky not to put their feet through. A pool of water at the bottom was as still as a mirror until he slipped and stumbled into it with a splash and grunt.
“You okay?” a voice echoed from above.
“Fine,” Hal said, looking around. “Now, where is it?”
The bronze box he’d come for was not here. Maybe the miengu had stolen it. Either that or . . .
He peered into the water. His wobbly reflection stared back. But, once he stood motionless for a while, the pool became still enough for him to spot the box lying on its side on the rocky bed. The lid was open, and a magnifying glass lay about three feet away. The exact object he’d come for, however, was missing.
“The faerie ball’s not here!” he called.
As small as a bird, Abigail came buzzing down the shaft into view. Once safely inside the cavern, she quickly grew and remained hovering above the pool. “Look harder,” she urged.
Hal was already turning slowly, piercing the darkness, looking for the slightest glimmer of light underwater, the tiniest reflection of a miniature glass ball.
What he found instead shocked him.
It took a while to register what he was seeing. For a moment, he thought it was one of the miengu—a jengu, as a single creature was called—lurking at the bottom of the pool, trying to wriggle through an impossibly narrow passage. Why else would he be looking at a fishtail with no sign of the upper human half? But this creature didn’t move. It was only the fishtail, neatly severed below the waist.
“It’s Jolie,” he croaked. “Or part of her.”
“Oh!” Abigail exclaimed.
The severed end of the tail nudged against a wall, where a smoky portal had once led to New Earth. It was through that portal Jolie had tried to escape before the thousand-year-old phoenix had burst into flame and wiped out all the magic. All the portals had instantly closed, and she hadn’t made it through in time. It had cut her cleanly in half. She’d survived, though. It was like being cauterized by magic; instead of bleeding out and suffering pain, it was as though she’d been born that way.
Hal moved closer. Should he return the fishtail to Jolie? He immediately abandoned that idea when he saw how decayed the skin and flesh were, swollen and blotchy. When he disturbed the water, the tail moved and seemed to dissolve, a cloud of nastiness seeping out . . .
Gagging, Hal turned his back on the rotting fishtail and frantically hunted for the glass ball, trying to take his mind off the gruesome horror.
But Abigail’s morbid curiosity got the better of her. “I guess the water froze over the winter and preserved it,” she guessed. “And now it’s thawed out and rotting.”
“Stop going on about it,” Hal grumbled. “I’m the one who’s wading around in this filth.”
A sparkle caught his eye, and he froze. There!
The faerie ball was lodged in the smallest of crevices. He grabbed it and scrambled out of the water. Shivering and wet, he took a moment to place the object in his pocket, then scurried up the shaft as fast as he could go, slipping and stumbling all the way. When he struggled out of the narrow aperture into daylight and fresh air, he flopped onto his back in the grass and shuddered.
A tiny Abigail buzzed out of the shaft and reverted to full size. Her wings stilled as she retracted them. “Are you okay?”
“That was so nasty!” he moaned. He checked in his pocket for the glass ball again, then handed it to Abigail. “Here, you take it. Let’s go home.”
* * *
Hal thumped down outside Miss Simone’s small house on the outskirts of Carter.
She appeared moments later, her blond hair gleaming in the sunlight, and her blue eyes piercing. “Did you find it?” she called.
“We did!” Abigail replied, sliding off Hal’s back so he could revert to human form. “It was where we left it . . . along with Jolie’s rotting tail.”
Miss Simone’s eyebrows shot up. “Her what?”
Abigail quickly recapped their experience in the cavern, then extracted the faerie ball from her pocket and held it up. “What a lot of fuss over such a tiny thing.”
“And it probably won’t work anyway,” Hal added. “Not for Queen Bee and her gang.”
It had worked well for him, though. He’d been unable to fly when he’d first transformed. Flapping wings and actually flying were two entirely different things. It took an instinctive knowledge to angle wings correctly and apply the right amount of power, and he hadn’t possessed that knowledge. Or so he’d thought. Somehow, he and his friends had inherited crucial memories from the creatures they’d been cloned from, and gazing into the faerie ball had unlocked those memories.
But the scrags had stolen a new, updated version of the Shapeshifter Program. Miss Simone had said it was mostly about the blood. The procedure was fast, able to be applied to full-grown adults. Literally anybody could be turned into a shapeshifter if they desired. The downside to this speedier, more portable science was the lack of inherited memories and instincts. The faerie ball couldn’t unlock memories that weren’t there.
“It’s what Queen Bee demanded from us,” Miss Simone said, “and as long as it buys us back our friends, then I don’t care if it works or not. Let her believe what she wants.” She carefully slipped the glass ball into a pocket and brushed her hands. “All right, let’s go.”
Hal said goodbye to his parents before heading out. They usually did well at letting him embark on dangerous missions even though he was only twelve, but they at least liked to see him off and give him a hug. His mom’s tears and dad’s grim expression always made him think they didn’t expect to see him again, that he might be killed in action . . . but that was always left unsaid.
Hal made sure to tell them he would be thirteen soon. They laughed and rolled their eyes, saying, “Oh, well, that makes us feel so much better.”
Abigail popped in to say goodbye to her mom, too. Since she lived close to Hal on the outskirts of the village, it wasn’t a huge surprise when, as the two of them prepared to leave with Miss Simone, all their shapeshifting classmates came running up: Robbie, Lauren, Emily, Fenton, Thomas, Darcy, and Dewey.
“Did you find it?” Robbie demanded.
Abigail answered first. “If you mean my glass ball, then yes, we found it. We’re just off to Brodon now.”
“How come we’re not needed?” Fenton complained, turning to Miss Simone. “You could use us. She wouldn’t dare mess with you if we were by your side.”
Miss Simone sighed. “First of all, Hal can’t carry you all—”
“Astrid and Orson could,” Darcy immediately pointed out.
“—and second, too many of us might spook Queen Bee and set her off. Don’t forget poor Molly looked in a mirror and calcified herself. She’s probably still teetering on the edge of those steps. So we want to keep this quiet and calm. Hopefully the exchange will be simple.”
“And then Queen Bee creates a gang of evil shapeshifters?” Robbie said.
Miss Simone shook her head. “Not a chance. But that’s another mission.” She pursed her lips, looking around the disgruntled faces. “And for that I’d like your help to put an end to Queen Bee’s experiments. Why don’t you plan to leave for Brodon tomorrow morning? Check with your parents first, though.”
