Kingdom Keepers VII (40 page)

It’s a funny image, so specific. Philby smirks. “You and Amanda have never told us much about your Christmases, your pasts.”

Jess doesn’t speak. Her hologram head hangs toward the ground, and Philby can sense contained pain, resistance, like something electrical heating up.

“None of my business,” he says.

“No, it is. You all deserve to know. We’ve entered your lives uninvited. I suppose when you think of an enemy within, one or both of us gets the top spot on the list.”

Philby hasn’t forgotten about an enemy within, but he hasn’t exactly dwelled on the idea either. The reminder is sharp, like a prick of a fingertip to draw blood. He would like to deny it, but he respects Jess too much to lie. “Suspicion is a poison.” This is why he’d given up puzzling about the enemy within: the process became toxic. But now the problem has surfaced again.

“The story about a spy came from both Wayne and the Imagineers. It has to be true.”

“None of us wants it to be. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Of course not. But I promise you, it’s not Amanda or me. I know—I’d say that same thing even if it was us. That’s why we haven’t said it already.”

“Not knowing is the worst,” Philby admits. “Not knowing—and living with suspicion.”

The Fantasyland clock tower appears before them.

“What now?” Jess asks, her voice colored with caution.

“Now it gets interesting,” Maybeck says.

* * *

“Interesting,” Finn says. The hanging chain that blocks off the stairs to Walt’s apartment is swinging loose to one side.

“This chain is usually left closed,” the Dillard says. “Danger warning. Possible intruder.”

“We don’t want to crash a party,” Willa says.

“But you’re curious,” Amanda tells Finn. As if it’s news to him.

“Always,” he says.

“I will stand guard,” the Dillard says, his eyelids falling. “There is a light in the window that looks out onto the street. It once indicated when Mr. Disney was in residence in the park. It remains burning at all hours as a tribute to a great man. I can access the electrical circuit for that light over the local area network. I will terminate illumination from the light should I encounter anyone or anything untoward.”

“Untoward?” Amanda teases.

“You can do that?” Willa says simultaneously. Finn raises a hand to stop her, but it’s too late. The Dillard has launched into encyclopedia mode.

“I have access to eleven hundred and sixty-seven switchable circuits. Another twenty-two hundred breakers, all public address—”

“Pause.”

Finn tells the others to limit the number of open-ended questions they direct at the Dillard—“Or you’re in for the full rundown,” he adds. Then he gathers Amanda and Willa together with his eyes. “Okay, we’re going up there.” To the Dillard, he says, “Resume.”

They hurry away as the Dillard continues to recite the litany of his capabilities to no one.

“Will he stop?” Amanda asks Finn.

There’s a white feather caught by the breeze, floating before them. Willa waves it away.

“Who knows?” Finn says. “It’s all new to me.”

They don’t know if the door to the apartment is locked; they don’t bother using it. Inside, the group crowds the small entryway, then moves into the apartment’s sitting area, which is to the right. They keep silent as they explore the tiny apartment. It takes only a minute or two to determine that they’re alone.

“It’s small,” Willa says. “So much smaller than I expected.”

“It’s pretty,” Amanda says.

“My grandmother had a quilt like that,” Willa says, gesturing to a throw on one of the couches.

“Look at the huge Minnie!” Willa says. A huge stuffed Minnie Mouse sags against the table holding the lamp. “Couldn’t you just hug it? Maybe all night long? I would love to have a stuffed animal like that! I wouldn’t care who saw it!”

“It’ll have to wait. First we search all the rooms without 3-D glasses, then again with,” Finn instructs. “We’re looking at photos, embroidery, anything with letters or images. Whatever we find may need to be decoded—open minds here.”

He and the girls separate. As he searches, Finn keeps an eye on the lamp in the window. It’s a small, simple light with a white glass shade. Nothing pretentious or unusual, but perfectly preserved—as is every other antique in the apartment: two twin beds against opposite walls; the table holding the lamp; books, figurines, and a half dozen photos placed carefully around the walls. Near the short hallway is a tall wooden case with a curved top and an inset glass window. Finn is drawn to its unusual design. It looks like an old-fashioned jukebox—like something from
Grease
or
Teen Beach Movie
—but made of wood.

