The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues #1)(49)

"You're a thief," Amy said.

Ian hooked his harness to the huge black kite. "Not a thief, Amy. A Lucian, the same as Benjamin Franklin. Whatever is in this vial, it belongs to the Lucians. I think old Ben would appreciate the irony of this!"

And just like that, Ian jumped out of the belfry. The wind took him. The kite must've been specially designed to support a human's weight, because Ian sailed smoothly down over the graveyard and fence and landed at a controlled run on the sidewalk.

Somewhere out in the storm, police sirens screamed. The bell shuddered as the Holt family pounded against the trapdoor.

"MMMM!"

"Dan!" Amy had completely forgotten him. She ripped off his gag.

"Ow!" he complained.

"Just hold still. I've got the antidote."

"Ian was bluffing!" Dan groaned. "I was trying to tell you. He didn't give me anything!

I'm not poisoned."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! That stuff he gave you is useless. Or maybe it's poison."

Disgusted with herself for being so stupid, Amy threw down the syringe. She untied Dan and helped him stand.

The bronze bell shuddered once more and lurched aside. The trapdoor burst open.

Eisenhower Holt climbed into the belfry.

"You're too late," Dan told him. "Ian took it."

He pointed toward the street. A cab had just pulled up with Natalie Kabra in back. Ian climbed in and they took off through the streets of Montmartre.

Mr. Holt growled. "I'll make you both pay for this. I'll-"

Sirens wailed louder. The first police car appeared around the corner, blue lights flashing.

"Dad!" Reagan's voice called up from the stairs. "What's going on?"

A second police car appeared, racing toward the church.

"We're leaving," Eisenhower decided. He shouted down to his family: "Everybody, about face!" He took one last look at Amy and Dan.

"Next time..."

He let the threat hang in the air and left Amy and Dan alone in the tower.

Amy looked out into the rain. She spotted Uncle Alistair hobbling away down a side street, a Fudgesicle stuck to the back of his cherry-red suit. Irina Spasky 212

staggered out the front of the church, saw the police, and broke into a run.

"Arretez!" a policeman cried, and two of them started after her. Nellie was standing on the sidewalk with a few more officers. She was yelling frantically in French, pointing to the church.

Despite all the chaos, Amy felt strangely calm. Dan was alive. They'd survived the night. She'd done exactly what she needed to do. A smile crept over her face.

"Why are you so happy?" Dan complained. "We lost the second big clue. We've failed!"

"No," Amy said. "We haven't."

Dan stared at her. "Did that lightning fry your brain?"

"Dan, the vial wasn't the clue," she said. "That was just... well, I'm not sure what it was. A gift from Benjamin Franklin. Something to help in the search. But the real clue is that piece of paper you stuffed in your pants."

CHAPTER 19

Dan was thrilled that the second clue had been safely smuggled out of the church in his pants.

"So, really, I saved the day," he decided.

"Wait a minute," Amy said.

"I climbed onto the roof in the middle of a thunderstorm."

"Yeah, but the clue was in my pants."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You're right, Dan. You are the real hero."

Nellie cracked a smile. "You both did pretty good, if you ask me."

They were sitting together at a café on the Champs-élysées, watching the pedestrians and enjoying more pain au chocolat.

It was the morning after the storm. The sky was blue. They'd already packed their bags and checked out of the Maison des Gordons. All things considered, Dan felt lucky.

He still had some doubts about what they'd gone through. In particular, he didn't like that Ian and Natalie had gotten away. He'd hated being tied up, and he wanted to get back at Ian. But it could've been worse. At least they hadn't gotten lost forever in the Catacombs or slammed in the face with a box of ice cream.

"I still want to know what was in that vial, though," he said.

Amy twirled her hair thoughtfully. "Whatever it is, it's supposed to give one team an advantage freeing the truth -- that has to mean the final treasure of the contest. Since Ian and Natalie have the vial ... well, I've got a bad feeling we'll find out what it does pretty quick."

"If these Lucian dudes created it," Nellie said, chewing on her croissant, "maybe it's like some special kind of poison. They seem to love poisons."

"Maybe," Dan said, though the answer felt wrong. He still didn't like the idea that Ben Franklin was related to Ian and Natalie. He'd started to admire Franklin -- what with the fart essays and the lightning and all. Now he wasn't sure if old Ben was a good guy or a bad guy. "But what would poison have to do with a piece of sheet music?"

Amy took the parchment out of her backpack and spread it on the table. Dan had already studied it a dozen times. He knew it was an exact copy of the song they'd seen engraved on the stone pedestal in the secret room, but he didn't know why it was important. When he'd woken up that morning, Amy had already been researching on his laptop. Usually she didn't like the Internet. For some weird reason, she said books were better, so Dan knew she must've been really desperate for information.