A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(62)

“Well, we would tell you but we wouldn’t want to endanger you,” Conner said.

“Yes, you’re far too young,” Bree added.

Emmerich’s eyes grew and his mouth fell open. “Tell me what?” he asked.

“I’m afraid we can’t tell you,” Conner said. “It would blow our cover if anyone were to ever find out.”

“What are you covering up?” Emmerich asked, desperate to know. “You can tell me—I don’t have any friends to tell!”

Conner and Bree looked at each other; they had him right where they wanted him.

“Well, we came to Germany to hide something,” Conner said. “We were hired by the United States government because no one would ever suspect kids of traveling with it.”

Emmerich put his hands on his cheeks; the curiosity was eating him alive. “What are you trying to hide?” he asked.

Conner pulled the panpipe from his jacket pocket and showed it to him. “This.”

Emmerich gasped before knowing what it was. “Wait, what is that?”

“It looks like a panpipe, but it’s actually a weapon,” Bree said. “And a very bad man wants to get his hands on it.”

“And you want to hide it in Hohenschwangau?!” Emmerich asked.

They nodded. “We were going to hide it in the castle,” Conner said. “That way no one would ever suspect it was anything but a historical item—but since there aren’t any more tours, we’ll just have to hide it somewhere else.”

“Sorry to bother you, Emmerich,” Bree said. “But we need to get going now. We need to be out of the country by nightfall so they don’t find us.”

They turned to leave but Emmerich ran to stand in front of them.

“No, wait, please!” he said. “I can take you into Neuschwanstein if you want!”

“But how can you do that?” Conner asked.

Emmerich looked around to make sure no one could hear him. “I know a secret passage into the castle,” he explained. “My grandfather took me there once.”

Conner’s and Bree’s spirits soared hearing this, but they had to remain calm to keep their cover.

“I don’t know, I would hate to put your life in danger, Emmerich,” Bree said.

“But I’m putting my own life in danger by offering!” he pleaded. “Please! I can even keep an eye on it for you after you leave!”

They took a few steps away and huddled with their backs to him, pretending to think it over.

“You’re a genius!” Bree whispered to Conner. “What are the chances we would find someone who could lead us to a secret passage into the castle?”

“Yeah, what are the chances?” Conner whispered back with a smile. He knew deep down there was a bit of fairy magic inside of him, although he would never have admitted it openly.

They forced their excitement to fade from their faces and went back to Emmerich.

“All right, Emmerich, if you promise never to tell anyone about this, we’ll let you take us to the castle,” Conner said.

Emmerich jumped up and down. This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him in his young life. “I knew there was something special about you,” he said. “I’ve seen enough movies to know a secret agent when I see one! When do you want to go?”

“Sometime after dark,” Bree said. “So no one will see us there.”

“Great! I can meet you at Mary’s Bridge after dinner, in an hour or two,” Emmerich said. “My mom would kill me if I missed dinner, even if it was to help save the world.”

“Sounds good,” Conner said. “Where is Mary’s Bridge?”

“It’s up the path to the castle,” Emmerich said. “There are signs to guide you, you can’t miss it. It has the best views of the castle.”

“Terrific, we’ll meet you there,” Bree said.

Emmerich was bouncing and his cheeks were extra rosy. “I can’t wait!” he said, but then became very still when another thought occurred to him. “If I’m leaving after dinner, I better clean my room before my mother gets home!”

He hurried past them and ran up the steps into his house. Conner and Bree sighed with relief at the same time.

“So far we’ve run away from our principal, kidnapped an old lady, lied to a concierge, and tricked an innocent German boy into believing we’re secret agents,” Bree listed. “Does that make us bad people?”

“Nah,” Conner said, shaking his head. “Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reason. Now let’s go check out this bridge. I’m anxious to see this castle.”

They returned to the village and followed the road up to the castle. There were many signs pointing to the various things that could be seen in the hills, but they followed the arrows that said “Marienbrücke” (“Mary’s Bridge”).

The bridge was very long and narrow. It was wood with an iron railing and stretched from one cliff to another. Several tourists braved the bridge and took pictures of the mountains and forest around it. Conner and Bree faced mild cases of vertigo during their first steps onto the bridge—they weren’t expecting to see a waterfall and stream several hundred feet below.