Disney at Dawn

Lightning flashed again. A few seconds passed before the first rumble of thunder rippled through the air.

“That lightning is still some distance away from here, right?” Charlene asked anxiously.

“Closer than it was. You couldn’t hear thunder a few minutes ago,” Philby said. “I’ll bet they’re closing the rides—the mountain attractions and roller coasters. That’s going to mean a whole bunch of the guests in and around the Hub for the fireworks.”

“If we really saw a balloon, whether they believe us or not, we’ve got to convince them to check it out before that lightning gets here.” Fi

“And if they don’t care about the balloon?” Willa said.

“We’re approaching the bridge, people,” Philby a

“Okay,” Fi

He happened to look up at Charlene just as she blinked furiously to protest leaving the float. “We can’t do this!” she said.

Her blinking revealed a subtle green shadow on her lids, which enhanced the color of her eyes.

Fi

He called out to the others, “Maleficent is inside the castle. That’s what Amanda was trying to tell us.”

3

THE KINGDOM KEEPERS MET UP AGAIN at the base of Escher’s Keep, a confusing maze of interlocking staircases, mirrors, and doors that crawled up the inside of Cinderella Castle. It had been built years ago as an attraction but had never opened to the public, as it had proved too dangerous. One misstep, and you were dumped into chutes or slides, some of which landed you in the castle moat.

“I tried to tell a Cast Member about the balloon,” Fi

“We’ve got to get up there,” Philby said, “Maleficent or not.”

“But what if Amanda was trying to warn us?” Charlene asked nervously. “Wouldn’t that mean we might be walking into a trap?”

“She’s got a point,” Maybeck said.

Fi

They said their good-byes, Maybeck uncharacteristically wishing them luck, his dark, troubled eyes expressing concern. They agreed to meet after the fireworks in front of Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, immediately behind the castle.

“And if you guys don’t show up?” Willa asked Fi

Thankfully, Maybeck dragged her out the door and into the castle gift shop’s storage room before Fi

“You okay with this?” Philby asked nervously, his foot on the first step of Escher’s Keep. It was a route that had to be memorized, and neither boy had attempted to climb it in several months.

“Let’s do it,” said Fi

Philby stepped aside, allowing Fi

“Do you remember the way?” Fi

“I want to say second from the right: blue. But it’s your call,” Philby said.

Turning the wrong door handle caused a trapdoor to open.

Philby stayed off the platform in case Fi

Fi

Philby tried the yellow door. The trapdoor opened beneath him.

Green—for “go”—seemed too simple a choice, so on Fi

“Purple,” Fi

Once through the purple door, Fi

“It’s a mirror,” said Philby, sneaking up behind the slower Fi

“I remember this part,” Philby said. “This is where we go down the stairs in order to go back up.”

“Are you sure?” Fi

But Philby waved his hand across the step four steps above this first step, and then punched his hand right through the illusion—the stairs stopped midflight, nothing but a projected image. He led the way down a staircase and then back up a longer staircase, which would make it appear to anyone standing below as though the boys were walking upside down.

“You two!” a low voice called out loudly. “Come down from there!”

Fi

“Security,” Fi

“You are not permitted in this area!” the man hollered. “Come down at once.”

“I don’t think we should trust him.”

They reached a third platform and ducked behind a false wall with two windows. “You think he’ll come after us?” Philby asked.

Thunder cracked high above them.

“I think there’s something going on here,” Fi

“So we ignore him?”

Another crack of thunder. It was getting close.

“Outrun him,” Fi

“And if we’re caught?” Philby said. “You ever read those contracts we signed? They’ll remove our DHIs from the server. They’ll replace us with other kids. We’ll no longer be Disney Hosts, no longer have the Gold Fastpasses. We’ll lose it all.” He hesitated. “All that for some weird balloon? You sure it’s worth it?”

“You’re the one who saw it, not me. Listen, I’m not sure of anything,” Fi