Free Kingdom Keepers VI (9781423179214) by Ridley Pearson Page A

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.”
    â€œIt’s not like they can hide him just anywhere,” Maybeck said.
    â€œWell, he’s no longer in the box under the stage,” Willa said.
    â€œBut how far could he go without being seen?” Finn said. “Something like that? There are passengers, crew, cameras. Someone would have seen him.”
    â€œSo maybe he’s still backstage somewhere. There’s a lot of room there,” Storey said.
    â€œTonight, during the orientation, we’ll be
backstage.” Philby’s voice rose with excitement. “We’re part of the program.”
    â€œYou 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.
    â€œBut that’s the point, isn’t it?” Philby said. “What if the OTs are counting on us being too scared to go backstage?”
    â€œThey’d be right,” Willa said. “It’s a miracle no one was hurt the first time!”
    â€œWe’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.”
    â€œI 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.
    â€œWilla 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.”
    â€œNice,” Philby said.
    â€œBoys take the backstage area,” Finn said. “Girls: the salon, costumes, and the other rooms downstairs.”
    â€œThere’s no way Security missed him,” Maybeck said. “Has anyone thought about that?”
    â€œDepends on how well the OTs hid him,” Finn said. “And why .”
    â€œMeaning?” Charlene said.
    â€œMaybe 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.”
    â€œThe stuff in the journal,” Willa said, her voice a whisper.
    â€œWhat if it’s more like an owner’s manual?” Finn said.
    â€œYou have to do it right. And then whoever wakes him…” Philby said, speculating.
    â€œYes!” 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?”
    â€œI like the sound of that,” Professor Philby said.

W ILLA 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.