stopped by taking that antidote Hok made. He’s fine.”
“I asked that, too. Hok said that Ryan was healthy to begin with, whereas my mother is not. Hok believes that once my mother begins taking dragon bone, she will need to take it forever, just like Hok, Phoenix’s grandfather, PawPaw, and Grandmaster Long. Hok believes the antidote would kill my mother because the dragon bone would become too much a part of her. For the same reason, Hok will not take the antidote, nor give it to any of the otherancient individuals, because she believes it would kill them, too.”
“No wonder you’re super upset,” I said. “How much did you and Phoenix hide?”
“Fifteen years’ worth.”
I rolled my eyes. “Phoenix hid that much—with your help—but he won’t even share part of it with you?”
Hú Dié shrugged. “He said that he needed to think about it more.”
“Where is it?”
“Pine Loop Mountain Bike Trail in Brown County State Park.”
I thought about that for a moment and realized something. “The race we did there,” I said, “the one you won and Phoenix came in last because he wrecked—he didn’t really wreck, did he?”
“No, he did not,” Hú Dié said. “He only pretended to crash in order to buy himself enough time to hide the dragon bone.”
“But … how?”
“Do you remember us both wearing those large hydration backpacks?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I thought it was a little odd for you to have them for such a short race.”
“I had a folding shovel in mine,” Hú Dié said. “I threw him my pack a few minutes into the race when we were ahead of everyone else, and he threw it back to me at the end. He slid down a very tall hill with his bike in order to get near the finish line ahead of everyone else. He only made it look like he wrecked at that late point in the race.”
“So the dragon bone is buried near the
beginning
of Pine Loop?”
“Yes.”
“Where, exactly?”
Hú Dié locked eyes with me again. “If I tell you, will you help me?”
I rubbed my sweaty forehead beneath my helmet. “I may hate myself later, but yeah, since Phoenix can’t seem to make up his mind, I’ll do it. Tell me everything I need to know.”
Hú Dié was so happy, I thought she was going to kiss me. She didn’t, though. Instead, she punched me in the arm.
Hard.
“Ouch!” I yelped. “What did you do that for?”
“I am too full of excitement!” she said. “I need to release some energy.”
I shook my head. “You can release that energy on our sprint back to Phoenix’s house.” I checked the time on my phone again. “We’ve been gone almost twenty-five minutes.”
“I can spare another five minutes,” Hú Dié said. “I promise I will not hit you again. I need to give you clues about how to find the dragon bone.”
“Clues?”
“Phoenix would not tell me exactly where it is, but you can figure it out. You are clever—like a jackal.”
I smirked.
Hú Dié continued. “Phoenix pulled off the trail rightbefore a short, steep climb that was really dusty and covered with small rocks. It is the first place most people get off of their bikes on Pine Loop.”
“I know the spot,” I said. “There are a bunch of tall ferns right there, before the climb.”
“Yes! That is where Phoenix hid his bike. You have an amazing memory.”
“It comes with being a jackal. What else?”
“The shovel in my backpack,” Hú Dié said. “It was clean when I tossed the pack to him, but kind of dirty when he returned it. He had wiped most of the dirt off before putting it back into the pack, but it still smelled really bad.”
“You mean, like garbage?”
“It smelled worse than garbage. Phoenix’s shoes stunk, too. When we got home, I found a tiny piece of what appeared to be a mushroom inside the backpack that was not there before. I did some surfing on the Internet, and I believe that Phoenix buried or hid the dragon bone within a patch of stinkhorn
“I asked that, too. Hok said that Ryan was healthy to begin with, whereas my mother is not. Hok believes that once my mother begins taking dragon bone, she will need to take it forever, just like Hok, Phoenix’s grandfather, PawPaw, and Grandmaster Long. Hok believes the antidote would kill my mother because the dragon bone would become too much a part of her. For the same reason, Hok will not take the antidote, nor give it to any of the otherancient individuals, because she believes it would kill them, too.”
“No wonder you’re super upset,” I said. “How much did you and Phoenix hide?”
“Fifteen years’ worth.”
I rolled my eyes. “Phoenix hid that much—with your help—but he won’t even share part of it with you?”
Hú Dié shrugged. “He said that he needed to think about it more.”
“Where is it?”
“Pine Loop Mountain Bike Trail in Brown County State Park.”
I thought about that for a moment and realized something. “The race we did there,” I said, “the one you won and Phoenix came in last because he wrecked—he didn’t really wreck, did he?”
“No, he did not,” Hú Dié said. “He only pretended to crash in order to buy himself enough time to hide the dragon bone.”
“But … how?”
“Do you remember us both wearing those large hydration backpacks?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I thought it was a little odd for you to have them for such a short race.”
“I had a folding shovel in mine,” Hú Dié said. “I threw him my pack a few minutes into the race when we were ahead of everyone else, and he threw it back to me at the end. He slid down a very tall hill with his bike in order to get near the finish line ahead of everyone else. He only made it look like he wrecked at that late point in the race.”
“So the dragon bone is buried near the
beginning
of Pine Loop?”
“Yes.”
“Where, exactly?”
Hú Dié locked eyes with me again. “If I tell you, will you help me?”
I rubbed my sweaty forehead beneath my helmet. “I may hate myself later, but yeah, since Phoenix can’t seem to make up his mind, I’ll do it. Tell me everything I need to know.”
Hú Dié was so happy, I thought she was going to kiss me. She didn’t, though. Instead, she punched me in the arm.
Hard.
“Ouch!” I yelped. “What did you do that for?”
“I am too full of excitement!” she said. “I need to release some energy.”
I shook my head. “You can release that energy on our sprint back to Phoenix’s house.” I checked the time on my phone again. “We’ve been gone almost twenty-five minutes.”
“I can spare another five minutes,” Hú Dié said. “I promise I will not hit you again. I need to give you clues about how to find the dragon bone.”
“Clues?”
“Phoenix would not tell me exactly where it is, but you can figure it out. You are clever—like a jackal.”
I smirked.
Hú Dié continued. “Phoenix pulled off the trail rightbefore a short, steep climb that was really dusty and covered with small rocks. It is the first place most people get off of their bikes on Pine Loop.”
“I know the spot,” I said. “There are a bunch of tall ferns right there, before the climb.”
“Yes! That is where Phoenix hid his bike. You have an amazing memory.”
“It comes with being a jackal. What else?”
“The shovel in my backpack,” Hú Dié said. “It was clean when I tossed the pack to him, but kind of dirty when he returned it. He had wiped most of the dirt off before putting it back into the pack, but it still smelled really bad.”
“You mean, like garbage?”
“It smelled worse than garbage. Phoenix’s shoes stunk, too. When we got home, I found a tiny piece of what appeared to be a mushroom inside the backpack that was not there before. I did some surfing on the Internet, and I believe that Phoenix buried or hid the dragon bone within a patch of stinkhorn
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