25

A Dreadful Feeling

With a dizzying leap, the dragon sped up into the sky.

Evelyn gripped Agatha’s neck with both hands. Her scales were the size of dinner plates. She dug her fingers under the edges, trying desperately to hang on. The grass fell away below.

“I hate heights.” She squeezed her eyes shut. Sweat dribbled down her neck. “I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!”

Agatha banked slightly, and Evelyn felt her weight shift to the side. I’m going to fall off. I’m going to die. She flattened herself on the dragon’s neck.

“It’s all right,” Hattie shouted. “She’s flying low. She doesn’t want to scare us.”

Evelyn refused to open her eyes. “How do you know?”

“I just do. Look! The trees are right below our feet.”

“I can’t look,” she whispered.

“Nonsense,” she heard Hattie say firmly. “Of course you can. You have adventuring in your blood. You’re Jane Ridgewell’s daughter!”

A trickle of pride rose inside of Evelyn. I bet not even Mama got a chance to ride a dragon. But look at me now! Hattie was right. It was in her blood.

Hesitantly, she opened one eye.

The trees below looked—Evelyn found herself laughing—like broccoli. They were bright green and poofy on top. The dragon veered away from the river, dropping low over the savannah. The grass flattened under her like ripples on a golden ocean.

Her lips stretched into a smile. “It’s so lovely!”

They’d been hiking all morning and half the afternoon. Evelyn’s feet were so sore, she had to admit it was nice to have a break. She wasn’t sure how long it would take to get to the hotel, but surely flying would cut miles off their journey. The sun sank lower and lower on the horizon. An hour into their ride, a bump appeared in the distance. As they flew closer, the bump grew pointed gables and windows and stairs. It was the Hotel Majestica.

“Oh, I hope everyone’s all right!” Hattie shouted into the wind.

The dragon glanced down at the hotel, snuffling sadly. She banked in a wide circle. They dropped several feet, causing Evelyn’s stomach to lurch. The rooftop appeared briefly under her feet, but then it was gone. Agatha had flown right past the hotel.

“What’s she doing?” Jacob yelled. “Where is she taking us?”

Hattie struggled with Jeffers, who was trying to dive down the front of her dress. “She isn’t supposed to go near the hotel.”

“But the Caretaker isn’t working,” Jacob said. “So what’s stopping her?”

“She’s…frightened.” Hattie’s face screwed up in concentration. “Something is different.”

The dragon landed softly on the lawn, bending her knees to let them hop down. Evelyn’s legs shook with relief as her feet touched solid ground. Her insides felt like mush, but she had to admit the flight hadn’t been so bad.

Hattie curtsied to the dragon. “Thank you very much, Agatha.”

Agatha’s eyes shifted toward the hotel, where the lights flickered on and off erratically. She made a mournful noise. Evelyn didn’t think she liked it here. Evelyn didn’t like it either. What was wrong with the lights? Where were all the people?

The dragon sprang into the sky, leaving them alone. They stood in front of the garden gate. Vines and leaves twisted through the fence. Here and there, the corners of brightly painted signs stuck out from the sea of plants. But most of the garden had been swallowed by trees.

“It’s awfully green, isn’t it?” Evelyn said. “Someone ought to trim all these bushes back.”

Hattie’s eyes were as wide as the lemur’s. “I’ve lived here all my life,” she whispered, “but I don’t know this place.”

“What?” Jacob asked sharply.

Hattie spun in a frantic circle. “It’s not supposed to look like this! There’s supposed to be a garden right here—and sidewalks—and a pool. But it’s all gone!” Her voice was shrill. This was the first time Evelyn had seen her panic. “How can it be so overgrown? I was just here!”

“All of this—the trees—the flowers—it would take years to grow,” Jacob said.

“Morsewood would never let it get like this!” Hattie insisted. “Now I see why Agatha was afraid. Something’s dreadfully wrong.”

A crash sounded nearby. Evelyn whirled to see a group of humpbacked creatures blundering around in the grass. One of them picked up a pool chair and threw it at its friends. They all grunted menacingly. But before she could be afraid, she realized they were just laughing.

“Ugh, trolls! They’re not allowed at the hotel!” Hattie cried. “Oh, put that down!”

Evelyn’s heart jumped with alarm. “You mean everything’s escaped from the habitats?”

Hattie’s face was pale. “The Caretaker controls the fences!”

Evelyn shivered. So the hotel was no safer than the wilderness. Dangerous creatures could be anywhere. She looked at the dense jungle between them and the hotel. Palm trees had sprung up everywhere. Nearby, monstrous flowers covered what had once been a statue. The blossoms were four feet across.

Magic, a voice inside her whispered. This is magic.

