Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

A frantic pounding awakened her. She groaned as she glanced at the clock.

"What time is it?" Dewey asked.

"It's like six in the morning."

"Why don't these people sleep?" Dewey moaned.

"Coming!" Paige answered as she dragged herself from the bed and shuffled to the door.

She tugged it open to find a breathless Damien waiting on the other side. He grinned at her. "We found something."

Her heart ramped up as adrenaline seeped into her veins, awakening her. "You did?"

"Yeah. Meet me downstairs. We have breakfast, too."

"Somebody say breakfast?" Dewey asked as he appeared at the door. "What kind?"

"Eggs, bacon, pancakes– "

Dewey buzzed past him into the hall. "Lead the way, my good man. You had me at bacon."

"Awesome. And the blueberry scones are good, too."

Dewey rubbed his paws together as they made their way down the hall. "I can't wait to try them. All the food, really. "

"He loves food. So, what did you find on the other front?" Paige asked.

"Can you let us eat first?" Dewey asked.

"How about if we talk about it while we eat?" Damien suggested.

"Good plan," Dewey answered with a nod as they descended the stairs.

They made their way to a formal dining room. The scent of food lingered in the air, and Dewey buzzed straight to the sideboard loaded with a variety of eats. "Oh, boy, Al, you really put on a spread."

He loaded his plate with everything, including the blueberry scones, and buzzed to the table, hovering there for a moment with a frown. "You don't happen to have a booster seat, do you?"

"Just a second," Damien said, disappearing from the room.

He returned with a few throw cushions and tossed them on a chair. "There you go."

"Thanks," Dewey said as he perched on the pillows and dug into his meal.

Paige slid into the seat next to him with a full plate. "Thank you for breakfast and your help. So, you found something?"

"I think so," Damien said. "Celine's running it by Marcus this morning to see what he thinks, but it makes sense."

Michael sipped his orange juice. "Ish. It makes sense-ish."

"What does that mean?" Paige pushed the eggs around on her plate as she eyed him.

"It makes about as good sense as it's going to make. I mean…it's completely crazy."

Damien bobbed his head as he set his juice on the table. "Which falls perfectly in line with anything happening here."

"So, what is it?" Paige asked.

Damien raised a finger in the air before he gathered a few items from below his chair, balancing them on his lap. "Well, I plugged all of these riddles into a search engine one by one and it didn't yield much, but when I stuck them in all at once…"

"Yeah?" Paige leaned forward, the corners of her lips turning upward. "You got answers?"

"We think," Michael said.

"It makes some semblance of sense given our discussion yesterday," Alexander said.

"Yes, and because each clue says something about stores or tales or mysteries." Damien poked his finger against whatever sat in his lap.

"Okay, which means what?"

Damien lifted a stack of books in the air. "Books. The key is found in a bunch of books."

Paige wrinkled her nose. "Like in a hollowed out book? I don't understand."

Michael shook his head. "I don't think it's going to be that easy. I think you have to go inside the book to get it."

"Ohhh, like fractured fairy tales," Dewey said as he shoveled more eggs onto his fork.

"Oh, great. I hope we don't pick up anymore ‘friends' to bring back. So, how are we supposed to know which books to find these in? The clues were really vague."

"Individually, yes. But on their own…no. There is one author who has locations that fit every single clue." Damien grinned at her.

"Let me guess. That maniac, Nellie Steele." Dewey poked a piece of bacon at Damien to punctuate his statement.

"One and the same," Michael said. "The supposed author of Shadow Slayers and Shelving Magic, an epic tale about a woman named Paige Turner and her teacup dragon sidekick, Dewey. "

"Hey!" Dewey shouted with a mouthful of scone, "I'm not a sidekick! I'm a main!"

Michael shrugged. "That's not what the internet says."

"Well, the internet is wrong," Dewey answered.

"Umm, okay, can we get back to the subject at hand? What books do we need to go into do you think and why?"

"Okay, first clue was whispering secrets and spirts and talks about a treasure within." Damien lifted a book with a Victorian House on the front. " Ghosts, Lore and a House by the Shore has a house named Whispering Manor that is supposedly haunted and houses a pirate treasure."

"Okay, that fits. What about the next one?" Paige questioned. "Something about forests and nature's voice."

Damien shuffled the books, waving another one in the air.

Paige leaned closer to read the title. " Moving is Murder ?"

"A book where a woman moves to Salem Falls only to learn the animals can talk."