The crestfallen faces brightened into smiles. “We’ll be there,” Darcy said. “But why not today? Maybe this afternoon, after lunch?”
“Tomorrow,” Miss Simone said. “We’ll negotiate for the release of Molly and Blair, then do some secret investigating to find another way into the castle. By the time you get there, we’ll be ready for action.”
Hal knew she was placating them all, and he suspected they knew it, too. Even so, permission to join the mission tomorrow was good enough, and they relented and bid their farewells.
“Good luck!” Lauren shouted as Hal took to the sky with Miss Simone and Abigail astride his back. “Bring Molly and Blair home safely!”
On his way east, Hal looked down on Carter and thought, not for the first time, how vulnerable it would be if determined enemy shapeshifters decided to attack. A few nasty dragons, a flock of harpies, a horde of ogres, maybe other creatures Hal wasn’t so familiar with . . . The village would be flattened in no time, thatched roofs easily set alight and homes burned down. Hundreds of people could be homeless or dead in a matter of hours.
Nine giant helicopters rested on the treeless hills between the woodlands, a platoon of soldiers at the ready. They’d returned the previous night along with all the rescued hostages. Of course there had been tears of joy and relief throughout the village, but the celebration had been tainted by an abject fear that Queen Bee would strike again soon—hence the strong military presence.
“So when are the soldiers planning to attack the Swarm?” Abigail asked as they flew east.
Miss Simone sounded tired. “The council met late last night. They ordered Lieutenant Briskle to stand down for now. Councilman Frobisher doesn’t want to order an attack of any sort until he’s figured out if the mayor’s involved.”
“But we know the mayor’s involved!” Abigail practically squawked with indignation. “He gave Queen Bee permission to take over the castle! What more proof do we need?”
Hal listened without uttering a grunt as he soared higher toward the morning sun. Brodon was just a couple of hours away.
“We don’t know for sure the mayor really knows what he’s gotten into,” Miss Simone said carefully. Hal knew she was being diplomatic, not wanting to speak ill of the council despite her misgivings. “Frobisher wants to organize a civil face-to-face with the man and get to the bottom of it all. He’ll be heading out to Brodon this afternoon. By that time we should have Molly and Blair back. If not, the face-to-face will be rather tense.”
“A civil face-to-face,” Abigail repeated.
Hal imagined she was shaking her head in disgust right about now. He had to agree. The mayor had apparently agreed to the kidnapping of fifty-two people from their homes in Carter! One had been killed, his poor family destroyed by the loss of a husband and father. The rest had been safely released—but then the scrags had snatched Blair back and tricked Molly into calcifying herself in a mirror. How could the council not order an immediate attack?
Because the people of Brodon are innocent, a more logical voice in his mind told him. Queen Bee and her Swarm are behind this. The mayor might be, too, but maybe he’s just an idiot who can’t see what’s going on in front of his nose.
Hal scoffed at the idea of the mayor not being aware of the goings-on at the castle. Rocs delivering cages full of prisoners in the early hours of the morning? Dozens of people must have seen that.
Had the prisoners screamed for help, though? Had anyone actually heard?
After a while, Abigail said thoughtfully, “Maybe a team of shapeshifters would be best. We can sneak in a back way, disarm the scrags, and take away the Shapeshifter Program before it’s too late.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Miss Simone agreed.
Hal knew from personal experience that a shapeshifter could be created within hours. The procedure itself was a secret; he’d been sedated when Miss Simone and Dr. Kessler had worked on him. All he knew was that it involved an injection of blood from a magical creature. The finer details were probably fairly complicated, but Queen Bee would figure it out. She had a lot of willing subjects to experiment on.
It was doubtful she’d work on them all at once, Hal decided. She’d want to try one and wait, then try another, with a few hours of rest for each plus a bit of testing to make sure the procedure had actually worked. Still, if she’d worked at it all the previous night, it was highly possible she already had five or ten shapeshifting scrags at her command.
Hal shuddered with apprehension.
Chapter 2
The Exchange
Brodon sprawled on the coast north of Bad Rock Gulch, the collapsed mines where the fabled Chamber of Ghosts now lay buried under tons of rock. Timber-framed homes crowded the narrow, cobbled streets and leaked columns of smoke into the clear sky. A river zigzagged from one end to the other, cutting past the market square. Forestland surrounded the town to the south and west, a calm bay and narrow beach bordered the north, and a wall of craggy rocks and high cliffs stood to the east. It was on these cliffs that Castle Brodon perched.
This was the first and only castle Hal had ever seen, and it was smaller than he’d imagined, though still pretty spectacular. Much of it was blocky and square, including the grand entrance hall with windows along its sides and a huge archway in the courtyard. A short, fat tower stood at its rear, so close to the cliff edge that Hal couldn’t help seeing it as a frightened stone gargoyle standing on a narrow ledge with his toes sticking out over the side.
“Land in the courtyard,” Miss Simone told him.
A road cut into the inland side of the craggy mountain. This allowed Brodon residents steep but easy access to the castle. Hal descended toward the courtyard at the top. At least a dozen statues stood around, all calcified scrags thanks to Molly’s gorgon death-gaze the day before. The iron gates were busted open where Robbie had forced his way in.
Five large wooden cages also littered the place. Carried here by enormous roc birds, these cages had been used to transport the fifty-two hostages to the castle. Hal envisioned the cages being used again soon, only this time for scrags. He kept that happy thought in mind as he thumped down.
Scrags appeared at once, four of them brandishing spears as they rushed out of the castle’s main entrance. As with the courtyard’s iron gates, Robbie had busted open the huge oak doors the day before while Hal had been busy smashing his way in through a side window. The debris had since been cleared up, but the doors still hung in pieces off their hinges.
The scrags took up a defensive posture with spears pointing his way. More scrags appeared, mostly men but a few women, and they joined the ranks so that now ten of them stood between Hal and the castle entrance.
He let out a bellowing roar and playfully seared the air with a burst of flame. The scrags ducked, two of them yelling and scuttling backward. Hal stomped forward, and all ten retreated toward the doorway, clearly uncertain about what they were supposed to do next.
Then Queen Bee appeared. She weaved through her jumpy gang and, looking annoyed, gave one of the most frightened guards a smack on the back of his head. “Stand your ground like the man you’re supposed to be. That goes for the rest of you, women included.”
