In Too Deep - 39 Clues 06 Read Free

disappeared.
    A re-creation of an old cell caught her attention. Amy stepped inside. It would be so handy to have a place like this to lock away little brothers when they got obnoxious. Which would be every five minutes ...Suddenly, she heard the door behind her clang shut. She spun around. The woman was smiling pleasantly at her through the bars of the cell.
    She was beautiful, with huge amber eyes and gleaming dark hair that feathered against her face. Her skin was so smooth and perfect that it looked like a china doll's."Don't be alarmed. This was the only way I'd get to talk to you," she said in a British accent.
    Her voice was thick and creamy, as if she was holding a spoonful of yogurt in her mouth. She leaned closer, as though confiding in Amy. "We Cahills have a way of running away from each other, don't we? "
    She winked.
    Amy wanted to kick herself. The woman was a Cahill! Amy casually looked around for another exit."Still a worrier, I see." The woman's smile didn't waver. "You never trusted your own courage.
    Grace used to say that."Amy felt a stab of pain at those words. She lifted her chin. "D-d-don't tell me about my grandmother. Who are you?"She cocked her head and studied Amy, an affectionate smile still on her lips. "Ah, the regal stare. Now I see Grace in you. I'm Isabel Kabra."
    "Ian and Natalie's mother?"She nodded. "I've tried to stay out of the hunt for the thirty-nine clues. Tried to keep Ian and Natalie out of it, too.
    Unfortunately ... "
    She gave an elegant shrug. "They pay more attention to their father. But things have gone too far. My children need me to step in.
    So, I've tracked them here.""They're in Sydney?" That wasn't good news."They're checking into the Observatory Hotel right now. Natalie is probably going through the complimentary bath products, and Ian ... well, Ian is probably thinking about you."Amy hated the spurt of pleasure that made her heart race.
    Even though she didn't believe it for a minute. She rolled her eyes. "Please."
    "His behavior has been disgraceful, I admit. He's afraid of his feelings. He confessed to me how much he admires you."
    "Do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck?"Isabel Kabra's eyes glinted. "What a delightful expression. Ian is all show.
    Underneath that superior exterior is a normal boy with his own insecurities. I have ... complicated children." She waved a manicured hand. "I wanted to keep them away from this Cahill nonsense, believe me. We have such a lovely, fragrant life in London.
    Cars, clothes, a private plane." What more do they want?""Apparently, to be the most powerful people in the world," Amy said."And what does that mean, exactly?" Isabel asked. "Have you thought about that?"She had.
    She still hadn't grasped it. It just seemed so unreal, like something out of a movie or a video game."What would be the source of your power?" Isabel asked softly. "And how would you wield it? I mean, really," she said, chuckling, "a fourteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old ruling the world? You have to admit it's rather ridiculous."
    "Wow," Amy said. "Can you do that again? I mean, insult me in a really nice way?" Amy couldn't believe the cool, sardonic voice was her own.
    "I don't mean to be insulting," Isabel said in a kind tone. "Just realistic. Do you think that even if you win the hunt for the cl ues, the danger you face would be over?" She shook her head. "It would be just the beginning. One only has to look at history to see that.
    My children are poor students. But you are a great researcher. You know that history has proved that every conqueror has a fall."Why does she know so much about me? Amy wondered. I know nothing about her.
    "I was so fond of your parents," Isabel said. "Th ey had such beauty and promise. I was devastated when I heard about the fire. Maybe if they had lived, things would be different today. Maybe the Cahills would be a little more ... civilized. But as it is, we have only one hope.
    The Lucians."Amy snorted. "There's a