فصل 10

CHAPTER 10

“WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING”

SARAH AND AIDAN WERE BEYOND TIRED, but sleep didn’t come easily; they both kept glancing toward the window, although there was never anything there. Finally, exhaustion overcame fear, and they slept.

They awoke to the sound of their father’s voice through the door, informing them they’d be eating breakfast in half an hour. It was just past eight o’clock; sunshine streamed through the window that, only hours earlier, had been a gateway for terror. Sarah sat on her bed staring at the golden box, which rested on the nightstand next to the stack of books. Aidan stumbled into the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later with a stream of toothpaste dribbling from the corner of his mouth. Sarah had not moved.

“I’ve been thinking about what we should do with it,” he said.

“Me too,” she said.

“I think we need to give it to the police.”

Sarah turned to her brother. “No,” she said.

“Why not?”

“I don’t trust the police.”

“Why not?”

“They could be in on it. They could be working for…” She nodded toward the window.

“Why would you think that?”

Sarah gestured toward the books. “Because the police were in on it before. Anybody could be in on it.”

“Those are stories, Sarah.”

“And so far they’ve turned out to be true.”

“Good point. But we don’t know the police are involved.”

“We don’t know anything,” said Sarah. “Which is why we have to be very, very careful about what we do with the box.”

“Maybe we should give it to Dad and Mom.”

“I thought about that, too,” said Sarah. “But two things. One, they’d be really mad at us for sneaking off to the caves and all—we’d be grounded for a minimum of forever. And two, they’d probably give the box to the police.”

“But we could tell them about the birds, about…Ombra.”

Sarah looked at her brother. “Do you think they’d believe it? Would you believe it? That some evil creature from a storybook has taken the form of a flock of birds?”

Aidan hesitated, then quietly said, “No.”

“Exactly,” said Sarah. “They’d send us to a shrink. And there’s one more thing.”

“Which is?”

“We have starstuff, Aidan. We can fly. It was amazing, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I want to fly again. And who knows what else we can do with it?”

“If Ombra doesn’t get us, you mean.”

“Well, now we know he’s out there,” said Sarah. “So we’ll be ready.”

“Ready how?”

“I’m working on that part.”

Aidan rolled his eyes and was about to say something when there was another tap on the door.

“Let’s go, kids!” said Tom.

“Coming,” said Sarah. She rose and picked up the golden box.

“What’re you going to do with that?” whispered Aidan.

“Hide it,” said Sarah, looking around the room. Her eyes fell on the cabinet that held the television. She went to it and pulled the TV out and sideways a few inches, making an opening just big enough for the box. She slid it into the cabinet and pushed the TV back into place.

“C’mon, kids!” said Tom.

“Okay, okay!” said Sarah, opening the door. She and Aidan followed Tom and Natalie down the hallway to the elevators, passing a man in a hotel uniform and overcoat carrying a room-service tray. As they boarded an elevator, Tom was enthusiastically discussing the day’s sightseeing options; Aidan and Sarah were silent.

“What’s wrong with you two?” Natalie asked.

“Nothing,” said Sarah. “Tired, I guess.”

“Me too,” yawned Aidan.

“Really?” said Natalie. “You two went to bed plenty early last night.”

“I had trouble sleeping,” said Sarah. “Bad dreams.”

“Me too,” said Aidan. “Terrible dreams.”

Natalie shook her head. “You kids have hyperactive imaginations,” she said. “You’re in London, on vacation, with your parents, in a nice hotel. What on earth is there to be afraid of?”

Aidan and Sarah looked at each other, but said nothing.

“I blame video games,” said Tom.

“Right,” said Aidan. “Video games.”