The scrags immediately halted and stood up straight and stiff, their posture suggesting fearless bravery but their wide, darting eyes saying otherwise. Queen Bee sauntered up to Hal and stood mere feet from his snout. She stared up at him with interest, her head tilted and a faint smile on her lips.
Her straight black hair hung loose across her shoulders, framing her scarred face. Many scrags were much worse off, their skin dry and crusty with blackened lesions. In comparison, her skin was merely blotchy as though peeling after a heavy suntan. She wore black leather pants and a sleeveless vest complete with a belt that held a collection of wicked-looking implements: a corkscrew, serrated knife, claw hammer, a loop of wire with a wooden handle at each end, and more. Hal suspected she chose her weapons each morning the way some people dithered over clothing. She probably had a drawer full of gadgets.
“You see?” she called back over her shoulder to her anxious gang. “Hal is just a sweet, twelve-year-old boy. He won’t bite. Not right now, anyway. Because if he does, his friends Molly and Blair might suffer.” She turned her back on Hal, spread her hands, and added, “You just have to understand the situation instead of letting fear get the better of you.”
Hal desperately wanted to roast her alive right now.
Queen Bee turned to face him again and looked over his head to where Miss Simone and Abigail perched on his back. “Are you coming down or what?”
Hal lowered himself to make dismounting a little easier.
“Stay here,” Miss Simone murmured to Abigail as she slid down. She came around to stand before Queen Bee and looked down on the smaller woman. “Where are my friends? Bring them out.”
“Do you have what I need?” Queen Bee asked.
Miss Simone patted her pocket. “You’ll get it after you bring my friends out.”
The queen pursed her lips. “Now, see, that’s a little difficult. Molly is still on the steps where she was turned to stone. We could carry her up here, but we don’t want to drop her, do we? Why do you think I left my faithful friends out here all alone?” She swept her hand around at the scrag statues littering the courtyard, silent and staring.
Hal had to admit she was probably right about that. Molly’s magic worked in mysterious ways, not only turning flesh and bone to stone, but clothes as well, and the resulting statue was appropriately heavy and breakable.
“Bring her up,” Miss Simone said anyway. “And if you drop her, I promise it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”
Queen Bee frowned. “You’re being unreasonable. Why don’t we just let Blair do what he needs to do, and then—”
“I want Molly and Blair outside in this courtyard, in full view.”
“So Hal can snatch her up and—”
“No argument,” Miss Simone snapped. Her face was reddening. “I’m done playing games, lady. Bring them up here and make this exchange in a civil, businesslike manner, otherwise I’ll ask Hal to tear this place apart and burn everyone—starting with you.”
Queen Bee spent a moment considering. Clearly she had an agenda of her own, forever scheming and angling toward an even better deal. But this time she sighed and nodded. “All right. But I want that glass ball now.”
Miss Simone shook her head and climbed onto Hal’s back, leaving a puzzled Queen Bee standing there. Only when she was settled next to Abigail did she speak again. “When Blair regenerates, anything in range will be drained of magic—shapeshifters, geo-rocks, the statues, even this glass ball.”
If it’s not drained already, Hal thought. It might have recharged the same way faerie hotspots did, though.
“We’ll be watching from high above while Blair regenerates,” Miss Simone went on. “After that, we’ll be back to collect Molly. You’ll release Blair so he can fly away. Then—and only then—will I give you this tiny glass ball in my pocket.”
“I don’t trust you,” Queen Bee said shortly.
“I don’t care.”
Hal felt the tiniest of kicks, which he recognized as a signal to leave. He reared up and began thumping his wings, causing a draft that sent a number of watchful scrags back a step or two. He was pleased to see Queen Bee duck and move away, too, as he lifted off and picked up speed.
“Now we wait,” Miss Simone said as they rose high above the castle. “While they’re struggling to bring Molly upstairs, fly around the cliff and see if there’s some kind of second entrance we missed.”
“Wait,” Abigail said. She sounded excited. “Will Blair’s regeneration drain the magic from the blood samples? Because if so—”
“Then there won’t be a Shapeshifter Program,” Miss Simone agreed. “Let’s hope Queen Bee doesn’t think to move those samples out of range.”
The scrags were scrambling in the courtyard as Queen Bee issued commands Hal couldn’t hear. He swooped down low, circling around the jutting mountain of rocks. Though craggy along much of the coast, these cliff faces were smooth, dropping straight down into the ocean with no narrow trails or passes or even a manmade jetty. There was nothing but smooth cliff all around—except for one shallow, square-shaped cave that clearly didn’t go anywhere. It was jammed with boulders.
“Well, that’s not very good,” Abigail said.
Miss Simone sounded like she wasn’t ready to abandon the idea of a second entrance. “Before the castle was built, an old mansion stood atop that same cliff. It stood there for six hundred years before burning down one night, a fiery beacon that was seen up and down the coast. The castle is fairly new in comparison, built on the foundation of the old mansion.”
She paused, and Abigail had to prompt her. “So?”
“So there are plenty of old tales of people being washed away in the tunnels below the mansion, trapped and drowned. I know there are tunnels in those cliffs, and it stands to reason they would be used as another way into the castle, probably by boat. If that square cave was the way in, then it’s obviously blocked now. But maybe there’s another way in. We need to speak to a few of the locals.”
Hal flew around again, his keen sight scouring the low mountain. He saw nothing besides the square cave. If there was another entrance, it had to be underwater.
A shiver of excitement prickled his spine as he thought about that possibility. An underwater tunnel? He wanted to voice his idea, but to do so would mean reverting to his human form—which would be a disaster in midflight.
He circled over the courtyard again. There was no sign of anybody now, and it would take time for Queen Bee and her gang to carefully manhandle Molly’s statue up the stairs and out to the courtyard. And they’d better be careful, Hal thought with fire deep in his chest.
To pass the time, he turned to glide over the town of Brodon, peering down into the narrow streets as his impressive shadow flitted across the rooftops. He smelled something enticing in the market square and wished he could take a minute to eat. Maybe after Molly and Blair were safe, they could pop into town and gobble a few meat pies or fresh-baked bread.
With a little sightseeing out of the way and five or ten minutes killed, he turned back to the castle and focused on the distant courtyard. He saw movement there and picked up speed. By the time he got close enough to make out the details, Queen Bee and two dozen scrags—her faithful Swarm—were milling about, arranging statues in a row.
