

CURSE OF THE GRANVILLE FORTUNE

KELLY HASHWAY

Copyright © 2016 Kelly Hashway

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual places or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, or recorded without written permission from the author.

The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks mentioned in this book. Trademarks are not sponsored or endorsed by the trademark owners.

Cover design by True Poison

Dedication

To Ayla with love.
Curse of the Granville Fortune
Chapter One

I was about to climb the biggest bike ramp at the park when the vision hit me. Some people might think having visions was cool, but for me it was a curse.

I clutched the handlebars, trying to steady the bike, but my hands and arms tingled with a warmth that made me sweat like a freak. Not now! I couldn't have a vision here. Holly would think I was having a fit or something and run home to tell Mom.

"J.B., what's wrong?" Holly asked, as my bike swerved.

I'd never told anyone about the visions. I didn't want to be labeled a head case and forced to see some shrink, but I felt Holly's eyes on me as my body shook. What choice did I have? I purposely missed the ramp and crashed into a bush, hoping the accident would cover up the strange things that were about to happen to me.

My eyes shut at the exact moment of the collision, and the vision flooded my brain.

You three who bring disgrace to your families shall suffer great misfortune. Your lives shall be cursed until you return what was taken this night.

The old woman's voice thundered in my ears, but I couldn't see anything except the brilliant white light surrounding my body. A warm electric current pulsed through my veins. I felt like I was floating, but something weighed me down by my shoulders. Something familiar. I wasn't alone. There were two others with me. I couldn't see their faces through the white light, but I knew they were there.

As usual, the vision had come at the worst possible time—when someone was around to see it. When someone was around to find out my secret. I was cursed. Cursed for something that I didn't even do. I'd had the visions since I was four, maybe before that, but I couldn't remember. It was always the same. Some woman cursing me for stealing, but I'd never stolen anything.

"J.B.!" Holly was screaming at me. "Get up! We have to get out of here!"

I opened my eyes, trying to focus on Holly's face. My head throbbed—a combination of the mind-numbing vision and the crash. Holly pointed toward the forest at the edge of the park and yanked me to my feet.

"Easy. I just nose-dived into a bush. Could you give me a sec?" I wiped my brow with the sleeve of my sweatshirt and took a deep breath.

Holly opened her mouth to speak, but it wasn't her voice I heard.

"Knife!" the scratchy voice cried out.

Holly hid behind me, burying her head in my back. I looked toward the forest and saw a grisly looking man wandering out of the trees. His clothes were torn, and he was covered in mud and leaves. I could barely see his skin through all the muck.

"Grim!" the man cried. He sounded like he was in desperate need of water.

The guy had to be crazy. I didn't feel bad for thinking that because most people would think I was crazy, too, if they knew about my recurring vision.

Holly tugged on my arm. "Let's get out of here!"

The guy wandered around, stumbling over his own feet. What had happened to him inside the forest? I hung out at the park all the time, but I'd never gone into the woods.

Holly hopped on her bike and started to pedal, but her shoelace tangled in the chain. She fell sideways into the same bush I'd just gotten out of. Typical Holly. She couldn't do anything without getting hurt.

The crash got the crazy guy's attention. He cocked his head in our direction and locked eyes with me.

I rushed over to Holly and yanked her shoelace free. I was helping her up when I spotted a beat up gray Ford Focus at the edge of the park gate. The front end was dented and the headlight was cracked. It was Dad's car. He didn't have the money to get it fixed after someone hit him in a parking lot. What was he doing here? Why wasn't he at work?

"Grim!" the man cried, reaching his hand out toward Holly and me.

"Go!" I shouted at Holly. She pedaled out of the park. I grabbed my bike, hoping it didn't get too banged up in the crash, and sped out of there as fast as I could.

Holly turned right, heading for home, but I stopped at the gate and hid my bike behind a tree. I could see Dad talking on his cell phone in the front seat of his car. I crept over to the passenger side and tapped on the window. Dad jumped, dropping his phone in his lap. His eyes widened when he saw me. I tapped the window again, but Dad scrambled for his phone and held up his finger to me. He didn't open the window until he finished his call.

"Who were you talking to?" I asked.

"J.B., I can't talk right now." Dad was looking past me to the park. "You should go home. Right now." Why was he trying to get rid of me?

I turned back toward the park. The man wasn't there, but Dad kept searching for something.

"Dad, why are you here? I thought you started some big new case today," I said. Dad had started his own law firm about two years ago. Beaumonte and Associates. Now he was gone all the time, even though he barely made enough money to pay the bills.

"I don't have time to talk about this right now. Just go home," Dad said, still not looking at me.

What else was new? Dad never had time for me anymore. We used to spend every Saturday watching James Bond movies. I'd wanted to be James Bond since I was four. That was why everyone calls me J.B. instead of Jack Beaumonte. Dad was the one who gave me the nickname. Now I wasn't sure I wanted it anymore.

I was angry and tired of being ignored. I thought about blocking Dad's view of the park. Maybe then he'd have to look at me. But I saw a black, leather-bound book sticking out of Dad's briefcase. His case journal. If he didn't have his notes for the case, he'd have to come home. He wouldn't even notice if I took the book. He was too wrapped up looking for the crazy guy in the park. I reached my hand in the window, but Dad's voice made me yank it back out.

"J.B., please go home before—"

Sirens blared and two police cars screeched to a stop in front of the park. News vans followed behind them. Dad got out of the car in a hurry.

"Tell your mother I'll be working late," he said, running toward the police officers.

Were they the ones Dad had called? He seemed to know they were on their way, and he sure wanted me to get out of there. Looking at Dad, I knew he'd changed. He was like a stranger to me now.

I reached through the car window, grabbed the case journal, and stuffed it under my sweatshirt. If I was going to be cursed for stealing, I might as well steal something. I ran back to my bike and took off for the other side of the park, stopping behind a row of pine trees. I could see through them, but they kept me pretty well hidden from Dad and the police.

"What's that?" Holly asked, pulling up next to me and pointing to the lump in my sweatshirt.

"I thought you went home," I said, pulling out the journal.

"I got one block and realized you weren't behind me, so I headed back." Holly squinted at me. "What are you doing with Dad's case journal?"

I didn't know how to explain why I took it. I was mad at Dad for wanting me gone, and I was confused about why he was even here. "Dad's here. I went over to see what he was doing, and I caught him on his cell. I think he called the police."

Holly shrugged. "So? There's a crazy person loose in the park. He should've called the police. Besides, he was probably trying to protect us."

I shook my head. "He didn't know we were here, and he looked guilty when I caught him on the phone. He kept staring past me like he was trying to see the crazy guy."

Holly wrinkled her forehead. "So he did know the guy was there."

"Probably, yeah, but he couldn't see him from the car. He was searching for him." I threw my head back, frustrated that Holly kept questioning me. "Listen, you can go home if you want, but I'm going to see what Dad's up to. He acted really weird, and I want to know why."

Holly crossed her arms and leaned back on her bike seat, almost falling in the process. I ignored her and turned back to the park. The police were helping the man into the back of a squad car. Dad said something to one of the cops and then got in his car. I wondered where he was going. I doubted it was to work.

The news vans packed up and left. They'd gotten to the park so fast. Had Dad called them, too?

"Now what?" Holly asked.

I squeezed the journal in my hands. "We check out Dad's journal." I flipped through the pages. Most of them were blank. I knew Dad's law firm wasn't doing well, but this was weird. I opened to the first page.

"Read it," Holly said.

I cleared my throat. "'Braeden Forest looks like any other forest from the outside, but once inside, a person's worst nightmares become a reality. There are hundreds of seemingly identical paths, and each one leads to dangerous and frightening beasts. Most recently, the forest has become a home to the infamous Grimault thieves.'" I stopped reading. From the moment I'd opened the journal, something had been bothering me, but I couldn't put my finger on it until now. "This is Mom's handwriting."

"What? Let me see!" Holly leaned over and studied the writing. "You're right! Why would she write in Dad's case journal?"

"Mom and Dad are hiding something. Here, listen. It says, 'The Grimault thieves are descendants of Aristede Grimault who sailed here from France in 1809 shortly after being cursed for stealing the Granville fortune along with Sebastien Granville and Jean Beaumonte.'" I almost dropped the journal as I met Holly's stare.

"Jean Beaumonte? We have to be related to him, right?" Holly said.

"I guess so." I felt strange all of sudden. Like I'd heard this before.

Holly tapped the page. "What else does it say?"

I forced my eyes to focus on the journal. "'Aristede was never heard from again. There was no contact between him and either of his accomplices. And the curse remains intact until the wrongdoers restore the Granville fortune to its rightful owners.'" The curse. The three people. I had heard this before. It was my vision! The old woman had cursed Jean and his two friends. Now, I was cursed because of it. My whole family was cursed.

It made sense now. All of it. Strange things happened around my family, things we couldn't explain. Like Holly's accidents, her trips to the hospital with broken bones and rare illnesses. Dad couldn't pay the bills, no matter how much he worked, because all his cases fell apart before he got paid. Mom had this weird way of making things break in her bare hands—including one potential employer's hand when she shook it. And I had these stupid visions that took over my whole body and turned me into a total freak!

"We're cursed!" Holly yelled. "All because some relative of ours stole something hundreds of years ago?"

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't about to come clean about my visions.

"Don't just sit there. Keep reading!" Holly demanded.

I nodded. "'The Grimault thieves discovered the forest was a safe place to live because no one would enter the woods on account of its mystical power to make a person's fears come to life. However, there have been a few recorded incidents of men who have entered the forest and have never been heard from again. The Grimault thieves are rumored to have settled there in search of the lost Granville fortune.' That's all it says."

I couldn't believe it. I'd played at Bradley Park all my life, and my parents never mentioned the forest was dangerous. Of course, they'd never mentioned our family was cursed either. It'd been torture trying to keep the visions a secret from my parents so they wouldn't think I was crazy. Now, it turned out I only thought I was crazy because my parents didn't tell me about the family curse.

"There's a fortune buried in those woods?" Holly asked.

"That's what Mom wrote in the journal."

"I'm going to ask her about this," Holly said.

"Wait." I knew it wouldn't be that easy. My parents had kept this from me for twelve years. "Mom and Dad hid this from us all our lives. What makes you think they'll tell us about it now?"

"Because we found out about it. They have to tell us the truth."

"Or they could just ground us for stealing Dad's journal," I said, tucking the book back under my sweatshirt and turning my bike toward the road.

"You stole the journal. I'm not getting in trouble for that," Holly said, turning her bike around, too.

"Whatever. I want answers, and I'll find them myself. I say we explore the forest."

"You're crazy. We find out we're cursed and you want to go into a scary forest that's full of thieves?"

Holly's face was so pale she looked sick, and that gave me an idea. "We're going into Braeden Forest when Mom goes food shopping this afternoon."

"But—" Holly protested as I took off for home.
Chapter Two

I left my bike on the lawn and crept to the front door. I turned to Holly and put a finger to my lips, silently praying that she could actually be quiet and not knock over the coat rack. Mom couldn't know we were home yet.

"Wait," Holly whispered. "Food shopping with Mom is one of our weekly chores. How are we going to get out of it?"

"Just be quiet and leave the rest to me." I opened the door slowly, hoping it wouldn't creak, and peeked my head in. I could see the kitchen and the living room. Both were empty. I guessed Mom was in the upstairs den posting more of Grandma's antiques on e-Bay. I shut the door behind us with only the tiniest click. So far so good.

I ducked into the bathroom, pulling Holly behind me. I grabbed the baby powder from the medicine cabinet and handed it to her. "Dab some of this on your face so you look pale," I said.

"Why? What are we doing?"

"Not we. You. I'll tell Mom you fell off your bike and got the wind knocked out of you. She won't have any trouble believing that, especially since you still have leaves in your hair." I pointed to the clump of leaves stuck in her ponytail.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Holly tried to grab them, but I stopped her.

"Leave them. We want Mom to see you like this."

"Ugh! Fine," Holly said with a huff.

"And practice moaning for your pretend stomachache. Getting the wind knocked out of you isn't enough. We have to make sure Mom won't think you'll feel better in an hour and just postpone the shopping."

"What if I say my ribs hurt? I could pretend I cracked one," Holly said with a smile. As usual, she wasn't thinking ahead.

"If Mom thinks you broke a rib, she'll take you to the emergency room to have it X-rayed. Stick to the stomachache. Got it?" I gave her a serious look to make sure she didn't try to come up with any other injuries that would ruin my plan.

"Fine. Pale face and stomachache," Holly said. Then she muttered, "How boring."

I ran to the kitchen to heat up a bowl of canned soup. Without letting it cool, I ate two spoonfuls. It burned my tongue, but I forced myself to swallow. Then I put the bowl on the coffee table in the living room.

Holly walked into the room as I finished rearranging the pillows on the couch to make it look like she'd been lying there. I looked Holly up and down. Her face was definitely pale. But something was wrong. "Did you take some leaves out of your hair?"

"Just a couple."

"Holly!" I said in a loud whisper.

"Fine." She ran to the bathroom and came back a second later with the rest of the leaves in her hair. "How's that?"

"Better. Now I'm going to help you up to bed." I took her by the arm and led her to the stairs. We only made it up three steps before running into Mom.

"Good, you're home. I'm about to make lun—" With one look at Holly, Mom stopped. "Sweetie, are you all right? You look pale."

"That's what I thought," I said before Holly could get a word in. "She tried to go up the big ramp at the park and she fell in a bush. I think she got the wind knocked out of her. I brought her home and made her some soup, but she could only get a few bites down. I'm taking her up to bed so she can rest." I'm not a great liar, which was why I actually made the soup.

"Thank you, J.B.," Mom said. "Holly's lucky to have such a good brother." I stuck my tongue out at Holly as Mom took her arm.

Once Holly was back in bed, I mouthed the word "moan."

"Ohh!" Holly held her hands to her stomach. "My stomach." I had to admit she was pretty good at pretending to be sick.

"Sweetie, why on earth did you try to go on the big bike ramp? You know you're not—" Mom paused, not wanting to offend Holly. "You need to be more careful."

"J.B. dared me." Holly slowly raised her hand and pointed at me. My jaw dropped. Now she'd gone too far.

"Jack Beaumonte!" It was never good when Mom used my full name. "You're supposed to look out for your sister, not get her hurt."

"Sorry." I lowered my head, pretending to be ashamed. "Let me make up for it. I'll stay home with Holly while you go shopping. I'll get her whatever she needs."

"The grocery shopping. I completely forgot. I don't want to leave Holly in this condition. The shopping will have to wait." She patted Holly's hand.

"No!" I said, a little too enthusiastically. "I mean, it can't wait. Holly and I finished all the food in the fridge last night." We never had much food in the fridge to begin with, so it wasn't hard to do. "Besides, it's not like you can wait for Dad to get home. We'd all starve to death by then." No arguing with that.

"You're right. We don't even have anything for dinner." Mom wrinkled her forehead.

"Mom," Holly said in a weak voice. "I'm probably going to sleep all afternoon, but if I need anything, J.B. will get it for me."

"Right," I agreed, hoping I didn't sound too eager to get rid of her.

"Well, if you think you'll be all right, I'll run into town and grab the necessities as quickly as I can. I'll leave my cell on. If you need me, call and I'll come right home. Can I get you anything before I leave?"

Holly shook her head.

Mom kissed her cheek. "What is it, dear?"

I stared at Holly, afraid she'd somehow ruined the plan. The worried look on her face didn't make me relax any.

"Just my stomach," Holly said. "I'm sure I'll feel better after a nap."

"I'll be home as soon as I can," Mom said. Then she whispered to me, "Take good care of her, and call me if she gets any worse."

As soon as I saw Mom's face, I knew why Holly had looked so worried. Mom had kissed Holly's baby-powdered cheek, and now her lips were covered in white powder. "Sure," I managed to say.

We stayed in Holly's room, listening for Mom's car pulling out of the driveway. My heart raced. Mom usually checked her makeup in the rearview mirror before she went anywhere. I crept to the window and peeked around the curtains. The blue sedan was backing out. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you see her lips?" Holly said.

"Come on. We don't have much time." I stashed Dad's journal under my bed and ran down to the kitchen. As I stuffed granola bars in my pockets, I spotted a rope hanging from a hook on the garage door. I wasn't sure what it was doing there, but I figured I shouldn't go into the forest empty-handed, so I took the rope and wound it up.

"What's that for?" Holly asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we can use it to climb trees if we see any wolves or bears."

"Bears?" Holly's voice quivered. "Do you really think we should go into the forest? I mean, I'm pretty sure bears can climb trees. How would we get away from them?"

"Don't you want to break this curse? Or do you like getting hurt all the time and never having any money?" I wanted to make her angry. If Holly were angry, she'd forget about being scared.

"Let's go," she said, tearing the leaves from her hair.

I finished winding the rope into a big loop and draped it across my neck and shoulder like a sash. As I turned toward the door, the painting above the fireplace caught my eye. It had always been there, but I'd never paid attention to it. A bunch of trees with two paths leading into them—big deal. But after reading Dad's journal and seeing the crazy guy wandering out of the forest, I wanted to look at the painting. I walked over and took it off the wall.

"What are you doing? We have to hurry," Holly said, tapping her watch.

"I think this is—" I turned the painting over. There was writing on the back in faded, curvy script. "Braeden Forest."

Holly rolled her eyes. "So?"

I couldn't believe she didn't see why this was important. "First, some crazy guy comes out of the forest. Then, we find out our family is cursed. And the painting that's been in our house forever is of the forest where the stolen Granville fortune is buried! It's all connected."

"You think the crazy guy has something to do with the curse?" Holly asked.

"I don't really know, but it seems like it." I had a crazy idea that maybe the painting was something more than art. I took it into Dad's office and grabbed the scissors off the desk.

Holly ran after me. "What are you doing?" She looked horrified as I stabbed the corner of the painting. "Stop! Mom's going to kill you!"

I ignored her and cut the canvas along the frame.

"Why did you do that?"

"This has to be a clue." I rolled up the painting. "Come on. We'll bike back to the park." I pushed her out the door before she could yell at me anymore.

The gated entrance to the park was locked with yellow police tape draped across it, so we stashed our bikes in the bushes and climbed over the gate. As soon as we were in the park, we headed straight past the swings to the forest.

I checked the painting. "That's weird. There are two paths entering the forest in the painting, but there's only one path in front of us." I closed my eyes and pictured the crazy guy coming out of the woods. He came out of the trees, not the path. "There has to be another path behind these bushes." I put the painting on the merry-go-round and started shoving branches out of the way. Sure enough there was another path. "There's a trail! Let's go!"

"What about the painting? Are you going to leave it on the merry-go-round?"

"It only shows the entrance. Why would we need to bring it?"

Holly shrugged and followed me down the overgrown path.

At first, Braeden Forest looked like any other forest. But after walking for about ten minutes, it got dark and following the path got a lot more difficult.

"The sunlight can't get through all these trees. It looks like nighttime in here," I said.

"Yeah, and the trees are spooky. Their branches look like bony, wrinkled arms."

I followed Holly's stare to a large oak tree. The bark was cracked and peeling. Some of the branches spidered out at the ends, making them look like old, wrinkly hands and fingers.

"That's nothing, the trees over there look like they have faces." I pointed up ahead. The bark was peeling off in weird patterns that looked like ghoulish faces. One reminded me of my great uncle Lester, and that didn't make me feel better because he gave me the creeps.

A branch brushed against my shoulder. I jumped. There wasn't any wind to make the branches sway. Holly's face went completely white, and she raised a shaky hand, pointing behind me. I turned to see the tree reaching out to grab me as if it were a person. "The trees are alive!"

### Chapter Three

Bark splintered as the branches bent like fingers and swatted at us. The faces in the trees snarled, making me stumble backward.

"Run!" I pushed Holly down the path. The bony wooden fingers of an oak tree grazed my arm.

"The path splits up ahead!" Holly yelled. "Which way should we go?"

"We can't get lost or we'll never make it back home before Mom."

"Give me the granola bars you brought."

How could she think about food at a time like this? We were being attacked by a bunch of hundred-year-old trees! "We can't stop to eat!"

"We can break the granola bars into little pieces and drop them on the ground to mark the paths we take."

"Good thinking!" I took the granola bars from my pocket and tossed them to Holly. "You mark the trail. I'll lead the way." I glanced over my shoulder. No trees were chasing us. They were still firmly rooted in the ground, and we were out of reach of their limbs. "We can slow down now."

Holly stopped and bent at the waist, resting her hands on her knees while she caught her breath. "What was that back there?"

I shivered, remembering the feel of the tree's bony fingers sliding across my back. "The journal said that the forest makes your worst nightmares become a reality. We were talking about the scary faces in the bark and how the branches looked like arms. Our fears came to life." I was beginning to understand how that guy had gone crazy in here.

"Do you really think everything Mom wrote in the journal is true? The curse? The buried fortune?" Holly asked, grabbing my arm.

I knew it was. All of it. But I didn't say that. "Just keep your scary thoughts to yourself, and we'll be fine," I said, even though I wasn't exactly sure if that was true.

We pushed through leaves and fallen branches. I was about to step over another fallen tree, when I heard twigs breaking. I stopped and stuck my arm out in front of Holly. The noise had come from somewhere to our left, but a bush blocked my view.

"Stay still. There's something up ahead. It's probably a squirrel, but keep quiet until we know for sure." I tried to sound calm so Holly wouldn't panic, but a loud cracking sound made my efforts useless.

"What was that?" Holly stepped behind me and buried her head between my shoulder blades.

I was afraid to think of what it might be. I didn't know if the forest only made the things said out loud come to life or if it could read thoughts, too. I moved the branches of the bush to get a better look. A deer ran through some fallen trees. I let go of the breath I'd been holding.

"Is it bears?" Holly asked.

My whole body tensed. Holly had volunteered another scary suggestion to the forest. I looked around, but I couldn't see a bear anywhere. Leaves rustled and another cracking sound came from high in a tree. Three large branches fell to the ground in front of us. Only these weren't normal tree limbs. They were shaped like bears. Big green, leafy bears! Once again, our imaginations had turned the forest into living creatures ready to devour us.

I kept an eye on the bears to make sure they didn't move. The one closest to me was the largest. The leaves making up the bear's mouth were spaced out, exposing its enormous green teeth. I wasn't willing to bet that those teeth would crumble apart like regular leaves. I was way past thinking anything in this forest was ordinary.

Holly squeezed my arm tighter. "What do we do?"

"I don't think they see us. Let's back up and go down another path. Move as quietly as you can."

