or anything—”
“Daniel,” Louisa said, staring at the paper, “it’s for you.”
“What do you mean?”
Louisa held it out, and written on the front in big cursive script was his name—Daniel Corrigan.
“Looks like someone was expecting you,” said Louisa.
Daniel reached out to take the paper from Louisa and realized that his hand was shaking. He’d just seen a ghost, and now he was going to hear what that ghost had to say.
He unfolded the paper and read the note aloud.
To My Dearest Rival
,
If you are reading this, I must congratulate you. Our battle is obviously at an end, and I proved the lesser man, itseems. While I am saddened that you have refused to join me in defending the world from the very real threat your friends pose, I am nonetheless impressed at the ingenuity that it must have taken to defeat me
.
Perhaps you are reading this because you are looking for the photographic evidence that I kept on your friends. Fear not—such evidence no longer exists. I would not want it to fall into the wrong hands. I have spent a lifetime protecting the secrets of this town, and I would not want them exposed even in the event of my death
.
I am this world’s protector, whether you have chosen to believe it or not
.
And now that I am gone, this role is left to you, as I always knew it would be. But before you can bear this burden, you must know the truth. The clues are out there for you to follow, and since you have chosen to spurn my help, you are on your own. The power of the Witch Fire Comet burns in the veins of Noble’s children, and it must be kept in check lest it consume us all
.
I trust you are up to the challenge
.
Respectfully, Herman Plunkett
“He’s crazy,” said Louisa after Daniel had finished. “Even after he’s dead, he’s still crazy.”
Daniel nodded, but he didn’t answer right away. He was too busy looking at the postscript beneath Herman’s signature. At the only words he hadn’t read aloud:
P.S.: Have you tried on the ring yet?
“Daniel. Daniel!” Louisa reached out and put her hand on his arm. Reflexively, he folded the paper back in half, hiding the words from her.
“Whatever it is you’re thinking about—he’s dead, Daniel. This was just his last, stupid attempt to get inside your head.”
Daniel managed a halfhearted smile for Louisa’s benefit. He did not actually feel reassured in the slightest.
“C’mon,” he said. “We’d better get back. There’s nothing here but trash.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. You’re right—he’s just messing with my head is all. I’m fine.”
Louisa leaned forward then and surprised him with a kiss. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was more than friendly. It was soft and nice, but it was also unexpected. And it was still a kiss. Daniel’s first.
When it was over, Louisa blinked at him. She had the prettiest eyes. Flecks of green within the brown.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You look a little pale.”
Daniel nodded. Words weren’t working so well right now.
“Why don’t you go back first, then,” she said. “I’ll follow in a minute or two.”
He nodded again. Perhaps a bit too emphatically.
“And, Daniel? Take a few breaths before you go back down there. You’re blushing like crazy.”
The grandfather’s snores sounded like a hacksaw at work, and Daniel felt suddenly silly tiptoeing down the hallway. He stopped sneaking and tried to think of what he was going to say to Eric and the others about Herman’s note, but he couldn’t form a plan. His thoughts were still tangled up in the kissing. Or being kissed. Louisa had kissed him, but had Daniel kissed her back? He suspected that he had. And badly, at that.
Why had she kissed him? Did she think they were more than friends? Did she want that? Did he? Suddenly Daniel was filled with an irrational terror that his friends would find out what he and Louisa had done, or more accurately that Mollie would find out. She’d never let him
“Daniel,” Louisa said, staring at the paper, “it’s for you.”
“What do you mean?”
Louisa held it out, and written on the front in big cursive script was his name—Daniel Corrigan.
“Looks like someone was expecting you,” said Louisa.
Daniel reached out to take the paper from Louisa and realized that his hand was shaking. He’d just seen a ghost, and now he was going to hear what that ghost had to say.
He unfolded the paper and read the note aloud.
To My Dearest Rival
,
If you are reading this, I must congratulate you. Our battle is obviously at an end, and I proved the lesser man, itseems. While I am saddened that you have refused to join me in defending the world from the very real threat your friends pose, I am nonetheless impressed at the ingenuity that it must have taken to defeat me
.
Perhaps you are reading this because you are looking for the photographic evidence that I kept on your friends. Fear not—such evidence no longer exists. I would not want it to fall into the wrong hands. I have spent a lifetime protecting the secrets of this town, and I would not want them exposed even in the event of my death
.
I am this world’s protector, whether you have chosen to believe it or not
.
And now that I am gone, this role is left to you, as I always knew it would be. But before you can bear this burden, you must know the truth. The clues are out there for you to follow, and since you have chosen to spurn my help, you are on your own. The power of the Witch Fire Comet burns in the veins of Noble’s children, and it must be kept in check lest it consume us all
.
I trust you are up to the challenge
.
Respectfully, Herman Plunkett
“He’s crazy,” said Louisa after Daniel had finished. “Even after he’s dead, he’s still crazy.”
Daniel nodded, but he didn’t answer right away. He was too busy looking at the postscript beneath Herman’s signature. At the only words he hadn’t read aloud:
P.S.: Have you tried on the ring yet?
“Daniel. Daniel!” Louisa reached out and put her hand on his arm. Reflexively, he folded the paper back in half, hiding the words from her.
“Whatever it is you’re thinking about—he’s dead, Daniel. This was just his last, stupid attempt to get inside your head.”
Daniel managed a halfhearted smile for Louisa’s benefit. He did not actually feel reassured in the slightest.
“C’mon,” he said. “We’d better get back. There’s nothing here but trash.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. You’re right—he’s just messing with my head is all. I’m fine.”
Louisa leaned forward then and surprised him with a kiss. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was more than friendly. It was soft and nice, but it was also unexpected. And it was still a kiss. Daniel’s first.
When it was over, Louisa blinked at him. She had the prettiest eyes. Flecks of green within the brown.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You look a little pale.”
Daniel nodded. Words weren’t working so well right now.
“Why don’t you go back first, then,” she said. “I’ll follow in a minute or two.”
He nodded again. Perhaps a bit too emphatically.
“And, Daniel? Take a few breaths before you go back down there. You’re blushing like crazy.”
The grandfather’s snores sounded like a hacksaw at work, and Daniel felt suddenly silly tiptoeing down the hallway. He stopped sneaking and tried to think of what he was going to say to Eric and the others about Herman’s note, but he couldn’t form a plan. His thoughts were still tangled up in the kissing. Or being kissed. Louisa had kissed him, but had Daniel kissed her back? He suspected that he had. And badly, at that.
Why had she kissed him? Did she think they were more than friends? Did she want that? Did he? Suddenly Daniel was filled with an irrational terror that his friends would find out what he and Louisa had done, or more accurately that Mollie would find out. She’d never let him
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