Hal’s heart missed a beat. There was Molly, balanced awkwardly in a frozen, calcified state, her left foot pulled backward and propped on a makeshift step of tough wood from the broken castle doors. She’d been descending a flight of stairs when she’d met herself in a poorly lit, hastily erected mirror. She’d turned herself to stone before realizing who she was looking at. Her hand was raised to hold her veil up, though her death-gaze was harmless in her current state.
And it’ll be harmless when she wakes, Hal thought. She’ll have no magic after Blair’s regeneration stunt.
Queen Bee clearly wasn’t taking that risk, though. She pulled a sack over Molly’s head, arm and all, so there would be no accidental calcifications the moment the gorgon blinked awake.
“We’re ready!” Queen Bee yelled as Hal came around again. “Statues are lined up, geo-rocks taken down below, Blair is fully charged and ready to set light to himself—oh, and the blood samples are safely stashed.”
She looked smug at that last comment, and Miss Simone sighed.
Hal let out a bellow to indicate he’d heard, and Queen Bee waved for her Swarm to bring forth her final prisoner, Blair.
He was shackled, but the scrags quickly removed his wrist irons and stepped back. Blair was now free to fly away, and he looked sorely tempted as he looked up at the sky and squinted. Of course he wouldn’t leave Molly behind, though. Hal knew he would go through with his phoenix rebirth. But once he’d done so, and Molly was free . . .
Hal grinned to himself. He could snatch up Molly as soon as she was awake, and then Blair could fly to safety. Miss Simone still had the glass ball, and there would be no need to give it to Queen Bee.
His jubilation faltered as Queen Bee gave a simple gesture with her hand and a long line of Brodon residents emerged from the castle. Led by grinning scrags, they seemed happy enough, walking freely as though part of a guided tour. Hal counted fifteen in the group, mostly in their late teens but some as young as eight or nine, an even mix of boys and girls. Queen Bee waved her arms around as she talked to them, and they nodded and grinned, clearly excited about something. Finally, she put her arms around a couple of the young children and hugged them tight as she nodded to Blair.
An expectant hush fell in the crowded courtyard as Hal glided around and around. With a scattered group of statues and three times as many scrags, plus the blissfully ignorant Brodon residents, there was barely room for Hal to land if he needed to. And surely he would need to if Queen Bee used these poor, innocent people as leverage to make sure she got her glass ball after all.
He sighed. The woman had endless tricks up her sleeves—and she didn’t even have sleeves!
Blair, looking pretty fed up, abruptly transformed. His smart clothes reformed just as fast, though Hal was too high above to see what they had become. It hardly mattered. Even smart clothes couldn’t survive the intense burning they were about to be subjected to.
A phoenix stood there, six feet tall, deep red in color with yellow, blue and green across its chest, a smattering of gold around its throat, and an impressive fanned tail that was also gold. Blair shuffled and planted his huge talons wide on the flagstones. He was already beginning to smoke as he began his regeneration.
Everyone in the courtyard gasped, scrags and Brodon residents alike. It was one thing to see giant roc birds but quite another to witness the spectacular colors of the phoenix slowly blackening as tiny flames curled off the ends of his wings and smoke poured up over his body. A wave of heat hit Hal as he came by for another flyby, and he saw the crowds below recoil and edge backward.
“Not so close, Hal,” Miss Simone warned.
He shot away with a jolt of fear, remembering that the fiery rebirth would deplete his own magic if he wasn’t careful. He retreated to a safe distance and contented himself to a faraway view of the event.
Fire engulfed Blair with a whump! sound, bright yellow flames that licked high and ate hungrily. He barely flinched and instead held out his wings as if basking in the heat. He turned slowly and deliberately. Hal thought for moment he was simply showing off, as Blair tended to do with his pyrotechnic displays. But when he stopped turning, it became clear that he was targeting Molly, who stood absolutely still twenty feet away.
Unlike an ancient, thousand-year-old phoenix, Blair’s range was limited. If any of the statues woke from his rebirth, it would be Molly.
His yellow flames turned blue. The courtyard spectators cringed again, and a second later Hal felt a wave of heat rising past him. Then the heat faded as the blue aura brightened. Within the dazzling inferno, black feathers turned to dust and floated free on a breeze . . . and underneath those feathers, bright red and gold shone through.
A bang! like a clap of thunder caused glass to crack in the castle, and people yelled out and clutched at each other. Hal gasped at the sight of the shockwave spreading outward, an oval-shaped dome, much of it projecting in front of Blair and upward maybe a hundred feet. Hal was well clear, but he knew his skin would be tingling right now if he had been within range.
Queen Bee stood perfectly still, mesmerized, as her hair lifted and stuck outward like a giant fuzzball, charged with energy. The Brodon residents experienced the same phenomenon, and they exclaimed and laughed at the same time. Most of the Swarm seemed unaffected by this, perhaps because they were unwashed, their hair too greasy and matted to react to the static in the air.
A second later, the rebirth was over. Blair stood there amid a pile of ashes looking even more colorful and vibrant than before. Hal knew he’d kept a little residual magic back for himself.
All around him, what had once been statues slowly began to move. Molly stumbled off her wooden block and squirmed to free herself from the sack covering her head. She paused a moment, then pulled the sack off more slowly. Her hair hung limply, and though she’d tugged her veil safely into place, Hal knew she had no magic now.
Scrags greeted their reawakened friends. The residents of Brodon stood in wide-eyed awe, huge grins on their faces. Queen Bee nodded with satisfaction and gave a thumbs-up to Blair, who remained in his phoenix form, looking on impassively through cold, unblinking eyes.
“Go get Molly,” Miss Simone said, giving Hal a hard prod.
Hal snapped to it. He’d been so wrapped up in what was happening below that he’d almost forgotten he was still flying around in the sky two hundred feet above. He dive-bombed the courtyard, pulling up at the last moment and thumping down in the largest clear space he could find.
Queen Bee had resumed her position behind a couple of the Brodon children, her hands clamped on their shoulders, smiling broadly while shooting Miss Simone a warning glare. “My gift?” she said above all the noise.
Miss Simone slid off Hal’s back and strode over to Queen Bee, delving into her pocket and fishing out the glass ball as she approached. It was almost too small to see, and a look of suspicion crossed Queen Bee’s face.
“Take it,” Miss Simone said. “You’ll need a magnifying glass.”
Queen Bee took it silently, her expression now one of bemusement. “That’s it? I expected something bigger. This is the size of a pea.”