Paige shifted in her seat. "Okay, that could fit the bill."

"The next one talks about waters gleaming and a mansion with a mystery." Damien brandished another book. " Murder of Pearl. Set at what will become Pearl Pond Estate in a sprawling mansion."

He continued, lifting a final book in the air. "And last but not least, midnight spirits, shadows and secrets. Ghostly Gossip takes place in a town called Midnight Hollow. It all fits. The keys are scattered in these fictional worlds."

"Or nonfictional worlds," Michael said with a wave of his hand, "because I'm still not convinced I'm just a figment of someone's imagination."

"Yeah, maybe this person…is like a biographer."

"Nellie?" Damien asked. "So, she's…documenting our lives? "

Paige shrugged. "It could be. I mean…we're all real, right?"

"Right. Which means these people are probably real, too," Damien said with a nod. "Lily and Cassie, Ellie, Carly and Althea, and Kelly and Jodi."

"You probably should study up on them, you may encounter them when you go to retrieve the key," Alexander added.

"Right. I could try to read a few chapters in each…" Paige suggested.

"I actually did a little reading last night and created some notes based on what I found from other readers and my own perusal of these books." Damien produced a notepad filled with scribble. "You can review these until we determine a way to send you to each of these places."

"Gee, thanks," Paige said as she accepted the tablet and scanned it. "This will really help."

"Looks like all of these people love mysteries, so you could appeal to their sense of adventure to help you solve this case," Michael added.

Paige bobbed her head. "Right. Well, maybe I can get in and get out without them ever knowing."

"Uhhh, I'd plan on running into a few of them. You'll likely need to get into each of their houses to find these keys."

Paige's eyes went wide. "Oh, no. Okay, umm, well, we're decent at making friends in a pinch."

"And enemies," Dewey pointed out before biting into a scone. "We're good at getting people really mad at us."

"Yeah, that's probably not something you want to do," Michael answered.

"Actually," Damien said, "I'd be happy to go with you. I'd love to see some of these places."

"Oh, uh…" Paige furrowed her brow. Would it be helpful to take him or not ?

"If you're trying to figure out if you'd be better off without Damien, the answer is no," Michael said. "In a quick pinch, he can figure out the best way to get you out of trouble. Sounds like you two get into trouble quite a bit."

"We're pretty good at it, yeah," Dewey said with a bob of his head. "There was this one time when we– "

"Okay, maybe we'll save stories for another time," Paige said as she tossed her napkin onto the table. "I think we should dive into these notes and start making a plan."

"Hopefully, Celine will be back soon," Damien said. "Then we can figure out a good way to tackle this."

"Feel free to use the library or the sitting room," Alexander chimed in. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks." Dewey fluttered into the air and palmed a few more scones before he landed on Paige's shoulder. "Mmm, these are good."

Paige wandered from the dining room down the hall in search of the library. Her stomach twisted into a tight knot. How would they find all these keys?

She crossed the foyer and pushed into the library.

"What do we got?" Dewey asked as he settled into the couch's cushions.

"I guess we'll start with Lily and Cassie. Let's see…" Paige scanned the notes. "Mother-daughter duo who moved to the small town of Hideaway Bay after losing both their husbands. Wow."

"Nellie's a real monster, huh?" Dewey said. "Okay, keep going."

Paige tapped the paper where she'd left off. "Moved into a supposedly haunted house– "

"Ha!" Dewey barked. "Haunted houses. As if those exist. Okay, go on."

"Uh, Damien seems to think they do…at least in this book, they do. He says they have a ghost named Ri who ha unts the house. And they've found a pirate treasure there. They own a shop called Buy the Sea–oh, that's clever–and they enjoy tea."

"Maybe we can buy them a nice set of exotic teas to bribe our way into the house," Dewey suggested.

"Maybe."

"Okay, who's up next?"

Paige flipped the paper over to find the next set of notes. "Ellie. Ellie is a recent divorcee who inherited her aunt's bed and breakfast after the woman was murdered. She can talk to animals, specifically, she talks to her miniature bulldog, Lola, and her sassy cat, Cleo."

"Talking pets, huh? That's too far for me."

"Says the talking dragon. Okay, next up, sisters Kelly and Jodi who own a pearl-shucking business. They inherit a mansion unexpectedly along with a fortune."

"Wow, they sound like they're having the best time."

"Well, not so much since dead bodies constantly turn up anywhere they go," Paige answered.

Dewey cringed. "Ugh, okay, let's not spend too much time with them."

