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once—again, like it’s scripted. If we get separated, we meet inside the castle in Escher’s Keep.”
    Lightning flashed again. A few seconds passed before the first rumble of thunder rippled through the air.
    “That lightning is still some distance away from here, right?” Charlene asked anxiously.
    “Closer than it was. You couldn’t hear thunder a few minutes ago,” Philby said. “I’ll bet they’re closing the rides—the mountain attractions and roller coasters. That’s going to mean a whole bunch of the guests in and around the Hub for the fireworks.”
    “If we really saw a balloon, whether they believe us or not, we’ve got to convince them to check it out before that lightning gets here.” Finn couldn’t stop thinking about Amanda holding up that leaf to her face. Green skin ? Was that the message? More than anything, he hoped they might find the two sisters. He sensed they had some of the answers.
    “And if they don’t care about the balloon?” Willa said.
    “We’re approaching the bridge, people,” Philby announced. “If we’re going to do this, now’s our chance.”
    “Okay,” Finn said, working his way down the ladder. The others followed.
    He happened to look up at Charlene just as she blinked furiously to protest leaving the float. “We can’t do this!” she said.
    Her blinking revealed a subtle green shadow on her lids, which enhanced the color of her eyes.
    Finn spoke what he’d been thinking—what Amanda had been trying to tell him by putting the green leaf to her cheek.
    He called out to the others, “Maleficent is inside the castle. That’s what Amanda was trying to tell us.”

3
    T HE K INGDOM K EEPERS MET UP AGAIN at the base of Escher’s Keep, a confusing maze of interlocking staircases, mirrors, and doors that crawled up the inside of Cinderella Castle. It had been built years ago as an attraction but had never opened to the public, as it had proved too dangerous. One misstep, and you were dumped into chutes or slides, some of which landed you in the castle moat.
    “I tried to tell a Cast Member about the balloon,” Finn said. “But he thought I was my DHI playing some kind of trick on him. I shook him, and he said, ‘Amazing technology! That feels so real!’ What a jerk! I tried to point out the balloon, but with the clouds, you can’t even see the string or wire or whatever.”
    “We’ve got to get up there,” Philby said, “Maleficent or not.”
    “But what if Amanda was trying to warn us?” Charlene asked nervously. “Wouldn’t that mean we might be walking into a trap?”
    “She’s got a point,” Maybeck said.
    Finn quickly reorganized them: he and Philby would ascend Escher’s Keep to the apartment; Maybeck and Willa would try to find Amanda and Jez while Charlene stood sentry on the path to Fantasyland, giving Philby and Finn eyes on the castle from the outside.
    They said their good-byes, Maybeck uncharacteristically wishing them luck, his dark, troubled eyes expressing concern. They agreed to meet after the fireworks in front of Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, immediately behind the castle.
    “And if you guys don’t show up?” Willa asked Finn.
    Thankfully, Maybeck dragged her out the door and into the castle gift shop’s storage room before Finn had to think of something plucky to say.
    “You okay with this?” Philby asked nervously, his foot on the first step of Escher’s Keep. It was a route that had to be memorized, and neither boy had attempted to climb it in several months.
    “Let’s do it,” said Finn.
    Philby stepped aside, allowing Finn to lead the way. It was no picnic. Sometimes stairs led nowhere. A single misstep would mean falling down a slide to the ground floor or into the moat. The route up to an elevator that accessed the penthouse apartment included invisible bridges, upside-down staircases, and trapdoors. The illusions were the result of mirrors, projections, and trick lighting, their combined effect