Chapter 6—The Hideaway

Aimée led them toward an old wooden elevator that had been used when the mine was active. It had no door, and the floor was scuffed and splintered. On three sides, murky glass walls glistened in the sunshine. The front was wide open.

"Wow!" Jesse said, examining the contraption. "Is it safe?"

Aimée stepped onto the rough wooden floor. "What are we waiting for? Monsieur Voyeux will not sleep forever."

Jesse put one foot forward and then stopped. He was brave, but cautious. His dad had taught him about calculated risk—taking the risk only when he was highly certain of the outcome. He was not yet certain of this outcome.

"You've done this before, I take it."

"Ah oui, many times," Aimée said. Even Juliette nodded with conviction as she stepped in.

"Then let's go," Jesse said, now more eager than afraid. He was, after all, headed to a crystal mine.

Aimée pulled down on a long wooden handle, and the elevator bounced before beginning its downward crawl deeper into the mine hollow. The surrounding rock walls came alive with millions of sparkling gems.

"Wow, it looks like tiny stars," Jesse said. Still a bit uneasy about the elevator's safety, he held his breath until they finally reached the bottom and came to a bumpy stop. Aimée lifted the handle and secured it behind a thick, curved nail, and everyone disembarked. The twins led Jesse across the dirt base, which looked even larger than it had from up above.

"Watch where you go," Aimée said, stepping carefully around sharp, rusty pieces of metal. Old tools and equipment were strewn about like fossilized creatures. Walls of layered rock and dirt soared up around them several stories high. There was still no sound of life. To Jesse, it was like being in a dead zone. Fighting fear, he reminded himself of his commitment, above all, to find enchanted crystals. So he followed the twins toward a dark opening about fifty feet away. Worm-eaten beams stopped the tunnel walls from falling into the entrance. One beam had fallen and hung precariously down into the opening.

"In here?" Jesse peered into the dark opening.

"Oui, ici, this is the entrance to our hideaway. We want to show you what we found. Well, actually, Le Nez discovered everything first."

"By the way, where is Le Nez?" Jesse asked, glancing around.

"Oh never mind him; he's exploring. He can take care of himself."

As they entered the tunnel, Aimée picked up a large torch she found sitting on a rock shelf. She reached into her pocket, pulled out matches, and lit the torch.

"Why do I feel like we just went back a hundred years?" Jesse said to no one in particular.

"Maybe we did," Juliette said, holding her braid tight like a wand of safety.

Torch-lit, they made their way into the dark tunnel, followed by their tall and eerie shadows. Aimée took a sudden left and walked through a new opening. Her torch revealed a cave-like room furnished with a frayed brown couch and a worn and splintered wooden desk and chair. Several cushions were scattered around, and faded pictures leaned against the walls. These rustic pieces, along with a tattered rug, gave the hideaway a homey feeling. Aimée lit a creaky old lantern sitting on the desk and blew out the torch before placing it on a nearby ledge. As the lantern light grew brighter, the friends' shadows shot up to touch the ceiling.

Jesse turned around in a full circle. "Wow, an impressive hideaway."

"Oui, especially since we brought some things Madame Printemps was throwing away. The desk and couch were already here," Aimée said, pointing to those.

"Does Madame know? How did you get everything here?" Jesse remembered the look he had seen on the housekeeper's face when they left for the woods.

"Non, pas du tout, no way. We took them from the inn's cellars and pulled them in a wagon when everyone was busy and Monsieur Voyeux was napping."

"I think she's getting suspicious," Juliette said.

"Maintenant—now let us show you our discovery." Aimée turned toward the desk.

The worm-eaten piece of furniture had a geometric pattern carved into the top—a raised triangle set inside a circle. Aimée slipped under the desk and yelled to Juliette to push on the triangle. Juliette did as she was told, and a compartment under the desk flipped open. Aimée lifted out a faded red box, crawled out from under the desk, and set it on top. She opened the box, and Jesse looked inside. He stared down at two plain rocks a bit smaller than his closed fist and started to reach for them, but Juliette stopped him. "We must touch them first," she said. "We each belong to one of them."

"What do you mean...belong?"

"Regardez!" Juliette picked up one of the stones and watched it immediately transform into a dazzling emerald green crystal. Its brilliance lit up the entire room of the cave like the aurora borealis. She smiled and touched her heart with one hand. The stone had shifted her mood.