"Okay." Holly took a step away from me and stopped. She could see the bears now, and she shivered with fear.

I nudged her with my elbow. She backed up slowly, her eyes never leaving the bears. I saw the fallen tree branch on the ground just as Holly stepped on it. I reached out to her, but I was too slow. Holly's feet came up from under her, and she fell backward into a pile of leaves.

"Ow!" she yelled.

The bears let out deep rumbling growls. I yanked Holly to her feet. "They see us! Run!"

The bears charged after us. I pushed Holly to run faster, but I knew we couldn't outrun bears. I followed the trail of granola and got an idea.

"Throw the granola bars on the ground," I yelled. "Maybe the bears will stop to eat them." If tree-bears actually ate. They sure seemed to want to eat Holly and me.

Holly turned and threw the granola bars at the bears, hitting one of them on the nose. A few leaves fell to the ground. The bears were stunned at first, but then their noses twitched in the air. All three rushed to the spot where the bars landed.

"It worked!" Holly said.

"Keep running!" We had to get off this path or the bears would follow our granola trail right to us.

We reached the fork and ran a little way down the other path before stopping to catch our breath. I threw my head back and rested my hands on my hips. Holly leaned against a tree.

She looked at her feet, avoiding my eyes. "I'm sorry. It's my fault those trees turned into—" She paused, and I was grateful that she'd caught herself before she created more bears for us to deal with. "I couldn't keep my fears to myself. Me and my big mouth."

I wasn't sure how much was Holly's fault and how much could be blamed on our family's curse. "We know how the forest works now. We won't say anything that could be the least bit scary. That won't be hard." I wasn't sure this was true, but I needed to convince Holly it was. "Let's keep going."

"But we don't have any way to mark a trail anymore. How will we find our way back home?" Holly asked.

"We'll take the paths on the left. Then when we turn around, all the paths we took will be on the right side since we'll be facing the opposite direction. That should be easy enough to remember."

Holly nodded.

We walked for a few minutes until we came to a stream. It seemed strange that a stream running through a forest would be so wide. What surprised me even more was that the stream had a strong current that crashed against the big jagged rocks sticking out of it.

"We can't swim across it with a current that strong," Holly said.

Going in the stream was out of the question. I scanned the surrounding trees overhanging the water.

"How do you feel about swinging across the stream on this rope?" I asked, removing the rope from across my chest. I threw one end up into an oak tree along the stream and looped the rope around a branch so I could hold both ends in my hands.

"Like a rope swing?"

"Exactly! I'll swing over, and then you'll grab onto the rope as it swings back."

"Sounds dangerous," Holly said. "If we miss, the current will pull us to who knows where."

I wasn't giving up. I had to find out more about the curse, and this was the place to do it. "We have to keep going. We have to end the curse."

Holly took a deep breath and exhaled louder than necessary. She shook her head, almost like she couldn't believe what she was saying. "Okay, let's do this before I change my mind."

I smiled. Holly was being really brave considering what we'd already faced inside the forest. I took a few steps backward, as many as the rope would allow, and with a running start, I swung over the stream. My eyes focused on the water, expecting to see a large octopus reaching up to grab me. Thankfully, the forest couldn't read minds. I landed hard on the other side, but I made it. Now, it was Holly's turn. She jumped up and grabbed the rope as it swung back to her. Following my example, Holly swung over the stream.

It would've worked well if we were the same height, but Holly was shorter than me and couldn't reach the other side. She started to swing back. Without thinking, I reached for her legs and pulled her to me. We landed on the ground in a heap. I broke Holly's fall, but she scraped her leg on a rock and had rope burns on her hands.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I've done worse," Holly said. "Thanks for catching me. I was so scared when I saw I wasn't going to make it."

"Don't thank me yet. I couldn't grab the rope, and now we have no way of getting back across the stream."

"How are we going to get home?" Her voice was loud and full of panic.

"I don't know." This was turning out to be some curse.

### Chapter Four

I sat by the stream, trying to find the courage to keep going. I had to find out more about the curse. Then there was the crazy guy at the park. As awful as those enchanted trees and bears had been, I didn't think they were what had caused that man to go insane. That worried me. Holly and I were lucky to be alive, and I wasn't sure if I could handle what else might be lurking in the forest. Still, I knew I had to get up and figure out what to do next.

"Come on," I said, getting to my feet and tossing the rock I'd been playing with into the stream. "There has to be another way out of the forest."

Holly's eyes were glassy, and the corners of her mouth twitched like she was about to cry. But she got up and followed me down the path.

After walking for about five minutes, Holly started squirming, almost like she was doing some sort of dance. She bounced up and down with her knees bent inward.

"What are you doing?" I stopped walking and stared at Holly's awkward movements.

She crossed one leg over the other and crouched down to the ground. "I can't walk anymore. I really have to go to the bathroom!"

"Ugh!" I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air. "Why didn't you go before we left?"

"I didn't have to go then. Besides I didn't want to waste time." Holly's face turned bright red. She was holding her breath.

"Stop it! You have to breathe," I said, unable to keep from sounding annoyed. "Go behind those bushes over there."

Holly started to stand up but stopped about halfway. Hunched over, she hobbled behind the bushes. A few moments later, she came out waddling bowlegged.

"Now what are you doing?"

"I wasn't about to use leaves. Thanks to the curse, they'd probably be poisonous!"

"Whatever, let's keep moving." I started walking. I tried not to look at Holly because it was difficult not to laugh, and I didn't want to encourage her behavior.

"Mom should be getting home soon," Holly said, glancing at her watch. "We'll never make it back in ti—ahh!" Holly tripped over a large rock and stumbled to the ground. It happened so quickly I didn't have time to react.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't know. I landed funny on my ankle." She tried to flex her foot, but it barely moved before she stopped. "Ouch, it really hurts," she said, rubbing her ankle with one hand and pulling leaves out of her hair with the other.

"Here, I'll help you up." I pulled her to her feet, but she fell forward on me in pain.

"I can't stand on it." Holly's eyes filled with tears.

I hunched down so I was Holly's height. "Put your arm over my shoulder and lean on me like a crutch. That way you don't have to put any pressure on your ankle when you walk."

"I'm sorry," Holly said, leaning on me. "Why is it always me getting hurt?"

I laughed. "Look at the bright side. Thanks to the curse, the clumsiness isn't entirely your fault."

"Thanks a lot, big brother," Holly said with a sarcastic smirk. I smiled. I liked it when Holly called me big brother, even though I'm only a year older than she is. Exactly a year. She was born on my first birthday.

After walking about ten feet, Holly cringed in pain. Tears streamed down her face. Her injury wasn't that bad, and I figured her crying had more to do with being scared than with the pain in her ankle.

"Are you all right?" I tried to sound sympathetic because I needed her to calm down. Otherwise, we'd never get out of these woods.

"I need to rest for a minute."

"There's a cave up there. Do you think you can make it?"

"I guess so," she whimpered.

I helped Holly to the cave, and she sighed as she sat down on the dirt. "Much better," she said. She folded her sock down and checked her ankle for bruises. There weren't any.

Her injury didn't look bad at all, so I decided I should check out the trail while she rested. "I'm going to scout out the path up ahead. Will you be all right on your own for a few minutes?"

"I'll be fine. I just wish we still had our granola bars. I'm starving."

I was hungry, too, but I was trying not to think about it. "I'll be right back."

The path looked clear, but a vulture circled above me. After a few turns, it stopped circling and flew off to join a group of its friends nearby. I turned around and ran back to the cave. I kept glancing at the sky to make sure the flock hadn't followed me. After several feet, I saw no sign of the vultures. Instead, I heard a low, rumbling growl.

I stopped dead in my tracks. A large gray wolf stood between me and the cave. I'd never seen a wolf up close, but I knew this one wasn't like any other wolf on the planet. It looked like a giant boulder, which could only mean one thing—Holly had struck again! The stone hair on the wolf's back stuck straight up as it slowly stalked its way toward Holly, who was backed up against the wall of the cave.

"P—Please, don't hurt me," Holly stammered. Her eyes met the wolf's, and it growled even louder.

I'd heard staring animals in the eyes could make them attack. "Don't make eye contact. It will think you're challenging it," I whispered. I didn't want to spook the wolf, but I had to do something to help Holly.

The wolf swung his head around to look at me, and I jumped at the sight of its huge stone fangs. I was a little relieved when it turned back toward Holly.

The wolf twitched its nose and hungrily snapped its teeth together. I inched closer to the cave, trying to get to Holly.

"What do we do?" she whispered.

I surveyed the woods, searching for anything that could be used as a weapon, but there was nothing in sight—at least nothing strong enough to break stone. I was beginning to really panic when I turned back toward the cave and saw a pair of mossy green eyes behind Holly. Another stone wolf slowly inched toward her, snarling and bearing its sharp teeth.

"Don't move," I whispered as calmly as possible, but the look on my face must have said it all because Holly whipped her head around to see what I was staring at.

She screamed. She was completely defenseless, and there was nothing I could do to help.

"What do I do?" She didn't have to wait for an answer. The wolf inside the cave lunged. Holly raised her arms to shield her head and threw herself on the ground. I thought she was a goner. It took me a few seconds to realize that the wolf hadn't lunged at Holly. It was attacking the other wolf at the entrance to the cave. Chunks of rock flew through the air as the two stone wolves collided.

"They're fighting!" I yelled. "We have to get out of here!"

Holly sprang to her feet and ran out of the cave, despite her sore ankle. I grabbed her arm and pulled her along, trying to make her run faster. We sprinted to the next fork in the path, and once again, I chose the path on the left. We were far enough away from the two wolves, so we stopped to catch our breath.

"Where did those things come from?" I was accusing more than asking.

Holly covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry. I fell asleep, and I had a nightmare. Obviously, it was about wolves, and well, you know I talk in my sleep."

"I can't believe you fell asleep in this place, with all the scary things around!" Holly was on the verge of tears. I had to calm down before I sent her into hysterics. I took a deep breath. "Sorry. We're both under a lot of stress thanks to this forest and the curse and whatever else Mom and Dad are hiding from us. It's not your fault."

Holly squeezed her eyes shut, and I put my hand on her shoulder to let her know I wasn't mad. Scared was more like it.
Chapter Five

I ripped off part of my undershirt and wrapped Holly's ankle for support. The shirt wasn't going to help much, but Holly believed me when I said it would. Before long, I was leading her down the path again. The sun was high in the sky, and so were the vultures. Holly still wasn't moving quickly, but at least she didn't need to lean on me anymore. No matter how sore her ankle was, I wasn't about to stop and let her rest in any more caves.

"We should stay under these overhanging trees," I said, watching the vultures.

"Why do you keep looking up?" Holly asked as she leaned one hand on a tree and stepped over a fallen branch.

"Well, first of all, I noticed it's getting late. Mom's definitely home by now."

"She's going to think we were kidnapped or something," Holly said.

"I don't think so. There's a big blank spot above the fireplace where the painting used to be. Mom's bound to notice it. She'll figure out what we did. Especially if she goes to the park and finds the painting on the merry-go-round."

"Should we turn around and head home?" Holly asked.

"We can't. We'd have to walk back past that cave, and we definitely wouldn't be lucky enough to get by those stone wolves again." I couldn't believe I'd said that out loud. Holly and I froze, afraid the forest would create more stone wolves or that the ones Holly had made earlier would magically appear. Nothing happened. "I guess the forest knows the difference between talking about the past and voicing our fears." I relaxed a little, but Holly still looked nervous.

"What if Mom comes looking for us? All those things our fears created might get her."

I had to bite my tongue when Holly said our fears—as if I had anything to do with the bears or wolves. I'd learned my lesson after the living tree people. "I don't think Mom would come after us by herself. She knows there are hundreds of different paths in these woods. She wrote about them in the journal. She wouldn't have any way of knowing which paths we took. We should keep walking and try to find another way out."

Holly nodded, but I could tell by the way she chewed on her lower lip something still bothered her. "Hey, J.B.? When I asked you why you kept looking at the sky, you said 'first of all' and explained about the time, but what's second of all?"

"I don't want to scare you, but do you remember when I left you in the cave and scouted out the path?"

She shivered. "Don't remind me!"

"Well, I found something."

"The Grimault thieves?"

"No. Vultures. They've been circling overhead."

"I thought vultures only ate dead animals."

The vultures spiraled through the air. One flew low enough that I could see its sharp talons. "I don't think we're in any danger." I hoped I was right.

We continued to walk along path after path, always taking the paths on the left in case there was no other way out of the forest and we needed to retrace our steps. I was exhausted, and my stomach growled so loudly that every once in a while, I looked around expecting to see a growling bear—real or the leafy variety.

"Why can't we come across a fruit tree?" Holly asked, rubbing her stomach. "Any chance that thinking aloud works for good things, too?"

I considered it for a second, but no magical fruit trees appeared, so I assumed the forest strictly tuned into fears. "I'm hungry too, but I'm more worried about finding water. I thought we'd find another stream somewhere, or if that stream we crossed earlier today was big enough, maybe we'd come across it again."

"But we haven't changed directions, and I think we're walking away from the stream." Holly was giving up hope of finding water and, more importantly, of ever getting home.

"I'm sure we'll find water soon," I said, but I wasn't convinced. I was trying to be brave for Holly, but I'd never been so scared in my life. We'd never be able to retrace our steps and go home because, even if we were lucky enough to get past the wolves a second time, Holly wouldn't be able to cross that stream with her sore ankle. Especially without the rope.

"How long have the vultures have been circling above us?" Holly asked.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Do you think we could follow them to find water? If they live in this forest, they must know where to find water, right?"

"That's true, but if we follow the vultures, we might have to stop taking the paths on the left, and then how will we get home if we can't find another way out of here? We won't be able to retrace our steps."

"I don't think we have a choice. If we don't find water, we won't be alive to worry about how to get home."

"You're right, and that means we need to take this path on the right because the vultures just changed directions," I said.

Getting Holly to keep up with the vultures was pure torture. The vultures started turning in all directions like they were playing a game. We couldn't stay on the paths anymore, and I had to let Holly lean on me again as we pushed through the bushes and climbed over boulders.

I was about to give up on the plan when I heard the sound of crashing waves. The sun was getting lower in the sky, but I could see a beach beyond the trees up ahead.

"We're out!" I yelled, running for the sand. The forest went all the way to the shore. I threw my body down on the cool, soft sand and let out a cheer. "We can walk to town from here and call Mom."

Holly walked over to me, but she wasn't nearly as relieved as I was to be out of the woods. "J.B., look!" She pointed a shaky finger down the beach.

To our left, a string of caves lined the coast. I knew she was thinking about the wolves, and I was about to tell her we were perfectly safe, when I heard something moving in the cave closest to us. I jumped up.

"Wolf!" Holly screamed, and she darted back into the woods.

"Wait!" I yelled, but I didn't even look in her direction. My eyes were glued to the cave, or more specifically the girl coming out of the cave. She was about my age. Her hair was dark brown, and the ends had the slightest little curl. She was easily the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, but it was her eyes that I couldn't look away from. They were the deepest shade of blue-green. I was so shocked by their color that I stumbled backward.

She jumped when she saw me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I couldn't form words. At first, I thought I was imagining her. But then I realized I wasn't in the forest anymore, and besides the forest only made people's nightmares come true. This girl was definitely not a nightmare.

She repeated her question, staring at me like I was a complete mental case. I shook my head, forcing myself to snap out of the weird trance I was in. "I'm fine."

"Is your friend okay? She just screamed and ran off," the girl said, looking toward the woods. I spotted Holly peering out from behind a large pine tree at the edge of the forest.

"Oh, yeah. She's my younger sister. We were born exactly a year apart." Why was I babbling?

"You have the same birthday? What are the odds of that?" she said, brushing back a strand of hair that had fallen across her face. "I think I'd like sharing my birthday with someone. I kind of always wished I had a twin."

"Yeah, I bet it's fun to be a twin. You should try it. I mean—" What was wrong with me?

I turned away, wanting to shrink from embarrassment, and I felt Holly's hand on my shoulder. "You should try it?" she whispered with a laugh. Of course she'd heard that! She'd never let me live this down.

Holly sized up the girl and winked at me. She knew I had a crush. I glared at her, silently begging her to shut up, although I didn't think she could do anything to make me feel more embarrassed.

"I should go," the girl said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Wait," Holly said. "I'm Holly. You've met my brother, J.B."

"Sort of." She glanced at me, taking another step back. "I have to go." She motioned to the cave behind her and ducked inside.

Holly shrugged her shoulders. "Was it something I said?"

"More likely something I said. I was a babbling idiot! Nothing I said made sense." I kicked a clump of wet sand.

"You're right. It didn't." Holly laughed.

I was about to retaliate when the girl came walking out of the cave again. Holly stopped laughing and grabbed my arm. "She's got a knife! She must be one of the Grimault thieves! Run!"

I didn't have time to react. Holly took off again, but this time she didn't duck behind a tree. She kept going.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare her." The girl held a broken seashell in her hand, not a knife. "I'm Noelle."

"I'm J.B."

"Yeah, your sister said that."

My face reddened again. Why did I keep making a fool of myself? "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Noelle just stared at me. Why would she tell me anything? All I'd done was freak her out.

"Look, I'm sorry about before. My sister and I ran into some scary animals in the forest, and I guess I'm still a little shaky."

Noelle's face lit up. "Did you see anyone else in the woods? A man?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm looking for my dad. He's missing. I saw him in the forest, and well—he was in trouble." Her speech sounded awkward, like she was trying too hard to form sentences.

"You saw him in there?"

"Sort of. He was in the caves first." Noelle's hands shook, and she dropped the seashell in the sand. I picked it up and handed it to her. Our fingers touched and a surge of electricity shot up my arm. We both jumped backward.

"Sorry, static electricity, I guess."

Noelle squinted at me. "Can you keep a secret?"

I couldn't believe she wanted to tell me a secret after the weird way I'd been acting. "Absolutely."

"I had this dream about my dad. He was wandering around in these woods, and he was mumbling. The dream really shook me up, and when I woke up this morning, he was gone. Missing."

I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want to make her worry even more, but I couldn't keep the truth about this forest a secret. Not if she was planning to go looking for her dad. "Listen, Noelle, these woods aren't like anything you've ever seen. Any and every scary thing you can imagine—it all comes to life in there."

I expected her to laugh or yell at me for trying to scare her, but Noelle didn't look surprised.

"I know. I saw it in my dream. I can't tell you how, but I knew the dream was real. I knew it was really happening." She looked down the shoreline, avoiding my eyes. "You probably think I'm crazy."

"No, not at all. After what I've seen in the forest, I think I might be the crazy one."

Noelle turned back to me and smiled. "Will you help me look for my father?"

I nodded. "But first, we have to find my sister. Before something else does."
Chapter Six

The forest was the last place I wanted to be, especially after finding a way out of it. But I couldn't say no to Noelle, and I couldn't leave Holly alone to voice her scary thoughts either.

"Holly? Where are you?" I hoped she wasn't lying in a ditch somewhere. "Holl—"

"Ca-caw!" Only Holly would think to make fake birdcalls. Mom and Dad were right. She watched way too much TV.

Noelle and I stopped. We looked all around, but Holly was nowhere to be seen. I was getting impatient. This wasn't the place to be fooling around. "Where are you? I know that's you."

She answered with another birdcall.

"Are you sure that's your sister?" Noelle asked. "It sounds like a vulture."

I wanted to kick myself for forgetting to tell Noelle how the forest worked. Now she'd suggested a creature for us to deal with. I immediately whipped my head toward the trees. The branch directly above us started transforming into a giant vulture. As if the real ones weren't scary enough.

"Quick, get in that bush!" I yelled.

"What? I'm not getting in a sticker bush." The oversized bird swooped down at Noelle, and she dove for the bush.

I reached out and grabbed the tail of the bird as it pecked at Noelle. I started ripping the leaves out like feathers, and the bird turned on me. Noelle leaped out of the bush and grabbed hold of the bird's wing. I got a hand on the other wing, and we pulled in opposite directions. The tree branch broke apart, and the leaves fell to the ground.

"Take that forest!" I said, breathing heavily. I was really tired of this place.

"What was that?" Noelle's face was ghostly white.

"I forgot to tell you that the forest can hear you. If you imagine something scary and say it out loud, the forest makes it real. It only hears the nightmarish stuff, too. So wishing for things like food or water doesn't get you anything." I kicked the pile of leaves, making sure the bird wasn't about to come back to life.

"I made the forest create that thing?"

"Don't sweat it. Holly and I created lots of scary creatures. This bird was nothing compared to them." I didn't go into details about the bears, wolves, and tree people. I didn't want to test the boundaries between remembering scary things and creating new ones.

Noelle looked like she was about to pass out when Holly stepped out from behind a bush. She had branches and leaves tucked into her clothing. I couldn't help laughing. "Nice job at the camouflage, but bushes don't wear sneakers."

"You couldn't find me, so obviously I did a pretty good job," Holly sneered. She squinted at Noelle. "Way to create an attack bird."

"Whoa!" I said, feeling strangely protective of Noelle. "Do you really want to compare who's made what come to life in this forest? Because I think your handiwork back at the cave would win."

Holly glared at me. "Whatever! Let's just get back to shore and away from this forest."

I grabbed her arm. "We can't leave yet. I promised Noelle we'd help her look for her dad. He's lost in here." I leaned closer and whispered, "Besides, I'm not ready to give up on breaking the curse." I hoped Noelle hadn't heard that part. I hadn't made the best first impression, acting like a babbling idiot. I didn't want to add cursed freak on top of that.

"Are you crazy?" Holly swung her arm out from my grip. "If you want to stay in this horrible place, be my guest, but I'm going home." She turned, and her tree branch camouflage caught on a sticker bush. She started ripping the leaves from her clothing. "A little help, please!"

"And you want to go back to the shore on your own? You couldn't even make it two steps without needing my help."

Noelle bent down and picked something up off the ground. It was so dirty I couldn't tell what it was. "No, no, no!" She shook her head furiously from side to side.

"What is it?" I asked, walking over to her.

"My dad's watch—or what's left of it." I took the watch from her, and we shocked each other again as our fingers touched.

"Sorry," I mumbled, but Noelle was too upset to care about a little static electricity. The watchband was chewed up, and the face was cracked. It looked like an animal had been using it as a chew toy. "It probably fell off and some squirrels thought it was food."

Noelle's lower lip quivered. "Probably, but this means my dream definitely was real. He was here and something bad happened to him."

