Jude Watson

“Anakin was sixteen years old. Impatience was wired into his being. Despite Anakin's strong Force connection, it would most likely take years before he developed true inner balance. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, was supposed to have it already.”

“Amy decided she was never watching Animal Planet again.”

“Amy bit her lip. "I was so scared, Dan. I couldn't think. She shook her head. "I feel so ashamed of myself. If it wasn't for you, we would have been toast.""Whoa," Dan said. "If you're throwing a pity party for yourself, don't invite me." He poked her. "You were the one who got Jonah to find us. Awesome lung power. I thought you only used that volume to get me out of the bathroom.”

“The sunset was spectacular, and they were safe in the minibus with the students from Estonia who were on their way to Salzburg for the Sound of Music tour. Jonah sat up front with girls and led a sing-along.Who would have guessed that the hip-hop star knew all the words to "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"?”

“OMIGOSH JONAH WIZARD!"-Amy Cahill”

“Listen!""Ludwig was mad, broBut he was also bad, bro,Was his own 'Iliad,' bro...""Jonah!" Amy breathed.”

“There's something wrong with the brakes." He didn't recognize his shaky, weak voice. He pumped them again. Nothing. "There's something wrong with the BRAKES?""I don't think we have any.""We don't have any BRAKES?""Bro, it doesn't help to repeat everything I say!" Jonah yelled.”

“The road climbed into the mountains, Jonah taking the hairpin curves as fast as he dared."You look so macho clutching the door handle that way," he said to Hamilton."Just...be...careful," Hamilton said through clenched teeth.”

“Oh, terrific," Dan muttered. "Just what we need. Another code! Why can't people just say what they mean? Why can't they say THE MAP IS IN THE DESK?”

“Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Ian put in. "Just fridge yourselves, as Jonah says.""Dude," Dan said. "Do you mean chill?""Precisely. Just what I said.”

“You're a model? Never would have guessed," Jonah said in a lazy, teasing voice that caused Hamilton's head to swivel. He'd never seen Jonah flirt before.The girl tilted her head. The glossy hair spilled down one bare shoulder. "Un moment...you look familiar."Jonah grinned. "Yeah?""'Ave we met? Are you an 'airdresser?""A hairdresser?" Jonah choked out."Guys, we'd better get going," Hamilton said."The name is Jonah," Jonah said, pronuncing his name carefully. He waited for a sign of recognition."Nicole.""Jonah Wizard."Nicole squinted at him. "You are a wee-zhard? Like the Harry Potter, non?""I'm Hamilton," Hamilton said, even though nobody asked.”

“Hamilton awkwardly folded himself into the passenger seat. "Couldn't you get something bigger?" he asked as he banged his knee against the dashboard."We're supposed to be a diversion," Jonah said. "Got to make an entrance. Can't do that in a minivan, Giganto Boy. Can't do much in a minivan except look about as uncool as it gets.""Hey! My dad drives a minivan.""Snap.”

“I'm so hungry," Amy said sleepily."Hey, you stole my line," Dan said.”

“McIntyre hesitated, and for a moment the tall, gray-haired man looked almost boyish. "After all this time...don't you think you could call me William?"Amy and Dan exchanged glances. As fond as they were of him, they couldn't imagine calling their lawyer by his first name.He saw the hesitation on their faces. "Will?"Amy cleared her throat. Dan fiddled with the new GPS."How about 'Mac'?""Mac," Dan said, trying out the name.Mr. McIntyre looked wistful. "I always wanted to be a Mac.”

“There's a fine line between criminality and genius."-Dan Cahill”

“Dan was doing his best Ian Kabra impersonation, looking around the store as though inspecting it for cockroaches. Amy tried to turn her snort of laughter into a cough."Espresso?" The saleswoman materialized seemingly out of nowhere. Amy realized that the full-length mirror on the wall was actually a door.If she were Amy Cahill, she would blush and shake her head no, just because she didn't want to cause any bother. She imagined what Natalie Kabra would do."Tea. Darjeeling," she said in a curt tone."Oh, not Darjeeling, sis," Dan said. "That's just so middle class.""Lapsang souchong?" the saleswoman asked."I just adored his last collection," Dan said.The woman's tight smile dimmed. "That's a tea.”

