“Cookie was part of the MountainTop Flyers back in the day. Her team was famous throughout the northeast. They were the first all-girl, all-witch sports team. They used to beat up on the guys, because the guys couldn’t bring themselves to compete.”
Just then Lark and Pep stuck their heads around the corner. It was time for us to meet and sneak away. Lark had made it clear that all rule-breaking fun would be undertaken together, tonight included.
Rose wanted to come again too, having somehow come to the conclusion that she was owed a field trip every night.
I gulped. I needed to get away, but Grant was clearly ready to chat and showed no signs of taking the hint about letting me get about my work.
I was also sure he thought I was preparing to sneak away again. How he’d come up with that idea I couldn’t tell you.
Okay, time to get dramatic.
“Excuse me? I’m sure that even if the guys had been trying, my grandmother’s team would still have beaten them! How dare you imply otherwise!” I huffed.
“I’m sorry,” Grant started to say, but I cut him off.
“You aren’t allowed to be sorry! Respect my grandmother’s talent! You don’t know what those guys were thinking! They probably tried really hard and still lost to a girl, and you’d do well to remember that.” I frowned at him. Over his shoulder I could see my cousins looking impressed. The problem was, I didn’t know how to continue the tirade.
“I’ll respect your grandmother’s flying talent. At this moment I’m going to do that at a distance. I have investigating to do.” Grant didn’t look angry per se, just miffed. He gave me a small smile and turned on his heel. Pep and Lark managed to duck out of the way just in time.
Once Grant was gone they came into the light.
“That was close,” said Pep. “Quick thinking.”
“I hope he isn’t too mad,” I said, chewing my lip. “Did you two know that about Cookie and her flying?”
“No, but it makes sense if you think to wonder where all the trophies came from,” said Lark.
“The ones in the haunted house are hers?” I asked in shock.
Lark nodded. “She donated some of them a long time ago. She said she wouldn’t need them anymore.”
“Sounds like her days on the team didn’t end well,” said Pep.
“She’s not the most sentimental witch, that’s for sure,” Lark agreed.
“You can say that again,” said Pep with a chuckle.
“Are we ready to go?” said Rose, trotting up with a black shield on her back and little black boots on her paws. She was also wearing a black helmet that made it look like she was ready for battle.
“Appropriate outfit, don’t you think?”
Chapter Fourteen
I had never been to the Spider Mounds, for reasons that should be obvious. Hidden deep in the woods of Shimmerfield, the spiders liked to remain invisible, for equally understandable reasons. Spiders the size of trucks were the stuff of myths and legends. For them to be seen in real life would cause mass hysteria.
If someone from Shimmerfield were to see a giant spider, it would be all over our small-town news. The only paper that probably wouldn’t care would be the Spooky Times. They’d seen it all . . . those hardened criminals.
“Maybe Jefferson Judge is hiding out with the spiders?” said Pep as we biked along the dirt lane. There was the path, with some pebbles lining it, the field to either side, and in the distance the forest.
It wasn’t far. We could have walked, but I didn’t want to take the time. A mile down the road we’d leave our bikes concealed in some brush and head into the woods. Cookie had drawn me a deranged-looking map, but we’d need an enchantment to make it work. If it worked, she said, it should lead us right to the Spider Mounds, for better and most definitely for worse.
In the dead of a cold night, I got off my bike and put on warm black gloves and a knit black hat. I’d dressed all in black, hoping to blend in, understanding why Rose had felt the need to dress in black. A white cat could be spotted from a long way off.
“What if Judge is part of the Root of All Evil?” I asked
“I thought he was a stand-up member of Down Below,” said Lark.
“He is, except that that’s basically an oxymoron,” I pointed out.
“If he was a member of Down Below, don’t you think the Root would want him to stay in place at the mansion?” Lark wondered. “Have a man on the inside and all that?”
“You might be right. It would explain how he’s managed to disappear so completely,” I said.
Lark, the flashlight queen, was leading the way. Of all the weird things to collect, I figured flashlights were pretty high on the list. I also had to admit that they came in handy pretty often.
Pep had coordinated her outfit. Consistent with the need to wear dark colors, she had chosen deep purple from neck to toe. She’d added an emerald green hat, her hair sticking out in pigtails on either side. She looked more like she was ready for glamping than for a trek through the murky woods in the dark.
We made our way slowly through the shadowy trees, deep into the forest. Lark didn’t mind brushing back leaves and stepping over fallen trees, so she made a good leader. Pep was far too afraid she’d touch a bug or an insect. She was also terrified of bats.
“Most of the bats in Shimmerfield live at Haunted Bluff. I don’t think they’re out here,” said Lark.
“You can never be too careful,” cautioned Pep.
“They’re this way,” I whispered, pointing us forward.
The Spider Mounds were legendary. Kind of like ants, the spiders lived in large mounds of their own creation, hundreds of spiders in each colony. The Speedy Spider Delivery Service must have made a deal with the Shimmerfield chapter of spiders so that some of the eight-legged creatures could work on the trucks. It was a brilliant idea—if you weren’t afraid of spiders.
“I see them,” Pep whispered, her voice shaking.