"Wow!" Jesse said for the hundredth time that day. "Let me try." He took the crystal and the glowing radiance blinked out, turning back into a simple stone.

Aimée picked up the second stone and it immediately lit up like a radiant yellow sun. She touched her heart. Jesse took it into his hands and the bright yellow light blinked out.

"Impressive. Why are you touching your hearts?"

"We feel our hearts grow warm whenever the stones shine," Aimée said.

"Really? That's incredible."

"Oui, c'est incroyable. That is why we couldn't wait to show you." Aimée gave Jesse a hug.

"Do you think there could be a crystal in this mine for me? There have got to be more."

"We'll come back tomorrow with Le Nez to explore the same tunnel. Monsieur Voyeux will be waking up soon. So we must hurry." They put the stones back into their hiding place, blew out the lantern, and relit the torch. Aimée held it high and led the others out.

Just as they reached the elevator, Le Nez ran to them. His nose was covered in dust. Aimée bent over and brushed it. "Have you been crystal hunting again, Le Nez?"

The dog whined as if trying to communicate. "I bet he's found something." Aimée's blue eyes sparkled at Jesse. "We'll learn for sure when we come back tomorrow."

The trio hurried out of the mine by way of the shaky elevator, the overgrown path, and the picket gateway, making sure to close it behind them. They tiptoed past the mine keeper's house, but no sound came from the dwelling of the old man.

Once safely past and in the dark forest, Jesse tried to relax but felt sure the glowering olive branches were hanging down lower than before. He moved faster. Then suddenly and without warning, a dark, shrouded figure appeared and blocked his way. Jesse nearly stumbled right into what looked like a witch. He felt his stomach sink to his knees.

The witch was tall with a black cape billowing over its shoulders and a transparent veil covering its face. The cape flowed all the way down to touch the tops of pointed, mud-speckled boots. Peering from behind the veil was an ancient face with a large hairy wart on its forehead and a protruding bony nose. The black figure opened its mouth, and broken, yellow teeth clattered, making strange hissing and whistling sounds.

"Where are you coming from, mes enfants?" asked the voice in a thin, too sweet whistle. "You'd best not be playing in the mines, my little ones. Accidents can happen. Rocks can fall—children—buried alive." The witch's creepy head moved up and down.

Jesse broke into a cold sweat but Aimée raised a stubborn chin. "None of your business. You don't own this land. We can cross through these woods any time we want." Aimée grew taller. "Get out of our way, you old witch. You don't scare me."

Furious, the witch reached with her jutting black fingernails past Jesse and straight for Aimée. Her breath smelled like rotten eggs.

Le Nez reacted at once. Growling fiercely, the little dog ran up to the witch and began snapping hard with sharp teeth on the skin above the creature's booted feet. The witch flinched and looked down at the dog and, with an angry rasp, ran into the forest with Le Nez giving chase. Before disappearing completely, the dark figure twisted her head around, and gave the group a final, penetrating stare.

As soon as the witch was out of sight, the trio raced back to the inn as if twenty witches were behind them. With hearts beating double time, they ran up the porch steps and down the long hallway to the back of the inn and didn't slow down until they were inside the familiar kitchen.

"Phew, that was way too close," Jesse said, panting. His blood continued to pump as if he were still running, and he wiped his face with his T-shirt. "Have you ever seen a witch before?" He glared at the twins.

"Non." Aimée held her throat and sat down at the table. "But we know about her. We think it's Madame Villars from the olive grove." Aimée looked at her sister. "Juliette, are you all right?" Her twin looked pale as milk and was staring into the distance. "You need food, I think, and so do I." Aimée walked over to look for some pastry.

Jesse sniffed. "I'm starving too. I smell fresh baking. Tell me about Madame Villars later."

Fortunately, Chef Marie always kept a supply of freshly baked croissants on hand, and right now what everyone needed more than anything was a taste of home. So they ate in silence, each mind revisiting the recent terrible episode. Jesse remembered how a strong wind had picked up along the woods path. Or had it been his imagination?

"A terrifying witch? How cool is that?" Chaz blurted out on the DSC later that night.

"Sounds rather childish to me," Nikki chided.

"Easy for you to say, Nik. You weren't there choking on her rotten breath, listening to her zombie voice—a thing ready to smite you on the spot."

"Yeah, but she was afraid of a dog. A dog—ha—what kind of a witch is that?"