“Amy felt her phone vibrate. She held it up. It was from Ian.DON'T ASK THE PRICE OF ANYTHING. DON'T SMILE. DON'T SAY "DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING CHEAPER?" DON'TAmy shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Just pretend to be Ian," she told Dan.”

“We just stole a painting and smuggled ourselves off a train," Amy said, trying to sound confident. "And we can't shop?”

“Amy sighed. Just when she started to almost like Ian again—after all, he'd flown across the ocean and had been working around the clock to help—his snob quotient went through the roof.”

“You're in trouble. Do you expect me to just walk away?""I wouldn't hold it against you if you did.""In know you wouldn't. That's only one of the reasons I'm crazy about you. I've got a million more.""Just a million?""Okay, a million plus one—your cat."She giggled. "You're bonding with Saladin?""Somebody has to protect that cat from your cousin Ian. And I feed him. The cat. Not Ian. He's on his own. Anyway, if that doesn't get me Perfect Boyfriend status, I don't know what will.""Emptying the litter box?""Hey. I have my limits."Amy laughed. She had the phone pressed to her ear so tightly it burned. She closed her eyes, picturing his face...Ian's crisp voice broke in. "All right, lovebirds, let's move on. No offense, but I believe Amy and Dan might need a short course in style and class.""Is this the nonoffensive part?" Dan asked. "I can't wait until you really insult us.""Let's deal with reality, shall we? You don't just walk into an auction house in your jeans and backpacks. You have to blend in. And that's going to be hard." Ian sniffed. "Considering that you're Americans.""What are you talking about, dude?" Dan asked. "This is my best SpongeBob T-shirt.”

“I remember," she said. "Lawrence Malley. He was an expert in security systems.""Aka Lightfinger Larry." Dan grinned. "He was also wanted in five states.""Great," Amy groaned. "I sent you to a tutorial with a crook.""It got us in here, didn't it?""I guess I'm grateful to him, then," Amy said doubtfully."Don't be," Dan said. "The first lock I opened was on your diary. Don't worry, I read two pages and fell asleep.”

“That's it. Gently now," Reagan said to Nellie. "We'll move onto the hard stuff tomorrow.""This...isn't...the hard stuff?" Nellie spit out through gritted teeth.Reagan grinned. "You really hate me right now, don't you?""Immeasurably.""Good. Give me ten.”

“It hurts," Nellie said."I know," Reagan said. "No pain, no gain.""Do you think they made that expression up for bullet wounds?”

“They'd been played. By a tuba!”

“Ticket and passport. We're crossing the border.""Oh. Sorry." Dan handed the conductor his ticket."Grazie.""De nada," Dan said."That's Spanish," Amy whispered."No, it's whatever," Dan said. "I'm too tired to think.”

“When was the last time we slept?""Day before yesterday?" Amy asked with a frown. "I know what you mean. This is some jet lag. Let's get a coffee while we make a plan.""Oh, yeah. Jet lag. That must be it," Dan agreed as he trailed after her to the espresso bar. "Not the fact that we pulled off a museum heist, went without sleep and food, and oh, yeah—did I mention this—almost got killed? Jet lag. That's why we're tired.""Well, if you want to get technical.”

“How do you say yoo-hoo in Arabic?""I believe that yoo-hoo could be part of a universal language," Dan said. "Like ow. Or- you're stepping on my foot.""That's universal?""No, you're stepping on my foot. Ow."Amy moved.”

