He shouted back, and I found him down on the floor hiding between two rows of train seats. He was shaking as I helped him up.
“You won’t tell any girls that I hid?” he asked worriedly as I helped him up.
“Probably not,” I answered, as if I actually spoke to any girls ever about anything.
“I just wanted to see the secret room,” he moaned.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “I thought you loved trains.”
“Not anymore.”
I helped Wyatt out of the train, and we left the cave as fast as we could. Kate was almost completely moth free and she helped swat bugs off Wyatt and me.
By the time I got home it was four-thirty in the morning. There was no way I could go straight to bed, so I took a shower and discovered smashed moths in places on my body that no moth should ever go.
After my shower I laid down in bed. My mind was racing a thousand miles an hour as I thought about what we had found and what it all meant. A hidden cave, a rusty old train with tracks that lead right up to the garage—it was all pretty confusing. I wanted my dad to be here so I could find out what he knew. I thought my mind was really buzzing, but I realized it was just a tiny moth in my ear.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” I quickly flicked it out.
I fell asleep to the sound of roosters crowing.
Illustration from page 19 of The Grim Knot
CHAPTER 10
Rock It
By the time I woke up, it technically was no longer Sunday morning. It was just after noon, and sunshine was streaming through my window. When I looked out, I couldn’t see a single cloud. Because the weather around the manor was usually overcast and wet, a truly clear day made everything amazing.
Millie chastised me for sleeping in and called me overindulgent. She then fed me the biggest lunch I had ever eaten. My father still hadn’t come back, and Millie was extremely concerned about it.
“He never leaves the manor,” she worried.
“He left a note,” I reminded her. “If he was in trouble, he would have just disappeared.”
Millie put a large slice of coconut cream pie on my plate and then sprinkled it with roasted coconut flakes. When she failed to offer me ice cream with it, I could tell that she was really upset.
“Maybe you should take a vacation,” I said kindly.
Millie stared at me. “Now what would I do with time off? I’d just sit around and worry even more about you and your father.”
“But wouldn’t it be more fun to worry about us if you were on a beach vacationing?”
“I burn easily,” Millie said as if that settled it.
I had wisely made plans to meet Kate and Wyatt near the field filled with boulders at two o’clock. So I still had a little time to myself. I ran back up to my floor and over to the south wing. I went through the small green door and slid open the mirror. The thin stairway was dark, but not as dark as before. I could see little cracks of light at the top of the walls and some slipping in under the bottom of them. I closed the mirror behind me and climbed the stairs.
I made it to the top of the slide and looked down. I could see the actual slide better. It was a highly polished wood, and the ceiling was so low I couldn’t believe I had made it down without severely hurting myself. There were torn cobwebs
everywhere.
“I survived last time,” I told myself as I sat down and pushed off.
The ride was much more enjoyable when I could sort of see. I flew around one of the corners and my right leg twisted throwing me down a different track. I hadn’t seen the fork in the slide the other night, but I could tell from all the intact cobwebs that nobody had been on the stretch I was now zipping down for quite some time. I whizzed around a sharp corner and then down a long dip. My shoulders bashed against the walls and my hands kept hitting the ceiling.
The slide came to an abrupt end in a long, skinny room with high walls. As I slowly stood up, I saw a small piece of wood about eye level hanging on one of the walls. I slid the wood to the side and there were two small peepholes. I looked through them, and I could see into one of the lavish rooms on the bottom floor in the main wing. It was a closed-off room and most of the furniture was covered with white sheets. It was actually one of the more furnished rooms. So many pieces of furniture from the manor had been sold by Millie and Thomas to pay for taxes when they thought they were in charge of the bills. Once my father explained to them that there was money in places they didn’t know about, the selling of furniture had ceased.
I slid the tiny board that covered the eyeholes back into place and began searching the small, narrow room for some way out. I was just about to try climbing back up the slide when I noticed that one of the boards on the wall had an indentation in it about waist high. I stuck one of my thumbs into the indentation and a lower section of the wall slid to the side. I crawled through the opening and out into the large room. The door was actually part of the room’s dark wood wainscoting and once it was moved back into place I could hardly tell where it was. I found a small thumbhole on the baseboard that let me open it back up, and I studied the location for a few minutes.
I stood up and looked at the portrait above me on the wall. It was a painting of a lady with a high feathery hat and wrinkly eyes. As I looked at her closely, I saw that the peepholes I had found in the adjoining room were right where her eyes were. I hadn’t slid the board all the way back into place so she sort of looked like a loon. A small, gold plaque on the bottom of the frame said, “Lady Harrington.”
I left the room and went down a long hall and out one of the rear doors. The back gardens had once been completely overgrown but now Scott kept up a large section directly behind the manor. Sunshine spread across the trees and the mountains like butter. The simile probably would have made me hungry, but I was stuffed from lunch.
By the time I got to the boulder fields Kate was there waiting. I thought she would have a hard time getting away from her house, but she said her parents were in town. As usual she looked bored and considerably older than sixteen.
“Think Wyatt will come?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “He was pretty shaken up last night.”
