The Hidden Beast (3 page)

“How far away would you say that is, Watch?” she asked.

“At least six miles,” he said. “Maybe more. I don't think we should try for it in the morning before dawn. It would be better to hike to it after the sun comes up and try to find the treasure the following morning.”

“Do you think that's wise?” Bryce asked. “The clues were specific. We should be there when Venus is at its highest, which you say is tomorrow morning.”

“But, as I explained, I don't think it'll make
much difference,” Watch said. “Besides, to hike there in the early morning hours, in the pitch-black before the sun rises, could be dangerous. One slip and someone could break a leg or be killed.”

“Wouldn't the police send a helicopter back to rescue us?” Cindy asked.

“Not the Spooksville police,” Sally said. “They're all afraid of heights.”

“And the dark,” Watch added.

Bryce glanced at Leah. “I don't agree with this,” he said. “What do you think?”

Leah shrugged and stared at the farthest peak, which was so narrow and tall it looked unnatural. “If Watch says it's too dangerous, I agree with him.” She raised a hand to stifle a yawn. “Besides, I'm exhausted. I'm not used to this much exercise. I want to sleep for ten hours straight. I don't want to get up in the middle of the night to hike in the dark to an unfamiliar place.”

“All right,” Bryce said reluctantly. “If that's the feeling of the whole group.”

“I agree with Watch,” Sally said quickly.

“So do I,” Adam said. “Safety first.”

“A difficult motto to live by in Spooksville,” Cindy said. Then she added, “Do we need to have someone stand guard? Against wild animals, I mean?”

Watch shook his head. “If we keep the fire going, it will keep any animals away. To be sure it doesn't go out, I'll set an alarm on one of my watches so I can get up and put a few logs on it.”

“What time will you be getting up?” Leah asked.

Watch shrugged. “Maybe two in the morning. Why?”

“I was just wondering,” Leah replied.

A
dam was dreaming about fire when he was roughly shaken. He was almost relieved to be awake. The dream had not been pleasant, more of a nightmare really. It was as if everything he loved and cherished in life had been burned to a crisp by some incredible force.

He sat up and found Watch staring at him in the dark. The fire had burned down low; it was little more than glowing cinders. The dim red light heightened the worried expression on his friend's face.

“What's the matter?” Adam asked anxiously.

“Leah's gone,” Watch said.

“Are you sure? Maybe she just had to go to the bathroom.”

“No. She's been gone too long.”

Adam wiped at his eyes and glanced up at the Teeth. It was still pitch-black. There were a million stars in the sky; like bright dots on a black painting. The stars traced an unearthly outline of the peaks.

“How long is long?” Adam asked.

“I've been up fifteen minutes,” Watch said. “She's been gone at least that long.”

“Why didn't you wake me sooner?”

“Because I kept thinking she'd come back.” Watch paused and sighed. “I should have known.”

“What?”

“That she would double-cross us. I suspected that she'd already figured out the map long before she met with us yesterday morning.”

“Then why bring us along?” Adam asked.

“There could be a lot of reasons. She obviously doesn't know this area as well as I do. She may have used us to get this far. Also, she might want to use us for something yet to come.”

“So you definitely think she's set out for the tall peak?”

“I haven't the slightest doubt of it. Do you?”

Adam hesitated. “No. Is Bryce here? Are they in this together?”

Watch gestured. “He's sleeping sound as a baby. But that doesn't mean anything.”

Adam understood. “He could have stayed behind to fake us out.”

“Exactly.”

“What should we do?” Adam asked.

Watch drew in a deep breath and frowned. He studied the nearby peaks.

“I still think it's dangerous to try to scale any of these peaks in the dark,” he said. “But if we want to get our share of the treasure, we might not have a choice.”

“Do we care about the treasure?” Adam asked. “Is it worth risking our lives?”

“It's more the principle of the thing,” Watch said. “Leah made a deal with us. She should keep her end of the bargain. I hate to see her get away with her scheme.”