It was actually a little bigger, more like a fingernail. “We’re going now,” Miss Simone told her. She stepped closer, putting her face close to her opponent’s. “If you do anything to these people—”
The scrag laughed and smoothed down her frizzy hair. “Like impress them to death?” She pushed the glass ball into a small pocket in her pants and patted the young boy and girl on their shoulders. They couldn’t be more than eight or nine. “What do you think, kids? Can you stand any more excitement?”
“I don’t know, Queen Bee,” the girl said, grinning broadly. “That phoenix is amazing.” She pointed directly at Hal. “And the dragon over there! I’ve never seen one up close before. This is the best day of my life.” She turned back to the scrag. “Are you going to show us more monsters today? Please say you will!”
Queen Bee laughed. “Maybe tomorrow, Chrissy.” She stood up straight, facing Miss Simone with a less-than-pleasant smile. “These young people are so excited. Their parents are caretakers, living in various rooms below the castle. They can’t wait for the official announcement tomorrow evening.”
She let her words hang for a moment. Miss Simone narrowed her eyes and finally took the bait. “What announcement?”
The queen feigned surprise. “The mayor’s. He’s going to stand up here and talk to Brodon’s residents—you know, introduce his new shapeshifter protectors. We’re to be formally recognized as citizens.”
“And they’re going to show us how they can change!” the girl named Chrissy blurted. “They’re going to put on a demonstration and prove they can protect us from bad people.”
Hal had nudged closer to eavesdrop on this entire conversation. Now he was just a few yards away in case Queen Bee tried anything. But he doubted she would. She was keeping up a pretense, and she wouldn’t want to spoil the happiness and end up with frightened hostages again. Blissfully ignorant and willing helpers were far more preferable. The problem was, this group of young people weren’t alone. As live-in caretakers, their parents and perhaps siblings were around somewhere, maybe downstairs on the subfloor level where Hal couldn’t reach them in his dragon form.
Miss Simone looked like she was biting her tongue, itching to scream a warning and send these children running for the open gates and down the hill to safety. Hal was ready to help if that happened. So, too, was Molly judging by her wary stance as she edged closer, though she may have forgotten she had no magic now and couldn’t rely on her death-gaze.
But Queen Bee had already moved on, mingling with her young and happy helpers, smiling and talking with them, though she kept shooting glances at Hal and his friends as her Swarm stood silently with their hands resting on the hilts of their knives. Her message was clear: You should go now.
And they did. Feeling like he was in a dream, Hal waited while Molly climbed aboard, then Miss Simone. He heard Molly greet Abigail, but their voices were drowned out when Blair spread his wings and launched into the sky at an incredible speed, his wings flapping noisily. Some of the younger children rushed forward to claim brightly colored feathers that had come loose.
Hal launched after him, though nowhere near as fluidly. He left the castle far below and turned to head home, leaving the scrags to cheer and celebrate their victory, even if that victory was a temporary status quo where none of the shapeshifters dared interfere with the Swarm’s dastardly plans.
Miss Simone wasn’t done yet, though. “Go on home, Blair!” she yelled when they caught up to the phoenix.
The bird’s scarlet-and-gold wings stopped flapping. Gliding gracefully, Blair peered back at them.
“Bring the other shapeshifters out here tomorrow morning,” Miss Simone continued. “Wait on the beach. And if we don’t show up, storm the castle.”
After a long pause, Blair gave a nod.
Miss Simone then patted Hal’s back. “As for us, we need to circle around and head back to Brodon. Let’s keep this quiet. If we’re going to put an end to Queen Bee’s nonsense, we need to find a secret way into that castle.”
Chapter 3
Undercover Shifters
Molly appeared at the end of the dark, narrow alley where Hal was waiting impatiently with Miss Simone and Abigail. “Here you go,” she said, heaving an armful of clothes at them.
Some items dropped into the dirt. This particular alley wasn’t important enough to warrant a cobblestone surface like the main streets. It was a little smelly and cold in the shadows of the cantilevered buildings, but at least the group was away from prying eyes.
“Nice,” Abigail said, holding up a shabby red frock with long sleeves.
“It’s your color,” Hal mused.
Miss Simone peered dubiously at an adult-sized dark-grey robe, then handed the rest of the pile to Hal. He grimaced at the brown pants and cream shirt, both well worn.
“Stop moaning and put ’em on,” Molly said. She grinned from under her wide-brimmed hat, and Hal did a double take for the tenth time that morning. Seeing her face was unnerving. Seeing her eyes. It didn’t sit well with him. What if she suddenly regained her magic and accidentally calcified everyone?
They each donned their disguises over their clothes. Miss Simone, with her blond hair, startling blue eyes, and flashy silk cloak was the most noticeable of the four, so the dull robe she climbed into helped some. Molly took off her hat and stuck it on Miss Simone’s head, then stepped back and pursed her lips.
“Better,” she commented. “But put your hair up.”
Molly was the only one of them not wearing a disguise. Her long robe was drab enough, and she wore grubby leather boots to match. Her normally veiled face was unusually white, her cheeks sunken, and she had dark rings under her hazel-colored eyes. With her black, curly hair hanging down rather untidily, nobody would ever guess she was a gorgon.
“Quit staring,” Molly said, giving Hal a wink. “I know I’m gorgeous, but you’re too young for me.”
Hal’s face heated up. “I, uh . . . I was just wondering where your veil is. In case you need it in a hurry?”
Molly patted her side where, apparently, a pocket was hidden in the folds.
“All right,” Miss Simone said briskly. “To business. It’s about lunchtime, so I suggest we mingle with the crowds and grab a bite to eat.”
“Do you have money?” Molly asked. “I used up all mine paying for these expensive togs.”
Miss Simone nodded. “I smell meat pies. Let’s follow the scent.”
Hal didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed Abigail’s hand and followed the older women out of the alley and around the corner.
They were on the outskirts of the town. Hal had landed in the forest on the riverbank, and they’d walked in. The cobbled streets grew busier as the disguised shapeshifters moved toward the town center. People bustled about, completely ignoring them except to say “excuse me” when jostling occurred.
When they finally reached the market square, Hal and Abigail ate hungrily, forgetting everything else while they stood in the middle of a crowded street munching on steaming pies filled with beef, onions, potatoes, carrots, and a healthy dose of pepper.
“Robbie would love this,” Hal said between mouthfuls.
Abigail nodded slowly. “He can have one tomorrow for lunch. Maybe we’ll buy a bunch and take them down to the beach when they arrive.”
