Midnight

Remember al Shinichi’s little songs about golden hair? He’s a nutcase. Anyway, I could tel from the feel of his mind."

Matt felt ashamed. Al his wondering about Elena maybe changing into a vampire…and this was the answer, he thought.

"I noticed his lapis ring,"Meredith said. "I saw him with it on his right hand as he went out earlier. When he came back he had it on his left hand."

There was a brief pause as they al stared at her. She shrugged. "It was part of my training, noticing little things."

"Good point,"Matt said at last. "Good point. He wouldn’t be able to change it in sunlight."

"How did you know, Mrs. Flowers?"Elena asked. "Or was it just the way we were behaving?"

"Goodness, no, you’re al very good little actors. But as soon as he stepped over the threshold Ma ma fairly shrieked at me: ‘What are you doing, letting a kitsune into your house?’So then I knew what we were in for."

"We beat him!"Elena said, beaming. "We actual y caught Shinichi off guard! I can hardly believe it."

"Believe it,"Meredith said with a wry smile. "He was off guard for a moment. He’l be thinking up revenge right now."

Something else was worrying Matt. He turned to Elena. "I thought that you said that both you and Shinichi had keys that could take you anywhere, anytime. So why couldn’t he have just said, ‘Take me inside the boardinghouse where the star bal is’?"

"Those were different keys from the Twin Fox key,"Elena said, her brows drawn together. "They’re, like, the Master Keys and Shinichi and Misao Stillhave them both. I don’t know why he didn’t use his. Although it would have given him away the moment he was inside."

"Not if he went inside the root cel ar, and stayed there the whole time,"Meredith said. "And maybe a Master Key can override the ‘not invited inside’rule."

Mrs. Flowers said, "But Ma ma Stillwould have told me. Also there are no keyholes in the root cel ar. at all."

"’No keyholes’wouldn’t matter, I don’t think,"Elena answered.

"I think he just wanted to show how clever he was, and how he could fool us into giving him Misao’s star bal ."

Before anyone else could say a word, Meredith held out her palm, with a shining key on it. The key was golden with diamonds inset and had a very familiar outline.

"That’s one of the Master Keys!"cried Elena. "It’s what we thought the Twin Fox key would look like!"

"It sort of came out of his jeans pocket when he did that flip,"Meredith said innocently.

"When you were flipping him over me, you mean,"said Elena.

"I suppose you picked his pocket too."

"So, right now, Shinichi doesn’t have a key to escape with!"Matt said excitedly.

"No key to make keyholes,"Elena agreed, dimpling.

"He can have fun changing into a mole and burrowing out of the root cel ar,"Meredith said cool y. "That’s if he’s got his transforming gear or whatever with him."She added, with a troubled change in her voice, "I wonder…if we should have Matt tel one other person where he’s actual y hidden the star bal . Just…Well, just in case."

Matt saw knitted brows al around him. But suddenly the realization hit him that he had to tel someone that he’d hidden the star bal in his closet. The group – including Stefan – had picked him to hide it because he had so stubbornly resisted when Shinichi was using Damon’s body as a puppet to torture him a month ago. Matt had proved then that he would die in hideous pain rather than endanger his friends. But if Matt were to die now, Misao’s star bal might be lost to the group forever. And only Matt knew how close he had come today to tumbling down the stairs along with Shinichi.

Far below they al heard a shout. "Hel o! Is anybody home? Elena!"

"That’s my Stefan,"Elena said and then, without a shred of dignity, she ran to launch herself from the foyer into his arms.

He looked startled, but managed to break her fal before they both went down on the porch.

"What’s been going on?"he said, his body vibrating infinitesimal y, as with the urge to fight. "The whole house smel s like kitsune!"

"It’s All right,"Elena said. "Come and see."She led him upstairs to his room. "We’ve got him in the root cel ar,"she added.

Stefan looked confused. "You’ve got who in the root cel ar?"

"With iron against the door,"Matt said triumphantly. "And herbs and amulets al over it. And, anyway, Meredith got his key."

"His key? You’re talking about – Shinichi?"Stefan turned on Meredith, green eyes wide. "While I’ve been gone?"

"It was mostly an accident. I sort of stuck my hand in his pocket when he was upside down and off balance. And I lucked out and got the Master Key – unless this is an ordinary house key."

Stefan stared at it. "It’s the real thing. Elena knows that.

Meredith, you’re incredible!"

"Yes, it’s the right one,"Elena confirmed. "I remember the shape – pretty elaborate, yes?"She took it from Meredith’s hand.

"What are you going to – "

"Might as well test it,"Elena said with a mischievous smile.

She walked to the door of the room, shut it, said, "The den downstairs,"inserted the winged key in the lock, and opened the door, stepping through and shutting the door behind her.

Before anyone could speak, she was back, with the poker from the den held aloft in triumph.

"It works!"Stefan cried.

"That’s amazing,"Matt said.

Stefan looked almost feverish. "But don’t you realize what it means? It means we can use this key. We can go anywhere we like without using Power. Even to the Dark Dimension!