Holly sighed and said, "If we're really going back through this forest, let's get it over with."

"Thanks," Noelle said in a soft voice.

"But this time, I get to lead."

Before I could protest, Holly hopped onto a trail and took off like she knew where she was going. She even started skipping and humming "Lions and Tigers and Bears" as if she were Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. But soon she got carried away and started singing her own version out loud, "Wolves and vultures and bears, oh my!"

I quickly covered her mouth. We all froze, waiting to see Holly's latest forest creations. The bush next to us started to move and wood splintered somewhere above us. "Run!" I yelled. We sprinted to the next fork in the trail.

"Go that way," Noelle said, pointing to the path on the left. "I'll try to lure the creatures this way."

Was she crazy? She was no match for the forest creatures. "We can't split up. Our only chance is to stay together." I grabbed her sleeve and tugged her to the left with Holly and me, but Noelle wiggled out of her jacket and tossed it on the trail to the right.

"Go!" she yelled, pushing me down the other path. "Maybe my jacket will confuse them. They'll think we took the other path."

We ran until we couldn't run anymore. My legs were like jelly, stumbling over the tiniest pebbles. Noelle's plan must have worked because there weren't any forest creatures behind us. "Let's slow down," I said, out of breath. "It's getting dark. We should find shelter for the night."

"What about my dad?" Noelle asked. "I have to find him."

"It'll be too dark to search soon, and we need to find shelter from—" I stopped. My mind swarmed with thoughts of all the terrible things in the forest we might need shelter from during the night.

"Go ahead. Say it!" Holly yelled. "All the terrifying things I've created? The scary things I'll probably talk about while I'm having nightmares? I can't take this anymore. Why did we even come here?" She sank to her knees and cried.

I knelt down beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this, but I couldn't ignore the journal. Not if there's a way to end the curse."

She nodded. "What are we going to do?" Her red, swollen eyes pleaded with me to find a way out of all this.

I sighed. "We're going to find shelter, and in the morning, we're going to break the curse and find a way out of this forest."

Holly used her sleeve to wipe the tears from her eyes. Then she gave me a thin smile to let me know she was ready to move on.

I turned around to tell Noelle we were ready to go, but she was gone. "Noelle?" My eyes frantically searched the woods.

"You don't think something got her, do you?" Holly asked, jumping to her feet.

I felt sick. I knew what Noelle had done. "She went to find her dad." She was alone in the woods with danger lurking around every corner, and it was my fault.

"What do we do now? Even if we find her, we can't force her to stay with us."

Holly was right, and it wasn't safe to walk in the dark, so we started searching for shelter—without Noelle. With each step, the path got more difficult to see. The trees and bushes overhanging the path blocked what little daylight was left. I had to walk with my arms up to protect my face from getting scratched by branches. Every once in a while, one of the branches I bent out of my way swung back and hit Holly in the face.

"J.B., be careful! That hurts!" Holly said.

"Sorry." I looked back at her. It obviously wasn't the first time she'd been hit because she had small cuts on her cheeks and forehead. "It's hard to see with all this stuff in the way. I'm trying so hard not to fall into a ditch or stream that I keep forgetting the branches I bend have to swing back into place."

"Yeah, and it seems like I'm always in that place when they get there," Holly whined, rubbing the fresh red mark on her cheek.

I turned back to the path and squinted at something big and dark up ahead. "Hey, that's strange."

"What is it?" Holly asked. "And please don't tell me that large blob is the backside of a b—"

I covered her mouth before she could finish her sentence and put us in danger again. "Please think about what you're saying before you say it." She nodded, and I lowered my hand.

"Sorry," she said, biting her lip.

We walked closer to the object, and I smiled. "It's our home for the night." I grabbed Holly's hand and pulled her toward a large tree that had been split in half, probably by lightning. The top of the tree had fallen over onto an enormous boulder, and moss had grown on the tree and rock, forming a sort of roof. "There's just enough room under here for us to sleep."

"We're going to sleep under a fallen tree?" Holly asked.

"It's the best shelter we're going to find, unless you want to try to make our way back to the cave with the—"

"This looks great!" Holly interrupted.

"Good. Let's get some rest."

I knew I needed to sleep after the day I'd had. Between all the walking and narrowly escaping dangerous animals, I was wiped. But knowing that the fallen tree didn't provide much protection from those animals made it almost impossible to even close my eyes. I wondered how Noelle was doing.

### Chapter Seven

What I was doing couldn't really be called sleeping. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard something rustling in the woods and my eyes popped wide open to see what had made the noise. I felt like I was five years old again, lying in my bed and wondering if the boogie man was hiding in my closet or under my bed. So, when the sun finally came up in the morning, I was more than ready to start searching for the Granville fortune. I had to break the curse, even if it meant not seeing Noelle again.

I nudged Holly's shoulder. "Wake up."

"Don't eat me!" she screamed. Her arms flailed in front of her face.

There wasn't much room, but I backed up as much as I could to avoid getting hit. "Holl, it's me."

She sprang up and hit her head on the tree limb above her. "Ouch!" she yelled, placing a hand on the top of her head.

She'd done it again! "Let's not start the day with another injury. If you keep this up, I won't have a shirt left to wrap your wounds in."

"Very funny." She narrowed her eyes at me. "But I think I can take your shirt off my ankle. It feels a little better."

"Good, because we have no idea what the forest has in store for us today."

I hated not knowing what to expect. It would've been nice to think that as long as we didn't voice our fears, we'd get through the woods with no problems, but I was willing to bet the heart of the forest was going to be the scariest of all. And I guessed we were pretty close to it.

"I've never been this hungry or thirsty in my life," Holly said, letting out a groan. "My stomach is past the point of growling. It hurts!"

"I know what you mean. We could try to follow the vultures again—if we come across them." I scanned the sky, but it was clear. "We don't know which way they went after we left them last night."

"Ugh! Can't something go right for once?"

"At least it looks like the weather will be nice today," I said, trying to be optimistic, but there really wasn't any bright side to the situation. We were cursed, hungry, lost, and doomed to be grounded for life if we ever made it home. I couldn't think of anything to say to cheer Holly up, so we walked in silence for hours until we heard mumbled voices.

"What was that?" Holly asked, tugging on my sleeve.

"Shh!" I warned her. The last thing we needed was her imagination getting us into trouble again. I pushed aside a large branch. Not more than twenty-five feet ahead was a small clearing and two kids. The taller one couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen, and the shorter one was about my age. "Get down," I whispered, pulling Holly behind a large bush. "There are two guys in that clearing." The boys must be brothers. The resemblance was strong—tall, dark shaggy hair, and muscular.

"Maybe they could help us."

"I don't know. They look mean." Both boys scowled as they talked.

"You don't think they're the thieves, do you? The ones from the journal?" Holly said, reading my mind.

"Don't worry. If they are the Grimault thieves, they're just searching for the Granville fortune. Besides, it's not like we have any valuables for them to steal." Holly opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. "Be quiet. I want to hear what they're saying." I leaned forward, but the boys were too far away. "I can't hear them."

"Do they have any food with them?" Holly asked.

Just like Holly, controlled by her stomach. "No, but the older one is holding—" My eyes widened.

Holly poked me between my shoulder blades. "What?"

"I think it's the painting we left at the park." What if they figured out they weren't alone in the woods? That someone else was trying to find the fortune? I was sure that wouldn't make them happy.

"Mom would've taken the painting home with her."

"What if they found it before Mom did?"

"What if Mom was in the park when they found the painting? They could have done something to her," Holly said.

"We have to follow these guys and see if that's true." I wanted to stay calm, but I couldn't help agreeing with Holly. There were a million thoughts in my head, and not one was good.

"What are they doing now?" Holly asked, tilting her head to see around me.

I peered over the bush. "They're leaving. Come on, but be quiet."

We followed the two guys to a campsite. Four green tents were pitched around a large campfire. The guys entered one of the tents.

"What is this place?" Holly asked once we were safely hidden behind a large boulder.

"I guess this is where the Grimaults are camping out while they search for the fortune. We should look around while they're in that tent."

"What if someone comes out while we're snooping?"

"We'll have to stay behind the trees and only go into the camp when it's absolutely necessary."

Holly's face lit up. "Look! There's bread and water by the fire. Do you think we could get to it without being seen?"

I surveyed the area, searching for the best path to the fire. "I think we should circle around to the other side by that tent. Then I'll run out and grab the canteen and bread."

"There aren't as many trees to hide behind over there," Holly said.

"You're right. You better stay here. Hide behind this tree and keep out of sight. I'll get the food."

"Be careful."

I crept from tree to tree, checking each of the tents to make sure no one was coming into the clearing. I made my way to the tent closest to the fire and gave Holly a little wave to let her know where I was. Then, I ran into the center of the camp, but as I was about to grab the food, I saw a look of panic on Holly's face. I had no idea what was wrong, so I grabbed the food. As I turned around, I saw the boots of one of the thieves stepping out of a tent. It was the younger one. Luckily, he was looking at what I assumed was the painting of Braeden Forest that he held in his hands. I didn't hesitate. I ran as fast as I could back into the trees.

I ducked behind the nearest tree, leaning my back against the trunk and holding my breath in fear. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure the thief would hear it and find me.

"Hey, where's my bread and water?"

My body trembled as I clutched the canteen and loaf of bread to my chest.

"What are you yelling about, Edward?"

I peeked around the tree and saw the older boy coming out of his tent, rubbing his eyes. "I was trying to sleep."

"Garret, did you eat my food?"

"What food? I told you I'm trying to sleep. You know I'm on patrol tonight, so keep quiet and let me rest," Garret grumbled as he disappeared inside the tent.

I froze, afraid that even the smallest step would give me away. My eyes darted in all directions looking for Holly, but I didn't see her anywhere. I took that as a good sign. If I couldn't see her, hopefully neither could Edward.

"Someone stole my food!" Edward kicked at the burning logs. His boot hit the flames and caught on fire. He yelled and jumped up and down, trying to stamp out the flames that were probably burning a hole through to his foot.

I ran to the next tree and caught a glimpse of Holly, still backed up against the oak tree. I tried to motion to her, but she was looking the other way. Edward was still trying to put out his flaming boot, so I ran to Holly and grabbed her arm. Before she saw it was me, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

### Chapter Eight

I covered Holly's mouth with my hand, but it was too late. Edward stopped stamping his boot against the ground and looked in every direction. I pushed Holly into the cover of the trees, and as I turned back to see what Edward was doing, my eyes locked with his. Neither of us moved.

Holly tugged on my arm. "Let's get out of here!"

I stayed frozen in place. Thoughts of fortune, curses, and Noelle all jumbled together in my mind. Chills ran down my spine. I knew I should run, but I was strangely drawn to the camp. Something about Edward seemed almost familiar. Like I'd met him before. I didn't have time to explain this to Holly because the other thief, Garret, came running into the center of the camp, holding a large knife.

"Who screamed?" asked Garret.

"They—" Edward stopped and stared at the fire still burning through his boot. He stomped so hard on the ground that enough dirt kicked up and put out the flame. "They went into the trees. Two of them." Edward pointed in our direction. "They stole my food!"

I pushed Holly through the trees. "Run!"

Holly swatted at the tree branches. "Why are we running through all this? It's slowing us down!"

"Those guys live in this forest. They know the paths better than we do. This is our only chance of getting away. But we have to stop talking or they'll follow the sound of our voices."

I ran so fast I could hardly speak, but I managed to whisper, "This way," between all my huffing and puffing. Holly and I ducked under the branch of a large elm tree. I looked back to see how close Edward and Garret were, but I didn't see them. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to keep up with—" Holly didn't finish her sentence. She screamed instead.

I whipped my head around and saw Edward and Garret blocking our path. Holly and I ran right into their arms. I felt like a fool for not realizing the thieves probably knew all the shortcuts through the forest.

"Gotcha!" Garret yelled.

I didn't even try to scream for help. It would've been useless. The only other people around were more Grimault thieves.

"What were you doing at our camp? And how did you get by the traps we set on the paths?" Garret asked. He was still a teenager, but Garret seemed very mature. Everything about him was older—his voice, his speech.

"We're lost. Please don't hurt us," Holly said in a shaky voice. Garret held her by her ponytail, and she was craning her neck to look at him.

"You expect us to believe you're lost?" Garret said. "No one in their right mind comes into Braeden Forest. This place will eat you alive if you don't know how to get around its enchantments."

"What did you do with our mother?" I demanded, trying to sound tough. It wasn't easy considering these guys were totally terrifying. Edward looked normal enough, but I got this weird feeling around him—like my skin was crawling or something.

"Your mother's here, too?" Edward said, squeezing my arms. His hands felt unusually warm through my shirt.

"So you found the painting before our mom did," I said, more as a statement than a question.

"What painting?" Edward and Garret asked as they exchanged a puzzled look.

"I saw you looking at it back at your camp."

"A painting, yeah, that's what we were looking at!" Garret laughed, and I could tell he was being sarcastic. I really didn't like him.

"You don't have our mother held prisoner?" Holly asked.

"She brings up a good point. Kidnapping could make us a fortune! It would come in handy if we don't find—" Garret stopped himself. He obviously didn't want to mention the Granville fortune in front of Holly and me, and I wasn't going to tell him we already knew about it. Something told me it would be the end of us. "Where did you say you lived?" he asked.

"Let us go! We aren't going to tell you anything!" I struggled to break free from Edward's grasp, but it was no use. We weren't evenly matched after all.

"Let's take them back to the camp and figure out what we're going to do with them," Edward said.

There was definitely no reasoning with these guys, but I wasn't about to go without a fight. I looked at the burn mark on Edward's right boot, and I got an idea. I raised my foot, and with all my might, I stomped on Edward's wounded foot.

"Ow!" Edward let go of me and grabbed his foot. I reached for Holly's hand and tried to pull her from Garret's grasp, but he was too strong. The only thing I succeeded in doing was getting Holly's hair pulled.

Holly yelled. Then she looked me in the eyes. "Run, J.B.!"

I stood there staring at Holly. I didn't want to get away if it meant leaving her behind.

"Go!" she insisted, giving me a look I knew well. She'd come up with a plan of her own. I turned and ran.

I had to trust that Holly'd figured out how to get free from Garret. Still, I didn't want to run too far, so I hid behind a bush just close enough for me to keep an eye on her. Garret stood with his mouth gaping open, caught off guard by the fact that I'd left my sister stranded there. Holly didn't waste any time. She angled her head, which couldn't have been easy since Garret still had a grip on her hair, and she bit down on his free arm. Garret yelled and let go. While he rubbed his arm, Holly took off.

I smiled so wide my molars were probably showing. That was Holly. A biter since birth.

### Chapter Nine

Holly whipped her head around, looking everywhere for me. She knew I was hiding nearby. When she got close enough, I reached out and pulled her behind the bush. This time, she didn't scream. She threw her arms around me and squeezed me harder than I'd ever been hugged. Normally, I'm not the hugging type, but I was relieved Holly's plan had worked and she was free from Garret.

As soon as she let go of me, I put a finger to my lips. I heard Garret and Edward's voices before I saw them, and I motioned for Holly to stay still.

"Which way did they go?" Garret said.

From where I crouched, I could only see their boots, but that was enough to make sure Holly and I stayed out of sight until the coast was clear.

"They couldn't have gone far," Edward said.

"Exactly, so why haven't we spotted them yet?" Garret practically screamed. I expected thieves to be a little stealthier than these two. Who didn't know that screaming was not a good idea when you're trying to sneak up on someone?

"They must be hiding," Edward said.

A lump formed in my throat. Edward was no dummy. He was probably searching the bushes.

"We can't look behind every tree for them, but we also can't let them escape and tell people we're here."

"Relax, Garret. They won't make it out of this forest alive with all the wild animals in here. Not to mention the creatures this place creates," Edward said.

"Yeah," Garret growled. "They don't even have any weapons."

"Let's head back to camp. I need to take a look at this burn on my foot."

"I should probably wash my arm. Who knows what diseases that little twerp has. I can't believe she bit me!"

Holly squeezed her hands into fists, but I covered her mouth with one hand and held her arm with the other. When I couldn't see Garret and Edward anymore, I stood up and sighed with relief. "I didn't want to leave you, but when I saw the look on your face, I knew you'd thought of your own way to escape."

"I can't get the taste of that dirty, disgusting thief's arm out of my mouth," Holly said.

"Here, you can rinse your mouth with some of this water." I grabbed the canteen I'd also hidden behind the bush.

Holly's eyes widened at the sight of food. She was so happy you would've thought I was handing her a large sack of money. "I can't believe you held on to the bread and water through all that. I would've dropped them."

"My stomach wouldn't let me. I'm starving!"

"Me too! Break off a piece of bread for me."

"It's kind of squished because I was gripping it so tightly, and it feels like it's getting stale."

"I don't care," Holly said, shoving the food in her mouth.

While we sat in our hiding place eating the stolen bread and drinking water, I tried to decide what to do next. I wasn't sure how Noelle was managing on her own. I hoped she didn't run into Garret and Edward. Before I knew it, Holly and I had devoured the food, and we still didn't have a plan. To make matters worse, I felt another vision coming on. I turned away from Holly. Luckily she was too busy eating crumbs off her shirt to notice me sweating. I splashed some water on my face, hoping to shock myself out of it. The vision came anyway, but it was calmer. I didn't shake as much, and my head felt clearer afterward. I started to make sense of the weird things that had happened.

"The crazy guy in the park kept saying 'knife' and 'grim,'" I said, testing my idea out on Holly.

"Garret had a knife."

I nodded. "And 'grim' was supposed to be Grimault." I was sure the Grimault thieves had driven that poor man insane. Garret and Edward were young, but the rest of their family was in the woods, too. I hoped we wouldn't meet them.

"Do you still want to search for the Granville fortune?" Holly asked.

As much as I didn't want to be anywhere near the Grimault thieves, I knew the fortune was the answer to ending the curse. "Yeah," I answered. "But we have to find Noelle, too."

"What? Why?"

"She's all alone in here. She could be in trouble, and we're the only ones who know she's here."

Holly grunted and threw a rock at the tree behind me. I ducked as it ricocheted off the peeling bark and just missed hitting me in the head. "She walked away from us, remember? I'm not about to get killed trying to save her."

"She was upset. She thought we weren't going to help her find her dad. How would you feel if it was Dad or Mom who went missing in this place? You'd be out of your mind, too." Holly bit her lip and refused to look me in the eye. That usually meant she was thinking about what I'd said but didn't want to give in. I continued. "What if Garret and Edward or any of the other Grimault thieves find her? The others could be much bigger and stronger. She wouldn't stand a chance."

Holly finally looked me in the eyes. "I guess we have to try to help her."

"Thanks, Holl." I couldn't fight back my smile.

"So, now what?" she asked.

"We try not to run into any more Grimault thieves."

"How do we do that?"

"They walked that way," I said, pointing to the right. "So we'll go the other way. I saw a path back where Edward and Garret caught us."

It didn't take long to find our way back to the path, but it did take longer than it should have since I kept pulling Holly behind trees at the smallest sound. And since the forest was full of squirrels and other little creatures, that was often. I knew I was being overly paranoid, but it was hard not to be.

"I thought we finished all the water," Holly said, pointing to the empty canteen in my hand.

"We did, but I figured we should hold on to it in case we find that stream. We could refill it." I looped the strap of the canteen around my neck so I had both hands free to help maneuver through the forest.

"Good thinking, but I'm hoping we get out of here soon enough that we won't have to worry about finding more water."

"That's a nice thought, but we probably won't be that lucky. We're cursed, remember?"

"Yeah, but this path seems different than the others. We've been on it for a while, and it hasn't split into two like the rest of them."

"That is strange. Now that I think about it, the path has been curving to the right. But that means—" I stopped, afraid to finish my thought.

"We're heading right back to the thieves' camp!" Holly said.

"We have to get off this path!" I grabbed Holly's arm and pulled her into the trees to the left of the path.

As we ducked behind a large tree, I heard voices. Garret and Edward. That explained why they were able to cut us off earlier. The path looped around their camp. I couldn't believe I'd led Holly right back to the thieves.

Through the trees, I could see the campfire. Garret and Edward were standing by it. Garret had his arm wrapped in a white shirt. A smile crept across Holly's face when she saw it. I didn't move a muscle as I watched another thief join Edward and Garret. Even though I could only see his back, the moment he spoke, I knew nothing I'd faced in Braeden Forest was as frightening as the realization of who the figure was that stood before me.

My fear was instantly replaced with a complete feeling of desperation. "It's Dad!"

### Chapter Ten

Dad talked to Edward and Garret like he'd known them for years. He'd kept things from me before, but this went way beyond any little white lie. There was a huge difference between being a lawyer and being a thief.

"What's Dad doing with the Grimault thieves?" Holly asked.

"Shh!" I leaned in as close as I could without being seen. Dad handed Garret and Edward some silver coins.

Garret flipped one in the air and smiled. "Hopefully, we'll have the rest soon. We've been living off practically nothing, but that will change once we find the Granville fortune."

Dad removed a rolled-up paper from his pocket and showed it to Garret, who looked very happy. "It was given to me by my father, a very dear friend of your grandfather."

Dad and Grandpa both knew the Grimaults? Was Dad working with them to scare that poor guy and get the park closed so they could search for the fortune?

"Edward, go get Dad," Garret said. "He'll want to see this right away." Garret led Dad to the big rocks surrounding the campfire, and they sat down.

I turned to Holly. She was frozen in disbelief, and I knew exactly how she felt. I couldn't believe the man I'd known all my life was a thief. He'd been sneaking around behind our backs and lying to our faces. Did Mom know about this?

But it didn't make sense. Why would Dad want to steal the Granville fortune if it had to be returned to the family in order to end the curse? I had to find out what was going on. I turned back to the camp and saw Edward returning with another thief in his early twenties. Definitely not their father. Another brother maybe?

"What do you think those coins are?" Holly asked. Garret was still flipping his in the air. "And where did Dad get them? We're practically broke."

"They're part of the Granville fortune," came a soft voice behind us. "Silver coins with the family crest imprinted on them."

I recognized the voice, but I was convinced my mind was playing tricks on me. Noelle looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Look who it is," Holly said, sounding as unfriendly as possible.

"Lay off!" I said. I was so happy to see Noelle, and not just because I'd been worried about her being alone in the forest. I felt different when she was around. Sure I acted like a babbling idiot, but besides that, I felt like Noelle and I were supposed to be together somehow.