"Well, he was biting her legs. Hey. That means she has skin, just like us," Jesse said.

"Start at the beginning," Nikki demanded. "And don't leave anything out."

Jesse went over every step of the adventure. "I'm pretty sure we have two of the crystals already. They're tucked in the twins' hideaway in a tunnel in the mine. They light up into these amazing colors that seem beyond natural to me. We think we can find more, so we're going back tomorrow. The only problem is the witch told us to stay away or an accident might happen—like getting buried alive. I'm not looking forward to it." His stomach churned every time he thought about going through those woods.

"Regardless," said Nikki, "you have no choice but to go back." Nikki was now committed to completing the mission. Not because she was a total believer, but because she was extremely competitive and had to win. "Maybe you should look for protective gear like helmets, lights, shovels, witch poison, stuff like that. Don't go in blind and unprepared."

"You're right. We need to make a plan, get organized. Increase the odds of success."

"And bring along lots of water," Chaz said. "Maybe she's a melting witch."

"That would be nice," Jesse said. "Until tomorrow night, guys, if you ever hear from me again."

"Maybe we should try and contact her...the angel, I mean."

Jesse groaned. "I've already tried that. I think she wants us to figure things out. Maybe we need to prove our worthiness or something." He paused. "One more thing; remember how she said we'd know she was around by the wind?"

"Yeah," Chaz and Nikki answered together.

"The wind came up just before the witch appeared. Maybe she is watching over us."

Jesse punched the off button on the DSC and logged his call. Already late, he raced down the back stairs to join everyone for dinner, en famille, in the kitchen.

Jesse was right about the wind—and the quest. It was theirs to do—find the stones and activate the crystal chain. The world was waiting.

After an evening of playing Clue, it was bedtime, and the trio headed to their rooms. Jesse was too stirred up to sleep but lay on his bed thinking about the next trip into the mine. Would they find more crystals? Would the witch try to hurt them? A strong force pulled him toward those stones. He'd go now if it weren't dark out. Or maybe now was a good time, at night when the witch wouldn't expect them to return. But he didn't move. He stayed on the bed and gazed up at the stars through the skylight, thinking about his mom, asking the same questions he had asked every night before falling sleep. Was she in heaven? If not, where was she? If he had done something different that day, would she still be here? Jesse wished he could relive the time before her accident and save her. But she was gone now, and he had been a hopeless failure.

The accident had occurred three years ago on October 31. Jesse was ten and distracted, thinking about his Halloween costume. Costumes and candy were the words of the night, and he couldn't wait to fill up his skull basket. His outfit was a one-piece black suit with a white human skeleton painted on it. He liked it, not because it was scary looking, but because he loved seeing the bones all attached and moving around. He remembered that night clearly and could still repeat every word his mom had spoken. He replayed those words often to try to connect with her.

The family had just finished an early dinner like they did every year on Halloween. Jesse's mom was grinning all through the meal, excited to go out trick or treating with him.

"Jesse, you go ahead and change into your costume," she said. "Dad can clean up, and I'll run to the store for more candy." She looked slyly at her husband. "Someone's been sneaking candy."

"It wasn't me," Jonathan said, watching Jesse run down the hall to his room. They looked at each other and chuckled. Jonathan stood up. "Want me to go, hon?"

"No, I'll go. I need some fresh air after sitting all day. Won't be long." Those were her last words.

It was two years later before Jesse was told exactly what happened. Everyone thought he was too young to understand. But he wasn't. He had always worried the accident was his mom's fault.

She had stopped at a red light, waiting to turn into the grocery store parking lot. When the light turned green, she started her turn but was rammed by a big SUV. Jesse's mom never saw the vehicle, hidden as it was by a maple tree with an umbrella of branches. The driver was drunk and had run through a red light.

Jesse's mom never returned home that night. He remembered being in the emergency room with his dad, still wearing the skeleton costume. Jonathan had looked at him with sad eyes. "Jesse, go take off the costume." Jesse looked down and tripped to the bathroom in a daze. He tore it off, down to his jeans and sweaty T-shirt, and dumped the costume into the trash.

Now, after a long time gazing up at the stars twinkling over the inn, Jesse's eyes drooped, and in that halfway place between being awake and asleep, he heard a voice inside his head: You can do this, my friend. Remember, I will be always with you. He drifted off to sleep, wondering if his mom knew the crystal angel.