“The two of us could go after her alone,” Adam suggested. “We could leave the others a note.”

Watch shook his head. “The girls would be mad. They'd accuse us of being sexist. Or at least Sally would. Plus there
is
safety in numbers. I say we either all go or all stay. I don't think we should separate.”

Adam pointed to a bright white star low in the eastern sky.

“Is that Venus?” he asked.

“Yes. See how bright it is.”

“How long till the sun comes up?”

“Three hours. But we really only have two if we're to catch any shadows Venus casts on the tall peak. Once the dawn begins to break, the shadows will vanish.” He paused. “Leah must have known that.”

Adam nodded. “She must have known a lot more than we thought.”

“Yeah. She may even know what the ancient pet really was. Maybe her father told her.” Watch added, “Maybe that's the other reason we're here.”

Adam didn't like the sound of that.

Hiking toward the tall peak in the pitch-black turned out to be as difficult as Watch feared.
Even though they had a couple of flashlights, they kept bumping into one another and sliding on loose gravel. When they started up the actual peak, the way became even more treacherous. The mountain had no path to the top. They found themselves clinging to rocky ledges they could hardly see. And the worst thing was they weren't even sure where they were going.

“How do we know this supposed doorway isn't lower down on the peak?” Sally asked Watch, who carried one of the flashlights in his free hand.

“We don't,” Watch said. “But it seems logical the important spot should be high up.”

“Why?” Cindy gasped, laboring beside Adam, who carried the other light. They had brought three flashlights, but Leah took one.

“Because between us and Venus is another peak,” Watch explained. “It's only when we get near the top that the planet's light will shine clearly on this peak.”

“It's hard to believe Leah went all this way by herself,” Bryce said.

“Believe it, buster,” Sally snapped. “She
stabbed us in the back. Are you sure you didn't know what she was up to?”

“I've already answered that question three times,” Bryce muttered.

“But how couldn't you know?” Sally insisted. “She's your cousin. You were always off talking to her alone.”

“I don't know Leah that well,” Bryce said. “She only just returned to town.”

“I bet no matter what happens, you end up with your share of the treasure,” Sally said.

“Cut it out,” Adam said. “We're together now. We have to work together. If Leah did try to go this way by herself, she could be in danger.”

“Like I'm dying to rescue her,” Sally said.

Because the peak was so narrow it looked taller than it was. An hour of hard climbing brought them close to the top. They stopped short of the summit because they suddenly came to a ledge of rock that was smooth and flat, at least twenty feet square. As they pulled themselves up on the smooth ground, they were sure they had arrived at the right place.

In the center of the flat square was a single smoothly polished boulder. On top of it, standing
on edge, was a smaller circular stone with a hole in the center of it. Behind these stones was another rock. Unlike the two center stones, it seemed to have been recently placed there. Watch studied the collection of rocks, straightened his thick lenses, and pointed at Venus, which shone in the eastern sky like a warning beacon.

“The light of Venus, if I am correct, should pass directly through the hole in this small stone,” he said. “That should create a round shadow—defined by the white light—that should trace a circle on the cliff here.”

“You mean this will happen if you take away the rock behind the other two?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” Watch replied.

“You think Leah placed that rock there to block the shadow from forming?” Sally asked.

“I'm sure of it,” Watch said. “The other two rocks look as if they were carved there, thousands of years ago. But the small stone seems to mess up the arrangement.”

“Take it away,” Cindy said. “Let's see what happens.”

Watch reached out and removed the rock. The white light of Venus pierced the hole in the
center of the circle. Its rays, as they flared out on either side, described a perfect circle of shadow and light, a circle as tall as a man.

Then they heard a noise.

It scared them so badly they almost backed off the edge of the cliff.

The wall of the cliff began to creak and groan.

And a door began to open.

