The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues #1)(38)

"The Catacombs are an underground maze," she said. "I told you Paris is riddled with caves and tunnels, right? Al the limestone they used to build the city, ever since the Roman days, they dug from underground, and it left a whole network of empty spaces.

Some are just pits, like the one we fell in last night."

"And some are networks of tunnels," Nellie said. "Yeah, I remember hearing about this. And they're filled with bones, right?"

"I want a room decorated with bones!" Dan said. "Where'd they come from?"

"Cemeteries," Amy said. "Back in the 1700s, the cemeteries were getting overcrowded, so they decided to dig up tons of old bodies -- all their bones -- and move them into the Catacombs. The thing is ... look at the dates. See when they started moving bones into the Catacombs?"

Dan squinted at the screen. He didn't see what she was talking about. "Is it my birthday?"

"No, doofus. Look. 1785. They didn't officially declare it open until the next year, but they started planning the project, and moving the bones, in 1785. Which was also the last year Benjamin Franklin was in Paris."

"Whoa. You mean -- "

"He hid something down there." It got so quiet Dan could hear roaches scuttling in the closet.

"So," Nellie said, "we have to go underground, into a maze filled with bones, and find ... whatever it is."

Amy nodded. "Except the Catacombs are huge. We don't know where to look. The only thing I can think -- there's one public entrance. It says here it's across from the Denfert-Rochereau Métro station, in the 14th arrondissement."

"But if that's the only public entrance," Dan said, "then the other teams might head there, too. Everybody's been stealing that almanac from each other. They'll figure out the Maze of Bones thing eventually, if they haven't already."

"Good enough for me." Nellie brushed the chocolate and bread crumbs off her shirt.

"Let's go meet your family."

Dan's backpack was a lot lighter today, but before they left he made sure the photo of his parents was still safe in the side pocket. His mom and dad were right where he'd left them: in their plastic photo album sheet, smiling from the top of their mountain like they hadn't minded sharing space with a Franklin battery and a grenade at all.

He wondered if they'd be proud of him for getting out of that pit last night, or if they'd be all protective like Amy: You almost got yourself killed, blah, blah, blah. He decided they would've been cooler than that. They'd probably had tons of dangerous adventures. Maybe their house had an arsenal, too, before it burned down.

"Dan!" Amy called. "Get out of the bathroom and let's go!"

"Coming!" he shouted. He looked at his parents one more time. "Thanks for the note about the Maze of Bones, Mom. I won't let you down!"

He slipped the photo back into his pack and went to join Amy and Nellie.

They weren't out of the Denfert-Rochereau Métro station two minutes before they spotted Uncle Alistair. He was kind of hard to miss in his cherry-red suit and canary-yellow ascot, his diamond-tipped cane swinging in one hand. The old man sauntered toward them, smiling with his arms out. As he got closer, Dan noticed he had a black eye. "My dear children!"

Nellie whopped him upside the head with her backpack.

"Ow!" Uncle Alistair curled over, cupping his hand over his good eye. "Nellie!" Amy said.

"Sorry," Nellie muttered. "I thought he was one of the bad guys."

"He is," Dan agreed.

"No, no." Alistair tried to smile, but all he could do was wince and blink. Dan figured his other eye was going to be black now thanks to that pop. Nellie's backpack was not light.

"Children, please, you must believe me, I am not your enemy!"

"You stole the book from us," Dan said, "and left us for dead!"

"Children, I admit it. I thought you were lost in the fire. I barely made it out myself.

Fortunately, I found a latch that opened the door. I called for you, but you must have discovered another way out. I had the almanac, yes. I couldn't leave it behind. I admit I panicked when I got outside. I feared our enemies were still about, or that I would be blamed for the terrible fire. So I fled. Forgive me."

Amy's scowl softened, but Dan didn't believe this guy at all.

"He's lying!" Dan said. "Trust no one,' remember?"

"Should I hit him again?" Nellie asked.

Uncle Alistair flinched. "Please, listen. The Catacombs are right there." He pointed across the street to a simple building with a black facade. White letters above the door read Entrée des Catacombes.

The street around it looked like a normal neighborhood -- townhouses, apartments, pedestrians on their way to work. It was hard to believe a maze of dead people lay right underneath.

"I must speak with you before you go in," Alistair insisted. "All I ask is ten minutes. You are in grave danger."

"Grave danger," Dan grumbled. "That supposed to be a joke?"

"Dan ..." Amy put her hand on his arm. "Maybe we should listen to him. Ten minutes. What do we have to lose?"

Dan could think of a lot of things, but Alistair smiled. "Thank you, my dear. There is a café just here. Shall we?"