"Looks like a party," Noelle said, pointing to the group of thieves. The three boys were sitting on the ground listening to my dad like they were one big happy family. It made my stomach turn. Dad couldn't even make time to share a meal with me.

"Where have you been?" I asked Noelle.

"I found this camp after I left you guys. I've been staying close to it. I thought maybe my dad would show up here looking for help." She lowered her eyes. "He hasn't."

"Noelle, I feel awful about what happened. I didn't mean we weren't going to help you."

Noelle raised her eyes to mine. "My dream was so awful. I had to find my dad. I didn't mean to make you feel bad when I left."

Holly tapped her foot. "What is with you two? We're in a freaky forest that preys on our fears and is full of thieves—one of which is our father. Who cares who hurt whose feelings?"

She was right. We didn't have time for apologies. I had to figure out what Dad was doing with the Grimaults.

"Wait a minute. Your dad's here, too?" Noelle looked accusingly at me.

I shook my head. "We had no idea he was here. He's supposed to be on some big court case. He's a lawyer. Or at least that's what he told us."

Noelle touched my shoulder, and again, we shocked each other. "Sorry," she said staring at her hand. "And you don't owe me any explanations. We don't even know each other."

"That's right. We don't," Holly chimed in. "You know it's really hard to hear what they're saying with you two chatting away." She flipped her head around to watch the camp again.

"Maybe I can help," Noelle said. "I've been watching them, and I've figured out a few things." She peeked through the branches. "Trent is the really muscular one. He's twenty-two. I know because he's constantly reminding Garret and Edward that he's older than them. Trent's their cousin. He likes to pretend he's in charge, but no one listens to him."

"How old are you?" Holly asked.

"Almost thirteen." Noelle looked like she was about to say more, but she changed her mind.

"So, they're one big happy family of thieves, huh?" I asked.

"Not quite. Edward and Garret get along pretty well, as long as Edward listens to Garret. Garret thinks he's like second-in-command or something. Trent hates it when Garret tells him what to do, so they fight a lot."

"What about their father?"

"Morgan Grimault. He makes the kids work day and night while he does who knows what inside that tent." Noelle shivered.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Morgan's scary. I've heard the others talking about some of the awful things he's done to people who've come near the forest." Noelle choked on the words, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. Morgan was responsible for her father's disappearance. I was thinking the same thing. I also thought Morgan was the one who'd made that poor man in the park completely lose his mind. I stared at my dad. He didn't look like he was in any danger. I wasn't sure if I felt relieved that he didn't have to worry about the Grimaults hurting him or if I was terrified that he seemed to belong with the thieves.

"Dad's the scary one," Holly said. "He's been lying to us about all those business trips. I bet this is where he's been going. He's a thief!"

I'd always resented the fact that Dad was never home, but I couldn't believe he was a thief. On the rare occasions when he did stay home, he was the greatest father ever. That was why I hated his job so much. It took him away from me. "Shh. They're going to hear you," I warned Holly. She wasn't being loud at all. I just didn't want to listen to her talk about Dad like that.

"I'm not going to stand around and wait to be caught again," Holly said, tugging on my arm. She turned to Noelle. "If you're coming with us, then let's go."

I broke loose from Holly's grip. "Hang on. Someone else came out of that tent."

Noelle gulped. "It's Morgan."

He looked about fifty and wore a long trench coat. He had enormous bushy black eyebrows that looked like giant caterpillars, a grisly black beard, and a mustache that curled at the ends. But his appearance wasn't the most disturbing thing about him. He had a large knife—twice the size of Garret's—hanging from his belt.

Noelle, Holly, and I ducked behind the bushes.

"What do we have here?" Morgan asked, walking over to the fire.

"Sorry to wake you," Garret said, "but I figured you'd want to hear what Bruce has to say as soon as possible."

Morgan nodded and addressed my father. "I'm Morgan Grimault. My boys and I arrived about a month ago to search for the fortune my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Aristede hid in this forest. Edward tells me you're the son of my father's friend Eli and you've brought me a piece of the map showing the location of the fortune."

Dad stood up and removed a paper from his pocket. "That's right. I know the search is a family affair, but my father came across this and asked me to bring it to you." He handed the map to Morgan.

"Let's see." Morgan examined the map by the light of the fire.

"All of the maps are drawn to look slightly different than the real forest. Once we find all of the differences, we'll know where to look for the fortune." Morgan stroked his beard as he studied the paper.

"So, each map is part of a larger treasure map?" my dad asked.

"Exactly," Morgan said, and his face twisted in anger. "This map wasn't drawn by Aristede. He drew the first one, and I can't locate the fortune without it. We must still be missing one map!" He threw the map to the ground and stormed off to his tent. Garret followed him. Trent shrugged and went into his own tent.

"I was certain I had the only remaining map," Dad said, worry lines creasing his forehead.

"Dad's been searching all his life for the maps his ancestors left behind," Edward said. "They were hidden in places where only our family would find them."

"Are they all drawings of the same part of the forest?" Dad asked.

"No. Each map shows a different section of the forest. They contain things that aren't in the forest. The additional items are the clues to where the fortune is buried. The older maps are more difficult to read because the forest has changed over time, and some things that used to be in the forest might not be here now."

"How do you know some maps are older than others? Weren't they all drawn at the same time?"

Edward shook his head. "Aristede drew the first map, and with each generation of Grimaults, someone else has drawn a map. The fortune was meant to remain hidden until now."

I turned to Holly. "That doesn't make sense. Why would Aristede leave the fortune for someone else?"

"Maybe he wanted his family to be cursed like he was," she said.

Noelle's eyes widened. "How do you know they're cursed?"

"Because we are, too. Thanks to our ancestor who stole the Granville fortune." Holly practically spit the words out.

Noelle squinted at Holly, and this time I wasn't sure what Holly had done to provoke it.

"Let's just keep an eye on Dad," I said, motioning toward the camp.

Edward was still explaining the maps. "My grandfather was the last person to draw a map. When he died, he left the map to my dad as the first clue to the location of the fortune."

"How did each generation know what to draw?" my dad asked.

"They were each told a part of the story about the hidden fortune so that they could draw the necessary map. Aristede told Ulysses every part of the story except for what Aristede drew himself. Then, Ulysses told Gerard the remaining part of the story with the exception of what Ulysses and Aristede drew. And so on. No one, except for Aristede, ever knew the exact location of the fortune."

"So if Aristede was Morgan's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, that means there must be a total of..." Dad paused as he counted out five great-grandfathers, a grandfather, and a father on his fingers. "Seven maps."

"We thought the map you brought was the final piece since it was the seventh, but one of the maps must be a fake because Aristede's is still missing."

"There must be some way to figure out which map is fake."

"Dad carries a list of his ancestors so we can keep track of the maps we still need. I know where he keeps it. Wait here." Edward headed toward Morgan's tent and disappeared inside.

"Something isn't right," I whispered. "For someone trying to help the Grimaults locate the fortune, Dad doesn't know much about it. And our name isn't Grimault, so how did Dad or Grandpa get one of the maps?"

Edward returned with a slip of paper in his hands. "We've been recovering the maps from the most recently drawn to the oldest. Take a look."

Dad and Edward had their backs to me, so I figured it was safe to move a little closer. I ducked behind a tree and motioned for Holly and Noelle to follow.

"How do you match the map to the person who drew it?" Dad asked.

"They're initialed in the bottom right-hand corner."

Dad picked up the map Morgan had thrown. "This one has the initials GG. That means it was drawn by..." He looked at the list of names. "Gerard Grimault."

"But we already found his map. See, it's checked off," Edward said.

"So, one of the maps with the initials GG is a fake."

"You better hope it isn't the map you brought," Edward warned as he led my father into one of the tents.

"Let's go," Holly whispered.

"Dad may be in trouble. Didn't you hear Edward? The map Dad brought must be a fake. I knew he wasn't really a thief."

"What are you talking about? You saw the look on Dad's face when Morgan said the map wasn't the last piece they were looking for. Dad was as surprised as the rest of them."

"There must be some explanation we aren't seeing. I'm not leaving here until I find out what's really going on!"

Holly rolled her eyes and gave me her "you're an idiot" look. "What do you plan on doing? You can't storm into those tents and tell Dad to take us home. Those guys would kill you!"

"I'm not going to talk to Dad or any of those other thieves—"

"Other thieves? I thought you said you didn't believe Dad was a thief?"

"I don't. That's not what I meant!" I balled my hands into fists. "If Morgan thinks Dad's map is a fake, he might try to hurt him. I'm not going to let that happen."

Holly threw her arms in the air. "You can't fight a group of armed thieves."

"I'm not leaving Dad alone with these guys. If you don't want to stay and help me, then leave. Find your own way home!" Tears burned my eyes. I hated to let anyone see me cry, and I hoped the darkness hid my tears from Holly and Noelle because I couldn't stop myself. Thankfully, Noelle stepped away, giving Holly and me some privacy.

"Do you really want to risk both our lives for him? He's never there for us."

She was right. Dad had missed so many important events in our lives. But what about the good times? I had to hold on to that, no matter how angry I was with him.

"We've been focused on Dad, but this isn't only about him," I said. "It's about the curse. We need to end it, with or without Dad's help."

Holly nodded. "You're right."

With or without Dad's help. Why did I have a feeling it would be without?

### Chapter Eleven

Holly, Noelle, and I were no match for a gang of thieves. Still I couldn't sit there and do nothing, so I took a deep breath and tried to gather all the courage I could. Then I led Holly and Noelle through the trees surrounding the camp and started searching for Dad.

"He's not in there," I whispered after peeking into a tent.

"We saw Dad go in there with Edward. We only turned our backs to the camp for a minute. Where could he have gone?"

I didn't get a chance to answer Holly's question because a heavy hand slammed down hard on my right shoulder. I turned my head to meet Trent's evil stare.

"What do we have here? Garret and Edward said they found two kids wandering around earlier, but it looks like we have another now." Trent grinned eerily at Noelle.

"Let go of him," Holly said. She was trying to sound brave, but her voice was shaky.

Trent grabbed Holly by her ponytail. "I heard what you did to Garret, so don't get any ideas about trying to bite me. I'm much stronger than he is."

Holly winced as Trent yanked her hair.

I squirmed, trying to get free, but Trent was even stronger than the others. His muscles were so huge they looked like they were going to burst right through his shirt. What was Morgan feeding these guys? They definitely didn't get this strong off bread and water.

"Trent? Is that you?" Garret asked. He yawned as he walked out of his tent.

"Yeah. I found those two little snoops you were talking about earlier, and they've got another one with them now," Trent said.

Garret grabbed Noelle's arm and turned to Holly and me. "Not very bright, are you, stumbling into our camp twice in the same day? You don't really think you're clever enough to escape again, do you?"

"We were clever enough to steal your bread and water," Holly said.

Garret's face reddened. He stormed over to me and ripped the canteen from around my neck. It felt like my head was going to come off with it.

"I'll show you what we do to thieves around here!" he said, throwing the canteen on the ground.

"Aren't you all thieves?" asked Holly.

I didn't know where Holly's newfound confidence was coming from, but I was worried she was going to get us killed.

"What did you do with my father?" Noelle asked. "He came here yesterday."

Garret and Trent exchanged glances and laughed. "Sweetie, nobody comes here and lives to tell about it," Trent said.

"No!" Noelle slumped forward like she was in pain. Garret had to hold her up. I wanted to reach out to her, but Trent's grip was too tight.

"What are you going to do to us?" Holly demanded.

"I'll let my father decide that in the morning," Garret said. "In the meantime, you'll spend the night in Trent's tent." He turned to Trent. "I'm on patrol tonight, so you'll have to keep an eye on them."

"Fine," Trent said through gritted teeth. I could tell Trent resented having to take orders from his younger cousin, especially since he'd been assigned to babysit for the night.

Once we were inside the tent, Garret made Trent repeat his orders back to him three times before he was satisfied enough to leave. The only things in the tent were a duffle bag and a bed, which was actually a bale of hay. Immediately, Trent moved his bed to block the entrance to the tent.

"Sit over there against the far end," Trent said. He removed his boots and sat on the bed. "I'm staying right here, so don't get any ideas about trying to escape. You'll never get past me."

I walked across the tent and sat against the canvas. Noelle rested her head on her knees and continued to cry. Surprisingly, Holly put her arm around Noelle's shoulders. Even she sympathized with Noelle's loss. I glared at Trent. "We're kids. Can't you let us go?"

"That isn't my decision, not that I would anyway. I suggest you get some rest. Who knows what Uncle Morgan will do with you in the morning." Trent started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.

Trent lay back on his bed. "I was thinking about what Uncle Morgan did to Sticky Fingers Sam. He said he had some information that might help us find the fortune, but Garret caught him stealing from us. When Uncle Morgan found out, he covered Sam in honey and left him tied to a tree near the seaside entrance to the forest." Trent was laughing so hard I could barely understand him.

"What happened to him?" I asked, my words getting caught in my throat as I imagined what else Morgan might have done to poor Sam.

"Don't really know, but Uncle Morgan nicknamed him Sweetcheeks because the squirrels and vultures were eating the sweet honey off Sam's cheeks when we left him."

I didn't see how anyone could find that funny. They'd left that poor guy to die. These thieves were getting more horrifying by the minute.

Noelle sniffled and wiped her face with her sleeve. "You guys killed him!" She jumped to her feet and lunged at Trent.

Holly grabbed Noelle's arm, but Noelle was fueled with hatred and easily broke free. I put her in a bear hug from behind. She fought me, swinging her arms at my hands. A spark surged between our skin. We'd shocked each other again, and luckily it snapped Noelle out of her attack. She slumped into my arms. Holly got to her feet and helped me sit Noelle down.

Trent sat straight up on his bed. "I'd keep her under control if I were you. We wouldn't want the little sweetie to get hurt."

Noelle scowled at Trent. I was afraid she was going to pounce again, but instead she asked in a weak voice, "Why did you do it? Why couldn't you just send him away?"

"We couldn't take a chance of letting him get out of these woods alive. This camp is a secret. No one who comes across it ever gets out alive."

I gulped, and Noelle sobbed. We'd been safer in the woods on our own, even with the forest preying on our fears, than we were with the Grimaults. I sat huddled against the wall for a long time, thinking about how hopeless the situation was when I heard the faint sound of snoring.

"Trent's asleep," I whispered.

"So?" Holly said. "He's blocking the entrance."

She was right, but we couldn't stay here and wait for whatever it was Morgan was going to do to us. I stared at Trent's bed, thinking the enchanted forest could actually help us for the first time.

"Holl, I've got a crazy idea."

"I'm listening, but I'm warning you, I've had my fill of crazy in the past few days."

"I think we might be able to use the forest to help us get away from Trent." Holly and Noelle looked at me like I'd completely lost it. "His bed is a bale of hay. Maybe we could make it change into something that would hold him back long enough for us to run away."

"But it'd be blocking the doorway, too," Holly said. "We'd have to fight our way around it."

"It's worth a try. Trent will use his knife to hack up the hay, and even if we don't get away, we'll be right back where we are now. No matter how mad Trent gets, he won't do anything to us until Morgan wakes up."

"I guess, but does that mean we're going to leave Dad here?" Holly asked.

"No," I said without hesitation. "We're going to search for him. Garret's supposed to patrol all night for intruders. Maybe Dad's on patrol, too."

"That would explain why he wasn't in any of the tents," Holly said.

"We'll keep looking for your father, too," I said to Noelle. "These guys are thieves, and I'll bet they're also liars. Who knows if they've even really met your dad?"

Noelle looked at me through swollen eyes. "Thanks."

I took a deep breath. My plan had the potential to backfire badly, but it was the only thing I could come up with. I chose my words carefully and pointed to Trent's bed. "Trent's bed looks like a—" I looked at Holly and silently communicated an apology, "big yellow bear wrapping him in a hug."

Immediately, the hay bent and twisted into the form of a large bear. It wrapped its arms around Trent. The bear growled in response to Trent's snoring, and Trent startled out of his sleep. Holly, Noelle, and I jumped up and ran for the tiny space between the tent door and the bear-hugging duo. I grabbed Trent's bandana and shoved it in his mouth to keep him from screaming. We burst out of the tent and sprinted into the woods.

"I hate to say it, but we're going to have to get back onto one of the paths if we want to find our way through these woods in the dark," I said.

"If you want to find your dad, our best chance is to get back on the trail that circles the camp," Noelle said.

Holly slowed to a stop. "No way!"

Noelle and I stopped, too. I couldn't hear the thieves or the growling bear, so I figured it was safe to take a second to think. "She's right, Holl. Look, we're getting the hang of this forest, and we've gotten away from the thieves more than once. We can do this. Dad would do it for us. It's probably why he's in Braeden Forest in the first place."

"Are you sure about that?" Holly asked, crossing her arms. "Can you really forget about how he's never around anymore? And what about the secrets he's been keeping? Why would seeing him here make you forgive him all of a sudden?"

"That's not what I'm doing. I'm still mad at him. It's just—" I couldn't explain how I felt because I didn't understand it myself. "Let's not argue. We need to move before the sun comes up and someone sees us."

"I think the path is somewhere over there," Noelle said, pointing to our right.

We managed to find our way back to the path. After about ten minutes, I began to move more confidently through the forest.

"Hold up, J.B.," Holly said. "I don't think we've been on this section of the path before."

Something tightened around my ankle, and I was swept upside down. I looked at Holly and realized I was dangling from a tree, caught in some sort of rope netting.

"Are you all right?" Noelle asked.

"I'm fine. The thieves must have placed traps along the trail so no one would find their camp." I struggled to sit up in the netting. The rope was rough, and it dug into my arms and legs.

"Garret mentioned something about traps when he caught us earlier," Holly said. "How are we going to get you down from there?"

"We need something to cut the rope. Look for a sharp rock."

Holly searched the ground, feeling along the grass and dirt. "It's still kind of dark. I can't really see well, but I don't think there are any sharp—" Holly screamed and grabbed Noelle's arm.

I watched helplessly as they both were scooped up into another net. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was anywhere other than dangling from the trees with no way to get free.

### Chapter Twelve

It was bad enough that I'd gotten caught in a net, but I didn't think things could get any worse now that Holly and Noelle were dangling beside me. If I'd had even a little luck, Holly would've found a sharp rock before she reached headfirst into the trap. Or, at least she wouldn't have pulled Noelle into the trap with her so one of us would've been free.

"Ow! That's my foot!" Holly whined.

"At least you're not upside-down!" Noelle said, squirming in the net.

"Would you two knock it off?" I was sick of their arguing.

"Quit moving around!" Holly yelled.

"I wouldn't be stuck up here if you hadn't grabbed me! So lay off!" Noelle said.

The only time they'd gotten along was when Garret told Noelle about her dad. Holly must have forgotten all about that because she was back to her usual self. "Fighting isn't helping. We need to find a way out of here."

They stopped squirming. Holly blew a few strands of hair out of her face. "How do you suggest we get down from here, big brother?"

"I don't think getting down is going to be a problem," Noelle said.

"Did you think of a way to get out of these nets?" I asked.

"Yeah." Noelle's voice shook. "I'm pretty sure he'll cut us down." She pointed down the path.

I shifted my weight and saw a shadowy figure walking our way. "Please be Dad," I muttered, but deep down, I knew the person walking toward us wasn't my dad. And the panic in Noelle's voice meant she knew it, too.

"Garret," I mumbled as he walked up to the traps.

"You? How did you get away from Trent?" Garret asked, his face twisted in a combination of confusion and anger.

"I guess we were clever enough to escape again!" Holly said, using Garret's words against him.

"Wait until I cut you down from there!"

"You can't hurt us. You can't do anything without your father's orders," I said, hoping it was true.

"Not a problem. I'm dying to see what he has planned for you." Garret yanked the knife from his belt loop and swung it at the rope tied around the tree trunk.

I landed hard on my back. "Ouch!" I thrashed around for a minute, trying to get out of the net, but I couldn't find an opening anywhere. I looked up at Garret, and the smirk on his face said it all. He hadn't cut us free. He'd only cut the nets down from the tree.

"How are we supposed to go with you back to the camp if we're stuck in these ropes?" I asked.

"Simple." Garret grabbed hold of the two nets and dragged them behind him.

"Ow!" Holly winced. "Great, where was that sharp rock when I needed it?"

"What was that about not being able to hurt you?" Garret asked. He laughed like a crazy person as he dragged us back to camp. He struggled to pull our weight, but apparently causing us pain was worth the struggle.

Luckily, we hadn't gotten far before we were captured, so Garret didn't have to drag us for long. I was grateful I was wearing long sleeves and jeans. Otherwise, I would've been cut to shreds by all the gravel and fallen tree branches Garret pulled us through—no doubt on purpose.

Edward walked into the camp from the other direction the same time we did. He stared directly at us. I was about to tell him to stop staring when Trent came running out of his tent. His clothes were torn to shreds, and his hair stuck out in all directions. He yanked the bandana out of his mouth and rushed over to us. "I'm going to kill you little brats!"

Garret stepped in front of him, letting the ropes fall to the ground. "You were supposed to guard them!"

I had to smile, even if only for a second. At least I'd succeeded in getting Trent in trouble. It wasn't as good as getting away, but it was something.

"My bed attacked me while I was—" Trent stammered.

"While you were what?" Garret didn't wait for an answer. He shoved Trent in the chest. "You fell asleep!"

"Maybe I would've been able to stay awake if you and Edward hadn't kept me up all day yelling and finding stupid ways to prove who's tougher!" Trent yelled, regaining his confidence.

"What's going on out here?"

Morgan stood in the entrance of his tent. One look told me he wasn't a morning person. He squinted against the sunlight and scowled at me.

"I caught these kids snooping around last night," Garret began.

"You caught them? Don't you mean I caught them?" Trent said.

"Yeah, that's right. You caught them and then let them escape! I found them in one of the traps!" Garret yelled.

"Enough!" Morgan's voice echoed through the trees. "Who are these children? Cut them free."

Edward rushed over to help Noelle to her feet. I stared at Morgan, wondering what he was going to do to us.

"Don't even think about moving," Morgan said. "If you want to live, you'll do as I say. I'm a very busy man, and I won't have three kids getting in my way."

"Uncle Morgan, I'd be happy to take care of them for you," Trent said. I suspected he was trying to suck up so he wouldn't be punished for letting us escape.

"That won't be necessary. We won't be staying here much longer. We're only missing one piece of the treasure map. We still don't know the exact location, but I think we might be able to begin our search. It seems that one of the maps drawn by Gerard is a fake. I've come to the conclusion that our new friend Bruce may not be a friend after all. The map he brought is different than the others."