"Right, get in, get out, and get on to Carly and Althea. Carly is a teen who lost her parents and moved to live with her enigmatic grandmother, Althea, who is a psychic witch helping spirits on their journey to another world."

"More ghosts. She has a real thing with ghosts."

"Yeah. Lots of ghosts. Wait, no ghosts in Kelly and Jodi or Ellie, though."

"There are no such things as ghosts," Dewey repeated. "So, a few of these trips will be ridiculous. We'll have to play along though, I guess."

"Yeah," Paige answered. "I hope they're all friendly. I wonder if we can just explain that we need their help, and they'll help us? "

"Are you insane? Do you think they're just going to give us the key?"

"Well, if we frame it like they're helping us solve a mystery, maybe. They like mysteries."

Dewey flicked his fleshy eyebrows up. "Oh, I get it. Like… The Case of the Missing Key."

"Right. Only less Nancy Drewish and more…well, Nancy Drew is fine."

"Yep. We'll go all Nancy Drew on their butts." Dewey poked a finger at her.

"That'll do it!" Paige agreed and they attempted to high five, missing again. "Dang it. Okay, I guess we're ready. Hopefully, Celine will get the information we need to move on this."

"I have the information," Celine said as she wandered into the room with Damien and Marcus.

"You know how to get us to these places?"

"Yes. There is a chapter gate in the sea cave. Once you are in the book, you'll need to find a way back, of course, so recall the spot you arrive in."

"And we'll send Damien with you to help," Celine said.

"Spot we arrived in. Right. Okay, well…can we go right away? I'm not sure how long it will take to get these keys but every second counts for my mom."

"Sure, I'm ready to go when you are," Damien answered.

Paige rose from her seat, and Dewey landed on her shoulder.

"Ahhh, the dragon's not going, right?"

"Yes, the dragon is going," Dewey snapped. "The dragon is the snarky side kick, remember?"

"But…none of these people have seen a dragon."

Dewey rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. They've seen ghosts, talking animals, and all of that, but no dragons."

He waved a hand in the air as he shook his head and retrieved his ring from under a scale. He hopped off Paige's shoulder and slipped it onto his finger, transforming into his human self. "There. Happy now, D-boy?"

Damien frowned at him and shrugged. "Well, you couldn't go as a dragon."

"Okay, well, he's human now so, we can go. I'm not leaving Dewey behind."

Damien sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "I get it. We're kind of the same way. Slayers stick together."

"I really wish you'd stop calling us Slayers…it sounds like we're gang of serial killers," Michael said as he strode into the room.

"I like it. Plus, it was the name of the series on your book. Shadow Slayers. It sounds cool, like you're a…way cooler version of the ghostbusters," Paige said.

Michael offered her a less-than-amused smile. "Yeah, that's us. Cooler versions of the ghostbusters."

"I'm really not sure," Damien said. "The Ghostbusters were pretty cool. Well, anyway, did you want to get moving on this?"

Paige bobbed her head. "Yes, definitely. I'd really like to get started. Did you have a world you wanted to start with?"

"I mean…let's just start at the top and knock them out one by one."

Paige nodded as she scanned the note sheet again. "Lily and Cassie it is!"

The group made their way back to the sea cave Paige and Dewey had arrived in. "So, I didn't see anything glowing in here. The Chapter Gate in our world glows."

Marcus glanced at her before rolling his eyes. "Humans."

He gathered sandy dirt from the cave's floor and blew it in the air. It sparkled as it settled on the Chapter Gate, illuminating it.

"Oh," Paige said. "Nice. Okay, well, I guess here we go. "

"Just a second," Dewey said as he shifted around, wincing.

"What's the problem?"

"I hate this body. It's awful. These arms." He flung them around in the air. "And these stupid legs."

"Well, you can't be a dragon. You have to be in human form."

"I know, I know. I'm just…preparing." After a few more fidgets, he blew out a long breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

Marcus clicked his tongue and heaved a sigh. "Enter through the gate with the book in your hand. When you want to return, walk back through the gate without. Simple, even you three should be able to handle it."

Paige wrinkled her nose at the statement. "Hey– "

"Ignore him," Damien said as he brandished the book. "Let's see if we can find a key."

Paige nodded, and the trio crept forward, passing under the Chapter Gate's arch. They continued through the darkness until dim light surrounded them. Paige's heart thudded hard against her ribs as she wondered if this would lead to anything or be another false lead.