Ziggy shook his head and made a befuddled gesture. “He’s a figure from history books. He lived, what, two thousand years ago?”
“At least,” Victor said.
“I guess he made something called Uweya,” Pigeon said.
“Never heard of it,” Victor said.
“Me neither,” Ziggy grumbled. “But we have access to books. We’ll look into it.”
“Anything else?” Victor asked.
“Jonas made it clear that we had better not work against him,” Pigeon said. “He threatened me if I showed my magic to anyone who didn’t know about it.”
“No magician wants to broadcast the existence of magic,” Ziggy said.
“And no magician with an agenda would smile at disloyalty,” Victor added. “Pigeon, after you hand over your special item, we should probably limit contact to emergencies. He may be able to watch you.”
“You’ve given us some terrific leads, kid,” Ziggy said. “Keep watching him. Try not to get into hot water. If you do, let us know.”
“We prepped some items for you,” Victor said, holding out his palm. In it rested five buttons. “Share these with your friends. Keep one on you, and we should be able to track you. If you get into the kind of trouble where you need us to come immediately, break it.”
“Thanks,” Pigeon said.
“These too,” Ziggy said, handing over a wooden box. Inside Pigeon found six sleek pistols. “Tranquilizer guns. Custom-made, top of the line. Very accurate and high-powered for pistols. Each holds six darts. Semiautomatic. There are several spare darts in the box. Share them, and don’t hesitate to use them in emergencies.”
“This is great,” Pigeon said.
“Do you have anything for dogs?” Diego asked. “Magic collar? Body armor?”
“The dog can talk,” Ziggy said.
“Brain Feed,” Pigeon explained. “Mr. Stott makes it. Diego is definitely on our side.”
“Sorry, pooch,” Victor said, scratching Diego behind the ears. “We’re all out of doggie gear.”
“I won’t hold it against you,” Diego said. “Especially if you keep scratching.”
“You two should beat it,” Ziggy suggested. “The longer you stay near us, the more danger you’re in. Jonas White will be keeping tabs on you, one way or another.”
“Thanks for the gear,” Pigeon said. “You think we can take these guys down?”
“We had better,” Victor said. “For all our sakes.”
*****
Nate had decided on Zombie Nightmare Apocalypse IV as his special object. He had considered some trophies, a sock monkey that used to share his bed, and a few of the Zelda games. But in the end, the overall mayhem and general replay value of ZNA IV had won out.
He waited next to Lindy near an EMPLOYEES ONLY door. Chris and Risa had yet to show up.
“You brought a stuffed flamingo?” Nate asked.
She held it up. The toy had more expression than Nate would expect on a bird. “It was the first thing Mr. Stott got for me,” Lindy explained. “I don’t have many favorite possessions. I hope I’m attached enough to it. I guess we’ll find out. You brought a video game?”
“Yeah,” Nate said. “I really like it. There are so many different ways to take out the zombies. You can win each level using lots of different strategies.”
“I don’t get video games,” Lindy admitted. “Wouldn’t you rather actually go do something than just pretend on a screen?”
“Where am I going to actually fight zombies?”
“Is that something you’d want to do?”
“Not in real life. But in a video game it rules. That’s the point. You can do crazy stuff, but nobody actually gets hurt.”
“Hey, guys,” Chris said, walking up with Risa. “What’s up?”
“Cleon told us to wait here,” Lindy said.
“Fair warning,” Risa muttered. “This part will be a little creepy.”
“What do you mean?” Nate asked.
“We can’t explain,” Chris replied. “You’ll see.”
“Have you had any flying dreams yet?” Risa asked.
“I did,” Lindy said. “I was up in the clouds.”
“I had a good one last night,” Risa said. “I was in a canyon in the desert, rescuing frogs.”
“Rescuing frogs?” Chris chuckled.
“I don’t know,” Risa replied defensively. “It was a dream. They were stuck up on these cliffs and I had to put them in a lake.”
“Were they slimy?” Lindy asked.
“Not really. They were cute.”
“That’s the worst dream ever,” Chris said.
“I haven’t had one yet,” Nate said. “A flying dream. At least not that I remember. Not since I’ve actually flown, I mean.”
The EMPLOYEES ONLY door opened and Cleon waved the four of them inside. He led them through some industrial halls to a different room than last time. He opened a door and extended an arm, inviting the kids inside.
Nate entered, then froze, staring at himself and Lindy rendered as life-sized wax figures. The wax sculptures flanked a desk where Jonas White sat waiting.
“Come inside,” Jonas invited. “Have you ever viewed yourselves in three dimensions? Most people have not. Chris and Marisa had a chance on another occasion. Today Nate and Lindy get a turn.”
Nate approached his wax duplicate. It was exactly his height, and it wore the same outfit he had sported the last time he conversed with Jonas. He walked around it, getting a view from all sides. Lindy scrutinized her wax twin as well. Chris and Risa shared an amused look.
“What do you think?” Jonas asked.
“We should mass-produce these,” Nate said, tentatively touching the wax cheek. “I bet the ladies would love one.”
“Sadly, our plans do not involve placing your likeness in houses across the country,” Jonas said.
“Why did you make these?” Lindy asked.
“Every magician has his specialties,” Jonas said humbly. “I am a Simulcrist.”
“A what now?” Nate asked.
“A simulacrum is a representation of something,” Jonas explained. “A scarecrow, for example, is a simulacrum of a man used to frighten birds. These wax figures are simulacra of you two.”
“You made them?” Lindy asked.