"No!" Holly had tears in her eyes.

"Shh!" I warned her. "Don't say a word."

Luckily, Morgan was so caught up talking about the fortune he didn't hear Holly. "The only remaining piece of the puzzle is the map drawn by Aristede. I had a feeling it would be more difficult to find since it's the oldest," he said.

"Let's look at all the maps together. Maybe we won't need Aristede's if we can figure out the clues in the rest," Garret suggested.

Morgan took six maps from his pocket and laid them on the ground in front of the fire. I watched as the thieves studied them. The only one who wasn't looking at the maps was Trent. He was keeping a close eye on Holly, Noelle, and me. And that meant there was no way to escape. I wasn't really upset that I couldn't get away because I wanted to know more about the fortune. It was the key to ending the curse.

Finally, Morgan spoke. "In each map, one part of the forest is drawn incorrectly. The clue is in which path to take. A large tree blocks this path in Bernard's map, but there is no such tree in the actual forest. Therefore, that's the clue. We must take that path."

"That's just what your father told you," Trent said. "We don't know if it's true."

Morgan glared at Trent. "What was that about my father?"

Trent gulped. "Uh...I, I just meant that we don't really know where the clues are hidden in the maps. We need to see that part of the forest before we can be sure."

"I hate to agree with Trent," Garret said, "but we can't be sure where the clues are until we see them for ourselves. Like you said, no one, aside from Aristede himself, knows the true location of the fortune."

Garret was defending Trent! Things were getting weird, and I wanted to get out of here. Having the maps would make it easier to find the fortune, but these guys were crazy.

"I see your point," Morgan said. "Though I'd be more careful how you say things about our family in the future, Trent." Morgan placed his hand on his knife. The message was clear. Another comment like that and Trent would find himself at the sharp end of a knife.

"Yes, sir," Trent said, looking as surprised as I was that he'd escaped punishment.

"Now, we do know that each map contains something that is not present in the forest and that's the clue," Morgan said, returning his attention to the maps.

"Hey, that's like our painting," Holly said. "There were two paths, but when we entered the forest, one of those paths was overgrown with trees."

"What did you say?" Morgan asked as if she'd said the most interesting thing in the world.

Holly grabbed my arm and stepped closer to me.

"They thought we had a painting of theirs when we caught them earlier," Garret said.

"But you didn't. It was one of your treasure maps," I said. Noelle stared at me so intently my cheeks got warm.

"We were trying to locate the part of the forest drawn in Bernard's map," Garret told his father. "In case we weren't able to recover the final piece of the treasure map."

"Why did you think we had your painting?" Edward asked me.

I didn't know if I should tell them the real reason, which was that the painting and the maps looked very similar. The last thing I wanted was to help the guys who were holding us captive and who may have hurt Dad. But then I thought of something. If the thieves wanted the painting, they'd have to help us find our way back to the entrance of the forest where I'd left it.

"We're waiting!" Morgan stomped his foot in the dirt.

I took a deep breath. "We thought you had our painting because the maps you're trying to gather look like it."

"What part of the forest is illustrated on this painting?" Morgan spoke so fast I had trouble understanding him.

"It's the entrance by the park," Holly said.

Noelle smiled, and I couldn't make sense of her sudden interest in the fortune.

"The entrance," Morgan repeated, looking over all six maps. "Of course! That's the missing piece. We need to know where to begin the search!"

"We've been assuming the search began by the seaside entrance," Garret said. "That must be why we couldn't locate any of the areas drawn on the maps. We have to start at the park."

"Yes! It makes sense now," Morgan yelled.

"But, Dad, why would one of the pieces be a painting?" Edward asked. "Why is it different from the others?"

"Because Aristede was a painter!" Morgan said, grinning so wide he looked insane.

### Chapter Thirteen

After reading Dad's journal, I'd had a feeling the painting was a clue, but I never thought it'd be something like this. What I really didn't understand was if Aristede disappeared and never met up with Jean or Sebastien again, how had something so important to the Grimaults ended up in my living room?

"How did these kids get our ancestor's painting?" Garret asked, reading my mind.

"I'm not sure," Morgan said, "but they're obviously special." He smiled at Holly and me. "Consider yourselves my guests of honor. You'll be coming with us on our search."

"You want to take them with us to find the fortune?" Trent asked.

"No, I want them to take us to the painting." Morgan's cheerful expression was instantly replaced by a sinister and intimidating look. "Now, where is it?"

"We left it at the park, but we don't know how to get back there," I said. "We've been lost for days."

"Then we better get started. Boys, get your knives, fill the canteens with water, and grab some bread." Morgan gathered the maps and placed them in his pocket.

Holly whispered, "Why are we helping them?"

"Because they're going to take us back to the park. Then we might be able to get help, like the police or someone who'd take care of these guys, so we can find the Granville fortune."

"You don't really think they're going to let us go when we find the painting, do you? And what if the painting isn't even there? Mom may have found it by now."

"What other choice do we have? Besides, the walk back through the forest will give us time to think of a better idea."

I raised my head and saw Edward coming toward us.

"My dad says you're traveling with me," he said. "Don't get any ideas of making a run for it. You'll never make it through this forest without our protection." It sounded more like a warning than a threat.

"We know," I said. "We won't try to escape."

"Good. Let's go."

My eyes darted in every direction as I followed Edward. Around each turn, I expected to see the wolves or bears Holly had created earlier, but the forest was quiet. I started thinking the journey home was going to be easy—until I saw the stream. The current was even rougher than I remembered.

"I forgot about the stream," Holly said. "We'll never get across it without our rope."

"I don't think we can swim across this, Dad," Garret said. "The current is too strong, and the water is full of jagged rocks."

Morgan stood at the water's edge. "You say you crossed this stream on your way into the forest?" he asked me, keeping his eyes glued to the stream in front of him.

"Answer him!" Garret said, shoving me hard on the back.

I stumbled forward, but Noelle caught me by the arm before I fell. A spark shocked us both as we touched and she immediately let go. "We draped a rope over a tree branch to swing across the water," I said.

"Where's the rope?" Morgan asked, finally turning toward me.

"We left it hanging on the tree, but this isn't where we crossed the stream," I answered.

Morgan furrowed his brow. After what seemed like a lifetime of silence, he finally spoke. "The only way to cross is by using the rocks to our advantage."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"The rocks are close enough together that we should be able to jump from one to another to get across the water."

"What if we fall in? That current will pull us out to who knows where!" Holly's voice trembled.

But either Morgan didn't hear her or he just didn't care because he waved his arm and said, "Come on! We're wasting time."

"Wait!" I protested. "The three of us aren't as tall as you guys. Our legs aren't long enough to jump across those rocks."

"Move!" Garret said, pushing me toward the stream.

"It'll be fine. Edward says they've done stuff like this before," Noelle said in a low voice as she marched past me. How could she be so trusting?

The thieves began crossing the river in pairs. Edward and Noelle crossed the stream first with Edward leading the way. Once Edward safely jumped onto the first rock, he turned and extended his arm to Noelle who joined him. They continued like this to the other side of the stream.

Holly and I were each paired with a thief to cross the stream. I went before her with Garret. I didn't like the idea of being separated from Holly, but after watching some of these guys struggle to get across the stream, I realized being paired with a long-legged thief was our only chance to safely cross the rough water. I slipped once, but Garret grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the rock. Trent insisted he could cross the water alone, and no one had any objection to him trying. He stumbled a little, but he made it safely to the other side.

The last pair to cross was Holly and Morgan. I had a feeling Morgan wasn't crossing last in order to make sure everyone made it safely. He probably didn't want to risk his own life trying to see if his plan would work. Some father he was.

Holly stood at the water's edge. "I'm not going. If I slip, he'll probably just save himself."

"You can't stay behind," I shouted.

Holly huffed but gave in, refusing to grab Morgan's hand as she jumped from rock to rock. She leaped and fell belly down onto each rock. She was getting pretty banged up, but I couldn't blame her for not wanting to put her life in Morgan's hands.

Holly and Morgan reached the final rock, and I noticed the land was farther away than Holly could jump on her own. "You're going to have to let him help you!" I yelled.

"I'm not going to make it! This rock is too narrow and pointy. I can't get any kind of running start. The stupid thing looks like a shark's fin."

"No!" I yelled. I watched in horror as the rock beneath Holly's feet transformed into a gray shark.

Holly splashed into the water, and the shark turned in her direction, its jaws wide open.

The current was strong, and it pulled Holly downstream. I got down on the ground and reached for her, but she was too far away.

"Move!" Morgan said, pushing me aside. He drew his knife from his belt and hit the shark between the eyes. The knife didn't harm the rock shark, but the creature kept attacking it instead of going for Holly.

"Help!" Holly yelled.

I stared in terror at the jagged rock in her path. Before I could do anything, Edward rushed past Morgan. He reached out and grabbed Holly by the back of her shirt. I rushed over and helped him pull Holly out of the water.

I put my arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?" I could barely get the words out. I'd almost lost my sister.

"I think so," Holly said through chattering teeth.

"Let's continue," Morgan said. "It's getting dark, and we need to find a safe place to rest for the night." He walked over to Holly and me, extended a hand to each of us, and pulled us to our feet. He removed his jacket and handed it to Holly. "Put this on. You must be freezing in those wet clothes."

"Th-thanks," Holly said, taking the coat. She gave me a puzzled look, and I shrugged.

I didn't know what to make of Morgan's kind gesture. In a way, it made me more nervous than when he was being cruel.

Chapter Fourteen

The air was getting cold, and I wished I had a jacket, too, even if it did belong to a thief. Morgan wanted Garret and Edward by his side, so he told Trent he was on babysitting duty. So much for the moment of kindness. Trent fell back behind Holly, Noelle, and me while the rest of the group walked ahead of us. Noelle's eyes were glued to Edward like she was trying to figure him out.

The sun was setting, and I couldn't see very far in front of me. I wasn't sure how we were going to find shelter.

"I hope they don't make us sleep in a cave," Holly said, visibly shivering under Morgan's jacket.

"It would be better than sleeping in the open."

"Not if there's a hungry W-O-L-F in the cave."

"Well, as long as you keep your mouth shut, the forest won't create one." Why couldn't she get the hang of this place? It was scary, but it wasn't that complicated. You didn't talk about the frightening things you imagined while you were here. Of course, I was convinced the forest put those scary thoughts into our heads, hoping we'd say them aloud.

I saw something shiny out of the corner of my eye. Trent was swinging his knife back and forth in the air, like he was fighting someone who wasn't really there. He grunted and stabbed the knife straight out in front of him. I rolled my eyes. He was like a child in a big, scary, muscular body. At least he wasn't paying attention to Holly and me.

"Why do you think Morgan saved me back there?" Holly asked. "He only needs one of us. He could have let me drown. Or get eaten." She lowered her head. At least she realized she was the one who had put herself in danger of both being shark food and drowning.

"Morgan's sudden mood swings can only mean one thing," I said. "He wants that painting so much he was willing to save you to get it. He knew I wouldn't help him if he let you get eaten by that shark."

"But why did he give me his coat? That was weird. You don't think he has a daughter, do you? Maybe I remind him of her?"

"This is a family thing—searching for the fortune. She'd be here."

"You're probably right. Father of the year over there, taking his kids with him to this dangerous forest to search for some fortune that may or may not be here."

"At least they're together. Dad's never taken me to work with him," I said. The Grimaults may be dysfunctional, but they acted like a family. I glanced at Edward and Garret. They looked at their father like he was the greatest man on earth. For a second I envied them. Then my eyes fell on Noelle who was walking very close to Edward. She seemed to almost fit in with them—well, with Edward at least.

Holly patted my shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, Dad's somehow involved in this. So we're not that different from Morgan's kids."

"Except Dad didn't tell us about it."

"No, he didn't," Holly agreed. "But do you know what the worst part of all this is for me? I'm ashamed of Dad."

I didn't know what to say. Part of me agreed, but I didn't have time to think about it because everyone suddenly stopped walking. I looked around to see if Morgan had found a place to sleep, but all I saw was wide-open space. The thieves took off their boots and claimed trees to lean against.

"What are we doing?" Holly asked, looking as confused as I was.

"Camping for the night," Garret said. He walked over to Holly and me, holding two red bandanas in his hands. He looked at Trent, who was still swinging his knife in the air. As soon as Trent noticed Garret staring at him, he put his knife back into its holder on his belt.

"There was a bee," Trent said.

Garret rolled his eyes. "Sure there was."

"We can't camp here. There's nothing to shelter us from wild animals," I told Garret.

"We're going to take turns standing guard." Garret rolled one of the bandanas long-ways. "Turn around."

"Huh?" I couldn't see the point in blindfolding us.

"You don't think we're going to let you escape the minute we fall asleep, do you? We're tying your hands behind your back. That way you won't even think about trying to get away."

"But you said someone would be on guard. We wouldn't be able to escape." I didn't want to have my hands tied. My mind flashed with images of all the scary things in the forest that could attack me while I was helpless to defend myself.

"The purpose of the lookout isn't to keep an eye on you. His job is to protect the rest of us from wild animals. Now turn around," Garret said.

As much as I didn't want to, I turned around and placed my wrists together. Once Holly and I were tied up, Garret pointed to the ground next to a tree about six feet away. I walked over and leaned my back against the bark. I inched down to the ground to avoid falling hard on my butt. I was happy to see Holly do the same. At least that was one injury averted. At the next tree over, Edward was tying Noelle's hands. He whispered something to her before walking back to his father. Noelle turned in my direction and shrugged. Then she squatted down and leaned against her tree.

The thieves fell asleep almost instantly. Noelle and Edward were sharing a tree, but she was leaning as far away from him as possible. Maybe she didn't trust him after all. She was so difficult to read. Trent was on guard, walking around us in a big loop. He had his knife out in front of him, but he wasn't swinging it around this time. He looked serious. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. I heard Trent's footsteps on the gravel. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes just enough to peek at Trent. He wasn't circling the camp anymore. Maybe he'd heard something and gone to check it out. I nudged Holly.

"We have to get away from these guys."

"We can't walk around with our hands tied," Holly said.

"We need to steal a knife to cut off these bandanas."

"Definitely."

I looked around. Out of Edward, Garret, or Morgan, my options weren't good. I decided Edward was my best bet. The other two flat out scared me. Edward was lying on his back with his arms behind his head. The knife on his belt was exposed.

Holly nodded and mouthed, "Go ahead." I was about to ask why I had to be the one to steal the knife, but I didn't because I knew Holly was too clumsy to do it. She'd probably fall face-first into Edward's armpit.

I took one last look around for Trent, and I scooted on my knees over to Edward. It wasn't going to be easy to get the knife with my hands tied behind me. I couldn't see what I was doing. Holly tilted her head to the left, so I scooted over, feeling for the knife. As I wrapped my fingers around the handle, Edward stirred. I froze. I was leaning awkwardly over Noelle, and I was afraid I was going to fall on her. Her body shook for a moment, and she opened her eyes. I was shocked she didn't scream. Instead, she sat up and effortlessly slipped the bandana from her wrists. Then, she removed the knife from Edward's belt loop and cut me free. We tiptoed over to Holly, and Noelle cut her free, too.

"How'd you get yours off so easily?" Holly asked Noelle.

"I told Edward I wanted to help them find the fortune and that it wasn't necessary to tie me up because I wouldn't run away. I guess he believed me," Noelle said.

"I saw you shake. Are you okay?" I asked.

"I do that when I dream sometimes." Noelle looked away like she was embarrassed, so I took the knife from her and returned it to Edward's belt. Having a knife for protection was probably a good thing, but I'd never be able to use it.

I decided we should keep following the path we were on before we'd camped. We tiptoed around the side of a large tree and heard a rumbling sound.

Holly gave me a look, as if to ask, "What is that?"

"Wait here," I whispered. I peaked around the tree. In the moonlight, I could see Trent slumped on the ground, sound asleep and snoring. I waved the girls on, and we passed with no problem.

"Wait until Morgan finds out he let us escape again," Holly said once we were too far away to wake Trent.

"Forget Morgan. Garret will kill Trent long before Morgan gets to him," Noelle told us.

"Why aren't you staying to help them find the fortune? You told Edward you would," Holly said. Her voice was full of attitude.

"Sorry, but I've been trying to figure these guys out. Like Edward," Noelle said. "He's—odd. One minute he's all wrapped up in his dad and the search, and then the next, he's being nice to me." She kicked a pebble on the ground. Did she feel bad about breaking her promise to Edward by escaping with Holly and me?

We walked for a few minutes in silence. I hoped we were heading toward the park, and the familiar sight up ahead let me know we were. Unfortunately, this was a familiar sight I didn't want to see. About twenty yards in front of me were the three green, leafy bears Holly had accidentally created on our way into the forest days ago. I froze, hoping the bears wouldn't be able to see us in the darkness, but I heard them snort. They'd picked up our scent.

"What do we do? We don't have granola bars this time," Holly said, grabbing my arm.

"We've got to climb this tree and fast!" I motioned to the oak tree beside us.

The bears turned and charged. I pushed Noelle forward after Holly.

"Hurry!" I shouted, climbing up the tree behind Noelle.

"Bears can climb trees!" Holly yelled. She was having trouble climbing. Morgan's jacket was weighing her down.

One of the bears was already climbing the tree, and Holly was right. It was a good climber. The bear stopped just below me and swung its huge paw at my leg.

"Go higher!" I yelled.

"I can't! The branches are too thin," Holly said.

The bear growled and swatted at my leg again. My jeans ripped, and razor sharp claws sliced my skin. "Ow!" My jeans took most of the damage, but if the bear swung again, he'd probably shred my leg.

Holly squirmed out of Morgan's coat, almost falling in the process.

"What are you doing?" I yelled.

"Lean as close to the tree as you can. I have an idea," Holly said, holding the jacket away from her body.

Noelle and I hugged the tree. What was Holly doing? The bear wasn't going to chase a coat.

Holly dropped the coat, and it fell on the bear's head. The bear flailed its paws and tumbled to the ground, jacket and all.

"That was awesome!" I said. I watched the bear wiggling on the ground, whining from the fall.

My celebration was cut short because the other two bears had reached the tree. They fought for a minute, but the larger of the two won, and it started to climb.

I was about to become dinner, but then I heard a loud noise. I looked down and saw someone hiding behind a big boulder. He was banging a canteen against the rock. The noise startled the two uninjured bears, but they didn't back away. They advanced on the rock to investigate. I heard wood snapping and saw the flicker of a flame. Whoever it was had lit a tree branch on fire and waved it at the bears. The flames licked at the leafy bears, and the one's nose caught fire. It whined and ran off with the other bears following.

Trent walked out from behind the boulder. I hadn't thought the sight of a Grimault thief would make me even a little bit happy, but we would've been bear food if it weren't for Trent.

"Get down!" Trent yelled as he stormed up to the tree. "You kids have made me look bad for the last time!" He threw the flaming tree branch to the ground and stomped out the fire.

Holly gave me a worried look and squeezed herself against the tree.

"You can't hurt us," I said. "If you do, Morgan will know you let us escape again. What do you think he'll do to you if he finds out?"

"Yeah, maybe he'll tie you up and leave you to the wolves," Holly taunted. I suspected her confidence would disappear the minute she stepped back on the ground where Trent could reach her.

Trent stared at us. Morgan would never forgive him for losing us a second time. Trent needed to get us back to the camp before everyone woke up.

"This is what's going to happen," he said. "You're going to climb down from that tree and come with me back to our camp. Then I'm tying you up again so no one will know you escaped." He took his knife from his belt and pointed it in our direction. "If you even so much as think about telling Uncle Morgan what happened here, I'll kill you before you can get the words out." He looked at Noelle. "Got that, sweetie?"

"Don't call me sweetie," Noelle growled back at him.

We didn't have any choice, so I climbed down from the tree. Trent picked up Morgan's jacket and threw it at Holly. "Put this back on."

"It's ripped," she said as she placed the jacket on her body. A large gash ran down the side from the bear's claws. "Morgan is definitely going to notice a rip this big. What are we going to tell him?"

Trent thought for a moment. "Tell him you rolled on a sharp rock while you were sleeping. Now come on! We have to get back before anyone notices you're gone," he said, shoving us in the direction of the camp.

The others were still asleep, so Trent used new bandanas to tie our hands. He was really rough and tied the bandanas so tight my wrists burned.

"Tight enough for you, sweetie?" Trent said as he tied Noelle's wrists. She looked like she was about to scream, but she turned and walked back to the tree where Edward was sleeping. Her eyes flickered in my direction before she shut them.

Trent shoved Holly and me to the ground. He sat against a tree facing us and polished his knife with a bandana. I knew he was trying to intimidate us with the weapon, but he was also keeping himself busy so he wouldn't fall asleep again. He wasn't going to let us get away a third time.

### Chapter Fifteen

I was exhausted from the previous sleepless night, but as tired as I was, I couldn't relax enough to get any real rest. Those bears weren't far from where we were camped, and even if the one burned into a pile of ashes, it still left two out there. That thought wouldn't allow me to keep my eyes closed for too long. When I finally did shut my eyes, I had one of my visions, and I didn't even try to sleep after that. I was actually happy when Morgan woke up at the first crack of dawn.

He ran around, kicking his sleeping sons. "Get up! We need to get an early start. Today is the day we find my fortune!"

Garret and Edward moaned, but they got up and put on their boots. Noelle sat up clumsily, her hands firmly tied behind her. Edward drew his knife and cut her loose. They whispered back and forth, but I couldn't hear a word of it. The only one who wasn't getting ready for another day's search was Trent. He was asleep against the oak tree facing Holly and me. Morgan was too excited to notice Trent, but Garret saw him and stormed over. He smacked Trent on the side of the head with his canteen. The cap was loose and water splashed all over Trent's face.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Trent asked, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"You fell asleep again! I'm not sure why Dad keeps you around at all. You're worthless!"

I elbowed Holly and smiled. Seeing Trent get in trouble almost made up for my hands being numb thanks to how tightly he'd tied them.

Trent jumped to his feet and yelled in Garret's face. "How do you expect me to search for the fortune all day and stay up to patrol all night?"

"You weren't supposed to patrol all night. You were supposed to wake Edward for the second shift!"

"How do you know I didn't? Maybe Edward fell asleep!"

"Don't lie to me!" Garret said, shoving Trent in the chest and knocking him into the oak tree.

I stepped in front of Holly to shield her if a fight broke out.

