The Hanging Hill

63

Zack waited for Mrs. McKenna to head up the curving stairway to the main lobby.

She, being an adult who wasn’t Judy, hadn’t seen or heard the swaggering ghost, his lantern jaw set on “heroic,” his hands firmly planted at his hips.

“Uh, I gotta go.” Zack bolted for the door they had used yesterday to head down the spiral staircase and explore the basement.

He slammed it behind him.

“What ho, Zachary!”

Buckingham was waiting for him on the other side.

“My, but thou art a nimble-footed knave!” He dipped into a bow that involved a lot of hand flourishes in front of his face. “I am your hoped-for guide spirit, here to assist you.”

“What?”

“Did you not recently wish that one of the night fliers would drop by during the day to give you a solid hint about what it is you are actually supposed to do?”

Busted.

“Yeah. So, what am I supposed to do?”

Buckingham struck his hands-on-hips pose again. “Why, slay the demons.”

“Right. But how?”

“That I cannot say.”

“Why not?”

“Rules. Regulations. Those of us who tarry amidst the earthly ether are prohibited from directly interfering with mortal life.”

“Listen, Mr. Buckingham, you’ve got the wrong guy.”

That puzzled him. “You are Zachary Jennings, are you not?”

“Yeah, but…”

“You are the hero of the crossroads, is this not also true?”

“Kind of …”

“You, bonny lad, are special.”

“Hey, I never asked to be special, okay?”

Buckingham nodded knowingly. “And I never asked to be ruggedly handsome, but, alas, as you can plainly see, I am.”

“Look, I’m just a kid.”

“Tut-tut. We have no time for modesty. In fact we have very little time for anything! You have less than nine hours.”

“What? There’s a time limit?”

“Indeed. Now then, I am not allowed to tell you all that I know.” Buckingham leaned in to whisper. “How ever, my spies report seeing two burly ruffians secreting a theatrical trunk deep within the bowels of this basement.”

“The what?”

“Sorry. The innermost recesses of the theater’s subterranean maze of storage rooms and hidden tunnels.”

“I really think you people should find someone else.”

“Fie upon it! Screw your courage to the sticking place, Zachary! We need you. Meghan needs you. Derek and Judy, too.”

“Are they in trouble?”

“I am not at liberty to divulge—”

“Are they in trouble?”

Buckingham first looked around to see if anyone was listening. Then he nodded frantically and mouthed a silent Yes!

“What kind of trouble?”

“The worst sort! Find the trunk, Zack! And beware Pandemonium!”

“Why do people keep saying that?”

“What?”

“‘Beware Pandemonium.’”

“Good question. I, forsooth, can not answer it.”

“Fine. Then I’ll just have to find out for myself.”

“Huzzah! That’s the spirit, lad!”

For the second time in one day, Zack realized he had accidentally said yes to something he really didn’t want to do.