Naomi and the other members of The Five flitted about the room like murderous butterflies. One of the girls arranged six martini glasses and a pitcher filled with a milky blue liquid on the table in the center of the room, while Jacob Harcott and Thomas Vandervoort remained wrapped like mummies on the floor.
“Shouldn’t we untie Jacob and Thomas?” one of The Five asked Naomi.
“Not yet. Sidonia said to wait,” Naomi responded in a businesslike fashion. Hearing this, the two boys grunted loudly in protest, and thumped their heads against the floor. But nothing could entice the girls to disobey the Princess and come to their rescue.
Naomi glided across the room to where Kiki was strapped to her chair. Leaning over, she slapped Kiki’s injured cheek.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” she sang. “This is your big day—you don’t want to miss any of it!”
Kiki’s eyes flickered open. She stared at Naomi, showing no sign of fear. Then she lowered her head and peered down at the floor. I followed the path of her gaze and realized that my chair sat just inches from the edge of the trapdoor that led to the Shadow City. Kiki’s head snapped up and our eyes met. I knew she had seen something, and I wished I could read her mind. If she had a plan, I had no idea what it might be. She arched an eyebrow, gave me a wink, and turned to face Naomi.
“I wouldn’t start celebrating, Naomi. You’re in as much danger as we are,” Kiki whispered in a raspy voice.
“If you let us go, we can help you escape before it’s too late.”
“Danger?” giggled Naomi. “Look around you, Thumbelina. This is my boyfriend’s warehouse. I don’t see any danger here, do you? And even if I did, why on earth would I let you go?”
“You’re out of your league, Naomi,” Kiki warned. “Sidonia’s more dangerous than you know. This is a stupid way to stay popular.”
“Oh, shush,” said Naomi playfully. “You’re talking about my best friend.”
“Don’t tell me you’re taunting the prisoners, Naomi.” The Princess’s voice echoed through the opium den. She was slinking down the ladder from the warehouse, her movements as graceful as a cat’s.
“Sorry, Your Highness,” said Naomi. “The albino doesn’t know when to shut up.”
“She’ll be quiet now,” the Princess said in a cool, confident voice as she stepped off the ladder. Her eyes took in everything in the room. “I have a feeling she wants to hear what I have to say. Tell the guards to leave us.”
Naomi nodded to the Fu-Tsang, and they climbed up the ladder to the warehouse and shut the trapdoor behind them.
Once they were gone, the Princess crossed the room, her eyes glinting like gold and her long black mane swaying behind her. Her perfect posture and confident stride were as regal as any queen’s. She stopped in front of us and peered down at her captive with a self-satisfied smile.
“Kiki Strike … that is what you’re calling yourself these days, isn’t it?” the Princess asked. “I suppose it’s not a bad choice. Your real name is a bit of a mouthful.”
Real name? I looked over at Kiki, who was staring at the Princess defiantly, refusing to speak.
“Try not to look so glum, Kiki. You should feel flattered!” exclaimed the Princess. “I planned all of this for you. The kidnappings, the robberies—even the parties. All of it just to get your attention. Oh, look,” she said, pointing at Naomi. “You’ve hurt Naomi’s feelings. You have to admit she’s a wonderful actress. She’s given the performance of a lifetime hosting my Bannerman Balls.”
Kiki Strike showed no interest in the Princess’s performance. Instead, she was staring at the pink diamond ring on her captor’s hand.
“I see that you like my ring,” the Princess said, with a nasty smile. She held the diamond up to the light and sprayed Kiki’s face with tiny rainbows. “They say the diamond’s cursed. Most people who’ve worn it have met with a terrible fate. But I consider it my personal good luck charm. After all, it’s what brought the two of us together.”
The Princess pulled a chair toward us and sat down across from Kiki.
“It’s a remarkable story,” she said, crossing her long legs and toying with the diamond on her finger. “Two years ago, this ring was stolen. As you might imagine, I was terribly upset. It’s a family heirloom, and I thought it was gone forever. Then suddenly it reappeared—under very mysterious circumstances. Just as I was about to punish the wrong person, I received a letter that told me where to find the missing ring. When Naomi described the strange girl who had written the note, I knew it could only be you.