They were large pies and took a full five minutes to chomp through. Miss Simone only ate half. She said she was too distracted to be hungry, but Molly rolled her eyes and said, “Watching your figure, more like. As if you need to.”
Her compliment was completely wasted on Miss Simone, who stared off into the distance with her half-pie forgotten. A small, skinny boy slipped out of the crowd and stared at it longingly, and it was only when Molly nudged Miss Simone that she jerked back into the here and now and offered the remainder to him. He grinned and took off running.
“Let’s go down to the docks and find a fisherman,” Miss Simone said, brushing her hands off. “If anyone knows about secret tunnels into the cliff, it’ll be a fisherman.”
With a mission in mind, they navigated their way through the market. A girl appeared ahead of them, probably no older than Hal. She was grasping a stack of paper in one hand and a single sheet in the other, holding it aloft so people could see it as they bustled past.
Miss Simone sucked in a breath and spun around so her back was to the girl. She pulled Molly, Hal, and Abigail together. “She’s one of the castle caretakers. Or her parents are, anyway. See the fliers she’s handing out? They’re for the mayor’s official announcement tomorrow night.”
“Well then, let’s talk to the poor girl,” Molly said. “She doesn’t know it, but she’s safely away from danger now. We’ll tell her what’s going on so she—”
“No,” Miss Simone said, shaking her head. “She might have family in the castle, or friends. What if we try to convince her to abandon Queen Bee but she rejects us? She’ll go straight back and warn her.”
“But she might have valuable information—”
“Stay away. Come on.”
Miss Simone headed off in a different direction, leaving Molly to sigh and click her tongue. But she followed Miss Simone anyway, gesturing for Hal and Abigail to keep up.
They hung back to watch the girl, though. She was smiling and talking to a group of women, her cheeks red with excitement as she explained about “the new shapeshifters in town.” She handed each woman a flier, and they read it with interest as the girl moved on.
“Shapeshifters,” Hal muttered.
“I guess we should go,” Abigail said, giving his hand a tug.
They weaved through the crowd following the wide-brimmed hat Miss Simone was borrowing. Several minutes later, they left the packed streets behind and made their way through a more relaxed, sleepy part of town. Two jovial old men sat in rickety wooden chairs right outside their open front doors, taking up half the narrow lane. Past them, five small children hopped and skipped across a grid of chalk lines on the cobblestone. A large woman with a basket over her arm stepped out of a doorway at that moment, pulling her door shut with a bang before giving a cheery smile and setting off for the market.
“They seem happy here,” Molly remarked. Right around the corner ahead, a stubborn donkey brayed as the owner tried unsuccessfully to yank it along on the end of a rope while swearing and panting. “Well, apart from him,” she added as they hurried past. “Brodon is a busy, noisy place, but it has a nice sense of community spirit about it. Like Carter, only . . . more cheerful?”
“Carter’s not cheerful at all these days,” Miss Simone said. “Frobisher’s right. I’ve brought a lot of strife to the village. Look at the place now—soldiers everywhere, portals clogging up bathrooms, hostages being taken in the night . . .”
Molly snorted. “Hush, woman. Old coots like Frobisher shouldn’t be on the council. We need young blood, people with a brighter outlook on the future. Brodon has a castle, and in that castle they host events. When was the last time we did that? They bring people together for celebrations. There’s music and dancing, food and drink, fun and games. It’s just a brighter, happier place.”
“Not for long,” Abigail said. “Not if Queen Bee takes over the place.”
“She almost has,” Miss Simone muttered as she stopped at an intersection and looked both ways. She chose left. “Somehow that woman has Mayor Seymour Priggle in her pocket.”
They reached the end of a street, turned a corner, and emerged quite suddenly into bright daylight. The town had ended, and they stood upon an old but sturdy wooden walkway built practically on the doorsteps of a few dozen homes that faced the ocean.
“What a view!” Abigail exclaimed as they headed along the boardwalk. It had no railings, so they could jump down onto the beach at any time or make use of occasional steps. “Imagine living here and opening the front door to this every morning. The sea’s right outside.”
Hal snorted. “Back home, the sea’s right there in my bathroom!” Though not for much longer, he admitted privately. Dad’s promised to wall up that smoky hole soon. It only took a bunch of scrag intruders to convince him.
“I’d like to be here during a storm,” Molly said, her robe whipping about in the breeze. The wind had picked up now that they’d left the network of narrow alleys. “Look how short the beach is. Maybe fifty, sixty feet? I’ll bet the waves crash all over the houses.”
“I see fishing boats,” Miss Simone said, pointing around the bay where half a dozen rowing boats were clustered together on the sand. Three of them had simple masts sticking up at angles.
Molly shielded her eyes. “I see bigger ones in the distance. Looks like there’s a small harbor a bit farther along the coast.”
“I don’t really care about the boats,” Miss Simone told her, walking at a brisk pace now. “We just need a fisherman to talk to.”
Hal glanced around as they stamped along the boardwalk. He couldn’t see much beyond the tall, timber-framed houses he walked alongside, but at the far end of the bay behind him, the cliff and its castle rose high under a blue sky with patches of wispy clouds.
They found a fisherman painting some thick, sticky liquid onto the front end of a boat. He was so engrossed in his task that he didn’t notice the visitors until Molly cleared her throat. He whirled around, his paintbrush held high, and stared at them with eyes as blue as Miss Simone’s. His cheeks were full and ruddy, his curly grey hair and beard as thick and wiry as his brush. “Who are you?”
“Just a bunch of tourists,” Molly said. “I bet you get a lot of us nosing around, asking questions about the castle and its dark, forgotten secrets.”
Hal had to admire the way she launched straight into the interrogation.
The man, probably in his sixties, frowned. “What secrets?”
“People drowning in the tunnels under the cliff?” Miss Simone ventured.
“Oh, that.” The fisherman sighed and looked at his brush as if he’d forgotten he held it. “Nothing exciting. Not exactly a secret, either. There are tunnels, and plenty of people have died in them, but if you’re thinking about visiting, then forget it. It’s impossible except during low tide, and even then it’s dangerous. That’s why they’re out of bounds.”
“And these tunnels are the only way into the castle other than the front door?” Molly said, sounding doubtful.
“Well, there was once a passage high above sea level, easily accessible, big and wide with a rickety elevator leading straight up to Brodon Heights. But that passage collapsed long ago. You can see it if you look carefully.”