"What's going on?" Edward asked as he walked over to Garret. Noelle tagged closely behind him. "Dad wants to get started. He won't be happy if he sees you two going at it again and holding up the search."

Garret nodded. "This isn't over," he said to Trent and stormed off to his father's side.

Edward glared at Trent. "What's in your hair?"

I squinted at the chunky, white goo on the side of his head.

"Oh, it's owl poop," Trent said, using his bandana to wipe the rest of the remains from his hair.

Edward gave Trent a disgusted look, and he walked off to catch up with Garret and Morgan.

"So that's what woke you last night. You were sound asleep when we passed by," I said, trying hard not to laugh.

Trent's eyes burned into mine, and his left eye twitched. He was clearly used to getting bossed around by his uncle and cousins, but he wasn't handling me making fun of him, too. He reached into his pocket, and I backed up, afraid of what he might do. Luckily, Garret returned.

"We're almost ready," Garret told Trent. "Remove their bandanas before we go. It'll be too difficult for them to keep up if their hands are tied." Out of nowhere, Garret turned to Holly and grabbed hold of Morgan's jacket. "What happened to my father's coat?"

"Oh, I—" Holly looked to Trent for help.

"You had something to do with this?" Garret accused Trent.

"They tried to escape again last night. I had to get a little rough with the girl," Trent said.

Holly's jaw dropped. I nudged her with my foot, warning her to keep quiet.

"Fine. Keep a closer eye on them so they don't try anything while we're searching for the fortune. Dad won't be happy if anything goes wrong, and you don't want to have to answer to him," Garret said, and he walked away.

Trent cut the bandana from our wrists. He couldn't have been any rougher about it, and I knew he was enjoying the pain he was causing us. I waited until he put his knife away before confronting him about what he'd told Garret.

"If you get us in trouble with Morgan, we'll tell him what really happened last night," I said.

"The only chance you had to get me in trouble with Uncle Morgan was if he caught us returning to camp last night. Now it's your word against mine, and there's no way he'd believe you over me. So I'd watch the tone you take with me, or you might have an unfortunate accident on our journey today." I knew he wouldn't hesitate to hurt Holly and me if he thought he could make it look like an accident.

Holly gulped, and I was almost happy to see Edward walking back over to us.

"Dad said you're supposed to go on up ahead. I'm going to watch them," Edward told Trent.

Trent didn't hide his disappointment, but he did what Edward told him. Everyone was ready to start the search again, so we headed toward the park to find the last piece of the treasure map.

"I never should've trusted Trent to keep his word. I should've told Garret that I ripped the coat in my sleep," Holly whispered.

I looked at Edward to see if it was safe for Holly and me to talk. He was talking to Noelle again. His face was serious, and he was keeping his eyes straight ahead of him. He probably didn't want his family to notice he was being nice to Noelle. At least Noelle was keeping him preoccupied so Holly and I could talk. "You can't trust a thief," I finally answered.

"You can say that again." Holly's eyes dropped to the ground. No question about it. She was thinking about Dad.

"We don't know for sure if—" I didn't want to mention Dad's name in case anyone was trying to eavesdrop. "I mean, we don't know what You-know-who is doing in the forest, so don't jump to conclusions."

"He acted just like one of them!" Holly said, forgetting to keep her voice down.

Garret glared at us from up ahead. "Shut up before I shut you up!"

Holly and I bowed our heads and kept our eyes down. After a few minutes, Garret walked over to talk to Edward. Garret looked in my direction once before he and Edward got caught up in a conversation. Noelle stepped away from them.

"What about Noelle?" Holly whispered. "I don't get her at all."

"Me either. She's getting pretty comfortable with Edward, but she tried to escape with us last night. It doesn't add up."

"Talking about me?" Noelle whispered, coming up alongside me.

Holly turned away, refusing to acknowledge Noelle's presence.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to say what I was thinking before I lost my nerve. "What's the deal with you and Edward? You've been talking to him a lot."

Noelle raised her eyes to mine. "He's different from the rest of his family. He's nice, and he keeps Trent off my case." She glared in Trent's direction. "If he calls me sweetie one more time, I swear I'll punch him."

I nodded. "Edward does seem different than the rest of them. Nicer."

"It's hard to explain, but I know he wouldn't hurt me or let the others hurt me either." Noelle gave me a half smile and walked back over behind Edward and Garret.

"I don't like her," Holly said, stepping closer to me.

"You were eavesdropping?"

"Oh, please. You're standing right next to me. I'm not deaf."

Edward and Garret stopped talking, so I motioned for Holly to be quiet. We walked in silence for hours. Garret watched Holly and me so closely that even if we wanted to, we weren't able to talk anymore. Our pace slowed. We were all getting tired of the search. Our feet practically dragged from boredom and exhaustion.

Morgan noticed everyone's attitudes and shouted, "This is a celebration! My fortune will soon be at hand! Let's have a song!" He was the only one who was still excited about finding the fortune, but the others joined in and sang anyway.

After four verses, I realized I was humming along. Holly gave me a dirty look and shook her head.

I shrugged. "It's kind of catchy."

"Where do you think Dad is?" Holly asked.

"Shh! Don't talk about him in front of the others. Until we find out what's really going on, we can't let them know he's our father."

"Don't worry. They can't hear us over their singing."

"I thought I told you two to shut up!" Garret said.

"No, they can't hear us," I mumbled sarcastically. I turned to Garret and said, "We were singing along."

"You should be celebrating. It's a wonder Dad's letting you come along. It's not as though you remember how to get back to the park."

I stiffened. I'd been hoping no one would notice that. "Actually, I remember passing through here. Don't you, Holly?"

"Oh, yeah." Holly nodded, following my lead. "We're definitely heading in the right direction."

I was trying to play along so Garret wouldn't convince Morgan to get rid of Holly and me, and the sound of the growling wolf sticking his head out of the cave up ahead let me know that we really were retracing our steps.

"What do you want us to do, Dad?" Garret asked. He stopped the group and stood face to face with the giant rock wolf. He held up his knife in defense. Edward was behind him, standing protectively in front of Noelle.

"Get rid of it! That's why we brought weapons!" Morgan said. He was at the back of the group now. Some fearless leader.

"No!" I yelled. "That thing will mangle your puny little knives. We need something bigger and stronger." I looked at the pile of rocks on the ground. "We need another rock wolf."

Holly wrinkled her forehead. "You can't be serious! After what almost happened last time?"

"Dad, what do you want me to do?" Garret asked more urgently.

"Create another wolf," Morgan said, looking me in the eyes. I was stunned but apparently not as stunned as the others.

"You're taking advice from him?" Trent asked.

Morgan glared at Trent. "I've been hearing a lot of negative comments about you lately. You're falling asleep on the job, questioning my orders, and speaking ill of our family's fortune," Morgan counted off on his fingers like he'd forgotten about the wolf that was ready to eat us all. "I'll give you one chance to defend yourself, or we'll be feeding you to the wolf."

I didn't think wolves—even stone ones—understood English, but this one sure seemed to. It crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce.

"The wolf's going to attack!" I yelled, and I didn't wait for a response. I stared at the pile of rocks and shouted, "Those rocks look like a giant wolf ready to attack one of its kind." I hoped I'd chosen my words carefully enough. The forest could be pretty literal with its frightening creations. The pile of rocks shifted and rumbled as they reshaped into a giant—poor choice of words on my part—wolf in a low crouch. It let out a deep growl and lunged at the other wolf. Their jaws locked on each other, and pieces of rock flew everywhere. "Run!" I yelled.

No one hesitated. We ran past the cave and didn't look back.

### Chapter Sixteen

I was more than a little surprised to see a bunch of tough thieves running away from a fight. I was even more surprised that Morgan had listened to me, especially since my plan involved creating another rock wolf.

"Uncle Morgan must be losing his mind!" Trent mumbled under his breath.

"Dad?" Garret said in a low voice. "Trent should be punished for his lack of loyalty to you, and I'd be happy to carry out any punishment you see fit. But, I can't help wondering why we're taking these kids with us. We don't need them."

I gulped. Garret was right. They didn't need us. I leaned closer, hoping to find out Morgan's reason for keeping us around. Luckily, they were too busy to notice me.

"Until we know how they got Aristede's painting, they're staying in my sight," Morgan said. "I can't believe they'd stumble upon something as important as the last remaining piece of my treasure map."

Morgan looked in my direction, so I stepped closer to Holly.

"Why does he keep looking at us? It's creepy," Holly whispered out of the corner of her mouth. She hadn't overheard the conversation between Morgan and Garret, and I figured that was a good thing. Keeping her on a need-to-know basis was probably my best bet. I couldn't have her freaking out and getting us in any more trouble. "Oh no, he's coming over here," she said.

Morgan walked alongside me for a while without saying a word. I hated not knowing what he was up to. Holly stared at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with Morgan.

"Hungry?" Morgan asked, holding out two pieces of bread.

"Thank you," I said, taking Holly's piece, too, so she didn't have to move any closer to Morgan.

"So, where did you say you got the painting?" he asked.

"I didn't say." I was trying to keep the edge out of my voice, but it wasn't easy to be nice to this guy when I was imagining all the things he could do to Holly and me once he got what he was after.

"Oh? I could've sworn you said something about it. Well, where did you get it?" His tone still sounded friendly, but his smile was completely forced.

"At an antique store in town," I lied. I took another bite of bread and tried to act casual. Holly immediately looked at me. I sighed and bowed my head. I knew she hadn't meant to, but she'd just given me away.

"An antique store?" Morgan's face turned twelve different shades of red, and he balled his hands into fists. His voice wasn't friendly at all anymore. "You don't really expect me to believe that, do you? Each map was carefully hidden where only a Grimault could find it. There's no way the most important map would be hidden in an antique store where anyone could buy it. Now, tell me the truth!"

Noelle widened her eyes at me, and I got the feeling she wanted me to make up another lie. A better lie.

"Well, we—"

"J.B., look!" Holly said. She dropped her bread on the ground and pointed up ahead. I expected to see a wild animal, but instead I saw my dad walking toward us. "D—" Holly began, but I shoved the rest of my bread into her mouth to stop her.

"Bruce!" Morgan growled. He put one hand up, motioning for everyone else to stay where they were, and he marched up to my dad. "How dare you show your face after you tried to pass off that phony drawing as a piece of my treasure map?"

My hands shook. I was sure the Grimaults were going to attack my dad.

"Let me explain," Dad said, putting his hands up in surrender. "Edward and I determined the map I brought may have been fake, so I headed home, planning to search my father's belongings for another map. But I never made it home because I took a wrong turn and ended up heading in the opposite direction. I found this at the other end of the forest." He handed the painting to Morgan.

He really was helping Morgan. But if he found the painting in the park, then he was heading home. He hadn't taken a wrong turn. Something wasn't right. I studied his face, but his expression was blank—unreadable.

Trent, Garret, and Edward pointed their knives at my dad, waiting for their orders. Noelle stepped toward Holly and me. Morgan studied the painting, and I thought his eyes might pop out of his head. He smiled and said, "It's signed AG! At last! The final piece! Bruce, you took a big chance returning here after your map turned out to be a fake."

Dad reached out and shook Morgan's hand. "As I told you earlier, I'm here to help you find the fortune. It belongs with its rightful owner." Morgan's eye twitched slightly, but he nodded in response.

Dad kept talking to Morgan as if Holly and I weren't there. How could he pretend not to recognize us? I stared at him, trying to find some sign that he'd come to save us.

"New recruits?" he asked, pointing at Holly and me. "Your family's bigger than I thought."

"Oh, don't worry about them. They had the painting and were going to help us find it, but we don't need them anymore thanks to you." Morgan slapped my father on the back.

"What do you mean you don't need us anymore?" Holly asked with a shaky voice.

Noelle crept back over to Edward and whispered something in his ear. He shrugged in response.

"I have the painting. Why should I keep you kids around?" Morgan said, still mesmerized by the painting.

"Dad!" Edward said in a panic.

"Oh, fine. The other girl can stay. She hasn't been a problem like these two." He glared at Holly and me.

Was that what Noelle had whispered to Edward? Was she trying to protect herself? I had to get Holly and me out of here. Unlike Noelle, we didn't have anyone protecting us.

A rush of adrenaline sent my brain into overdrive. "You can't get rid of us because you still don't know how we got the painting, and we're not going to tell you until you agree to let us go," I said.

"You're making demands of me?" Morgan's face turned red. "Tell me how you got Aristede's painting or I'll kill you both right now!" He drew his knife and shook it at me.

"Wait!" Dad said, taking a step toward me. "Perhaps you might let me try getting it out of them."

Morgan furrowed his brow. "What makes you think you'll have better luck?"

"I have children of my own. Ones who aren't as disciplined as your boys are. I know how to talk to them."

"You might have kids, but that doesn't mean you know them or that you know how to be a father," Holly said, her eyes filling with tears. I was too angry to cry. Dad had basically said Edward and Garret were better kids than Holly and me.

Morgan moved toward Holly, but Dad put out his hand to stop him. "Please, let me try. You have more important things to focus on. You're about to locate the fortune."

Morgan nodded. "Fine, but while you're at it, lead us in the direction you came from. I need to find the back entrance to the forest. The one by the park."

"Follow me," Dad said. He turned to Holly and me. "You two can help me lead the way."

I thought I saw Dad wink at me, but I wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking. I looked at Holly to see if she'd noticed it, but she was staring at the ground. We walked in silence until we came to a clearing. A clearing that I knew well.

"The park!" I yelled.

Holly smiled. "Maybe someone will see us! Mom probably has the police searching here." She waved her arms in the air, but Garret yanked them down to her sides.

"Another move like that and you'll be wolf food," he growled in her ear.

I pulled Holly away from Garret. "Don't touch her!" He wasn't the least bit afraid of me. He stepped closer and curled his upper lip.

"Let me through," Morgan said, pushing his way to the front of the group. I was relieved by the interruption. "Let's see here. What's present in the painting but not in the forest? Oh, yes! There should be another path around here."

"You have the painting, and we're out of the forest. Now let us go," I said.

"So you can run home and tell your mommy all about us? No, you're not going anywhere. I know a nice cave a little way back where we can leave you two. You'll let me know which rock wolf won the fight, won't you?" Morgan laughed, and Garret smiled in amusement.

I thought about telling Holly to run for it, but we were outnumbered. She'd never get away.

"Do you know where the other path is?" Dad asked me.

"What?" Morgan said, his mood changing in a split second.

"I thought they might know where the other path is. It's their painting, right?"

"It's my painting!" Morgan corrected him.

"Of course it belongs to you. What I meant was they had the painting, so they might be more familiar with it since they had it in their possession."

Morgan glared intensely at Holly and me. "Do you know where the second path is?"

I wasn't sure if we should tell them anything since Morgan wasn't going to let us go anyway. I looked at Holly, and she shrugged.

"Well?" Morgan yelled, showing his complete lack of patience.

Holly jumped and nodded at me. She wanted me to cooperate, and I didn't see any other option.

"Yes. We took that path," I said.

"I suppose we should keep them around," Dad said. "They could be useful."

"Fine," Morgan grumbled. "But keep them out of my way."

Dad nodded. "I'll take charge of them for you."

"Show us the path from the painting," Morgan ordered.

"It's to the right of this one. Those tree branches are covering it up." I pointed to the spot where the path was overgrown.

Trent, Garret, and Edward uncovered the path, and Morgan made me lead the way. Dad had saved us from being thrown to the wolves, but he still pretended not to know us. I hoped he was keeping the secret for the same reason I was—so no one got hurt by the Grimaults.

I barely paid attention to where I was going. My mind was too clouded to think straight, but I was forced back to reality when I heard Noelle's piercing scream. I whipped my head around to see one of the creepy trees Holly and I had brought to life now had Noelle tightly locked in its gnarly bark arms.

### Chapter Seventeen

The tree squeezed Noelle tighter by the second. A branch twisted around her mouth, muffling her screams. Edward and I rushed to her. He drew his knife and started slashing at the base of the branches where they connected to the trunk. Noelle's eyes widened as Edward's knife came dangerously close to her arm. The knife wasn't big enough to make any real slices in the branches, so I pushed Edward aside.

"That's not working!" I tugged on the branch around Noelle's waist. Edward glared at me, but he threw the knife to the ground and helped me. Another limb swatted at Edward's head. We needed help, but the others were fighting off attacks by the rest of the trees. Edward and I were going to have to find a way to free Noelle.

"I have an idea," I said, looking into Noelle's terrified eyes. Her mouth was still covered, so I didn't wait for a response. I put my hand on her shoulder. "Edward, give me a boost! I'm going to jump on the branch around Noelle's waist to get the tree to give a little. When it loosens its grip, you pull Noelle free."

Edward bent down and interlocked his fingers so I could step in them like a stirrup. I placed my left hand on his shoulder for balance. Without warning, my entire body got warm, warmer, hot. My arms and legs tingled so much I could barely think straight. I figured I was having another vision, but Noelle's eyes darted back and forth between Edward and me. She felt it, too. Edward studied his arms like he'd never seen them before. He was as shocked and confused as I was. Our eyes met and he shook his head, yelling, "Jump!"

I snapped out of it and jumped on the branch, stomping as hard as I could. The limb shook under me and then splintered. With a final stomp, the branch and I both fell to the ground. Edward didn't hesitate. He grabbed Noelle and pulled her to him. They landed in a heap on the ground.

"Come on!" I yelled, getting to my feet. I took Noelle's hand and pulled her up. Edward grabbed his knife off the trail and ran to help Garret, who was being swatted at by a large oak. Trent reached into his back pocket and pulled out his lighter.

"No! You'll burn down the whole forest! We'd never get out alive!" I jumped on his back and yanked the lighter from his hand. The only reason I was successful was that I'd taken him by surprise. Once the shock wore off, he effortlessly flung me to the ground.

"Give that back. It was my grandfather's lighter." Trent ripped it from my fingers.

Morgan let out a primal yell, startling everyone. Even the trees shivered. "Run for it!" He didn't wait to see if we were following orders. He took off, leaving us to fight our way through the branches that narrowly missed grabbing hold of him. Garret took his boot off and used it to hit the trees as we ran. He looked funny, especially since he was hobbling along with one shoeless foot, but it worked. Most of the skinnier branches broke on impact. We made it past the living trees and were forced to stop when we came to the mouth of a large, pitch-black cave blocking the path. This wasn't the way Holly and I had gone after we'd fought off the trees the first time.

"Now what?" Holly asked, out of breath.

Morgan furiously flipped through the maps. "None of the maps show this cave! We must've made a wrong turn. We have to go back!"

"No way!" I blurted out. All eyes turned on me. I had to think of something, and fast. I scanned the outside of the cave. It was huge, almost like the cave cut through the mountain bordering the outer edge of the forest. The path led straight into the cave, which meant we had to go inside. "I think the cave might actually be a tunnel," I said in an unsteady voice.

"A tunnel?" Noelle asked.

"The path leads into it. I doubt it's a dead end. All the other trails have been connected or led somewhere. This one must, too." I shrugged at Morgan. "Unless you want to give up the search, we have to go in there."

"No one's giving up!" He stepped toward me, stopping inches from my face. "If you're wrong about this, I'll see to it that you don't make it past those trees on our way back."

I gulped and forgot how to breathe. I was guessing. I had no idea how to read the maps or how to navigate the forest.

Trent whipped out his lighter and led the way into the cave. We could barely see, and we had to make a human chain to avoid stepping on each other. I was holding on to Holly and Noelle, who were both trembling. We walked through the darkness, guided only by the faint flicker of Trent's lighter.

"Looks like we're going down," Trent called from the front of the line. "There are some steps, and they look steep."

Holly and Noelle squeezed my arms. My foot slipped a little on the first step. The stones were really uneven. Holly was lucky she had Dad and me on either side of her because she never would've made it down these steps on her own. At the bottom, the tunnel opened up into a pretty big enclosed space. We were underground.

The walls were rusty brown and looked like dust clouds hardened into solid forms. Trent stopped to look at a small red arrow drawn on the wall. "It's drawn in blood," Trent said.

"Aristede must have marked the way through the tunnel. Keep moving," Morgan said, pushing Trent along.

Our feet stirred up the dirt on the ground, making it even harder to see. A fluttering sound overhead drew everyone's attention up to the ceiling. Brown fruit bats hung upside down in huge clusters. Holly's nails dug into my arm as a bat darted through the dark alcove. I didn't mind the bats, but the putrid stench of guano made me gag. Once we got past the bats, the trail narrowed and wound through a darker labyrinth of eerie rock formations. The tunnel started to look like a giant mouth with enormous jagged teeth.

I heard Holly gulp. "Keep the bad thoughts to yourself," I whispered. The last thing we needed was her saying something that would make us all cave food.

I struggled to breathe. The air inside the cramped tunnel was hot and humid. The ceiling sloped downward, and we had to hunch at the waist. The trail continued to narrow with each step, and my shoulders brushed against the walls. I closed my eyes to keep my claustrophobia from taking over. After several more steps, Noelle and Holly let go of my arms. I opened my eyes and saw that we were facing a solid rock wall.

"What?" I murmured. The sides of the cave had opened up so we had a little room to turn around. I twisted to the right and saw Morgan advancing on me.

"I told you you'd pay if this wasn't the right way to go!" He drew his knife.

"Trent, shine that lighter on the wall over here!" Dad yelled. "There's another trail marker."

Trent awkwardly made his way through the group and lifted his lighter to the wall. A faint red arrow pointed straight up to a circular hole in the ceiling of the cave. The space was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. There were no steps like there had been at the entrance. The trail converted into a vertical climb.

"Garret, you go first," Morgan said. "Trent, you'll go last since you have the lighter. We'd all be in the dark down here without you."

Garret reached up, placed his hand in a recessed spot on the wall, and began to climb. We took turns scaling the walls until we were finally out of the tunnel. The air on the surface felt unusually cold after being underground. I swallowed painfully. My mouth was as dry as cotton, and I could taste the gritty dirt from the cave floor that covered most of my body. We all looked like we'd climbed out of our own graves.

Morgan's eyes narrowed on me. "I guess it's your lucky day."

I didn't think any of us had an ounce of luck thanks to our ancestors and the curse. Noelle gave me a half smile. I felt bad that she'd gotten wrapped up in all this when she wasn't even cursed.

We moved quickly through the trails. Every time Morgan recognized a part of the forest from one of his maps, he pushed his way to the front of the group and studied the map to determine the next path to choose. After a while, the group came to a sudden halt.

"Get into the cover of the trees!" Garret whispered as he sidestepped behind a tall oak.

