The Second Siege Read Online Free PDF Page A

into laughter. Mr. McDaniels just gave a contented smile and passed along the bag.
    “Enough of cookies!” snapped Lucia, a no-nonsense Italian beauty whose flashing eyes and indifference to Connor’s charms had left the Irish boy smitten. “Out with it, you two!” she said, snapping her fingers at Max and David. “What is happening here?”
    “What Lucia means, ” said Cynthia, swatting away Lucia’s hand as she snatched up another cookie, “is that since the two of you were here over the summer, you must know what’s going on.” The ample-bottomed English girl bit into her cookie and fixed David with an expectant, maternal stare.
    “With what?” asked David.
    “Oh, like the fact that the charming little gatehouse has been replaced with a fortress,” said Sarah, looking regal and splendid in a scarlet wrap from her native Nigeria.
    “Whose walls are fifty feet high,” said Lucia.
    “And covered with thorns,” added Cynthia.
    “And crawling with Agents,” finished Sarah.
    “Mystics, too,” chimed in Connor. “I saw them peering down at me from the windows. Two blinky old codgers! Gave me the creeps . . .”
    “David knows more about it,” said Max. “He’s been helping Ms. Richter.”
    “Well, they haven’t let me help with the design,” said David, sounding a bit peeved. “They just use me for the grunt work—raising the walls and stuff.”
    “ You raised the walls?” asked Sarah, wide-eyed. “They must be twenty feet thick!”
    David nodded and nibbled a cookie. Ever since his arrival at Rowan, Max’s roommate had exhibited a freakishly intuitive grasp of Mystics.
    “Now that Astaroth’s free, Ms. Richter thinks we need stronger defenses. Of all the banished demons, Astaroth was reputed to have been the greatest scholar and Sorcerer,” said David with a shrug.
    “But isn’t Rowan already hidden away from outsiders?” asked Cynthia, sitting up with a look of real concern. “Even if he’s free, no outsider—not even Astaroth—should be able to find us here. Isn’t that right?”
    “That’s the way it’s supposed to work,” said David, frowning, “but I have my doubts.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Max, glancing at Sarah, who looked frightened.
    “How did that witch find Rowan?” asked David, his pale eyes boring into Max. “Of course Ms. Richter was shocked by what Dame Mala wanted, but couldn’t you tell how surprised she was that a witch was even here?”
    “Maybe they should let you run this place, David,” said Scott McDaniels with a grunt as he waved off the circling bag. “You’d have my vote.”
    “Please don’t even joke about that, Mr. McDaniels,” said David quietly, reaching for another cookie. “I’m afraid Rowan has another traitor, or else we’re not as hidden as we’d like to think.”
    Connor raised his hand in sarcastic schoolboy fashion.
    “And just who are these witches?” he asked.
    “That’s my cue,” said Mr. McDaniels, brushing crumbs from his hands and pushing back from his chair. “I’ll let you kids catch up on all that. I’ve had enough of witches for one day. Besides, I told Bob I’d set up the ol’ Beefmeister 2000 in the kitchen. Got quite a feast in store for tomorrow—lots of grilled meats on the menu. Save your appetites!”
    The group said good-bye to Mr. McDaniels, who lumbered up the stairs like a sleepy bear. Max stretched and flicked on the lights, transforming the dark room into a two-tiered circle of golden wood crowned now by a sky of midnight blue. While the constellations twinkled above, Max and David shared the tale of Dame Mala’s visit, interrupted periodically by Connor’s incredulous questions until he was finally shushed by Lucia. When Max described Dame Mala’s parting promise that the witches would return, Lucia crumpled the empty bag of cookies and uttered a string of what sounded to be some choice Italian phrases.
    “Do you actually think you’d have to go away?” asked Sarah, looking