I gazed out over the rockslide. It was an amazing sight. It looked like a massive stone river flowing from the middle of the mountains all the way down into the valley—with the sun out, all the rocks sparkled brilliantly. There were rocks of all sizes, but the majority of the stones were about the size of the one I had thrown into them so many months ago.
“Maybe we should start without Wyatt,” I suggested. “This might take a while.”
“You think?” Kate asked. “What area did you throw it in?”
I re-created my steps on that fateful day. “The last dragon had just been killed and the stone dropped,” I narrated. “I picked up the stone and ran through those trees. I got to the edge of the stone field and was about to throw it when my father stopped me. We talked and then I threw it right over there.”
“Did you see where it landed?”
“I turned around so I wouldn’t see,” I told her.
“How noble,” Kate said. “How far do you think it went?”
I shrugged. Kate picked up a rock from the ground and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said politely, wishing somebody would actually give me a good gift.
Kate shook her head. “No, if you throw that as hard as you threw the stone, it will help us figure out where it might have fallen.”
I moved to where I thought I had been standing all those months ago. “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” I said. “It won’t be completely accurate because I’m probably stronger than I was then.”
“Give me a break,” Kate said. “Throw it.”
The stone I was holding was actually pretty heavy. I swung my arms and then threw it. I turned around so I wouldn’t see it fall.
“Why are you turned around?” Kate laughed.
“Oh yeah,” I said, embar
rassed. “Did you see where it went?”
Kate nodded her head and pointed. It looked like she was pointing only a few feet away.
“It had to go further than that,” I asserted.
“Maybe you’re weaker now,” she suggested.
“Funny, get me another rock.”
Kate handed me a second rock and I threw it as hard as I could. This time I didn’t look away. It wasn’t a very impressive throw either.
“Let’s just start looking,” I suggested.
We slowly began to walk through the rocks searching for the one I had thrown originally. The rocks all looked so similar. I tried to feel as many as I could, hoping the real rock would glow under my touch.
“Is this it?” Kate asked, holding up a stone.
“No,” I said. “The end’s too square.”
“Maybe it got chipped off when you dropped it,” Kate said.
“I didn’t drop it, I threw it.”
“Right,” Kate smiled.
I walked over and touched the rock she was holding. It didn’t glow. After about half an hour I started to get depressed. I thought it would be a little easier to find, but I was starting to see stones that weren’t even there. The sunshine didn’t help either, it just made the rocks look like billions of bleached bumps.
I was about to complain some more when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around expecting to see Wyatt, but instead I saw nothing but a tree.
“Um, Kate,” I said as she continued looking down at the stones. “Kate!”
Kate looked over toward me and gasped.
One of the tallest trees on the edge of the stone field was bending over. A long branch near the bottom of it was poking me. I stepped back and my left foot got wedged in between two stones. As I pulled it out, I lost my balance and fell hard on my rear. My teeth bit down on my tongue.
“Aawuch.”
Kate was now standing behind me, and we both were staring up at the bending tree. It was tall and curved like a rainbow. Kate and I scooted back. It creaked and chirped as it further contorted itself. Squirrels and birds were leaping out of the branches and scrambling down the arched trunk.
“Unbelievable,” Kate whispered.
I was pretty impressed, but after all the things I had seen since I had moved to Kingsplot, it wasn’t actually unbelievable to me.
The top of the tree bent further and further until it was two feet from the ground. It thrust its crown forward, reaching for something.
“What the heck is it doing?” I whispered.
Kate was too in awe to answer. So we both watched in silence as the tree extended some of its upper branches to stretch even farther.
“It’s trying to get something,” I said.
The tree was bent over as far as it could, reaching over the river of rock. The longest top branch extended from the top of the tree by a good three feet. The thin branch shook and wiggled trying to reach farther. The tree’s roots began to slowly pull up from the dirt as it stretched and lengthened.
“It’s looking for the stone,” I said in amazement. “It wants us to find it.”
I stood up, and both of us stepped carefully toward where the top of the tree was. It yanked its roots out a couple of more inches. The long top branch lowered just a bit more and gently touched the back of a single stone that was half buried by other small boulders.
Kate pushed me forward and I bent down to get the rock. The tree kept its branch on it until I had picked it up.
Instantly the stone glowed in my hands. I felt chills running from the bottom of my feet up into my forehead. I held the stone in one hand and reached out to pet the top of the tree with my other.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
“It’s not a dog,” Kate pointed out.
The tree creaked and wriggled and then with one loud slap, it sprang back up. A squirrel that had not been wise enough to get off went flying through the air as the tree wobbled to a stiff stop.
“That was helpful,” Kate said, staring at the once again tall tree.
“They’ve been so mean to me lately.”
“I think they just wanted you to do what you’re supposed to.”
Wyatt came running out of the forest and stopped at the edge of the rocks. He was breathing hard and his hair was sweaty.
“Sorry I’m late,” he heaved. “You already found it?”
Kate and I both nodded.
“Was it hard to find?” he asked.
“Not really,” I answered.
We made our way back to the manor watching out for signs of anyone else. Just to be nice, I let Wyatt carry the heavy stone so he could feel needed.