“It looks—” Evelyn paused, hating to say it. “It looks as if no one’s been here in years.”

Jacob had a strange look on his face. “I feel…” He pulled himself together and said, “Well, there is no point putting ourselves in danger. The sun is about to set. Whatever is in that hotel, I’m not sure I want to meet it in the dark. Let’s camp here for the night.”

“You’re right.” Hattie sat down on her pack, looking despondent. “I don’t recognize anything anymore. We might fall in the pool. It’s somewhere around here…I think.”

Dinner was very tense. Everyone kept to themselves, munching on packaged noodles. Hattie was the quietest of them all. Even the sight of Jeffers chasing a pack of flying squirrels didn’t make her smile. As they sat around the campfire, darkness slowly fell around them. Evelyn could have sworn the bushes were slinking closer and closer.

It’s your imagination. Plants don’t move…do they?

Finally Hattie spoke up. “What you were saying this morning? About how maybe Majestica doesn’t deserve to be saved?” She stared into the fire, avoiding their eyes. “I’m sorry I got so mad.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for that,” Evelyn said. “Jacob and I got carried away. We thought we’d solved the mystery. But we should have realized you wouldn’t be as excited as we were.”

“I suppose…” Hattie paused for a long time. “I suppose if you inherit Majestica, you get to decide whether to keep it going.”

Evelyn hugged her knees. “Everything depends on the Stone. Because, you know, I have to give it back to Marchwild. I have to save my mother. Even if it ruins the park.”

Hattie sighed. “I know.”

“Maybe Ridgewell lied about his magical machine, but I bet someone could build one,” Jacob suggested. “If the park is powered by the Gem of the Evening, it doesn’t have to be. There are other sources of magic.”

“Do you think so?” Hattie sounded a little more hopeful.

Evelyn gave Jacob a grateful smile. “The idea of the park isn’t bad,” she said. “Where I come from, on our block in Basillica City, there are no wild animals. Why, there are hardly any trees! People come here to see fantastic things. I came for an adventure—and here I am, in the middle of the biggest adventure in the world.”

Hattie smiled. “See, you are like your mother!”

She was being too nice. Jane Ridgewell was a real explorer, and Evelyn was just someone who had blundered into a disaster and somehow managed to come out alive. But the compliment made Evelyn feel warm inside anyway.

She exhaled with a whoosh. “Oh, if only I can find the Stone! I can prove my mother is innocent. It could change everything. But…I’m not sure where to start searching.”

Hattie didn’t say anything, but she had a thoughtful glint in her eye.

“We’ll start with your uncle’s office,” Jacob said decisively. “He’s got to keep records. If there’s a clue in there, we’ll find it.”

Evelyn’s head jerked in surprise. He had said we. And for some reason, it didn’t feel strange—it even felt a little right. She couldn’t pinpoint when it had happened, but she and Hattie and Jacob had somehow become a team.

After dinner, they unpacked the sleeping bags and got ready for bed.

Evelyn wrinkled her nose at her dirty dress. “I guess I’ll be sleeping in this again.” Before Hattie could say anything, she added, “I know, I know. I’m not cut out for the wilderness.”

Hattie snorted. “Of course you are. Look at all the things you’ve survived. Falling off the bridge. Being kidnapped. Flying on a dragon. And, well, just look at you.”

Evelyn glanced down at herself. Her dress was hacked off at the knees, her hair was uncombed, and her arms were sunburned.

“I’m a mess?” she guessed.

“You’re tough. That’s what you are.” Hattie rolled out her sleeping bag. “I think you’ve always been tough. You just didn’t know it.”

Evelyn tilted her head. “You’re not like other girls.”

“Don’t be silly,” Hattie replied. “I’m exactly like other girls.”

Evelyn snorted. “Not the ones at my school. I used to have friends, you know. But after they found out about my mother, everyone started whispering about me.”

Not quite everyone. She swallowed, casting her eyes downward. Some had pitied her, and that was even worse.

“Are you sure about the girls at your school?” Hattie asked. “They couldn’t all have been mean. Maybe they secretly wanted to help, but you pushed them away.”

“I wouldn’t—” Evelyn was about to say she wouldn’t do that. Except that was a lie. She would definitely do that.

“Because,” Hattie said as she wriggled into her sleeping bag, “they don’t sound like the girls I know. The maids at Majestica are always there for each other. Like a family.” She paused for a moment. “It’s why I wanted to be one of them so badly. I’m sure you don’t think servants are important, but they are! They keep the whole hotel running like clockwork.” She let out a sigh. “Oh, I’m so worried about everyone! Mrs. Galliforma…my friend Maude…all of them.”

