The 39 Clues: Book 8 by Gordan Korman
Authors: Gordan Korman
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Historical - General, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, YA), Children's Fiction, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Orphans, Brothers and sisters, Other, Children: Grades 4-6, Siblings, Adventure stories (Children's, Mysteries; Espionage; & Detective Stories, Family - Siblings, Ciphers, Historical - Other, Family & home stories (Children's, Juvenile Historical Fiction
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that the whole business meant less than nothing if she couldn't get her brother back.
Where are you, Dan? Is this my fault? Are you so mad that you're never coming back?
She recalled his exact words: I hate you! It didn't get much clearer than that.
108
She couldn't blame him for hating her for what she'd said about Mom and Dad. In a weird way, she was almost proud of him for defending them when she couldn't.
To be relieved their parents were dead. The mere fact that she could think such a thing was like a business card with madrigal printed on it.
"I can't put you down, Saladin, so stop asking," Nellie was muttering irritably. "It's too crowded. You'll get lost."
"Mrrp," Saladin complained.
Crowded. Amy shuddered. Was it ever! Their bus had turned out to be one of hundreds. Near the main parking area, tourists had swarmed like a plague of locusts among guides, souvenir vendors, and security guards. And the stuffl The Wall itself might have been an unspoiled ancient wonder, but beside it the goods for sale would have filled fifty malls --paper cuttings ranging from postcard size to large murals; intricate carvings from walnut shells; pictures made of seashells and feathers; silk kites, toys, figurines; traditional Chinese puzzle boxes by the thousands. Some of it was beautiful folk art; some of it was cheap junk. All of it had throngs of customers lined up with credit cards and fistfuls of yuan. The crush made Tiananmen Square seem empty by comparison. Amy had very nearly lost it. Only the refrain in her head had kept her focused: Jonah draws a crowd ... find Jonah and you've found Dan....
109
But so far, the crowds had been sightseers, not Wizard fans. Around here, the Great Wall outdrew teenage moguls, even the wonderful and celebrated Wiz.
Nellie peered over the parapet at the purple-tinged mountain vista that seemed to go on forever. "Pretty slick. From here you could spot an invading army twenty miles away. Are you sure those emperors were Janus? This place has Lucian written all over it."
Amy shook her head. "Way back then there was no Lucian or Janus. The Wall was started two thousand years before Gideon Cahill was even born."
The au pair shot her a cockeyed smile. "I forgot that there are still a few things on this planet you Cahills haven't had a hand in." The sun was low in the sky now, and she had to squint to see the next tower. "Looks like a big mob ahead. Maybe it's God's gift to hip-hop."
Amy nodded but said nothing. To her, the setting sun meant only one thing: They had been wandering around the Wall all afternoon, with no sign of Jonah --or Dan.
They raced along the ancient battlement --this stretch arduously uphill. Nellie set Saladin down, and the cat, happy to stretch his legs, bounded beside them. Puffing hard, they caught up to the horde assembled outside the tower--a Brazilian tour group.
"Jo-Jo--?" This time Amy's stammer had as much to do with breathlessness as the presence of a large group of people.
"Jonah Wizard," Nellie finished, scooping Saladin
110
back into her arms. "Have you seen him?"
"The Wiz?" The tour guide brightened. "He is here? I read his O Filho Da Gangsta bedtime stories to my nieces in Sao Paolo."
Nellie was totally disgusted. "No matter where you go, or who you meet, it's all Jonah, all the time."
"But," Amy added, barely able to lift her gaze from the cobblestones, "when you really need him, he's nowhere."
The au pair recognized the hopelessness in the girl's voice. "Okay," she said, taking charge. "We're tired. It's time to admit that we're not going to find Dan today. We have to figure out where we're going to sleep so we'll be fresh to take up the search in the morning."
Amy stuck out her jaw. "No! I'm not leaving here without my brother!"
"Be sensible. It'll be dark soon. We won't improve our chances of getting to Dan if we kill ourselves. We need rest and we need food. We haven't eaten since breakfast. You know how cranky Saladin gets when he's
Where are you, Dan? Is this my fault? Are you so mad that you're never coming back?
She recalled his exact words: I hate you! It didn't get much clearer than that.
108
She couldn't blame him for hating her for what she'd said about Mom and Dad. In a weird way, she was almost proud of him for defending them when she couldn't.
To be relieved their parents were dead. The mere fact that she could think such a thing was like a business card with madrigal printed on it.
"I can't put you down, Saladin, so stop asking," Nellie was muttering irritably. "It's too crowded. You'll get lost."
"Mrrp," Saladin complained.
Crowded. Amy shuddered. Was it ever! Their bus had turned out to be one of hundreds. Near the main parking area, tourists had swarmed like a plague of locusts among guides, souvenir vendors, and security guards. And the stuffl The Wall itself might have been an unspoiled ancient wonder, but beside it the goods for sale would have filled fifty malls --paper cuttings ranging from postcard size to large murals; intricate carvings from walnut shells; pictures made of seashells and feathers; silk kites, toys, figurines; traditional Chinese puzzle boxes by the thousands. Some of it was beautiful folk art; some of it was cheap junk. All of it had throngs of customers lined up with credit cards and fistfuls of yuan. The crush made Tiananmen Square seem empty by comparison. Amy had very nearly lost it. Only the refrain in her head had kept her focused: Jonah draws a crowd ... find Jonah and you've found Dan....
109
But so far, the crowds had been sightseers, not Wizard fans. Around here, the Great Wall outdrew teenage moguls, even the wonderful and celebrated Wiz.
Nellie peered over the parapet at the purple-tinged mountain vista that seemed to go on forever. "Pretty slick. From here you could spot an invading army twenty miles away. Are you sure those emperors were Janus? This place has Lucian written all over it."
Amy shook her head. "Way back then there was no Lucian or Janus. The Wall was started two thousand years before Gideon Cahill was even born."
The au pair shot her a cockeyed smile. "I forgot that there are still a few things on this planet you Cahills haven't had a hand in." The sun was low in the sky now, and she had to squint to see the next tower. "Looks like a big mob ahead. Maybe it's God's gift to hip-hop."
Amy nodded but said nothing. To her, the setting sun meant only one thing: They had been wandering around the Wall all afternoon, with no sign of Jonah --or Dan.
They raced along the ancient battlement --this stretch arduously uphill. Nellie set Saladin down, and the cat, happy to stretch his legs, bounded beside them. Puffing hard, they caught up to the horde assembled outside the tower--a Brazilian tour group.
"Jo-Jo--?" This time Amy's stammer had as much to do with breathlessness as the presence of a large group of people.
"Jonah Wizard," Nellie finished, scooping Saladin
110
back into her arms. "Have you seen him?"
"The Wiz?" The tour guide brightened. "He is here? I read his O Filho Da Gangsta bedtime stories to my nieces in Sao Paolo."
Nellie was totally disgusted. "No matter where you go, or who you meet, it's all Jonah, all the time."
"But," Amy added, barely able to lift her gaze from the cobblestones, "when you really need him, he's nowhere."
The au pair recognized the hopelessness in the girl's voice. "Okay," she said, taking charge. "We're tired. It's time to admit that we're not going to find Dan today. We have to figure out where we're going to sleep so we'll be fresh to take up the search in the morning."
Amy stuck out her jaw. "No! I'm not leaving here without my brother!"
"Be sensible. It'll be dark soon. We won't improve our chances of getting to Dan if we kill ourselves. We need rest and we need food. We haven't eaten since breakfast. You know how cranky Saladin gets when he's
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