“You see, my mother had always warned me that one day a sickly child and an old woman might try to kill us and steal our jewels. Do you know how terrifying it is to believe you might be murdered at any moment? My mother couldn’t tell me what you looked like, of course, but she told me to keep an eye out for anyone unusual. And the white-haired ghost girl who told me where to find the ring was nothing if not unusual.
“It’s funny, though,” the Princess laughed. “I might never have known you were in New York if you had only let Naomi keep the ring.”
“Me? Keep the ring?” Naomi squealed. “What are you talking about, Sidonia? I didn’t steal your ring.”
“Oh, shut up, Naomi,” said the Princess pleasantly. “I always knew it was you. You’d robbed half the lockers at Atalanta before you finally got round to mine.”
I stopped searching for escape routes and tried to make sense of it all. Kiki had been after the Princess all along? And Sidonia was responsible for the kidnappings and robberies? Were there any good guys in this story?
The Princess stood up and began to pace the room.
“I waited for you to come back to school,” she continued, “but you must have known I’d identified you. If you were smart, you would have disappeared for good. But you just couldn’t bear to leave me alone. The night my house was flooded, I knew you had caused the explosion. I insisted that my mother’s men search the neighborhood. One of them found that dismal little shack where you and Verushka Kozlova were living. But somehow you both escaped. That’s when I knew I had to come up with a plan of my own. I had to kill you before you could kill me. Thank goodness I found this.”
I gasped when the Princess held up a disk with my own handwriting on the front. It was the CD with the maps.
“I was dying to know more about you,” said the Princess, “so I dropped by the house where you had been hiding. My mother’s men had left the place in an awful mess. I found pillows ripped open, bullet holes in the walls—and this CD lying on the floor. I had just picked it up when your friends arrived. I’m afraid I ran off without saying hello.
“When I got home, I took a look at the files on the disk. The minute I saw it, I could tell the map of the tunnels was important. It explained how you had gotten under my house. But there was a second map on the CD that didn’t seem terribly interesting. All it showed were water pipes and subway stations.
“If it hadn’t been for Mitzi Mulligan, I might never have realized how important the NYCMap map really was. I suppose I should thank the little brown-noser. Without Mitzi, none of us would be here today.”
I remembered Mitzi’s strange behavior at the hospital. She had known something after all. I promised myself I’d make her pay if I ever got out alive.
“For ages, Mitzi had been bragging about a top-secret map that her father had developed,” the Princess continued. “At first I couldn’t have cared less. Who needs maps when you have a chauffeur? But then I realized that she was talking about the map on your disk. Of course, Mitzi had told me how dangerous the NYCMap could be. She said that anyone with all three layers could destroy New York. That’s when I came up with my plan. I knew the NYCMap would make the perfect bait. If someone were to steal it, you’d come out of hiding to find it. Then I’d be able to get you out of the way once and for all.
“I already had the bottom layer of the map, but I knew kidnapping Mitzi would get your attention. Her father would have given me anything in
exchange for his little girl. But when you didn’t take the bait I realized I’d have to kidnap two more people to get the other layers. Unfortunately, I was a little short on cash. I hadn’t anticipated how expensive the first Bannerman Ball would be. So I used your map of the tunnels to rob the Chinatown Savings and Loan. By the way, I’m impressed that you made it past the rats in the tunnels tonight. Five members of the Fu-Tsang gang were eaten alive during the Chinatown Savings and Loan robbery alone. Perhaps you’ll be kind enough to tell us how you did it?”
Kiki Strike arched an eyebrow and shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter,” said the Princess with a shrug. “I already have what I want.”
“How did you know I’d come after the NYCMap?” asked Kiki.
“She speaks!” exclaimed the Princess, clapping her hands together with excitement. “I’m so glad you asked. I was beginning to think you were deaf as well as dumb. You see, your problem is that you’re terribly predictable. Think about it. You followed my mother and me all the way to New York, but once you were here, you couldn’t stop yourself from helping every little nobody who crossed your path. So I knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if someone stole the NYCMap. You’d have to go after them. All I had to do to get your attention was kidnap a few silly girls. Then, to make sure no one suspected me, I simply kidnapped myself. I’m still surprised by how easy it’s been.
