Free Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) by Ethan Russell Erway Page B

original deed.
    "Don't try and stop me, or you'll share a portion of my wrath," she said with a look that was both maniacal and adorable.
    Always so dramatic , Michael thought to himself.   But he believed her, and raised his hands in surrender.
    She slowly hopped up the steps, her long blonde ponytail whipping from side to side behind her.   She reminded Michael of a cat that was bounding sneakily up to its prey.
    The large wooden door at the top of the stairs was not quite closed, and the girl gently pushed it open.   Its creak sounded like the laugh of an old oak tree.   She winced, hoping that it wouldn't disturb Liam's sleep, and then she pushed it open just enough for Michael and her to slip inside.
    A night-light near the door filled the room with a faint glow, and Michael watched as his sister crept to the side of Liam's bed.   She reached into her robe and pulled out something with her right hand, holding it in close.   She then reached into her left pocket, and pulled out a feather.
    Moving down toward the foot of the bed, she took the feather and gently began to tickle the bottom of Liam's feet, which were protruding from beneath the covers. He quickly pulled them back beneath the blanket, and turned on his side, unknowingly revealing his face to them.
    Abigail moved back toward the head of the bed, and began to tickle Liam's nose.
    "WHAT'S THAT?" he yelled as he shot up into a sitting position.
    Abigail quickly reeled her arm back as if she were going to pitch a baseball, and threw something that landed with a hard smack directly into his face.
    Michael flipped on the light, shocked at what his sister had just done.   A cloud of white powder hovered around Liam, and as it cleared, Michael was relieved to see that his friend was unharmed.   His ghostly face was covered with flour, and he looked confused and batted his eyes pitifully.
    Michael broke into an uncontrolled laughter, while Abigail, with her arms crossed against her chest, examined her victim, trying to determine whether or not the work met her standards.
    "Abigail, have you lost your ever-loving mind?" Liam said dryly, his eyes beginning to water from the flour.
    "Humph," she squeaked indignantly.
    "I tried to warn you about her," said Michael, shaking his head.
    "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE," the girl shouted while raising her hands in triumph.

    While Liam washed his face, Michael explained that the corridor had appeared once again.   Liam was not convinced.   Although he had taken the mid-night assault surprisingly well, he was now under the impression that his friends were trying to play yet another trick on him.
    "Hey, don't blame me for this," said Michael.   "I tried to warn you about the consequences of teasing Abigail.   She has always been one to hold grudges, but lately she's become down right dangerous to mess around with."
    "Yes, you did try to warn me," he conceded, beginning to laugh about it.
    They soon convinced Liam to come along with them down to the corridor, and when they arrived, he had such a look of shock on his face that Michael wished he'd brought a camera along.
    "I've been by here a thousand times, and I've never seen this before," Liam said.
    "Well, it appears only to show up at night.   Do you ever come over this way at night?" asked Abigail.
    "No, wouldn't have any reason to.   We should probably tell my da about this," he said with a contemplative look on his face.   "Then again, having a secret corridor that nobody else knows about might come in handy."   He formed a mischievous smile.   "I think we should call this place the night corridor ."
    Abby grinned at him excitedly and began to rub her hands together, jumping up and down in place.
    Michael soon found that exploring the hallway with his sister and best friend created an altogether different experience than exploring it alone.   This time he felt more relaxed, and there were two more sets of eyes to inspect all the artifacts and paintings.   Michael