It was circular, the exact same circle as drawn by the light of Venus. It swung open like a regular door. When it was through moving, they cautiously moved to the opening and peered into a blackness so deep it made the surrounding night seem bright. Inside a path definitely led down; the steps that sloped away from them into the center of the peak fell off at a steep angle. The beams of their two flashlights played over the stone steps for a short distance before being lost in the blackness.

“I think they go down a long way,” Adam said in a quiet voice.

“It looks like it,” Watch agreed.

“I wonder if Leah has been here already,” Bryce questioned.

“She could have been here and already be
gone,” Watch said. “How do we know $$$$$hike here the minute we were all asl$$$$$

Bryce shook his head. “I don't thin$$$$ is here, I think we'll find her inside.”

“Are we going inside?” Cindy asked, concerned.

“We didn't hike all the way here to admire the exterior door,” Sally said. Then she glanced at Watch and Adam. “But if you guys want me to stand guard outside here, I don't mind.”

“Coward,” Cindy whispered.

“Who are you calling a coward?” Sally snapped.

“The two of us,” Cindy said. “I'd prefer to stay and stand guard with you.” She paused. “Who knows? The door might suddenly shut behind us.”

Watch nodded. “Cindy has a point. It might be foolish for us all to go inside.”

“And it might be dangerous for us to separate,” Adam countered. “I prefer we stay together.”

“Are you saying that because you don't trust me?” Bryce asked.

“I never said anything about trust,” Adam
replied, although the thought had crossed his mind.

“If we're going in, let's get going,” Watch said. “I want to see where these steps lead.”

Sally was excited. “Obviously they lead to the treasure.”

“Yeah,” Adam muttered. “But to what else?”

T
he descent was long and difficult. Because the angle was so steep, they were constantly afraid of slipping and falling. Also, the deeper they went, the damper the steps became. Soon the smooth surface of each step was covered with a thin layer of liquid that squished under the soles of their shoes.

Eventually, however, the steps leveled off and they came to a cavern with a large dark pool at its center. The walls of the cavern disappeared into the darkness. The pool lay to either side of them, dark liquid that showed no bottom when they shone their flashlights into it. Indeed, they
couldn't even see the edges of it with their lights. Sally leaned over and touched the liquid and put a handful up to her nose.

“It's just water,” she said. “But it's got a faint odor that I can't place.”

Cindy took a step back. “I don't think you should disturb it.”

“A pool of water can't hurt us,” Sally said although she did step back.

“Unless an ancient pet sleeps beneath it,” Watch said ominously.

Adam glanced at him. “You don't think it's here?”

Watch glanced around. “If it does exist, it's in here somewhere. The less we disturb the better.”

“I'm worried about Leah,” Bryce said with genuine concern. “I'd like to call out for her.”

“Don't you dare,” Watch said strictly, his meaning clear. If the ancient pet was here, and asleep, there was no need to wake it up.

They went on, and soon it became clear that the cavern they had entered was vast. But the darkness was oppressive. Their voices, as they whispered, died in the air above and around
them. It was as if a huge invisible presence hung over them. Yet they could see and hear nothing. The dampness on the ground remained.

For a moment, behind them in the distance, they thought they saw a flicker of light. It caused them all to stop.

“That could be a flashlight,” Adam gasped.

“Leah,” Watch agreed.

The light winked out as quickly as it had gone on.

“She may have circled around us,” Sally said. “She may already be on her way out with the treasure.”

“She might shut the door on us,” Cindy said.

“Leah won't hurt us,” Bryce said.

“Leah has already lied to us,” Sally said.

“If she is on her way out,” Adam said, “let's be happy she's safe and let her go.”

“I agree,” Watch said. “We've come this far, so we might as well see what's in this cavern.”

They hadn't walked much farther when they became aware of something huge waiting in the darkness in front of them. The realization came slowly because at first their minds refused to
accept what they were hearing. It sounded like the long, slow breathing of a creature as large a dozen houses.