“Just then he noticed that Amy had that look, as though she wanted the street to buckle and split so she could fall right in. Dan saw the cool crowd from her school hanging at a table in the front. So that was why she didn't want to go in. Evan Tolliver was at the head of the table. Dan sighed. Even, the human supercomputer, was Amy's dream crush. Whenever Evan was near, she got her stutter back. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't notice Luke Skywalker," Dan said. "Or is it Darth Vader?" "Shhh," Amy said. Her cheeks were red. "He's coming." "You mean Evan Tolliver himself is about to set his foot on the sidewalk? Did you bring the rose petals?" "Cut it out, dweeb!" Amy said fiercely. "Hi, Amy," Evan said from behind her. Amy's color went from summer rose to summer tomato. She shot Dan a look that told him he was in serious trouble. "Hey, Evan," he said. "I'm Amy's little brother, Dweeb. Nice to meet you, man.”

“C'mon, Amy, cinnamon rolls are calling us." Dan put a hand to his ear. "Do you hear? 'Amy? Dan?'" he squeaked. "'Come and get my sugary, sticky goodness!”

“Just then a word floated out through the buzz saw of Zapata-speak: Nefertari. Dan tuned back in."...the most beautiful tomb in Egypt," Ms. Zapata was saying. "You probably know the queen because there's a famous bust of her."A photo flashed on the screen.Dan raised his hand. "That's Nefertiti," he said. "Different queen."Ms. Zapata frowned. She looked at her notes. "You could be right, Dan. Uh...let's move on."Another slide flashed on-screen. "Now, this is the inner chamber of the tomb, where she was laid to rest."Dan's hand rose again. Ms. Zapata closed her eyes."Actually? That's the side chamber.""Really." Ms. Zapata's lips pressed together. "And how do you know this, Dan?""Because..." Dan hesitated. Because I was there. Because I was locked inside the tomb with an ex-KGB spy, so I got to know it pretty well."Especially since the tomb is closed for conservation," Ms. Zapata said.Yeah. But we had this connection to an Egyptologist? Except he turned out to be a thief and a liar, so we captured him. I came this close to smashing him with a lamp...”

“Nooooooooooo!" Screaming the word, Amy and Dan moved as one.Time slowed down, which, Dan knew from experience, often happened when you were in midair. By the time they leaped onto the hood of Fiske's car (oops, dents), and Dan had ripped off a windshield wiper to use as a weapon (probably not the best idea, but hey, he was improvising), Scarey Harley Dude had turned around.He strode off in his motorcycle boots, moving swiftly to his bike without seeming to hurry. His helmet back on, sunglasses adjusted, he roared off straight into the road, weaving through the thick traffic like smoke.Amy's face was squashed against the windshield. Dan held the wiper aloft like a club.And Evan Tolliver stood on the sidewalk, blinking at them.Dan waved the windshield wiper at him. "Hey, bro. We didn't want to miss our ride.”

“We need you to go out there and cover for us while we search for whoever's bugging us," Amy said. "Whoever it is, he or she is probably nearby.""All you have to do is keep talking. We've thought a lot about this, and we think you have the necessary skills," Dan said."Very funny, Dan-o. But true. When it comes to nonstop chat, I'm the champ," Nellie agreed.Nellie turned off the shower and they all returned to the main room."That pool is so fine," she said, as if she'd never been interrupted. "I met this couple from Scotland, and I was all, whoa, you have some delish smoked salmon in your excellent country...."Amy raised the window carefully, not making a sound. She and Dan quietly climbed out."--and they were all, 'Aye, lassie, we dew, ye ken our bonny fish, ye dew!'" Nellie said in a terrible Scottish accent. "So I said, 'You know what ye lads and lassies need in Scotland? Bagels! To go with!' 'Whoa,' they said, 'lassie, ye canna be serious, that is one orrrig-in-al guid idea....'""Okay, you can stop now.""Man, that's guid news," Nellie said. "This lassie is about to pass out.”

“Never regret trusting someone. It proves you have a heart. But if he turns out to be a lying worm ... I'm not going to waste my time crying. Because I am way too fabulous for that.”

“Wouldn't. Think. About. Ian.”

“When you lose your parents, the sadness doesn't go away. It just changes. It hits you sideways sometimes instead of head-on. Like now.”

“Cat tongues are awesome." --Nellie Gomez, The 39 Clues, Beyond The Grave”