Jesse pointed at Emmy and burst out laughing. "Gobble! That's a good one, Em. Did you hear that, Daze? Emmy made another another joke!" joke!"

But Daisy was too unsettled by the new carnivorous Emmy to find anything funny. She couldn't help but think that the next step in Emmy's evolutionary development was the hunting and eating of small, defenseless woodland creatures.

When they went into the house, they saw a "welcome home" note on the kitchen table from Aunt Maggie, who had already left for work. They looked around for Uncle Joe and found him in the upstairs hallway switching off the attic exhaust fan.

"It'll be nice to give this poor overworked sucker a rest," he said. He turned and gave Daisy a long, curious look. "Did you do something new to your hair?"

Jesse snorted.

"I like it," Uncle Joe said, c.o.c.king his head to one side. "It's light and...poufy."

134.

"I slept on it funny," Daisy muttered. Then they followed Uncle Joe from room to room as he switched off the other fans and they told him all about the party. He chuckled over Poodles for Pinheads Poodles for Pinheads and then asked, "Where are you three gallivanting off to today?" and then asked, "Where are you three gallivanting off to today?"

"After I take a shower and wash my poufy poufy hair, we're going back up to Old Mine Lane," Daisy told him. hair, we're going back up to Old Mine Lane," Daisy told him.

Uncle Joe grinned. "That's some place, eh? But I'm not sure how Ms. Huffington will feel about you playing Storm the Castle with her brand-new old home."

"Don't worry. She's too busy bossing the landscapers around to even notice us," Daisy said.

"I bet she's showing them who's Top Dog," Uncle Joe said.

The cousins showered and changed clothes and then went down to the kitchen to make lunch, including the entire package of sliced turkey for Emmy. Then they packed Miss Alodie's tin of Knock-'em, Sock-'em Dog Biscuits, the nearly full thermos of valerian tea, their weird earm.u.f.fs, the Toilet Gla.s.s, and, most important of all, Daisy's wildflower notebook with the floor plans of the castle inside it.

135.

After that, they made a quick detour to the Dell to drop off the sphere at the Museum of Magic. While they were disappointed that it was back to being a rust-encrusted sphere, it had certainly proven itself to be even more magical than either of them had ever imagined. On the way to get their bikes, they pa.s.sed the Rock Shop. Uncle Joe called out to them through the screen, "Have fun storming the castle!"

"We will!" they shouted back as they hopped on their bikes and headed off. This time, Daisy led the way and Jesse rode behind holding onto Emmy's leash. They took care riding through town--which was much more lively now that the heat had broken--then rode up into the foothills of the Hobhorn and down to the dead end of Old Mine Lane. They stashed their bikes in some overgrown lilac bushes there near the turnabout and waded through the weeds toward the wall.

"Okay. What's the plan?" Daisy said.

Jesse took out the wildflower notebook, opened to the plans, and pa.s.sed it to Daisy. "We find the secret pa.s.sageway, rescue the professor, and then..." He trailed off.

"Sounds like Storming the Castle to me," said Daisy.

136.

"More like a stealth stealth storm," Jesse said. storm," Jesse said.

Daisy, studying the plans, tried hard to remember the precise position of the towers behind the plywood walls. She turned slowly and stopped, facing the side of the mountain. "If the towers are lined up the way they were back in the kingdom of Uffington, the outside entrance to the secret pa.s.sageway should be right about there," there," she said, pointing to a wall of sheer rock in the side of the hill. she said, pointing to a wall of sheer rock in the side of the hill.

The three of them walked over to the hillside. There they found a neat square hole cut into the rock.

"If I didn't know better," Jesse said, "I'd swear that was a little doggie door."

Daisy nodded. "No way we're going to fit through it."

"So it's probably not the secret pa.s.sageway," Jesse said.

Emmy lifted her head and barked twice, which meant you've got that right you've got that right . .

Daisy was greatly relieved. She hated the idea of crawling into a dark hole, the way they had done the day they had discovered the door in the earth near the barn.

"Okay, now what?" Jesse said.

