Chapter 11—New Plan

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Jesse was awakened by the inn's rooster. Afraid to fall back asleep and eager to get the crystals back, he lurched out of bed and washed up in record time. He couldn't wait to tell the others about his dream before it faded completely.

Jesse was surprised to see Daniel and the twins already at the breakfast table, drinking sweet tea and eating eggs and croissants dripping with strawberry jam.

"What took you so l-long?" Daniel asked, his eyes full of concern as he glanced up at Chef Marie.

"She doesn't speak English," Aimée said, and then looked to be sure Marie wasn't trying to listen anyway.

Jesse sat down, dropped a napkin onto his lap, and then scanned everyone's faces before responding to Daniel's question. "Did anyone have a dream?"

"Non," they all said, waiting to hear what Jesse would say next.

"Well I did, and I'm pretty sure we have a solution to our problem." He smiled and looked at his friends with the confidence of someone who has seen the future.

"Spill it out m-mon ami. We are waiting, p-painfully," Daniel said. Then he slurped the last of his tea and wiped his mouth on the corner of the tablecloth, ignoring the napkin on his lap.

Everyone listened with rapt attention, devouring more croissants and jam, as he described the dream down to the tiniest detail. It was early enough that he hadn't forgotten.

"The poison seems to be a tonic that works against evil but has no dangerous effects otherwise. In the dream, none of us got sick from breathing the vapor. I believe this can be our plan—we go to Madame's olive grove today, confront her, and release the vapor to appease her evil powers. We'll hope it puts her to sleep like it did the wolfhound. I'm not sure about the difference in body sizes, but the hound fell off instantly. Once the witch is down, we can search the grove until we find the crystals. They may be hidden in her cellar, so we'll look there first."

"Oui, but there's just one thing," Aimée interrupted. "How do we subdue the hound? It may hear us enter the grove and run to attack before we have a chance to release the vapor."

Just then Le Nez, who had been snoozing under the table, jumped up and put his front paws on Aimée's lap. He looked at her and whined softly as if aching to join the conversation.

Juliette's eyes filled with tears. "Non, pas de tout, Le Nez. I'll not let you sacrifice yourself to the wolfhound." Le Nez dropped back down to the floor and padded over to Juliette. He stood on his hind legs and barked as if trying to reassure her. She ruffled his ears and kissed him.

"Actually Le Nez could lead the hound far away from the grove," Jesse said. "And he knows the mines. Maybe he could lead the hound into the tunnels and get it lost inside, or maybe just keep it running around in circles for a long time."

The dog started yipping as if in full agreement that he could do all these things and more. No one, not even Aimée, could shut him up. Marie, who had been standing at the bread table, stopped kneading dough, wiped her forehead with the back of her dusty hand, and frowned.

"Il n'y a pas de problème," Aimée said to Marie. Then she moved toward the barking dog and whispered, "Calmes-toi, Le Nez, we get your message."

The barking subsided, and Le Nez lay down by the table with his ears pointed high and his full mouth of teeth showing. Juliette pulled on her ponytail. She wasn't so sure about these good ideas, but said nothing.

"Do we still have the b-bottle?" Daniel asked, looking at Chef Marie, who was humming quietly and once again pounding her dough.

"Yes, it's in here," Jesse said, holding up the canvas sack that contained the tools and other necessities they had found in the dungeon cellars of the inn.

"Then why are we waiting?" Daniel held up his hands.

Jesse remembered Nikki's checklist. "Before we run off, I have a plan. You've already eaten breakfast, Daniel, so stay loose while I finish mine."

Daniel nodded and sat down. Everyone leaned forward to hear Jesse's new ideas—everyone, that is, except Juliette, who barely listened. She made a silent plea that all of them, especially her favorite dog, would live to see the sun set that day.