The Princess sauntered over to Naomi and threw an arm around her friend’s shoulder.
“But what am I saying? It must sound like I’m taking all the credit. I could never have done this alone. Thanks to all your noble deeds, there was no shortage of people who were willing to help me. Naomi, Mr. Harcott, and Mr. Vandervoort were all dying to lend a hand. And when Jacob told his father we were going to punish the person who’d tipped off the police about the counterfeit shoes in his warehouse, the Harcotts even put this wonderful room at our disposal. Of course, the Fu-Tsang gang didn’t want to miss out on the fun, either. They lost a fortune when the warehouse was raided. We have them to thank for the Devil’s Apple. They’ll be delighted when you’re dead. And I must say, I’ll find it a bit of a relief myself.”
“It’s a brilliant plan, Sidonia,” admitted Kiki. “But you’re wrong about one thing. I never wanted to kill you,” said Kiki.
“No? Well you must have wanted something badly,” said Sidonia. “Wait a second. It can’t be this old thing, can it?” Her dimples flashed as she held up the diamond ring.
“That ring was my mother’s,” Kiki stated calmly. “I will get it back.”
“Why would I let you have it, when my own mother went to such trouble to take it?” asked the Princess. “Do you have any idea how risky it is to poison an entire royal family? Particularly when one of them is your own sister? Things like that can get a girl hanged.”
The Princess glanced over at Oona and me and laughed. “Just look at your little friends. Their eyes almost popped out of their heads. I suppose you never told them they were in the presence of royalty. That’s right,” she said, addressing us, “the midget is my cousin. Her mother was Princess Sophia, my mother’s older sister.”
“Your mother is a murderer and a thief,” snarled Kiki. “She poisoned my parents so she could be queen. Every penny you have, every single thing you own, she stole from us.”
“Yes, Mother’s an amazing woman, isn’t she? Someday, I hope to follow in her footsteps. But first I have to clean up one of the loose ends that she left. You see, Mother made one dreadful mistake. She let a lowly servant escape with the littlest member of the royal family.”
“Verushka’s no servant,” Kiki said as if stating a simple fact. “She was a member of the Pokrovian royal guard. And if I don’t return home by morning, she’ll hunt you down.”
“A crippled old woman is hardly a challenge. From what I hear, she couldn’t even dodge a bullet when she was still in her prime. But your point is well taken. Once I watch you die, she’ll be next on my list. That little house of yours should be easy to reach by helicopter.”
I thought I saw Kiki flinch. “Don’t tell me you’re going to kill me in front of all these witnesses,” she said. “That wouldn’t be smart, Sidonia. They don’t look very trustworthy.”
The Princess tied a gag across Kiki’s face, then knelt down between us to whisper in her ear. “There aren’t going to be any witnesses,” I heard her say. “Once you’re dead, there’s going to be a terrible fire. Everyone’s going to die.”
The Princess walked to the table in the center of the room. She put her stun gun down, picked up the pitcher, and poured five glasses of the pale blue liquid. One by one, she handed the drinks to Naomi and The Five. The last she kept for herself.
“A toast!” cried the Princess, and all five girls raised their glasses to the ceiling. “For years, she’s been the bane of my existence, the fly in my ointment, the worm in my apple. But today, we’re here to bid a fond adieu to the remarkable Kiki Strike. From this day forward, this city will be ours for the picking, and there won’t be a soul who can stop us.
“For me, this day is bittersweet, for I say good-bye not only to my archenemy, but to my only cousin—the true heir to the crown of Pokrovia. So here’s to you, Princess Katarina. It’s a shame the world isn’t big enough for both of us.”
The girls clinked their glasses, and all but the Princess lifted the drinks to their mouths. Naomi had only just swallowed when the glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor. Her knees buckled, and she grasped for the edge of the table to steady herself. One by one, the members of The Five began to drop to the ground like overripe fruit. Their eyes swam inside their heads before they fell into a deep, drug-induced sleep. Naomi struggled to stand, but her head wobbled around on her neck and her legs refused to straighten.