You didn’t visit the Spider Mounds; they were not friendly or welcoming creatures. Conversely, they only came around when they wanted something. Once an old spider had visited Cookie for an enchanted tonic, but she had come in the middle of the night, so no one but Cookie had seen her. Cookie had only told Mom about it the next day when one of the ghosts tattled on her.
“Do you see any spiders?” I whispered. The spiders didn’t need sentries. They had webs all around the mounds to protect themselves.
“No,” Pep whispered. “They’re probably sleeping.”
“How are we ever going to find Orwell?” I said.
“I don’t think we’ll have to look very far. He’s right there.” Lark was the one who pointed this time.
Near the Spider Mounds was a river, with a large spider web stretched across the water. The web didn’t extend onto land; it was as if the spiders were worried about an attack coming downstream, but didn’t think they’d be attacked through the woods.
Sitting by the river was a spider who was staring at the water in a dejected heap, so upset that tears glinted off his cheeks. At first I wasn’t sure if it was Orwell, but when I looked more closely I saw the delivery service uniform.
“Can we get near enough?” I asked Lark.
“Pretty sure we can,” Pep answered.
The trees were thick next to the river, but not impossible to penetrate.
For once Pep took the lead. She moved more slowly than Lark had, causing Lark some frustration. But Pep did a good job of slipping us past the giant spider webs.
I kept my eyes out for other spiders. If one of them spotted us, we were in big trouble.
We managed to get up right behind Orwell without alerting him that we were there. Lark looked at me and shrugged; neither of us knew what to do next.
“Excuse me, Mr. Orwell?” I said at last.
The spider sprang into action, causing the three of us to fall back, terrified. To be fair, he was just as terrified. His wild eyes rolled around and his front forelegs waved crazil
y. But when he got a good look at us he calmed down enough to talk.
“Do I know you three? You look familiar,” he said, standing with his back to the rushing, bubbling water. I had the distinct impression that he was ready to spring away at a moment’s notice.
I couldn’t blame him. We had snuck through the woods and then crept up on him in the middle of the night. He had been alone with the stars until we interrupted.
“We live at the mansion. You talked to us about the murder of your co-worker,” I explained.
Orwell’s entire demeanor changed once he knew who we were. He relaxed considerably, looking almost happy to see us.
“That’s right. I remember you now. Is there any news?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, it’s still under investigation. But we wanted to talk to you about it a bit more.”
“I’ll do anything to help solve the case. I was just thinking how sad it was. And I didn’t even really know him. I wonder if I’ll lose my job,” he said.
“It wouldn’t be fair of them to fire you if you didn’t do anything wrong,” said Pep.
“I suppose. But no one is going to want to work with me if my partner died,” he said.
“Other co-workers can’t possibly blame you for that,” I argued.
“We’ll see,” said Orwell, his dejected demeanor returning.
“Is there anything you can tell us? Anything you told the investigator that we might not know?” I asked.
“I didn’t tell him much. Just that we met at the warehouse as usual and took the truck out. It was Blu’s favorite truck because it’s the nicest and the newest, and it has the most room for the spiders. There’s a lot of space in the back for us, more than in the older trucks from before they did the deal to let us work for the service. It’s so comfortable that sometimes I get lulled into a pretty relaxed state when we’re out driving. Now and then I almost forget to hand out the packages and have to be reminded. It’s just very comfortable now,” he said.
“Was there anything strange about that day? Did you see anyone strange?” I asked.
The spider shook his head.
“I can’t believe you came out to look for me anyway. If the other spiders see you, you’re going to be in big trouble,” he said.
“Then let’s hope they don’t see us,” said Lark. She glanced nervously in the direction of the mounds.
“I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful,” said Orwell. “I’ve really been racking my brain trying to remember any little thing. It just seemed like a normal day.”
Just then someone called Orwell’s name, and the jig was up.
We froze, and Orwell’s mouth dropped open. “Quick, you have to hide. That’s my dad. Horace is probably with him. Dad really won’t like that you’re talking to me.”
But it was already too late. A spider appeared right across the river from where we were standing. If I had thought Orwell was large, I had never seen a really big spider. This one out was about twice Orwell’s size, far to big to fit in the back of a delivery truck, even the spacious new model.
What was even more terrifying was that Orwell’s father glided forward with a grace and speed I wouldn’t have thought possible. He was not a slow and lumbering spider. He looked as if he could move like lightning if he chose.
Behind him was another spider, mostly obscured by Orwell’s dad.
“What is going on here? Why are there witches at the Spider Mounds?” the enormous spider asked.
He didn’t actually appear to care what the answer was, because he didn’t wait for it. “Never mind,” he went on. “We’ll just tie them up and deal with them tomorrow.”
“You’re going to tie us up?” squeaked Pep.
The spider had started forward, but now he went still. “You speak?”
“Yes, of course I speak,” said Pep.
“I’m definitely going to tie you up,” said the spider again, his voice clicking.
“Dad, these are friends of mine. They really don’t need to be tied up,” said Orwell.
“Silence. You’ve already brought enough problems on this family. Tie them up!” he said. “Horace! Deal with your brother!”