I imagined all sorts of wild beasts ferocious enough to scare a crew of armed thieves. Someone grabbed my arm, and I was shocked to see it was Dad. He pulled me behind a bush. I looked directly into his eyes, hoping to see even a glimpse of the father I'd always known, but he stared far off into the woods. I turned to see what he was looking at, and there next to a large boulder was the hairiest looking beast I'd ever seen. It had wiggling furry arms all over its body.

Holly gasped and buried her head in my shoulder. "What is it?"

"I'm hoping it goes away before we have a chance to find out," I said, but I barely got the words out of my mouth before the creature started coming right at us.

Chapter Eighteen

The creature wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before—even in this place. The Grimaults had their knives drawn, ready to fight, but I could tell they were scared. Beads of sweat streamed down Garret's face. I hoped the thieves wouldn't take off running for their lives, leaving Holly, Noelle, and me unarmed and helpless against the beast. Noelle stared wide-eyed in horror. Her entire body shook. As the creature got closer, I heard a strange chittering sound and then a loud squawk. Large wings rose up from the creature's head. Some sort of slime dripped off the beast's body, leaving a gooey trail on the ground.

"Ew!" Holly covered her eyes.

A man's face appeared beneath the wings. It wasn't a giant hairy beast at all. It was a man, about forty years old, with a vulture perched on the back of his neck and squirrels covering him from head to toe.

"Well, if it isn't Sticky Fingers Sam, or should I call you Sweetcheeks?" Garret said, stepping out from behind an oak tree.

Noelle sobbed uncontrollably. She'd gotten really upset when Trent told us what Morgan had done to Sam. Seeing him in person now must have been too much for her to handle.

Morgan stormed up to Sam with his knife raised in front of him. "We left you for dead, and believe me, you're going to wish you were!"

As soon as Morgan came near Sam, the vulture swooped down from Sam's neck and landed on Morgan's head. It pecked furiously at his hat.

"Ow! Get it off!" Morgan yelled.

Garret ran to his father and swung his knife at the vulture. Morgan's eyes widened, and he ducked each time Garret swung at the vulture.

Sam threw his head back and laughed. He whistled loudly, and the vulture returned to his shoulder. "It looks like my friend here doesn't like the tone you've taken with me, Morgan."

"Don't talk to my father like that," Edward said. I was startled by the forcefulness in his voice. He'd been unusually quiet for a while now. "You're not one of us anymore. You're a thief and a traitor!"

"Ah, yes, I am a thief, but who here isn't?" Sam asked. His eyes lingered on Noelle for a moment, and then he glanced at Holly and me. "Recruiting them a little young aren't you, Morgan? Looks like you could use me back on the team."

"You can't seriously think—" Garret began.

"Silence!" Morgan shouted. He stepped between Garret and Sam. "How did you escape? We left you tied to a tree and these animals were feasting on you!"

"That's where you're wrong. These animals were feasting on the honey you covered me in. You see, some of the honey dripped onto the ropes you used to tie me to the tree, and when the squirrels nibbled the honey, they chewed right through the rope. And my watch incidentally."

"Even if you were free from the ropes, you still had hungry animals to get away from," Garret said, keeping his distance.

"I didn't need to get away from them. They liked me. I was giving them food. All I had to do to keep them from turning on me was continue feeding them. So, I kept taking sap from the trees and rubbing it on my clothes, and the next thing I knew, I had loyal protectors."

"Why didn't you leave the forest?" Garret asked.

"Because I provided you with information about the Granville fortune, and I want my reward. I'm not leaving here without it."

"You're not getting any of that fortune! It's ours!" Trent yelled.

"Still got quite the temper, huh, Trent?" Sam said. "But the fact of the matter is I know these woods better than all of you. While you've been staying at your campsite, I've been living out here. I know my way around in the dark. You need me."

Morgan scratched his chin. "You think you know where the fortune is?"

Sam shook his head, and I swore the vulture shook its head, too. "No, but I'll easily recognize the clues on your maps. Plus, the animals in this forest love me. I'll keep them out of your way."

Morgan stared at Sam, contemplating what to do. No one moved, but I thought I saw Dad and Sam exchange a quick look.

I leaned close to Holly and whispered, "Why would anyone want to rejoin a group of thieves? Especially after they tried to kill him?"

She shrugged.

Before I could say more, Morgan spoke. "Fine. You'll help us. Now, let's go. I want my fortune." He motioned for Sam to lead the way.

Garret walked slowly to Morgan. "Dad, are you sure about this?"

"I have no intention of sharing my fortune with that traitor, but I do like the idea of having Sam's help to locate it. I'm going to let Sam think he's part of the team again until the fortune is found. Then I'll dispose of him," Morgan said.

"Morgan's desperate to find that fortune," I whispered once we were heading to the next location on the maps.

"Sam must know Morgan's not the type to forgive and forget, so why is he doing this?" Holly asked.

"I don't know," I answered, "but I almost feel sorry for Sweetcheeks." Noelle sniffled. "Don't worry. He's probably not as scary as he looks," I tried to reassure her, but she kept her eyes locked on Sam.

"This is ridiculous! Why are we allowing him back on the crew? He doesn't deserve any of the fortune!" Trent complained.

"If he can help decipher the clues on the maps, then we need him. You're the one we could do without, so I'd be careful about giving my father any ideas about who doesn't deserve a share of the fortune." Garret picked up his pace to catch up with Morgan.

"He's just as ungrateful as Uncle Morgan," Trent mumbled.

"Trent's mad because Sam made him look bad," Edward whispered to me.

I jumped. Why would he tell me this? We didn't exactly like each other, and my name wasn't Grimault. "How?" I asked.

"Trent's the one who introduced Sam to my dad. They met at the pool hall downtown. Trent must've been running his mouth about the fortune, and Sam said he thought he could help. Sam did have some useful information for us, so Dad let him tag along. But after only a few hours, Garret caught Sam stealing from us. Dad blamed Trent for bringing Sam here. It's been downhill for Trent ever since."

"That explains a lot," I said. "But why are you telling me this?"

Edward shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it can't hurt to tell you. It's not like Dad's going to let—"

"You figure we're dead meat, so why not tell us what's really going on?" I asked.

Edward shook his head. "I was trying to be, you know, nice. I think Dad should let the three of you go. There's no reason to keep you hostage. We'll be out of here as soon as we find the fortune."

Holly scrunched up her forehead. "You really don't want your dad to hurt us?"

"No," Edward said.

"Then why'd you try to catch us earlier?" I asked, remembering how mean he had seemed when I'd first met him.

"You stole my food, and I burned my foot because of you. You would've been mad, too."

I couldn't argue. I would've reacted the same way in his place.

"He doesn't want to be here," Noelle said, joining our conversation. "That's why I've been talking to him. He doesn't want us to get hurt. He's just following his dad's orders." She smiled at Edward.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trent reach toward his belt. He took a piece of bread from his pocket. Just as it touched his mouth, two squirrels leaped off Sam and stole the bread from Trent's hand. "Hey! Get your syrupy paws off me!" As if they were offended, the squirrels clawed at Trent's hand a few times and jumped back onto Sam. "Ow!" Trent wiped his hand on his pants. "You better keep those retched creatures to yourself or so help me, I'll—" He didn't get to finish his threat because the vulture on Sam's shoulder turned and squawked at him.

Sam laughed as Trent stepped away from the vulture. I smiled again. I was starting to like Sam.

As it turned out, Sam really was helpful when it came to finding the clues on the maps. The search went much quicker. Before long, we came to a large tree in the middle of two paths.

Morgan cleared his throat. "This is the final map, so he location of the fortune is hidden somewhere on it." He studied the map for several minutes. "This doesn't make sense. All of the other maps indicated which paths to choose by adding something that didn't exist in the forest to the correct path. But I can't find what was added on this map."

Sam took a turn studying the map, but even he couldn't decipher it. "There isn't anything added to either of the paths on the map. Are you sure this map isn't a fake?"

"This map was drawn by my father. I know for certain that it's authentic. Keep looking!" Morgan yelled. His patience with the search had obviously run out.

"Maybe all the honey is blurring his vision," Trent said, and the look on Morgan's face said it was not the time for jokes.

Edward and Garret didn't have any luck reading the map either, so they let my dad take a turn. No one could find any difference between the paths in the forest and the ones drawn on the map.

"I want my fortune!" Morgan yelled, his face purple with rage.

"J.B. is good at figuring out things like that," Holly said.

"What?" Why had Holly said that? Now I was going to have to figure out where the fortune was buried, and Morgan was going to kill me if I failed.

"I bet he could help you, if you promise to let us go," Holly said.

It wasn't her best idea, but I couldn't think of any other way to save us. I stared Morgan in the eyes. "Yeah, I'll help, as long as you let Holly, Noelle, and me go once you've found the fortune. You'll be able to leave the forest, so you won't have to worry about us telling anyone you're here."

"You don't get it, do you? I'm in charge here! I make the demands, not you!" Morgan growled. "Now, we'll see how good you are at solving puzzles, but the only reward you'll get is being able to live long enough for me to get my hands on the fortune!"

"Why should we help you if you're going to kill us anyway?" I asked.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you sooner." Morgan paused and pointed his knife at Holly. "I think I'll start with her."

"No! I'll help you. Just leave her alone!" I said, putting my arm up in front of Holly. I looked at Dad standing there, not doing a thing.

"Here!" Morgan shoved the final map into my hand.

Everyone stared at me, and it made me even more nervous. I compared the drawing to the forest. There was a difference. "I see something." I had to be right about this. Otherwise, we were done for.

"Where?" Noelle asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Here." I pointed to the base of the tree in the drawing. "The map shows three big roots from the tree going into the ground, but the tree in front of us only has two roots. The fortune must be buried where the third root is in the drawing."

Edward smiled at me. "We've been focusing on the paths since that's where all the other clues have been hidden, but since this is the final map, the clue is where the fortune is buried, not which path to take."

"J.B., you're a genius!" Noelle said.

"Give me that map. I want to see what you're talking about." Morgan yanked the map from my hands and examined it. A smile spread across his face. "Dig!" he ordered. "Right there, in the middle of those two roots."

"We don't have any shovels," Garret said. How hadn't I noticed it before? The thieves must not have had any faith in finding the fortune. Otherwise they would've brought shovels.

"Use your knives to dig up the dirt. I don't care how you do it. Just get me my fortune!"

I wanted to get the fortune and end the curse, but there was no way the Grimaults would let me do that. I grabbed Holly's arm and took a step back. This was our best opportunity to escape. The thieves were on their hands and knees digging up the dirt beneath the tree. Holly read my mind and nodded. I tapped Noelle on the arm and motioned for her to come with us. She shook her head. I didn't want to leave her, but I couldn't waste time either. I had to get Holly out of this place. Besides, I was sure Edward would do his best to protect Noelle.

Holly and I tiptoed backward, trying not to make a sound. Once we were about twenty feet away, I took off at a sprint. I didn't think anyone was paying attention to us, but I was wrong. Just as we came to a bend in the path, someone grabbed us from behind. Without looking, I knew it was Dad.

"What are you doing?" Holly cried. "Why won't you help us, D—?"

Dad covered Holly's mouth with his hand, and she sobbed in our father's arms. "It's all right, Morgan. I've got them. Keep digging."

I couldn't believe my ears. I'd been defending Dad to Holly since we'd first seen him with the thieves. Now, I wondered if Holly had been right all along.

### Chapter Nineteen

I was feeling totally helpless for about the hundredth time since I'd come into the forest. There was nothing to do but watch as the Grimault thieves unearthed the Granville fortune. It was a slow process. Since they didn't have any shovels, they had to soften the dirt with their knives and scoop it aside with their hands. A few of Sam's squirrels joined the digging, not that their tiny paws really helped. By the time the thieves reached the fortune, they were sweaty and covered with dirt. Except Morgan. He'd made his family do all the work, while he stood back and watched.

"It's heavy," Garret said as he and the others placed the chest in front of Morgan.

Noelle stepped closer, staring in amazement.

Morgan pushed everyone aside and used his bandana to wipe the dirt off the top of the chest. He knelt down next to it and placed a hand on each side of the lid. "Before we open it, let's have a moment of silence." Morgan bowed his head, and the others dropped to their knees behind him and bowed their heads as well.

Dad was participating, too. I shook my head and said, "I guess you were right, Holl. He isn't who I thought he was."

Holly nodded, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Morgan raised his head and slowly lifted the lid of the chest. The hinges were rusted with age, and they squeaked as the lid opened. From where I stood, I had a clear view of the fortune, and I couldn't help but smile. There were large silver coins and priceless antiques. All along I hadn't been convinced we'd ever find the fortune, and now here it was an arm's length away. I wanted to reach out and touch the coins, but I was afraid Morgan would cut off my hand.

Morgan threw himself on top of the chest. "At last! It's mine!"

"That's what you think!" Noelle said. She grabbed the knife out of Edward's hand and stormed up to Morgan. "This fortune doesn't belong to you. It was stolen from the Granville family, and I'm going to see that it's returned."

Morgan's face turned crimson, and the big vein in his forehead stuck out so far it looked like a giant worm. He stood up and glared at Noelle. "How would you know where this fortune came from?" He turned accusingly to Edward. "What have you told her?"

Edward took a step back, and Noelle jumped to his defense. "He didn't tell me anything. I know all about the Granville fortune and the people who stole it."

And then I remembered. Noelle had told Holly and me the coins Dad had given to Garret were pieces of the Granville fortune, imprinted with the family crest. How had she known that? I hadn't asked her because I was so surprised to see her again. I'd completely forgotten about it.

Everyone stared at Noelle. She shook the knife at Morgan. She looked so small next to him. He could've easily ripped the knife from her fingers, but instead he smiled.

"You're a smart one. Although I'm not convinced Edward didn't tell you more than he should have." Morgan gave Edward a disapproving look, and Edward lowered his head. Morgan turned back to Noelle and snatched the knife away from her. "Still, I'd love to hear what you know about the fortune and where you heard it."

Noelle stumbled backward into Sam. The vulture squawked and raised its wings, but Sam tossed it a piece of bread to keep it from attacking Noelle. She turned to face Sam and started to cry.

"I want answers!" Morgan yelled, stabbing the knife into the tree behind him. "First, these two find our camp." He pointed a shaky hand at Holly and me. "Then, they tell me they have the final piece of my family's treasure map. Bruce shows up with silver coins and information for me. Don't even get me started on Sam, and now"—he turned back to Noelle—"you somehow know all about the Granville fortune. How is it that so many people know about my fortune? This was supposed to be a secret. A secret only I'd benefit from."

"What do you mean only you?" Trent asked. "You said we'd each get a share of the fortune. We've done more than you have to find it. All you did was sleep in your tent while the rest of us searched and went out for food and supplies. You didn't even help dig up the chest!"

I expected Garret to come to his father's defense, but he looked at his dad and waited for an answer. He must have been questioning him, too. I could almost sympathize with him.

Morgan met his sons' stares. "Is this how you all feel?" Garret and Edward looked away, losing their nerve to go against their father.

My dad stepped up and put his face right in Morgan's. "It's not how we all feel. A few of us believe this fortune should be returned to the Granville family. Isn't that right, Noelle?" Noelle looked like she was in shock, and I couldn't blame her. I was, too.

Morgan inhaled deeply, making his nostrils flare. "I was right. You aren't a friend at all."

Dad straightened up, and somehow he seemed taller than usual. "No, I'm not, and I'm going to see that this chest is returned to its rightful owner. No matter what it takes."

Morgan didn't respond. He seemed to be calculating his next move. Just when I thought things couldn't get any more bizarre, Sam walked over and shook Dad's hand. "Good to see you again, Bruce."

"You've got that right. I thought your were dead," Dad said. "Got yourself some pets, I see."

"They're the best protection I could ask for," Sam replied, tossing another piece of bread to the vulture.

"What's going on?" Edward asked. That's what I wanted to know, too.

"Let me explain," Sam said, smiling at my dad. "You should really do background checks on your recruits, Morgan. All I had to do was let Trent beat me in a few games of pool, and he told me everything I needed to know about you and the fortune. And you took me aboard just as easily, without any questions."

"Why you little!" Trent reached for Sam, but Noelle stuck her foot out and tripped him.

"Keep your hands off him!" Noelle said.

Trent scowled at her. "Edward, you better control little sweetie over here before I—"

Without warning, Noelle landed a right hook on Trent's jaw. "Don't call me sweetie!"

Trent got to his feet, rubbing his jaw. He took a step toward Noelle, but Edward blocked him.

"Noelle, what's gotten into you?" Edward asked.

"I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of keeping secrets. I wanted to tell you and J.B. who I really am, but I couldn't. I was worried about my dad, and when he showed up, I was afraid you'd hurt him if I told you." She turned to face Sam. "I thought you were dead. Trent told me what they did to you, and I had a dream you were lost in these woods. I came looking for you. And then when I saw you, I thought you were something I created from my own fears. This forest does that somehow. I didn't think you were real."

Sam was Noelle's father! Of course! He'd said the squirrels chewed through his watch—the watch Noelle had found. It also explained Noelle's reaction when we'd first seen Sam. But why had Sam helped Morgan?

Everyone stared wide-eyed as Sam removed his jacket, covered in squirrels, and gently placed it on the ground. He walked over to Noelle and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I never meant to put you through all this." Noelle sobbed in her dad's arms.

"What's going on?" Morgan yelled. "Who are all you people?" It might have been my imagination, but I swore his mustache curled tighter.

Sam draped one arm across Noelle's shoulders. "We're Granvilles, and that's our fortune you've found."

Noelle turned to me. "My ancestor, Sebastien, stole this from his family a long time ago, dooming his descendants to be cursed until it was returned."

I knew the story. I'd read about it in Dad's journal, and I'd had visions about the curse. Now here we all were. Together. The three cursed families that started this. The three cursed families that had to end this.

"And who are you?" Morgan growled at my father.

"Bruce Beaumonte."

"Beaumonte? I should have known." Morgan let out a primal yell.

Noelle smiled at me. "I figured out who you were when we were spying on the camp. Holly mentioned your ancestor and you guys being cursed."

I remembered the look on Noelle's face when Holly had told her. Now I understood why she'd gotten so upset.

My dad put a hand on Noelle's shoulder. "I recognized you immediately. Your father carries your picture with him, and he looks at it every chance he gets."

"You two were working together to find the fortune," Morgan said through gritted teeth.

Dad nodded. "We knew you'd keep it for yourself instead of returning it and breaking the curse. We've been working as private investigators for years, with you being our top case. Of course you didn't make things easy for me, seeing as you captured my kids."

Dad looked at Holly and me, and I could barely fight back the tears. It had been lie after lie. He wasn't a lawyer. He was a private investigator. He'd been leaving me to go spy on the Grimaults. I figured it was better than being a thief, but Dad was as much a stranger to me right now as he was to Morgan.

Morgan lunged at Dad. I grabbed the loaf of bread sticking out of Dad's pocket, hoping it was stale. Stepping forward, I swung it at Morgan's knife. The bread shattered, leaving crumbs in my hands. I blew the crumbs in his face, aiming right for his eyes. I'd hoped to temporarily blind him, but the crumbs scattered and stuck to the sweat on his cheeks and brow instead. Sam's squirrels chittered and leaped onto Morgan, nibbling at the breadcrumbs.

"Get them off me!" Morgan screamed. He fell to the ground, dropping his knife, and swatted at the squirrels.

"I wouldn't move around so much," Sam said. "They have sharp teeth!"

"Garret! Edward!" Morgan yelled, but Garret and Edward didn't move. The corners of Trent's mouth twitched as he fought back a smile. He must've been enjoying this after all Morgan had put him through.

Realizing he was on his own, Morgan buried his face in the dirt, scaring most of the squirrels away. He grabbed for his knife on the ground in front of him. Dad went for it, too, but Morgan was closer. I picked up what was left of the bread and flung it on Morgan's back. This time the vulture swooped down for it, pinning Morgan to the ground.

Dad pulled me away from Morgan. "Thanks, J.B. but I've got it from here," he said. I wanted to hug him, but I couldn't move.

Dad and Sam grabbed Morgan's arms and yanked him to his feet. Garret drew his knife and advanced on Holly. She screamed as he wrapped one arm tightly around her shoulders and placed the knife against her cheek.

"Let my father go or the girl dies!" Garret yelled.

Dad and Sam stared in horror. "Easy now," Dad said in a soft voice. "No one has to get hurt."

"That's right," Garret agreed. "As long as you stay out of our way. We're taking the fortune, and we're leaving. If you can't agree to that, it'll cost you her life." He squeezed Holly, and she started to cry.

Sam, Noelle, my dad, and I all looked back and forth at each other. As much as we wanted to return the Granville fortune and break the curse, we couldn't trade Holly's life to do it.

Trent walked toward my dad and motioned for him to let go of Morgan. Dad looked at Holly and released his grip. Sam did the same. Garret pushed Holly to the ground and rushed to his father's side. Noelle and I helped Holly up, and our fathers stood protectively in front of us. We faced each other in two groups. The Grimaults versus the Granvilles and Beaumontes. With one exception. Edward stood in the middle.

Morgan glared at his son with even more disapproval than I'd seen him give Trent. "Choose your side, but make sure you're certain. If you turn your back on me now, you will no longer be a son to me. You'll be my enemy." He spoke slowly, making sure Edward understood each word.

"Edward, come on!" Garret begged.

Noelle mouthed something to Edward. I figured she was asking him to stay with us. Part of me wanted him to. After all, he did seem different than the rest of his family. He was more human than they were.

Edward looked at me, and then he turned to Noelle and whispered, "I'm sorry." He rushed to the chest and grabbed an end. Garret smiled and took the other. Together they picked it up and walked off. Dad and Sam started to protest, but Morgan put his hand up to stop them.

He motioned for Trent to follow Garret and Edward, leaving him alone with us. Morgan smirked. I looked up just as he did what I'd feared. "Those branches look like a huge claw reaching down to squeeze you all in its fist!" he yelled, focusing his eyes on the limbs dangling over our heads. Without waiting to see his creation, Morgan took off after his family and the Granville fortune.

We tried to run, but the transformation happened too quickly. In one swift motion, we were scooped off the trail by the large leafy claw. The finger-like branches tightened around us. Sam and his vulture were near my right shoulder. The vulture released its feet from Sam's neck and clawed at the leaves, ripping them to shreds. It had the right idea. The branches were too thick to break, but the leaves were easy to damage. I started biting the leaves in front of my face, spitting them out and going back for more. I must've looked like a savage animal, but it seemed to be working because I could feel the tree's grip on me weakening. "Rip the leaves!" I yelled. "It should make the claw release its grip."