"Any ideas, Emmy?" Daisy asked.

137.

Perhaps because it wasn't a question that had a one-bark or two-bark answer, Emmy unmasked. Daisy stole a quick look around to make sure they were alone.

Emmy said, "Maybe when the Slayer had this place built, he changed the location of the entrance to the secret pa.s.sage."

"Okay," said Jesse, "so we circle the plywood fence until we find it."

"Plan!" said Daisy. "And if someone comes, Emmy, mask quickly."

"Quick as a lightning bolt!" Emmy a.s.sured her.

Three abreast and s.p.a.ced widely apart, they proceeded to move in a slow circle around the plywood fence. They came upon an old unicycle with a flat tire, a crumpled shopping cart, an ancient icebox, the long front seat of an old pickup truck with the stuffing oozing out, some rusted wire bed-springs, and three busted umbrellas. Eventually, they arrived back where they had started.

That was when Emmy shouted, "Bingo!"

The cousins joined her. She was standing about ten yards away from the sheer rock face, next to a moss-covered statue of a skinny dog facing the castle.

"It's a whippet!" said Jesse.

"What's a whippet?" asked Daisy.

138.

"It's a superskinny dog once bred for hunting. And look," he said, clearing away the moss. "It's got jeweled eyes."

"Wow! Are those real emeralds?" Daisy asked.

"Peridots," said Emmy, peering closely at them. "Trifling stones...compared to emeralds."

Jesse muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Daisy asked him.

"I said, 'yellowish green, like a snake.'" He shivered gloomily. "This is the entrance to the secret pa.s.sageway, all right."

Daisy sc.r.a.ped away the moss from the dog's face and neck. Its slender neck appeared to be jointed. She grasped the head in both hands and tried to move it.

"Let me," said Emmy. She held the head in one hand and turned it easily, like uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the cap on a bottle. The dog's sharp muzzle now pointed toward the cliff face.

Daisy said to Emmy, "Try pressing the eyeb.a.l.l.s."

Emmy poked her talons into the dog's eyeb.a.l.l.s. Sure enough, the eyeb.a.l.l.s could be pressed inward and a section of the cliff face before the three opened up, like a set of sliding stone doors.

139.

CHAPTER EIGHT

A COLD SPELL.

Jesse got that sudden sinking feeling in his chest.

Daisy boldly approached the doorway. Jesse hesitated, then went along with her. Through the wide doorway, a set of marble steps wound off to the right and disappeared into the pitch-dark.

140.

Daisy pounded her forehead and groaned. "We forgot the flashlight!"

"Not a problem!" said Emmy. She knelt and gathered a few rocks from the ground, rubbing them briskly in her hands.

"What are you doing, Em?" Jesse asked.

"I'm making light of things," she said, chuckling. She opened her hands. The stones gave off a bright glow.

"Holy moly," said Daisy.

"Better than a flashlight," said Emmy, "and no batteries required." She handed Jesse a stone. He was afraid it might be hot, but it was as cool as...stone. Emmy handed a stone to Daisy and kept a much larger one for herself.

"All set, then," said Jesse. He remained rooted to the spot, waiting for someone else to make the first move.

"I'm the one with claustrophobia, so you go first," Daisy said, nudging him forward.

"Right," he said, and stepped up to the opening. It was like entering a sort of foyer, with the walls and ceiling all made of the same smooth golden marble as the stairs. The tawny stone sparkled in the light from his hand. It didn't feel feel like an underground s.p.a.ce. It wasn't like the old mine, all made of packed dirt. This was more like an underground like an underground s.p.a.ce. It wasn't like the old mine, all made of packed dirt. This was more like an underground 141.

palace, spanking clean. Why, then, did it make him feel so uneasy? He put on a bold front. "Daze, I don't think you're going to mind this a bit," he told her.

Daisy went behind him, with Emmy at her heels. "Not bad," she said, looking around. "Beats the heck out of tree roots and earthworms." When she spoke, her breath came out in puffs of steam, the way it does on a wintry day.

