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.They were very upset and I was very dirty.”“I’ll bet,” said Beth.“What are we going to do now? I’m cold.”I looked around and my initial excitement at having escaped the Forever Room faded.It was cold, icy and windy up here.“I suppose we have to find another way down.There has to be a roof access door somewhere.”“Brrrr,” said Beth.She crossed her arms tightly and pulled her head down.“We’ll get up on that high platform and have a look around,” I said, pointing.She followed me as we picked our way across the roof.The worst part was crossing the slanted roof sections.They were icy and steep.More than once, we slid into valleys between the peaks and had to start over.I made sure we didn’t get too close to the edge.That way there was no chance we would fall off.While we struggled across the roof like mountaineers crossing frost-covered hills, Beth talked.“You never did really explain Hussades to me.What the heck are they, exactly?”“It’s rather like crossing this roof,” I said.“Except with a lot more variety.It’s a race through an obstacle course.The big difference is that the players change their shape so they can do better in the race.”“I thought it was impolite to change in front of others,” she said.“Yes.There is a tent to change in.You only change once in secret, that’s part of the game’s strategy.You have to choose your form to beat your opponent’s form.That’s what makes it exciting, because the opponents are always different for each race.”“So, why don’t the flying types always win?”“Well, the courses usually have some trick for them, like a flaming hoop or two you have to dive through.If you have feathers, this can be a problem.You will have crispy wings very quickly.”Beth thought about that for a few moments.I looked at her face.It was red from the cold, but I could see the gears working in her mind.She was a thinker, I could tell.Slipping and scratching at the icy shingles, we managed to reach the top of a high platform.A big statue stood up there.I couldn’t quite make out what the statue was supposed to be, the snow caked up on it so much you could only see a few bits poking out.What we could see were snarling lips and a single clawed hand.The hand stretched toward the sky with every finger extended.The claw-tips were curved hooks of black iron, and I decided right away we didn’t want to know what else was hidden under that white blanket of snow.I didn’t want Beth to see anything.scary.She didn’t need to know everything about my family just yet.“So, couldn’t you just be so small you could dart through the center of the flaming hoop?” she asked.I smiled.Her mind was still working on Hussades.“Yes, but if you are very small, you often have trouble with pushing open a big door or something like that.Every form has its advantage and disadvantage, but the better you are at morphing into different shapes the more options you have.”She nodded.“Why can’t you just study the course and come up with the best form?”“You can do that, but the course itself changes somewhat every time.”“Hmm, so every game has different players and a different course?”“Yes, it’s very exciting.”“But Connor, you can’t change into anything.And neither can I.”I nodded grimly.“Don’t rub it in.I’m always picked last when we form up the teams.”She made a sympathetic clucking sound with her tongue.We turned our attention back to the frozen roof.We scanned the hilly expanse of white lumps and dark crevices.“Over there!” said Beth, bumping me with her shoulder and pointing.I looked and there it was! A box-shaped entrance that made a hump in the snow.A door faced us.It was small and square, like the one that had let us into the Forever Room.“I wondered why the doors up here are small and square?” I asked aloud.Beth shrugged.It took a few minutes of scrambling, but we managed to get over there.I gripped the frosty brass knob and twisted.I twisted harder, but it didn’t budge.“Locked,” I said.Beth groaned.“We’ll have to break one of the windows soon, or we will freeze out here.”I chewed my lower lip.First, we had disobeyed the principal’s instructions to stay in the Forever Room.Second, we were about to break into the mansion.I looked back at the dark footprints we’d left all over the roof.If it didn’t snow soon, it wouldn’t require the eyes of a hawk to notice we had been messing around on the roof.Then I snapped my fingers
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