Dad's left arm was free, and he yanked handfuls of leaves at a time. Holly jumped at the opportunity to bite something. Sam and Noelle were pinned together with very little wiggle room, but they did their best. Leaves flew through the air. We had to be close to making the branches bare, but the tree wasn't letting go.

I looked at Sam and Noelle. They were the only ones facing the bottoms of the branches. "Try to break the ends of the branches," I told them. "They're the thinnest points. Maybe it will weaken the tree enough to free us!"

Noelle managed to get one hand around a branch. She looked like she was arm wrestling with it. Finally, I heard a snap. Noelle and Sam fell to the ground. Sam whistled to the vulture, and in seconds, I felt the bird's beak biting the branch behind my head. The tree snapped again, and I fell. The vulture continued to break the branches until we were all free.

The bare branches hung lifelessly toward the ground. It was over. Of course, since the Grimaults stole the Granville fortune, we were still cursed, so the future didn't look good for any of us.

Dad put his hand on my shoulder. "You okay, J.B.?"

I nodded, unable to find the words.

"Let's go home," he said, giving me a half smile.

No one said a word as we made our way back to Bradley Park and out of the forest for good.

### Chapter Twenty

I didn't fully remember leaving Braeden Forest or saying good-bye to Noelle and Sam, but I woke up in the morning safe in my own bed. My thoughts were so cloudy I wondered if it all had been a bad dream. Something my overactive imagination had cooked up. I threw on clean clothes and went to check on Holly. She was sound asleep when I walked into her room, but the worn-out look on her face told me Braeden Forest hadn't been merely a nightmare. It had been a real-life horror Holly and I had lived through for several long days.

"How are you feeling, pal?" Dad asked from the doorway.

I turned to face him, unsure if I even recognized him after all I'd been through. He looked completely exhausted. Exactly how I felt. "I don't know. Are you asking as my dad? Or as Bruce, the thief? Or how about as a private investigator?"

Holly moaned and opened her eyes. "What's going on? Where am I?"

"It's okay, sweetheart. You're home now," Dad said. He walked over and brushed the hair from Holly's face.

"No, it's not okay!" I exploded. Everything that had happened left me questioning who my dad really was. I felt betrayed and couldn't hold back my feelings any longer. "Why didn't you tell us about the family curse? Why did you go after the Grimaults by yourself? Why did you pretend you didn't know us?"

"Whoa! Slow down. One question at a time," he said, putting his hands up in surrender.

Holly sat up in bed, and I sat next to her so we were both facing Dad, who slumped down at the foot of the bed.

He took a deep breath before he began. "First of all, I'm not a lawyer. I work as a private investigator."

"Why the secrecy?" I asked. "You could've at least been honest about your job."

"Sam and I only take on special cases, and Sam uses a fake name to conceal his identity as a member of the Granville family. Our primary goal has always been to recover the stolen Granville fortune and break the curse that's plagued our families for years. We had to be secretive so the Grimaults didn't discover who we were or what we were doing. If Morgan heard about two private investigators in the area, he would've gotten suspicious. So we told everyone we were lawyers. It's all been kept very secretive to stay off of Grimault's radar. It's not a great life, but we have the curse to thank for that."

"And what exactly is the curse?" Holly asked.

"You saw what the forest could do. Well, the curse was helping fuel that power. Our biggest fears come to life. Holly's fear of hospitals. My fear of not being able to provide for and protect you. Your mother's fear of things falling to pieces." Dad looked at me, probably wondering how the curse affected me. I turned away. I couldn't admit to my fear—that I was losing my mind.

I thought about how this had all started. "You were at the park when that guy came wandering out of the forest. That wasn't a coincidence. You knew he'd be there."

Dad lowered his head. I could tell he was sorry for betraying us. "You have to understand I was trying to protect our family. Sam and I had to make sure the forest was cut off from the public. We didn't want any innocent people to get hurt wandering into the forest and coming across the Grimaults. Sam has a connection at the police station, so he was able to get released even after he'd convinced everyone he'd lost his mind."

Sam had been the crazy man at the park. I hadn't even recognized him underneath all the dirt.

"But why did Sam go looking for the Grimaults on his own?" I asked.

"He insisted on it. He thought it would be best to get on the inside and help Morgan locate the fortune. I was to come in and help Sam recover the fortune and break the curse. I felt awful when he didn't return. If anything had happened to him, it would've been my fault."

"Something did happen to him. They tortured him! They tied his hands and left him to be eaten!"

Dad put his head in his hands. I knew this had been tough on him, too, but I needed to understand what had happened in the forest, no matter how difficult it was for him to talk about.

"Noelle went into the forest to search for him. She could've been killed! All because you and Sam lied to us!" I couldn't control my anger. I knew Dad and Sam had thought they were protecting their families, but they'd ended up putting us in more danger.

"I didn't have a choice. Only your mother knew the truth. The Grimaults have been coming here for generations to search for the fortune. They're greedy people. They knew the fortune would be difficult to find without all the maps, but that didn't stop them from trying."

"Where did you get a map?" Holly asked.

"I drew it. Sam and I had been in the forest numerous times, and we chose a place to use as the setting for a fake map. It was a long shot, but I had to bring Morgan something that would make him accept me as the son of his father's friend.

"It wasn't until much later that I discovered I really did possess a piece of the treasure map. I knew Aristede made the painting of the forest," Dad said, looking me in the eyes. "The one from our living room. But I had no idea it was part of the treasure map until Edward showed me the other maps back at the campsite. After talking to Edward, I went back to Bradley Park, intending to head home and retrieve the painting, but I found the painting on the merry-go-round where you'd left it. That's when I got your mother's panicked voicemails on my cell. She said you two had taken the painting and were missing. I knew you'd gone into the forest, so I had to find you and the fortune. When I came across the Grimaults holding you captive, I had to pretend I didn't know you so Morgan wouldn't harm you."

"So, you did wink at me?" I asked.

"Yes. I wasn't sure if you saw that, but I wanted to give you a sign I was there to help. Luckily, you played right along."

"We weren't playing along. We thought you were really a thief. We were terrified!" Holly said, squeezing the sheets in her fists.

"I'm sorry, honey. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't chance Morgan hurting you."

"Why did you stop us when we tried to escape?" Holly asked.

"You saw what that place is capable of creating. It was too dangerous to let you wander through the forest alone."

My mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all. I nearly kicked myself for forgetting to ask about Noelle. "How's Noelle? And Sam?"

Dad laughed. "So is this your first crush, or did I miss one along the way?"

Man, I thought one girl was pretty and everyone had to get on my case about it.

"Noelle is fine, J.B.," Dad said. "I spoke with Sam this morning. You can call her later if you'd like."

I wasn't even sure she'd want to talk to me after all that had happened, but I was glad she was safe. One question still bothered me. "Why did we have that old painting in our living room?"

Dad folded his hands in his lap. "Jean Beaumonte helped steal the Granville fortune, as you now know." He gave me a stern look and added, "By the way, I want my journal back." I swallowed hard, expecting a lecture on stealing, but Dad continued with his explanation. "Everyone in our family has tried to find the Granville fortune and return it so we could break the curse. We discovered Aristede's painting, and it's been passed down with each generation of Beaumontes as a reminder that we had to stop the Grimaults from stealing the Granville fortune again."

"So this is a family business, just like the search for the fortune was in the Grimault family?" I asked.

"Yes. I was hoping the curse would be broken before you were old enough to join the search. But now that the Grimaults got away with the fortune—"

"Anyone hungry?" Mom walked into the room carrying a tray of blueberry pancakes and milk. She placed the tray on Holly's nightstand.

"Mom!" Holly cried. She jumped up and hugged her. I tried to hold back and act tough, but I couldn't fight the urge to hug my mom.

"I'm so happy you two are all right. I was so worried about you," Mom said. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"We're sorry we lied to you," Holly said.

"I think your father and I are partially to blame. We shouldn't have kept this from you," Mom said.

We all sat on the bed, and Holly and I dug into the pancakes.

"How are you part of this, Mom?" I asked with my mouth full.

"I worked with your father up until you were born, J.B. Then I upgraded to a better job." She squeezed my hand and Holly's. I wasn't sure I'd consider being a mom an upgrade, but she sure did seem to love it.

"What about the journal? You wrote it," I added.

"I still help out a little, doing research, keeping notes, things like that."

I still wondered about one thing. "Why did you let us hang out at the park if the forest was dangerous?"

Dad sighed. "All your friends hung out there. It would've been too difficult to stop you without telling you about the curse. Plus, the Grimaults used the seaside entrance to the forest, and they never would have exposed themselves to a park full of people, so the park itself was safe.

"Understand that we can't tell you everything about my job, especially since finding Morgan now will be more difficult than ever. He knows Sam and I will be looking for him so we can return the Granville fortune to its rightful owners." Dad shook his head, obviously not wanting to think about that right now. "But I'll try to be more honest with you."

I appreciated him explaining all of this to me, and I wanted to promise to be honest with him, too. But I couldn't. Especially since I was about to go back into Braeden Forest.

### Chapter Twenty-One

Ever since I'd gotten up, I'd had this nagging urge to return to those woods. It didn't make any sense, but I couldn't ignore it. The big problem was getting away from Holly and my parents long enough to find out what was calling me back to the place where I'd almost died several times.

"Thanks for the pancakes, Mom. They're great, but I think I need to take a walk and clear my head. That's okay, isn't it?" I asked, getting up and heading to the door.

Mom looked hesitant to let me go, but Dad said, "Sure, champ. Just don't go too far. You've been through a lot and must be exhausted." He looked guilty. Normally I would've been glad he understood what he'd put me through, but the fact that I was lying to him made me feel guilty, too.

"Wait a minute!" Mom said, picking up two wrapped presents on Holly's desk. Birthday presents. I forgot it was my birthday. I thought I would've felt different now that I was officially a teenager.

"Happy birthday to you," Mom sang as she handed Holly and me the gifts.

Holly dug right in. Not even traumatic experiences could ruin a birthday for her. My parents were staring at me, so I unwrapped my present, too.

"A cell phone! Finally!" Holly shrieked.

Dad smiled. "We weren't sure if you were ready for this responsibility, but given recent events, I think we made the right decision."

"No way would you get cell phone reception in that forest," Holly said. She didn't know when to keep her mouth shut, but hearing her talk about the forest reminded me I had somewhere to be.

"Thanks, Mom and Dad. This is great. I think I'll go for that walk now." I put the box down on Holly's desk.

Dad picked up the phone and handed it to me. "It's already programmed, so take it with you in case you get tired and want us to pick you up."

I smiled. "Sure, Dad."

"I'll go with you," Holly said, kicking off the covers.

"Actually, I kind of want to be alone." I felt bad blowing off Holly, but what I had to do, whatever it was, I had to do alone. "I won't be long," I said. I started running the minute my foot hit the stairs. I bolted through the front door, letting it slam behind me. I was worried Dad or Holly would look out the window to see where I was heading, so I took a detour to the park.

The police tape was across the entrance gate, so I climbed over it like last time. I headed straight for the forest. My body was on autopilot, which was good because I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Was I really going into those woods again? Armed with nothing more than a cell phone that probably wouldn't get reception?

A squeaking sound broke my trance. The merry-go-round moved. Noelle gracefully jumped off it, landing a few feet in front of me.

"Right on time," she said.

On time for what? I was about to ask when Edward came walking over to us from the woods.

"You? I thought you and your family would be halfway to France by now," I said. I still wasn't sure how I felt about Edward.

"Why are we all here? I mean, I knew we'd all meet here. I saw you both coming," Noelle said. "I must've fallen asleep on the merry-go-round, and I had a dream we'd all be here." She blushed. "Does that sound silly?"

I shook my head. "No. I felt like I had to come here. Like something was pulling me in this direction. You had another one of your dreams? Do you have them a lot?"

"Not a lot."

"You're not the only one who has them," I said. "But they're not dreams. They're visions. I've had them since I was little."

Edward stepped closer, but he was staring into the distance. "I've had them, too."

"Why are we here?" Noelle asked, looking at me as if I somehow had all the answers.

"I think I know," Edward said, finally making eye contact with us. "I had a vision about Aristede, Jean, and Sebastien getting cursed by an old woman wearing that necklace." He pointed to a blue-green stone dangling from Noelle's neck. She reached up and brushed her fingers against it. She hadn't been wearing it in the forest.

"I found this in the attic. It belonged to one of my ancestors. It's supposed to be really old."

"It is," Edward said.

It was my vision! Edward had seen my vision—the curse, the old woman, feeling like I was floating yet connected to something at the same time. I should've been totally freaked out, but I felt at ease for the first time. I felt...complete. We weren't drawn to the forest. We were drawn to each other, like we had been since we'd met. Somehow, Noelle and Edward were answering questions I'd had for years. It gave me a strange idea. "This may sound crazy, but I think you can show us your vision."

"What?" Noelle and Edward asked.

"I think that if we all touch—you know, like make a connection for the vision to travel through."

"Man, I am not holding your hand," Edward said.

I pictured my vision. "We can put our hands on each other's shoulders. We'll make a sort of triangle with our bodies. What do you think?"

"I'll try it," Noelle said with a shrug.

Edward nodded. "I guess."

We moved closer, awkwardly reaching our hands out and resting them on each other's shoulders. My fingertips began to tingle and the hair on my arms stood up. Edward and Noelle must have felt the same way because they were staring at their hands. I'd thought the forest had somehow been creating the static electricity between us, but it was something else altogether.

"What do we do now?" Noelle asked. "I've only ever had visions when I was asleep."

It was exactly like my vision. The three of us standing in this triangular formation. I'd never seen our faces in the vision, but somehow I knew what we had to do. "We close our eyes, and Edward pictures his vision in his mind. If he sees it, we should see it, too."

"How do you know that?" Noelle asked.

"I saw us doing it," I answered. "It's the vision I've been having since I was four."

I expected Noelle and Edward to be confused by this, but there was something weird about the three of us together. It was doing something to us. We were sharing the same emotions. We, as a group, held the answers to our questions. "Ready?" I asked, eager to try this.

Edward and Noelle nodded and closed their eyes. I closed mine, too. An intense warmth passed through my body. The same warmth I'd felt every time Edward and I'd touched back in the forest. An image immediately popped into my head. I'd thought calling up the vision would take some practice, but it came as easily as breathing.

It was dark, but I could see three boys about seventeen or so. They crept through the night, dressed in black. One of them had wavy hair that was kind of long and shaggy. He led the way to a stone tower. It looked like they were outside a giant castle. They reached a large wooden door, and the shaggy-haired one pulled a key from his pocket. He slipped it in the lock and opened the door.

The tallest boy pushed his way into the room. He opened the sack in his hands and began stuffing silver coins, jewelry, and other expensive objects inside.

"That's enough, Aristede. We don't have time to take everything. The party will be ending soon, and the guests will be heading this way," the skinny one said.

"Jean's right. I've already bagged the most expensive things. This should be more than enough to get us overseas," the shaggy-haired one replied.

Aristede nodded, but he continued to grab things on his way to the door. Just as they got back to the entrance, they were stopped by a hunched-over figure in the doorway.

An elderly woman with long flowing gray hair pointed a bony finger at the boys. "You three who bring disgrace to your families shall suffer great misfortune. Your lives shall be cursed until you return what was taken this night." The blue-green stone dangling from her neck sparkled in the darkness. A brilliant white light shot from the woman's eyes. She let out a painful cry and collapsed on the ground.

The shaggy boy rushed to her and whispered, "I'm sorry, Grandmother."

"Sebastien, let's go before anyone else comes," Jean urged, pushing him through the doorway.

The warmth left my body as the vision faded away. I opened my eyes and met Edward's stare. He had seen this before, but he looked shocked, sharing Noelle's and my response.

Noelle shook her head. "That was..." She couldn't finish her statement, but she didn't need to. Edward and I nodded.

"So that's how it all started," Edward said. "The curse."

Noelle had tears in her eyes. "It makes sense now. Sebastien's grandmother."

Before I could ask what she meant, I understood. In Edward's vision, Sebastien hadn't look surprised by his grandmother's power. She was no ordinary woman.

A strange tingling, like static electricity, shot up my arms, and I was warm all over. From the looks on Edward and Noelle's faces, they felt it, too. Instinctively, we closed our eyes as another vision flashed before us.

The old woman was sitting in her room, talking to another woman about half her age. The old woman's eyes were almost white. She was blind.

"The sight is gone." She bowed her head and sighed. "I don't know what went wrong. The boys have stolen our great fortune. They've separated, and now none of them has any of my power. It will remain in their bloodlines until three who are ready to use it come along. Three who will restore what we have lost," the old woman said.

"Mother, surely you can talk to them. Make them see," the younger woman replied.

"It is useless. Sebastien has left. He has shamed this family and taken our most precious gift with him. We are at a loss."

The vision faded away.

"That was intense," Noelle said, breathing heavily. "I don't know if I can handle much more of this."

Edward looked down at his arms. "You're going to have to," he said.

Our eyes shut, almost like an involuntary response to the vision flooding our thoughts. This one was different. A hospital maternity ward. Three babies born on the same day, at the same time. Jack Beaumonte, Noelle Granville, and Edward Grimault.

The tingling stopped and the vision ended as abruptly as it had started. We stared at each other in silence. We were the three, the ones who had inherited the old woman's gift of sight.

"We have the same birthday?" Edward looked frazzled. He dropped his arms to his sides and glanced away.

My new cell phone vibrated in my pocket. Probably Holly wondering where I was. She wouldn't have understood this. I ignored the call.

"Happy thirteenth birthday. Some present, huh?" Noelle giggled nervously.

"Holly isn't going to like this," I said. I could imagine how she'd react to finding out she had to share her birthday with Noelle and Edward. Holly didn't even like having to share the day with me, and it had been my birthday first.

"You can't tell her. We can't tell anyone. At least not yet." Noelle looked scared, and I couldn't blame her. We weren't like other people.

I nodded. "You're right. Our dads don't seem to know about this part of the curse, and I'm not sure we should tell them. Not until we figure out what this all means." Dad had tried to keep the curse a secret to protect me. Now I had to keep this a secret to protect him. We had more in common than I'd thought.

"My dad took off in the middle of the night," Edward said. "He didn't even tell Garret or me where he was heading." I could hear the disappointment in his voice, and I knew how he felt.

"You can't tell Garret or Trent, either." Noelle said.

Edward nodded. "We don't tell anyone."

"Good. We all agree." It seemed odd saying it aloud. We weren't exactly three people I would've put together, but we seemed to see eye-to-eye somehow.

Noelle met my stare. "We share the woman's gift."

I nodded. "That's why we each see something different. Edward sees things that have already happened, you see things as they're happening, and I see things that haven't happened yet."

"The past, present, and future," Noelle said.

There had been a purpose to the curse. It wasn't meant to simply punish the boys for stealing the Granville fortune. The gift of sight that went with it was meant to change them, to make them see the error in the path they'd chosen and to correct it. Only they hadn't done that. They'd split up. The only way the gift of sight truly worked was if the three—now us—stayed together. I wondered if Noelle and Edward understood that. We couldn't split up the way Sebastien, Aristede, and Jean did or the curse would never end. We had to fulfill what the old woman wanted our ancestors to do. "In the vision, the old woman said we have to use the gift to return what was lost the night of the curse."

"My family's fortune," Noelle said.

"Right, but it was split up. Isn't that what Sebastien's grandmother meant when she said the boys separated?" I asked.

"Probably," Edward said. "Aristede's fortune wasn't exactly as big as my dad thought it would be. There must be more out there somewhere." He looked toward the forest.

"I don't think it's in there," I said. "Sebastien and Jean would have hidden their portions of the fortune in other places since they separated."

"We have to find those places if we want the curse to end," Noelle said, but she didn't sound as eager as she'd been before. We didn't have any maps or other clues to help us find what Sebastien and Jean had stolen, and not even Edward had a clue where his father had run off with the fortune. We were still missing all three parts.

"So we work together?" Edward asked, looking back and forth between Noelle and me.

"It looks that way," Noelle answered, giving us both a half smile.

From this moment forward, we were all changed. Like it or not, we were the ones who had been chosen to break the curse.

I looked at Edward and Noelle, my second family of sorts, destined to be linked forever by this shared sight. "It's up to us," I said. "We are the three."
Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking the time to read Curse of the Granville Fortune, book one in the Curse of the Granville Fortune Trilogy. I hope you enjoyed J.B.'s story and will continue on his adventure in book two, Mystery of Majestic Cave. If you enjoyed reading this book, please consider leaving a review.

Sincerely,

Kelly Hashway

### Also by Kelly Hashway

The Imaginary Friend (middle grade)

Young Adult Titles:

Touch of Death

Stalked by Death

Face of Death

The Monster Within

The Darkness Within

About the Author

Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but that didn't stop her from jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet one Halloween. Maybe it was growing up reading R.L. Stine's Fear Street books that instilled a love of all things scary and a desire to live in a world filled with supernatural creatures, but she spends her days writing speculative fiction for young adults, middle graders, and young children. Kelly's also a sucker for first love, which is why she writes YA and NA romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she's not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized. She is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency. Visit her website at www.kellyhashway.com.

### Acknowledgments

It's so difficult to write acknowledgments for a book that has been through so much and was worked on by so many people. First, thank you to my editor, Trisha Wooldridge. I can't tell you how happy I was to work with you on this book. You know you've always been my favorite editor to work with because we think so much alike. To my proofreader, Patricia Bradley, thank you for reading this book countless times. I think you know the story as well as I do by now, and I love you even more for it. To Heather DeRobertis at True Poison, thank you for creating a cover I absolutely adore. To my agent, Sarah Negovetich, I can't thank you enough for all you did for this book and for me.

A huge thank you to my critique partners, Shauna, Katrina, Katie, Terrie, Cindy, Taurean, Leslie, and Londy for all your amazing feedback.

To my daughter, Ayla, I promise not to tell you to go to sleep when you're reading this book in bed at night. As always, this book is for you, my greatest joy and inspiration. Ryan, you are the most supportive husband ever, and I love you for it. To my father, Martin Bradley, I can't thank you enough for the way you promote my books to everyone you meet.

Kelly's Coven, you are all superstars! I couldn't do this without you and your support. Thank you a million times over for being the best street team ever. To the book bloggers, readers, and my fellow writers, thank you for sharing my career with me. I love you all.