"Yeah, but somebody forgot to turn on the furnace. It's freezing in here," said Jesse.

Daisy gave him a superior look. "It's just a secret pa.s.sageway, Jess," she said. "We're not moving in."

"Right," Jesse said shortly. "In that case, let's get going." He tramped down the steps as they curved away in the direction of the castle. "So far, so good." But the deeper they went, the colder it got. Jesse's nose started to run and his fingertips grew numb.

"Not good," Emmy said from behind him. "The Scriptorium was much nicer. It smelled good. This place smells...like a doo-doo factory. This place is bad."

"I'm with you there," said Daisy, rubbing her arms for warmth.

Jesse took a whiff. They were right. The air smelled ga.s.sy. "It reminds me of a catacomb!" he said, forcing some enthusiasm into his voice.

142.

"Catacombs are cool. They're basically underground graveyards. I've been to catacombs in Rome and Mexico. They've got cubby holes in the walls crammed with old bones and mummified remains."

"That's all we'd need!" Daisy said sarcastically. "Let's just get on with storming the castle, okay?"

"Okay," said Jesse. "I was only trying to have a little fun."

"We're not here for fun," said Daisy, a deep frown creasing her brow. "We're here on Dragon Keeper business."

"Dragon Keepers can have fun," Jesse said under his breath. What's with Daisy? What's with Daisy? Except for the time she was coming down with chicken pox, he had never seen her act so grumpy. It made him grumpy just to be around her. He continued down the winding stairs, his sneakers soundless on the smooth stone steps, until he came to the bottom. The narrow hallway ahead extended a few yards and then ended at a stone wall, with pa.s.sageways branching off to the right and left. Except for the time she was coming down with chicken pox, he had never seen her act so grumpy. It made him grumpy just to be around her. He continued down the winding stairs, his sneakers soundless on the smooth stone steps, until he came to the bottom. The narrow hallway ahead extended a few yards and then ended at a stone wall, with pa.s.sageways branching off to the right and left.

"Looks like we've run into a T T intersection here." Jesse stopped and turned to Daisy and Emmy. "Right or left?" he asked. intersection here." Jesse stopped and turned to Daisy and Emmy. "Right or left?" he asked.

"Impossible." Daisy went alongside him and held her glowing stone over the notebook. "See for yourself," she said. "There's no T T here." here."

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Jesse said, "Well, I'm looking at a T T in this pa.s.sageway. Are you sure you copied the plans down right? You were in a rush." in this pa.s.sageway. Are you sure you copied the plans down right? You were in a rush."

Daisy scowled. "Of course I copied them down right!"

"Well, I'm only saying...," Jesse said, moving the stone of light first one way, then the other.

"And I'm I'm only saying," said Daisy, narrowing her eyes, "that I copied down exactly what was in Balthazaar's notebook, and the underground pa.s.sage went in a straight line to the castle. No only saying," said Daisy, narrowing her eyes, "that I copied down exactly what was in Balthazaar's notebook, and the underground pa.s.sage went in a straight line to the castle. No T." T."

Jesse folded his arms across his chest. What's her problem? What's her problem? It's not like she was cutting wings. "Fine!" he told her. "But that doesn't help us figure out which way to go, now, does it?" It's not like she was cutting wings. "Fine!" he told her. "But that doesn't help us figure out which way to go, now, does it?"

"Why are you looking at me me ? Why do I always have to be the one to make the decisions?" she said. ? Why do I always have to be the one to make the decisions?" she said.

"Maybe because you're you're the one who gets all grumpy unless it's you making the decisions," Jesse said. "Listen to yourself! You are being the one who gets all grumpy unless it's you making the decisions," Jesse said. "Listen to yourself! You are being so so grumpy right now. Isn't she being a grump, Emmy?" grumpy right now. Isn't she being a grump, Emmy?"

Emmy turned her head away to avoid taking sides.

"A grump?" Daisy said. "At least I'm not a worrywart like some people I could name!"

"Grump."

"Worrywart."

144.

"Bossy."