I’m not sure he appreciated it as much as I thought he should.
Illustration from page 20 of The Grim Knot
CHAPTER 11
Don’t Stop Me
We placed the stone in the water beneath the twisted snake statue. Then I took Kate and Wyatt inside. I showed them the cool little green door and we went through the mirror and hiked up the slender, winding staircase. When we got to the top of the slide I warned them about staying to the right if they saw a fork. I also told them that if they ended up in the other room they should just look through the painting until I got there.
Kate practically jumped down the slide, and, after waiting a few moments, Wyatt followed. I took my turn, and when I reached the end, they were both standing there begging to go again.
“You could travel anywhere in this house without anybody knowing,” Kate said excitedly. “Let’s go again.”
It was tempting, but I knew we had to get back to the cave while it was still daylight. Wyatt wanted to opt out, but after I promised him he could just wait outside of the cave, he agreed to go.
We retrieved the stone from the fountain and I put it inside a backpack. It was heavy, but not half as bad as actually carrying it with my hands. I definitely preferred hiking through the woods during the day versus trudging through them at night. We made much better time and the trees didn’t attack me like they had before.
When we reached the side of the mountain where the stairs began, we all grumbled, but we knew there was no easier way.
“Actually,” Wyatt said. “If I’m just going to wait at the top of the stairs, I might as well just wait at the bottom.”
We made fun of him until he agreed to at least climb up with us. The stone stairs were very cool. I hadn’t been able to see too much of them last night so it was amazing to take them all in. They were carved right into the side of the mountain and covered by trees that grew sideways out of the stone wall. The trees did a fantastic job of hiding the stairs and the train tracks that ran up the slope of the mountain. On the side of the stairs were tiny carvings of small gargoyle-like beings that were pointing in different directions.
Halfway up the stairs I gave Wyatt the backpack to carry. I offered it to Kate first but she declined. When we reached the moss wall we were all breathing hard. The section of moss growing on the stone was at least twenty feet high and fifteen feet wide. And the hole we had made last night was about the size of a car standing up on its back end. I looked through the opening carefully.
“Any moths?” Wyatt asked.
“Only dead ones,” I said, pointing to the ground.
“Good,” Wyatt cheered. “After what they did to me on the train, they don’t deserve to live.”
The light from outdoors pushed in through the opening and lit the front cavern up pretty well. I could see the train and it looked like a giant metal monster that was sound asleep.
“Come on, Kate,” I waved.
Kate and I walked over to the train. We were kicking up dead moths and the sound of our shuffling bounced off the high stone walls. We walked back to the large steel door. Kate was holding onto my right arm, and I could see Wyatt right beside me. I stopped, and we all slammed into each other.
“What are you doing?” Wyatt asked.
“I thought you were going to wait outside,” I said.
/> “It’s the kid that waits outside who always gets eaten,” Wyatt explained.
“Yeah, that was our plan,” I said, walking again. I stopped after three steps.
“What now?” Kate asked.
“Well, since the lights aren’t on, the back cavern is going to be pretty dark,” I informed her.
“Just go,” Kate said. “We’ll close the door to the tunnel and then we can come back and turn the lights on.”
I knew the plan, I just wasn’t totally happy about having to walk through the huge, dark cavern. Luckily it wasn’t as black as I thought it would be. The large open door gave all the boxes and obstacles some definition. We made it to the back, closed the tunnel door, and slid the bolt into place. Kate noticed a switch near the back tunnels and, when she threw it on, the place lit up.
“Wow, this room is huge,” I said in wonder.
I unzipped the backpack and took the stone out. It glowed in my hand like one of the dim lights on the walls.
“Are you sure about this?” Wyatt asked, actually being the voice of reason for the first time in his life.
“I don’t think I have a choice,” I replied. “The trees will beat me up if I don’t.”
“It’ll just grow one dragon, right?” Kate asked. “That’s it?”
I nodded, pretending I was an expert on the subject. “That old guy said it’ll be the queen.”
“Will she have a crown?” Wyatt asked seriously.
Kate and I both stared at him.
“What?” he said defensively. “I don’t know anything about queen dragons.”
“Obviously,” Kate smiled.
“All right,” I said with just a touch of nervousness. “I’ll plant it now.”
All three of us just stood there.
“Go on,” Kate finally said as she nudged me forward.
I didn’t move.
“Don’t even try to stop me,” I insisted.
Wyatt took a turn nudging me. I’m not completely sure why I was so hesitant. Ever since I had killed the last dragon I had wanted to see another one. They were amazing, and the time Kate and I had spent with them provided some of the most incredible moments of my life. But I also knew what they could do. Not only could they tear apart houses and light buildings on fire, they also had the ability to make my family even crazier. My family’s history was filled with the ill effects that dragons and their power had on us. The women had gone mad. My own father had exiled himself to the top of the manor just so he wouldn’t be tempted to abuse the power. I knew it was in my blood to use them for the wrong reasons, and I was more than just a little concerned about that. I wanted to be a better person, and I wasn’t sure this was a step in the right direction.