picked up a spoonful of sheep liver and was about to fling it. Wolf, Dodge, and I hastily vacated the table before insults werenât the only things being hurled by the villainesses.
âSo what are we doing tonight?â asked Wolf, panting and scratching behind his furry ear.
âGiving you a flea bath,â I said.
Wolf stopped scratching and growled. âIâm serious.â
âI dunno. I really should finish my doomsday device,â I said. âItâs due tomorrow.â
âOh câmon, Drexler. Youâve got loads of time,â said Dodge. âLetâs do something fun.â
âDid I hear someone say âfunâ?â asked Ileana as she caught up with us. She had the newsparchment tucked under her arm and a stain on her dress that looked suspiciously like sheep liver.
âWeâre trying to think of something to do tonight,â said Wolf Junior.
âI know! Letâs have a party,â said Ileana.
âYouâre not having a party without me!â said Jez, running after us. She had a stain on her dress, too. Only it was a lot bigger than Ileanaâs.
âWhere are we going to have a party, exactly?â I asked.
âRune! What about the secret passage my mother showed us?â said Ileana.
âWhat secret passage?â asked Dodge. âDoes it lead to Dreadthornâs office?â
âNo, why would you think that?â I asked.
âOh,â he said with a shrug, âI dunno. He just, you know, seems like the type who would creep around in secret passages.â
We explained to the others about the passage behind the Great Clock. Iâd been using it as a shortcut to the dragon dungeons ever since Queen Catalina had showed it to us. Everyone agreed it sounded like a great idea. We all promised to bring something to eat. Then we talked about entertainment.
âWho has some games?â I asked, rubbing my hands together. A party was starting to sound like fun.
âIâve got Conopoly,â said Jez.
âAnd Iâve got Shoots and Slaughters,â I said.
âIâve got Commandy Land,â said Ileana. âMy mom just bought it for me.â
âThatâs a baby game,â said Jezebel.
âYou have sheep liver in your hair,â said Ileana.
âYou have ugly on your face,â said Jez, leaning toward the princess and balling her pale hand into a fist.
âOkay!â I said, stepping between the villainesses. âWeâll all meet after last period by the Great Clock.â
After the last class, I dashed back to my dorm, tossed a few fire ants to Eye of Newt, and threw a couple games in my dragonskin pack. Then I made my way to the kitchens, where Iâd told Dodge to meet me.
âOkay,â I said when I saw him. âIâll distract Cook while you grab some grub.â
Cook was the gnarled old pirate in charge of feeding all us villains. He was big and beefy, with lots of tattoos and only one eye. But one was enough.
âCanât you just hex him or something?â asked Dodge, sounding impatient. I noticed he had been getting more and more irritable since heâd arrived. I figured maybe he was just anxious to
prove himself
and get back to Morganaâs school.
âUh, no! Have you
seen
Cook? We do
not
want to get on his bad side!â
I went over the plan, then Dodge hid behind a door while I lured Cook into the corridor.
âIâm sure there was a crocodile in the hall,â I said. Cook had a vendetta for crocodiles; apparently one ate his cousinâs hand or something.
âAnâ just how did a croc get inter the school, eh?â he asked, following me out of the kitchen. Behind him, Dodge slipped around the doorway.
âUm, I dunno,â I said, trying not to let my eyes flicker to the kitchen door. âMaybe somebody conjured it up in Spelling class?â
âAre ye pullinâ me leg? Ye know what âappens to
Nikita Storm, Bessie Hucow, Mystique Vixen