At that, the other spider came clomping out of the woods, while Orwell’s father looked over his shoulder and called to even more spiders who had followed along further behind him.
My blood ran cold. I had banked on the fact that the spiders would have gone to sleep for the night, but boy, had I been wrong. An army of spiders had appeared at Orwell’s father’s back.
Orwell looked between us. I suddenly knew what we had to do.
“Run,” I yelled.
It would seem that my cousins had been thinking the same thing, because when I tore away they were right behind me.
Orwell made no move to stop us. If he had wanted to, he probably could have, and then we would have been in even bigger trouble.
As it was, we had a good head start, since Orwell’s father had to get over the river before he could follow us. On top of that, his huge body hampered him for purposes of chasing us. He was going to have a very difficult time following us through the closely spaced trees.
We hadn’t gone very far when I heard a crashing through the woods that told me the spiders had made it across the river and were now chasing us through the forest. I had no idea how many there were, but it was definitely more than two.
“We have to run faster!” Lark hollered.
“I’m running as fast as I can,” Pep yelled back.
“I hope you know where you’re going,” Lark yelled to me.
Given that I was in the lead, I hoped I did too. I was pretty familiar with these woods, having grown up next to them, but I had never been to the Spider Mounds before. Anyhow, wandering in the woods after dark was always a dangerous proposition no matter what the situation.
“We could enchant them,” I said over my shoulder as we kept moving in close formation.
“If we use an enchantment, we’ll get into so much trouble,” Lark yelled from behind me.
She had a point. We weren’t supposed to use enchantments on the likes of spiders. Then again, they weren’t supposed to chase us. For purposes of argument inside my own head, I was ignoring the fact that we’d gone onto their property, a provocative act if ever there was one.
“Where are the bikes?” Pep asked.
“Here!” I flung the covering of leaves away and we each took a bike. Rose did a flying leap and landed on my shoulder. Then we skedaddled.
The wind flew through my hair. The tips of my ears were instantly cold. The spiders kept chasing us. It was incredibly difficult to run in the dark.
“Not much further,” I gritted out, my breath coming in gasps.
We flung the bikes down and ran for the iron fence that set off the mowed lawn of the mansion. My eyes skidded wildly over the cat statue, the bats, and the gargoyles.
A deep thud behind me made me turn around, only to see the spiders closing in on us. Pep was having the most trouble, since she was the smallest of the three of us and her legs were the shortest. She had never been much of a fan of running.
I flung myself forward and Lark followed suit. We scrambled up and into a seated position as quickly as we could to watch Pep race the spiders to safety.
“Come on!” I yelled.
“Just a few more steps,” Lark cried.
There was a purple blur, and behind that a roiling black mass. At least ten spiders were chasing Pep.
Just in the nick of time, Pep flung herself forward onto our property. My mother had drilled into us how important it was to always be aware of where our property line was, and now I knew why.
A cranking, screeching sound started up from behind us. At first I thought it was something to do with the haunted house, but then I felt a brush of air over my head.
With a thud that shook my whole body, a gargoyle landed on the lawn between us and the oncoming spiders. The gargoyle was carrying a sword, and judging by the way he was hold
ing it, he knew how to use it.
Breathing hard, we didn’t move. What seemed like a million white eyes stared out at us from the dark, as if the starry sky had come alive and become hundreds of spiders. I swallowed hard.
Then Rose came streaking across the lawn. With a small flash, she was also across the property line. The gargoyle inclined its head slightly in acknowledgement of the fur ball as she raced by.
“I think they want us to leave Orwell alone,” Lark panted.
With that I had to agree.
“Bet that bit of magic hasn’t been needed in a long time,” Pep muttered.
The gargoyle turned to look at us. “Top of the evening to you. Best if you don’t get chased by giant spiders too often. Sometimes I step away to smoke a cigar,” he said.
None of us knew what to say to that, so we nodded our silent thanks and the gargoyle went back to his usual position on the iron fence, while we slowly picked ourselves up off the ground.
“We should get in. Do you think they’ve noticed we’re missing?” Pep asked.
“Hopefully not with all the excitement,” I said, meaning the haunted house.
On nights when the mansion had visitors, my mom and Meg were usually too busy running the show to notice much else. I was hoping for more of the same tonight.
“That was fun. What are we doing tomorrow night?” Rose asked as we headed inside.
Chapter Fifteen
When I woke up the next morning, I knew right away that I’d slept in longer than I’d meant to. Just how much, I was about to find out.
“What exactly do you three think you’re doing?” a high-pitched voice demanded from the direction of the sofa on the other side of the attic. I sprang up and looked toward the orange couch.
Lizzie—of all people!—was lounging on one arm of the sofa, looking pissed.
What else was new.
Apparently being all the way at the top of the mansion didn’t protect me from uninvited morning visitors.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
She blinked as if she couldn’t believe I’d dared to say such a thing.
“What I’m talking about is that you three went flying with Cookie two nights ago. Then you were out until all hours last night. Oh, yes, I noticed. You think I’m some dumb blond who can’t see what’s right in front of her. Well, you’re mistaken. So, spill.”
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