softly.
âNot really a lie. I couldâve been named Dahlia,â Goldenrod muttered.
âHow did you find us?â he asked.
Goldenrod remained silent, her brain reeling as to how to get herself and Birch out of all this.
âAnswer me.â It appeared as if the older boyâwho apparently was the same Spitbubble she had heard mention of earlierâhad no intention of letting go of Goldenrodâs arm.
âYouâre not going to answer me?â he said, tightening his grasp on her wrist.
Goldenrod stared defiantly into Spitbubbleâs eyes. Not a word escaped her lips.
âAdmirable.â The boy sounded like he was almost laughing as he turned to Jonas. âDrag her brother up here. Letâs see if she keeps her silence as easily if itâs his arm.â
âNo!â Goldenrod blurted.
Spitbubble turned to her and spoke slowly and calmly, âJust one more chance, then. How did you find us?â
Somehow, Goldenrod didnât think the boy would be terribly understanding about a story involving a ghost with a finely tuned sense of direction, one actually named Meriwether at that. So she skipped that part and came up with, âI followed Randy.â
There was a glint of anger in the boyâs eyes before they darkened again. He slackened his hold on Goldenrodâs arm and yelled, âToe Jam!â into the cavern.
Within a few seconds, there were more scuffling footsteps, and the staircase produced the dirty, ruffled frame of Randy.
âYes, Spitbubble?â
So Randy is ⦠Toe Jam?
Goldenrod thought.
âThis girl here tells us that she followed you all the way to Headquarters.â
Toe Jamâs jaw dropped as he saw Goldenrod. âMold-and-rotâ¦,â his voice trailed.
âExplain yourself,â Spitbubble said.
âI ⦠I donât know how she got here,â Toe Jam said.
âWhere were you when you saw him?â Spitbubble asked Goldenrod.
âDue west,â Goldenrod grumbled.
âAre you trying to be funny?â Spitbubble asked.
âNo. If I was, I wouldnât be doing a very good job.â
âShut up and answer the question. I donât need any extra words out of you,â Spitbubble said.
âI was answering your question. I was due west.â Goldenrod looked at the blank faces staring at her and sighed, pointing to where she had come from. âOver there, by a bunch of bushes with red berries.â
Spitbubble rounded on Toe Jam. âWell?â
âI donât know ⦠maybe she means where I was meeting Toulouse,â he said.
âToe Jam, I believe this is the second time Iâve warned you about bringing your
butler
into these woods.â He exaggerated the word
butler
in the same slow, dangerous way he had exaggerated
Meriwether
.
âHow else am I supposed to get the stuff from him?â Toe Jam muttered.
âOh, I donât know. By going to the house where you live and he works and where no one will suspect you hanging around. The fact that you actually have a house you can go to and get that junk from is the only use I have for you.â Spitbubble didnât blink once, penetrating Toe Jam with his glare. âAnd, if you canât even do that right, well â¦â
âThat junk seems to pay for a lot of things,â Toe Jam mumbled.
âIt pays for the privilege of letting you hang out with us. You donât want to do it anymore, no problem. The exit is that way â¦
due west
,â Spitbubble pointed.
That shut Toe Jam up. For a minute, Spitbubble continued to glare at him. And then he turned away as if nothing had happened. He handed Goldenrodâs arm to Jonas.
âTake her down and keep her with her brother, Brains. Until I figure out how to clean up your mess.â
Birch had stopped crying, but he couldnât stop sniffling. He needed to figure out how to get himself out of there.
Maybe he could