Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 We're the last ones here, Amy thought, gasping for breath as she stepped into the church. It's like we're in last place all over again. Ned and Ted Starling had been out in the cemetery, lurking behind tombstones. Jonah Wizard was crouched down in a pew— oddly without his ever-present, BlackBerry-obsessed dad. Hamilton and the Kabra kids were huddled together against the wall. Mary-Todd, Reagan, and Madison Holt were at the front of the church, staring down at the floor. Sinead Starling and Alistair were whispering together near the altar. They've all teamed up in different ways, leaving us out, Amy thought. They're all solving the clue, and we haven't even seen Shakespeare's tomb yet. "Oh, good!" Dan said cheerfully. "None of the teams have left yet!" "Are you nuts?" Amy asked. "You like seeing

our enemies again after yesterday? After everything that's happened in the clue hunt?" "No," Dan said. "But if they're all still here, that means nobody else has figured out where we're supposed to go next." He had a point. "So where's Isabel Kabra?" Amy asked. "And where's Eisenhower Holt?" Nellie asked. Dan shrugged. For all Amy knew, both Isabel and Eisenhower could be out hunting for the next Clue— the Kabras and Holts still at the church might be decoys. But this way, Amy thought, we don't have to face the worst people who were there the night our parents died. Amy drew in a ragged breath. They still had to face everyone else. Can't let any of the others win, she reminded herself. Can't let any of these terrible people become the most powerful in the world. Because then, even more innocent people will die….

She flashed to remembering Lester's kind, smiling face back in Jamaica. She remembered how completely his smile had been erased. We have to go on for Lester, she thought. For Mom and Dad. For Grace… Amy took one step closer to her enemies, who stood between her and Shakespeare's tomb. This wasn't like back at the Globe, where her enemies had popped up right and left, and all she and Dan could do was run and run. This was harder. Amy had time to think between steps, to remember how much destruction the people in this church had caused, how close so many of them had come to killing her and Dan. And the Madrigals want us all to be friends? she marveled. "Yo! My homies! Amy and Li'l Dan! What's good?" It was Jonah Wizard's famous voice, booming out from across the church. Amy looked down at her brother, who'd palled around with Jonah so happily back in China. Dan was staring straight ahead, his face pale.

"Yo! Come on, fam, don't hate," Jonah called out. He rushed toward them, speaking more quietly. "Look, maybe I should apologi—" Nellie stepped out to block Jonah's path and threw her arms protectively in front of Amy and Dan. "Shouldn't you be in police custody?" she asked Jonah. "Under arrest for what happened at the Globe? Or— in China? Or Egypt?" She glared at him, her gaze laserlike in its intensity. Amy found herself rethinking her view of Nellie as an "anything goes" au pair. Jonah took a step back. "No, no, those were all… misunderstandings," he gasped. He recovered enough to flash his famous grin. "And the Globe scene— my parents are taking care of that." His grin widened. "What did you expect? I'm Jonah Wizard!" Was it Amy's imagination or were the corners of his grin trembling? Something unusual showed in his eyes, too— worry? Doubt? Fear? From the great Jonah Wizard? Amy thought. Never.

"I thought you said you were quitting the clue hunt," Dan said, speaking up bravely. He stepped out from behind Nellie's protective stance. "Isn't that what you told your mom back in China?" "Word," Jonah said, nodding. "The truth is— yes and no. I have embarked on a new endeavor. A different way of hunting clues, you could say." This didn't even sound like Jonah. Granted, nothing he said had ever made much sense. That was typical. But embarked? Endeavor? That wasn't hip-hop talk. Jonah must have noticed Amy staring at him in amazement because he added, rather halfheartedly, "Yo, yo, yo. Word." Amy didn't have time to figure out Jonah Wizard. She turned away from him.—and immediately bumped into Ian Kabra instead. "Amy!" Ian said, his face lighting up. "I'm so glad to see that you didn't get hurt at the Globe yesterday!" Ian's amber eyes did seem full of concern for her well-being. Oh, no, Amy thought. Those eyes will never

fool me again. Amy narrowed her own eyes, trying to channel some of the same cold fury that Nellie had just used on Jonah. Fury was a much better emotion than fear. "Get out of my way," Amy told Ian. "No, please, just listen—" Ian begged. He looked around frantically, wincing slightly at the sight of Nellie and Dan and Jonah standing so close by. "If you'd come with me, so we can talk privately—" "You mean, so you can lure me off to your evil mother? To some trap?" Amy challenged. "How stupid do you think I am?" "This isn't about Mum," Natalie piped up beside Ian. "We're not… I mean, she's not even here. We know how many clues you have, and—" Amy stepped past them. Her heart thudded— she expected Ian to hit her, to grab her, to start another round of nightmarish Kabra torture. Nothing happened. Amy took another step and dared to quickly glance back over her shoulder. Ian wasn't chasing