Lucy: 2
Melanie: 3
Andre: 2
On the third day, there were more games. A Clock Island trivia game. Lucy won easily. Melanie came in second. Then they played a variation on “Mother, May I?” called “Mastermind, May I?” out in the garden. Finally, after dinner, they played a Clock Island–themed game of Charades. It was incredibly embarrassing to act out scenes from the bookswhile Hugo watched from the back of the library, trying not to laugh too loudly at them.
Lucy noticed a strange thing happening over the course of two days. They almost forgot why they were playing. Especially during Charades, when Andre had to act out the Lord of October fighting the Pumpkin Boys and their ghost army. How did one mime a ghost army, exactly? Surprisingly, he found a way. And then Lucy had to act out Astrid climbing up the side of the lighthouse to find her missing brother who’d been stolen by the infamous Clock Island bandit, Billy the Other Kid.
It was anarchy. And it was fun. So much fun she had to keep reminding herself to stay focused. Christopher needed her to win. She couldn’t forget what was at stake.
By the end of the third day, the scores were too close for comfort.
Lucy: 5
Melanie: 6
Andre: 5
But they still had two more days of games. Anything could happen. Anyone could win.
After the Charades game ended, they all lingered in the library. Kitchen staff appeared and passed around hot chocolate with a mountain of whipped cream to everyone. They sipped their hot chocolate as a low fire simmered in the fireplace.
“Okay, Jack,” Andre said after taking such a big swig of his hot chocolate he ended up with whipped cream on his nose. “I apologize for saying I wasn’t having any fun.”
“Don’t be hasty with those apologies,” Jack said. “Tomorrow won’t be much fun at all.”
Melanie and Andre looked at each other. Lucy glanced over her shoulder at Hugo. He gave her a wink that made her temperature shoot up a degree or two.
“What’s tomorrow?” Andre asked.
“You don’t know?” Jack asked, pointing his finger at Melanie, then Andre, then Lucy.
“I know,” Lucy said, looking back at Jack. “I think I know. Maybe.”
“What is it?” Melanie leaned forward. She looked nervous. They all did.
“We’re in a book, right?” Lucy asked Jack. “You said we’re playing like the kids in the Clock Island books.”
“Indeed,” Jack said.
“Well, it goes like this—first a kid comes to the island, then they answer riddles and play games, which we’ve been doing. Then they—”
“Face their fears,” Andre said. “Right? That’s what the Mastermind always says to the kids—‘Time to face your fears, my dears.’”
“Very good,” Jack said, nodding.
Andre said, “I always got nervous when the Mastermind said that. It meant it was about to get real on Clock Island. I had nightmares for months after readingThe Ghost Machinewhen that boy was chased by that ghost that looked just like him? I mean, what the hell, Jack?”
“My editor tried to talk me out of that scene,” Jack said.
“Why?” Melanie asked.
“Because she said it would give children nightmares for months. I said it wouldn’t. I might owe her an apology.” He tapped his chin. “She won’t get it, but I do owe her one.”
“You’re really gonna make us face our fears?” Andre asked. He sounded skeptical, as if he were too old to be afraid of anything anymore.
“Ah, but that’s the most important challenge of them all,” Jack said as he set his mug aside on the fireplace mantel. “You can’t win until you face your fears. Until you face your fears, your fears are winning.”