They all shielded their eyes and studied the distant cliff face. There was the square cave they’d seen earlier, perhaps about fifteen feet wide.
“Like I said, it collapsed,” the man went on. “Rocks came tumbling out one night, crashing into the sea below. The passage was jammed tight the next morning. Now there are just the natural tunnels below. Very, very dangerous.”
“Can you show us?” Hal blurted.
The man squinted down at Hal. “Think you can survive the old catacombs, sonny?” he said with a crooked smile. “The old house that used to be on top of that rock saw a lot of tragedy in its day. The fire was the final straw. You should speak to my granddaughter about it. All us locals know the stories, but she really loves that old history.” He tapped the side of his nose. “She’s been there a time or two, as well.”
Abigail gripped Hal’s arm with excitement. “She’s been into the tunnels?”
“Go ask her,” the old man suggested as he turned back to his boat and resumed plastering the bow with the sticky tarlike substance. “She just got home from school. Name’s Kinsey. Excuse her manners, though. She’s a good girl at heart, just rough around the edges. She’ll be walking her dog on the beach.”
With that, the conversation was over. The group turned and peered up and down the beach, seeing quite a few tiny figures, most of them alone. It was a moment before Molly let out an exclamation. “There! Is that her?”
The distant figure she pointed to, back the way they’d come and closer to the overlooking castle, was lying down on the sand, letting the waves lap up over her bare feet. What gave her away as the old man’s granddaughter was the huge dog that sat next to her. There was something strange about it. It looked like there were three dogs merged into one . . .
“Is that . . . is that a cerberus?” Miss Simone gasped.
Behind them, the old man chuckled. “Aye, Kinsey’s a strange one, good with animals. No respect for people but will die for her pets.”
As was usual with beach walks, it seemed to take forever to get anywhere. They passed the alleyway they’d emerged from earlier and continued another ten minutes. “This is where the helicopters landed,” Miss Simone commented. “I remember it was near this pier.”
The pier stuck out across the sand and into the water. At least a dozen small boats were moored there, some with masts and others without. They bounced and bobbed with the waves.
“Our young friends should be here tomorrow morning,” Miss Simone added. “Though I hope to have taken care of the problem by then. I fear a large group of us will only complicate things.”
“That’s why you put them off?” Abigail said. “To keep them out of the way?”
Molly gave Abigail a gentle nudge. “She means no disrespect. Sometimes a job is best done quietly. If we can take care of Queen Bee ourselves today, then we won’t need your friends. But they’ll be here tomorrow if we run into trouble.”
Run into trouble, Hal thought. He didn’t like the sound of that. He was amazed and a little nervous that Miss Simone thought the four of them alone could take care of Queen Bee’s plan—and all before morning!
Eventually, Miss Simone jumped down off the boardwalk onto the beach and made a beeline for the girl lying twenty yards away. Hal and Abigail followed close behind, holding hands, while Molly hung back a little. “Be careful,” she whispered over the crashing waves. “I’ve never seen a tame cerberus before.”
As they approached, the three-headed dog suddenly whipped around and began snarling. It was much bigger than a normal dog, and its shoulders widened considerably to accommodate three necks and heads. Because of that extra weight, its front legs were thick and muscular. The heads themselves looked ordinary enough, just in triplicate. Two looked wary, the third downright angry, but all three had teeth bared and ears flattened.
The girl reached out to pat her companion’s side as she sat up and twisted around, shielding her eyes against the sun to squint at Miss Simone. Wearing a raggedy sleeveless shirt and equally threadbare pants that she’d ripped off at the knees, one might think she was homeless. Her hair was short and curly, sticking up on top and shaved at the sides and back as though she couldn’t be bothered to mess with it every day.
“Who are you?” she demanded almost exactly like her grandfather had done a short time before.
“Are you Kinsey? Your grandfather sent us to you,” Miss Simone said. She’d stopped fifteen feet from the girl and her savage pet, and the others huddled behind. “We’re from out of town. We want to talk to you about the castle.”
Although Miss Simone gestured up at it, the girl flatly refused to glance that way. Instead, she glared around the group while her pet continued to snarl, a fearsome sound that came from deep within.
“What’s in it for me?” Kinsey said sullenly.
Miss Simone patted her hidden pockets. Something clinked in there. “I have money. Just name your price.”
It occurred to Hal that she could carry coins without fear of losing them because her knee-length silky dress hardly altered. If Hal carried money, it would scatter to the winds when his clothes became a strap around his neck.
“I don’t care about money,” Kinsey retorted. Her cerberus inched forward, its ears flattening even more. “And I’m not in the mood to talk to tourists. Leave me alone or I’ll set Dog on you.”
Abigail stifled a giggle, then sidled around Hal and Miss Simone to the front of the group. “Sorry, but is that his name? You call him Dog?”
“So?” Kinsey growled, her teeth bared almost as dangerously as her pet’s. “Don’t come any closer.”
To Hal’s astonishment, Abigail ignored the girl’s warning, took a few more steps toward her, and collapsed on the sand a few feet away. She stretched out her legs and spread her toes as much as the waxy smart shoes would allow. “How old are you?” she asked. “I’m twelve. Thirteen in a few weeks. My name’s Abi.”
Kinsey looked incredulous, her mouth opening and closing like she was a stranded fish. “I don’t care!” she finally exploded. “Go away!”
She let go of her cerberus, and the creature came around and snapped its jaws while slobbering on the sand. The creature was enormous, standing as high as Hal’s chest and towering over his girlfriend as she sat staring out to sea.
“I don’t think so,” Abigail said quietly. “Because if we go away, this whole town will be taken over by monsters and you won’t get any peace and quiet to walk Dog.” She grinned at Kinsey. “Plus, we’re just about the coolest people you’ll ever meet.”
Although Kinsey had removed her hand from Dog, the cerberus seemed to understand she hadn’t given an order to attack. Hal wondered if she ever had. She came across sullen and bad-tempered, and no doubt most people steered clear of her and her three-headed beast, but Abigail already had her figured out. Kinsey’s all bluff, Hal thought. Of course she wouldn’t let her monster-dog attack anyone. If she did, nobody would allow her to keep it.
Steeling himself, he went to sit by Abigail, ignoring the thunderous expression on Kinsey’s face and the three-headed dog’s snarl.
After that, Miss Simone and Molly tentatively sat down as well. Having invited themselves to join Kinsey, the girl apparently decided she didn’t want to be here anymore and started to get up, her face red with anger. “Come on, Dog,” she muttered.
