The Key Read Free Page A

she—
    â€œUh-uh-uh!” Frank warned, shaking his finger. “That would be a bad move, dragon girl. Your kind signed a treaty a long time ago. This is western dragon territory.”
    Reluctantly Xiao melted back to purely human form.
    â€œNow, can we talk business?” Frank asked.
    â€œYou have to change Dietmar back to normal,” Mack demanded, somewhat forcefully, almost as though he meant it.
    â€œWhen we’re done talking business.”
    â€œOkay, what business?”
    Frank shot a coy look at his crew, who fluttered slightly, then settled toward the ground. The instant their bare toes touched the lush grass, their wings rolled up. Like rolling up a window shade. Just rolled up. Whap .
    â€œWe hear you’re looking for someone,” Frank said.
    They were, in fact, looking for the Key. The Key to Vargran spells and curses. So far they’d found bits and pieces of Vargran, but now, as they neared the fateful confrontation to save the world from the Pale Queen, they needed more. A lot more. And the Key was … um … the key.
    That’s right: the Key was the key.
    The Key had two parts. The first had been given to them by Nott, Norse goddess of night. And if you believed Nott (and seriously, how could you not believe a mythical Norse goddess?), the second and final part of the Key had been buried with one William Blisterthöng MacGuffin.
    â€œMaybe,” Mack said cautiously.
    â€œNo maybe about it, kid. You’ve been asking around about someone no one has seen in a long time. We have good sources.”
    Mack glanced at his companions. Jarrah shrugged.
    And Mack’s iPhone chimed with the tone it used to signal a message.
    Mack ignored it, but it was an edgy sort of ignoring, like he was forcing himself to ignore it, which just made everyone uncomfortable, and finally Frank said, “Oh, just go ahead and get it.”
    With an abashed smile, Mack pulled out his phone.
    â€œWell? What is it?” Xiao asked impatiently.
    Mack sighed. “It’s my golem. He’s refusing to shower in the boys’ locker room.”
    â€œLotta dudes are bashful about that,” Stefan said, and no one thought he was talking about himself because Stefan was incapable of bashfulness.
    â€œIt’s not about being shy,” Mack said with a sigh. “He’s made out of mud. That much water …”
    â€œKind of busy here,” Frank interrupted impatiently. “Anyway, it’s best not to coddle golems. They just get needy.”
    â€œI’ll just take a minute to …” His words faded out as he thumbed in a response:
----
    You have got to handle these things yourself. You have got to be a big boy now.
----
    â€œSorry,” Mack said of the interruption. “You were saying?”
    â€œWe were saying you’re looking for someone who’s been gone a long time.”
    â€œLet’s say we are,” Mack conceded. In the back of his mind he was wondering whether he’d been too harsh with the golem.
    â€œWell, the someone you’re looking for is hidden by fairy enchantment. Been hidden for more than a thousand years.”
    â€œAre we talking about the same man?” Jarrah asked.
    â€œIf it’s William Blisterthöng MacGuffin, then we are talking about the same man,” Frank confirmed. His eyes narrowed and his sharp little fairy teeth showed behind tightened lips. “And you’ll never find him. Never! Never … without our help.”
    â€œWhy would you help us?” Mack asked.
    Frank shrugged. “A friend of ours wants something in return. Something you might be able to get for her. One hand washes the other. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Tit for tat.”
    â€œCan we stop being cryptic, please, and get to the point?” Xiao asked politely. “My friend is not happy as a flower.”
    Dietmar was unhappy with good reason—a pair of crows came swooping down and