“Whatever’s happening here, I bet they’ve found a way to survive,” Evelyn said. “Just like we did.”

They both fell into silence, but this time it felt sympathetic instead of awkward. It went on so long that Evelyn thought Hattie had gone to sleep.

“Hattie?” Evelyn whispered.

“What?”

“I know you want to be a maid, but…why not be a gamekeeper? You can talk to animals. Jacob said that’s really rare magic.”

Hattie stuck out her lip. “Dowson’s the gamekeeper,” she said loyally.

“But there are so many animals at Majestica,” Evelyn pointed out. “Maybe you could be…I don’t know…his assistant.”

Firelight flickered on Hattie’s face. “I never really thought about that.”

Evelyn propped herself up on her elbow. “You talked to that dragon, and she listened to you! That’s special. You could be doing more with your life than dusting knickknacks and braiding hair.”

Hattie looked stunned, like she’d been clobbered over the head.

Evelyn stuck her nose in the air. “Oh well, it’s only an idea.” She rolled over. “Good night.”

---

Hattie eventually fell asleep, but Evelyn could not.

She flopped around, staring up at the stars. The overgrown jungle whispered as the breeze went through the leaves. It felt unsettling, as if the trees were talking about them. Or even watching. Slipping from her sleeping bag, she went barefoot to the campfire. The embers smoldered low in the circle of rocks.

Jacob sat by the fire, playing with a tiny flame. First it took the shape of a miniature horse, its fiery mane trailing behind it. Then it shifted into a train car, rolling up and down a blackened log. He sighed and rested his chin on his knees. The flame turned into a dragon. He stared at it, an oddly focused look on his face.

Evelyn gestured at the fire dragon. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“I didn’t either.” He sounded worried. “I told Hattie, but not you. Something’s wrong with the magic here. The closer we get to the hotel, the more I can feel it.”

“Feel what?” she whispered.

“Something is pulling me,” he said hoarsely. “Toward the hotel. And I’ll tell you something else—I think my magic is stronger today than yesterday.” He watched the tiny dragon prance on the log. “I’ve never been able to make the fire into shapes before.”

“Maybe you’ve gotten better?” Evelyn suggested.

He shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s…this place.”

She sat in the dirt next to him. It was strangely refreshing not to care about staining her dress anymore. She wondered if her mother had also loved that about adventuring.

“I can’t sleep either. I’m thinking about…” Evelyn exhaled heavily. “Everything.”

“You mean the Gem.”

All day Evelyn had felt her worries rolling through her head, getting bigger and bigger like a tumbleweed blowing across the grassland.

“Hattie grew up at Majestica,” she said slowly. “To her, the Caretaker is a fantastical invention. She doesn’t want to believe anything bad about it. But you and I are different.”

Jacob’s fire dragon disappeared in a puff of sparks. He turned to face her. “Tell me.”

“Well, what if the Vesper Stone isn’t something you can just…take?” Evelyn’s stomach twisted. “What if…it tries to kill us?”

“The Gem of the Evening isn’t supposed to be able to act on its own,” Jacob said. “It needs a person. Someone with power it can feed on. If that person was your uncle—”

“What happens now that he’s dead?” Evelyn finished.

Jacob shook his head. “The rest of the park should have shut down, like the train. If the Gem is what’s powering it, everything should be off.” He nodded at the hotel, where the lights flickered on and off in chaotic patterns. “But look.”

She shook her head. “I’m confused.”

“I am too.” Jacob swirled his hand, and a hedgehog appeared in the fire. “It seems like there’s more power here than ever. See how everything is going crazy? If it’s not the Stone doing this…then what is it?”

“Your secretary would know what to do. If only he was here.”

Jacob’s shoulders slumped. “We have to get him out.”

Evelyn closed her eyes, trying to squeeze out the memory of those skeletons in the trees. It would be a horrible way to die.

“All this time, we’ve been counting on the people at the hotel to help,” Jacob went on. “But I’m worried something’s happened to them too. Why haven’t they sent out a search party to check on the wilderness tour? And why didn’t anyone notice the dragon flying over?”

Evelyn bit her lip. Too many questions and not enough answers.

“All three of us are here for a reason,” she said finally. “I feel it…don’t you? My uncle…Hattie’s father…your Stone. It’s connected somehow, and we’re all part of it.” She stared stubbornly into the fire. “Hattie was right. We have to save this park.”

Jacob raised his eyebrows. “I believe I misjudged you.”

“Did you?” Evelyn wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’m afraid I’m not a very nice person.”

“You’re all right.” Jacob watched the fiery hedgehog waddle through the coals. “You’re like the hedgehog, that’s all. Prickles and spikes.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “But mostly harmless in spite of it.”