“Have you ever seen a shapeshifter?” Hal called after her. “Do you want a ride in the sky or something?”
Kinsey paused, her back to them.
Abigail winked at Hal and squeezed his hand. She said loudly, “I don’t think she does, Hal. Too bad. Not many people get to ride on the back of a dragon. Oh well, maybe someone else will instead. We could walk down to the harbor and see if there’s somebody there who knows about the tunnels under the castle.”
“Yeah,” Hal agreed. “I’m not sure how much Kinsey would know anyway. She can’t be more than eleven.”
“I know more than anyone!” Kinsey snapped, spinning around. The cerberus spun with her, instantly starting up with the snarling again. “Oh, be quiet, Dog.” She stepped closer and glared down at them all. “One of you had better be a dragon shapeshifter, or I’ll set Dog on you, and he’ll tear your throats out. I’m not just saying that, either. I really will!”
Abigail put on a wide-eyed expression. “I believe you. And we’re telling the truth. I promise you’ll get a ride on a dragon’s back—but after you’ve helped us. Now, will you please sit down and let us ask you some questions?”
Kinsey, looking flustered and muttering incoherently, threw herself down in the sand and ordered Dog to lie down next to her. She glared at Abigail and pouted for a moment, then folded her arms and said, “So get on with it, then. Ask me already!”
Abigail ignored her rotten attitude. “There’s a way into the castle from the sea, yes?”
Kinsey gave a curt nod.
“Is it dangerous?”
Again, a nod.
Miss Simone broke in. “Will you show us?”
This time, Kinsey looked skyward as if considering the request.
“If you’re allowed, that is,” Hal added quietly.
Kinsey threw him such an intense glare that he wondered if she had been a gorgon in another life. “Of course I’m allowed. I can do what I want. And I’ll prove it!”
Yes! Hal thought, mentally punching the air.
Molly seemed a little doubtful, though. “Surely you need to check with your parents first?”
“My parents are dead. I live with Grandpa.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
An extra powerful wave swept up around them, and it was too late to jump clear. As the seawater soaked through their clothing and made them all gasp, a faint smile flitted across Kinsey’s face.
“I can show you the tunnels,” she said, her mood having lifted a fraction. “If you promise me a ride in the sky. Which of you is a dragon?”
“Guess,” Abigail challenged her.
Kinsey looked from one to the other. She eventually shrugged and pointed at Abigail’s feet. “Three of you are wearing weird shoes. I reckon you three are shapeshifters and she’s not.” She pointed at Molly with an accusing finger as she said this.
“She is a shapeshifter like the others,” Molly corrected her. “I’m just wearing boots, is all. I don’t change much. At the moment I can’t change at all.”
Frowning, Kinsey looked around again. “Well, who is it, then? Tell me! Who’s the dragon?”
Hal was ready. He obliged her with a quick puff of fire and smoke, and she leapt back in fright. Dog jumped up and backed off, one of the heads whining and the others looking at him in shock.
What followed was a conversation about how they had become shapeshifters and why they were there. Miss Simone took the lead, obviously deciding to trust the moody girl with the truth and laying it on thick so there was no doubt who the enemy was. By the time she was finished, Kinsey’s hostility was hidden behind a barrage of questions that all four shifters patiently answered.
“So Queen Bee must be stopped, do you understand?” Miss Simone finished up. “We have to get into the castle.”
“If it were me,” Kinsey said with half-closed eyes and raised eyebrows, some kind of superior, all-knowing expression, “I’d just smash my way in through the window like you did before and burn them all. Why’s that so difficult?”
Molly sighed. “Because, like Simone said, there are lots of children your age in the castle. They think they’re helping Queen Bee, but she’s using them as willing hostages. She’ll slit all their throats in a heartbeat if she needs to. We need to sneak in and deal with the situation quietly.”
“From below,” Abigail added.
Kinsey nodded. “Well, you can’t go right now. It’ll have to wait until low tide, and that’s either later tonight or early in the morning.”
“So tonight, then,” Molly said firmly.
Kinsey shook her head. “I wouldn’t. It’s dark enough in the daytime. You need light, and it’s hard to take lanterns underwater. I’ve tried wrapping one to keep it dry, but then you have to light it, and—”
“Fire isn’t a problem,” Hal interrupted. “I can make light easily.”
She stared at him with a scowl and stuck her bottom lip out. Apparently she didn’t like her authority on the matter being usurped. “The tunnels are really narrow, a tight squeeze. You can’t breathe fire in a space like that.”
“I can.”
“For two hours?” she demanded, raising her voice.
This gave Hal pause for thought. “Why two hours?”
“That’s how long it takes to climb through and up. I’m telling you, it’s tight. In the daytime there are little rays of light here and there. It’s not much, but it’s something. It makes all the difference.”
“We’ll manage,” Hal said, suddenly not so sure. Two hours to climb tunnels to the castle?
“Don’t you have school in the morning?” Molly added.
Kinsey shrugged. “I could skip class . . .”
“We’ll go tonight,” Miss Simone said sternly. “The sooner the better. Where shall we meet you, Kinsey? And at what time?”
The girl looked troubled now. She chewed her lip, and Hal was sure she was about to back out. Maybe she was all talk. The reality was suddenly upon her and doubts had crept in. ‘Later tonight’ was most likely past her bedtime. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for adventure—
“I’m not going all the way to the top,” Kinsey said. “I don’t want to get stuck inside all night. I’ll take you halfway, and that’s all.”
“Good enough,” Molly said. “We don’t want to drag you in anyway.”
Kinsey nodded. “Meet by my boat, then. See where Grandpa is?” She pointed back along the beach. The old man had finished his sticky painting job and was sitting on a wooden beach chair, puffing on a pipe as he stared out to sea. “My boat is there. Meet me after sunset. The tide goes out then.”
With that settled, Miss Simone got up and brushed clumps of wet sand from her ugly robe. The back of it clung to her. “Let’s go. I’m expecting a visit from Councilman Frobisher this afternoon. I want to make sure we hear what he and the mayor discuss.”
“What about my ride on a dragon’s back?” Kinsey demanded.
Abigail reached out to touch her arm. “Be patient. If we do that now, we’ll give ourselves away. It’ll have to be after we’ve dealt with Queen Bee, when everything is back to normal. We won’t forget.”
The girl reluctantly agreed, her pout and glare making her look like she’d sat on a wasp.
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