“Why?” she asked the Princess, but before she could hear the response, Naomi fell face-first onto the straw mats, her beautiful green dress spread out around her and her golden hair sweeping the ground.
“Why?” asked the Princess, stepping over the bodies of The Five as she walked toward us. “Why not? By the way,” she said to Kiki, “you were right about Naomi. She would have done anything to stay popular. It impaired her judgment. Popularity isn’t the object of this game. You and I know what’s really important. It’s power—and the fact of the matter is, I’d rather not share mine with anyone.”
The Princess pulled the gag out of Kiki’s mouth.
“You won’t be needing this anymore,” she said. “As you can see, there’s no one left to warn.”
“Did you kill them?” asked Kiki.
“Oh, no. I just gave them a dose of their own medicine, that’s all. That’ll teach them to get mixed up with drugs.
“No, you’re the only person I plan to kill with my own two hands,” the Princess told Kiki. “The fire I set will take care of the rest of them. With all these straw mats and pillows, the place should burn in no time. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Family first, I always say.”
The Princess bent down in front of Oona and me.
“Now. As for you, squid girl, I’ll bet you’re wishing you had never gotten mixed up with this midget. Just look at all the trouble she’s gotten you in. But don’t worry. She’s going to pay for it, and you lucky girls get to watch. I bet you’re wondering how I’m going to do it, right? Well, I’m not going to leave you in suspense any longer.
“I want you to close your eyes and think back. Do you ever recall having seen your friend eat? Now, think hard. Maybe a sandwich? A piece of fruit? A candy bar? No? I didn’t think so. You see, when your friend was just a baby, my mother poisoned her entire family. She may have survived, but according to our royal physician, she was left with what’s called an Achilles’ heel—a fatal weakness. You’ve never seen your friend eat because she’s allergic to almost everything. Even a breath mint could kill her. That’s why she’s such a miserable runt.
“So. Now for the good part. You’ve heard of death by chocol
ate? I bet you always thought it was just a meaningless turn of phrase. Well, you’re about to witness it firsthand. They say anaphylactic shock is a gruesome way to go. The tongue swells, the airways close, and then the heart practically explodes. Not very pretty, and extremely painful. The perfect ending for a little princess, wouldn’t you say?”
The Princess reached into her pocket and retrieved a bar of chocolate wrapped in gold foil. She tore it open and snapped off a square.
“I’ve chosen the very best for your last meal, Katarina. They claim this Belgian chocolate is worth its weight in gold. So go ahead. Open wide.”
I expected something to happen. At the very least, I thought Kiki would have a few last words. Instead, she obediently opened her mouth and allowed the Princess to pop the chocolate inside.
“Don’t forget to chew,” laughed the Princess.
Kiki chewed slowly and swallowed.
“Delicious,” she said, licking her lips, which were beginning to swell. Within seconds, her face had turned a deathly shade of blue. She gasped for breath, her chest heaving against her restraints. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body began to shake violently. Watching her struggle, I felt as if my own breath were being sucked out of my body. I fought against the duct tape, desperately trying to help her. If I couldn’t break free, Kiki would die.
Suddenly, someone in the warehouse above began pounding on the entrance to the opium den.
“Dayb got choo,” whispered Kiki, her tongue too swollen to speak.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” said the Princess. “That’s what’s so brilliant about my plan. By now mother has reported my kidnapping. The police think I’m a victim, too. Unfortunately, my kidnappers will die in a terrible fire before anyone can find their hiding place. I’ll be the only one to escape.”
She left Kiki writhing in her chair and climbed up the ladder to the warehouse. I heard her speaking with one of the guards. The police had surrounded the building. DeeDee and Luz must have gotten suspicious when they couldn’t contact us. As the Princess issued her terse instructions, I heard a faint crack from beneath my chair. I looked down to see the hidden trapdoor to the Shadow City rise six inches. Two small hands emerged, one holding a butcher knife. With a quick swipe, the knife cut through the duct tape that bound my hands. Before I could move, what felt like a long glass tube was pressed into my palm. The hands then freed Oona’s arms and passed the knife to her.