Chapter 5

Chapter Five IN WHICH Jared and Simon Wake Sleeping Beauty Jared barely noticed the path they took to the treasure room. He shut his eyes against the burn of tears. "Here we are," said the dwarf who had brought them. His beard was white, and there was a ring of keys at his hip. He turned to the group carrying the glass box that held Mallory. "Just set that down right there."

The treasure chamber was lit with a single lantern, but the heaps of shining gold reflected the light, so it was not as dim as it might have been. A silver peacock with a lapis-and-coral-studded tail pecked at a copper mouse sitting atop a vase in a way that suggested more boredom than malice. The white-bearded dwarf peered at them while the others trooped out. He grinned at them fondly. "I'll just see if I can find something for you boys to play with. Perhaps gob stones? They even stand up and hurl themselves." "I'm hungry," Simon said. "We're not mechanical. If you're going to keep us here, you're going to have to feed us." The dwarf squinted. "True enough. I'll bring you a mash of spiders and turnips. That will fix you right up." "How are you going to give it to us?" Jared asked suddenly. "There's no door." "Oh, there's a door all right," said the dwarf. "I made that cage myself. Sturdy, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Jared. "Real sturdy." He rolled his eyes. Wasn't it bad enough that they had gotten tricked and were stuck in a cage? Did the dwarf really have to rub it in? "See, the lock is inside this bar." The dwarf tapped one of the bars lightly with his finger. "I had to make the gears really tiny—had to work with a hammer the size of a pin. If you look, you can see the seam of the door. See? Right there." "Can you open it?" Simon asked. Jared looked at him with surprise. Had Simon been planning the whole time, while Jared had been busy just being upset?

"You want to see it in action?" asked the dwarf. "Yeah," Jared said, not quite believing that they were going to get this lucky. "Well, okay, boys. Now step back for a moment. There. Just once, and then I better get your food. What a treat to finally get to use all of these things." Jared smiled encouragingly. The dwarf took the key ring from his belt and selected a tiny key. It was the size and shape of a whistle, with a complicated pattern of ridges on it. He inserted it into one of the bars, although Jared couldn't see the hole from their side of the cage. With a twist of the dwarf's wrist, clicks, clunks, whirrs, and whizzing noises came from the whole rail.

"There." The dwarf pulled on the bar, and a front section of the cage swung open on hidden hinges. But just as the boys were moving forward, the dwarf quickly shut it. "Wouldn't have been as much fun if you hadn't at least tried to escape," he chuckled, moving to hook the key ring back on his belt. Jared darted his hand out and grabbed for the key ring at the same time. The keys clattered to the floor. Simon scooped them up before the dwarf could. "Hey! No fair!" said the dwarf. "Give those back!" Simon shook his head. "But you have to. You're prisoners. You can't have the keys." "We're not giving them back," Jared said. The dwarf looked panicked. He walked to the edge of the hall and yelled, "Quick—someone! Send guards! The prisoners are escaping!" When no one came, he fixed Jared and Simon with a

glare. "You'd better stay right there," he said, and darted out into the hall, still calling for guards. Simon fitted the key into the door, and they jumped out of the cage. "Hurry, they're coming!" "We have to get Mallory!" Jared gestured to her case. "There's no time," said Simon. "We'll come back." "Wait," Jared said. "Let's hide here! They'll think we ran away." Simon looked panicked. "Where?" "On top of the cage!" Jared pointed to the solid silver lid of the cage. He scrambled on top of a nearby pile of loot and used it to climb up. "Come on!" Simon climbed halfway, and Jared hauled him onto the top. They had just enough time to curl up tightly before dwarves burst into the room. "They're not here, either," one dwarf said. "Not in the hallway, not in any of the nearby rooms." Jared smirked against the cool metal. "Wind up the dogs. They'll find them."