He steps closer. Behind the glass window, he sees bronze-colored discs the size of power saw blades. He’s normally able to figure stuff out on the fly; it rarely takes two looks for him to understand an object’s purpose. But for the first time in a long while, Finn is stumped. The thing’s function and the strange discs it contains baffle him.

Face to the glass, Finn squints into the strange-looking machine. The painted words have decayed over the years, but he’s able to read:

It
is
a jukebox, or a predecessor of one. The huge metal disks are like giant CDs. It has to be very old. Finn finds himself wishing the Dillard were here; discovering that feeling interests him.

“I’ve got something,” Willa says. She looks like a librarian in the oversize 3-D glasses. “Lower corner.”

Amanda moves toward her and pulls her glasses down in front of her eyes. “Yup! It’s tiny, but it’s there.”

Finn joins them, donning his glasses. A dime-size Osiris hieroglyph glows green, illuminating the black-and-white photo of a group of men in jackets and ties and women in dresses, all of whom hold shovels.

“That’s Walt,” Willa says, leaning in and gesturing toward the photo. “His wife, Lillian, and I think that’s Marty Sklar, the Imagineer. I don’t know the others.”

The date behind the superimposed Osiris hieroglyph is 1957.

“The Dillard will be able to identify everyone. I’ll get him.”

Finn heads for the door, but he’s only taken three steps when a girl’s voice sounds. “You can’t go out there.”

Shocked, Finn jumps back, loses all clear, and smacks into the wall. Willa emits a partial scream, which she quickly muffles with her hand.

“Don’t freak out!” The girl’s voice speaks again.

And then she materializes, blocking the hallway to the door. Her jet-black hair cascades over her face, revealing one blue eye. She’s wiry, high school age, wearing a red spandex suit, black shorts, and tall leather boots.

“Violet!” Willa says.

“Who?” Amanda asks, studying the young woman.

“From
The Incredibles
,” Willa says. “She looks so—”

“Real? Well…yeah! I’m right here, you know?” Violet says. “And you are?”

“Finn,” he says.

“I know your name, genius,” Violet says. “I’m asking if you’re human or…whatever-you-call-it.”

“Whatever-you-call-it,” Finn says.

“Which would be holograms,” Willa adds. “We’re holograms.”

“It was you who lowered the chain on the stairs,” Amanda says.

“Gold star,” says Violet. “Though not for myself. And you are?”

“Amanda. I’m kind of a friend.”

“Real or whatever-you-call-it?”

“Not real. More whatever-you-call-it.”

Willa says, “If you didn’t lower the chain for yourself, then who?”

“There’s a friend of ours out there,” Finn says simultaneously. “I need to get past you, please.”

“If you go out that door, Finn,” Violet says, “you will be eaten by Shere Khan.”

“The tiger? He’s out there?” Willa says.

Violet nods. “Shere Khan and Si on this side, Scar and Am on the other.”

Amanda’s eyes widen.

Willa’s eyes narrow, and she asks, “And you know this how?”

“Really?” Violet says. “I come in here. I leave you a clue—the chain—and you think, what, I’m here to pass the time? I know this because I live here, Willa. I’m here because we characters are under instructions to help the Children of Light however we can, and I happened to be chasing down my little brother when I saw the kitty-litter crew surround this place. I got the little annoyance back to our parents, made myself invisible, and slipped inside. FYI: you walked right past
all
of them.”

“Then why didn’t they attack?” Willa asks.

“How should I know? Maybe they’re waiting to see what you find.”

“Thank you,” Amanda says, shooting Willa a look. “We appreciate everything you and the others are doing to help us.”

“Very much,” Finn adds.

“Have you found what you came for?” Violet asks.

“We think so,” Willa answers.

“No, you haven’t,” Violet says immediately, shaking her head.

“It might be faster,” Amanda says, “if you didn’t talk in riddles. We kind of have enough of those on our plate at the moment.”

“I’m just measuring your intelligence,” Violet says. “We hear about how you guys are always outwitting the Dark Ones, but I’m honestly not picking up a lot of that right now.”

“Look. You didn’t come here to warn us, or to protect us,” Finn says. “You’re assigned to protect whomever it is you lowered the chain for. After all, you could have stepped over it, no problem.”

“That’s better,” Violet says.

“The white feather—the one I nearly inhaled,” Willa says. “Daisy or Donald Duck.”

“Very good!” Violet bows slightly. “But wrong, I’m sorry to say. The feathers are from her hand mirror.”

“What hand mirror? Who…
her
?” stammers Finn.

But Willa doesn’t hesitate. Spinning to the street side window, she practically shouts, “Oh…my—”

“You can get up,” Violet says.

The stuffed Minnie is not stuffed. As it sits up, all three Keepers jump back—even Willa, who’s speechless.

“Minnie Mouse?” Amanda gasps. “
The
Minnie Mouse?”

The tiny figure stands about four feet tall and is “So-o-o-o-o cute!” as Willa says.

Minnie claps her gloved hands appreciatively.

“Can you speak?” Willa asks, performing a half curtsy, though she’s not sure why. A silence falls across the room.

“She didn’t when she helped Amanda and me in the Magic Kingdom,” Finn says. He asks Amanda if she remembers. Amanda nods violently, starstruck.

“Through me she can speak,” Violet says. She pauses, listens, and then speaks, apparently translating the mouse’s words. “Minnie wants to thank you and your friends for your attempts to save the Kingdom.”

“We’re not done yet,” Finn says.

Violet says, “Minnie wants you to know this: ‘That which you seek will give everyone much comfort and happiness.’”

“Has she told you what that is?” Amanda asks.

“No. Think of me more as a bodyguard—or a bouncer, but with better hair.” Violet stops again and seems to listen to the silence. “She says the person you are seeking foresaw the coming of the Children of Light.”

“You’re making this up!” Willa complains. “She can’t possibly know—”

“Let me tell you something. When it comes to this place, Ms. Minnie pretty much knows all.”

“I think we should listen,” Finn says.

Violet nods, pauses. An enormous tear spills from Minnie’s right eye. It splashes to the floor and pools; it looks like someone spilled a glass of water. Then Minnie points to her ear, and Violet speaks again. “‘He told me,
It’s up here.
’” Violet motions to her temple, the same way Minnie is doing. “‘He was humming a tune. He kept pointing and repeating,
It’s all up
here.
’”

Minnie wipes away another brimming tear that threatens to fall. Her large eyes are fixed on the Keepers. Finn can’t tell if it’s hope or sorrow he sees in her gaze.

Violet continues to translate. “‘He told me they wouldn’t stop me, that I had to do it before it was too late. If he tried, they would follow him. That would ruin it all.’”

Violet looks at Minnie doubtfully and shakes her head, but Minnie isn’t finished.

“Excuse me,” Finn says to Minnie. “Who wouldn’t stop you?”

Minnie smiles at Finn. Violet speaks for her, saying, “‘I remember you, too. We…Pluto and I…helped you to get to the island.’”

Finn inhales sharply. He says aloud, “I love this place!”

“‘I do, as well,’” Minnie says, still speaking through Violet.

“Your friend told you they wouldn’t stop you. Who did he—”

“‘The bank.’”

“Of course,” Willa says.

Amanda shifts her eyes from Finn to Willa; she’s lost.

“You tore it up,” Finn says, “not the Overtakers.”

Minnie smiles away her tears. “‘He told me you would understand.’”

“The bank would let you in,” Finn says, “because you’re you.”

Another smile. It needs no translation from Violet.

“So, are you guys going to tell me what’s going on?” Violet says.

“No,” Finn says. “We can’t.”

Minnie steps forward and hugs Finn. Only Finn.

Violet says softly, “‘You are the next.’”

“Was that you or her?” Willa asks.

“Her,” Violet says.

“Oh…my…gosh,” Willa says softly to herself.

Minnie releases Finn.