“Ghouls,” Ahmad whispered. A vague memory from one of his childhood nightmares flashed through his mind: a hideously leering face and rotting toes floating in front of his eyes, before he was buried under a pile of moldy bones and dangerously sharp jewels. “Better watch out for those, too.”

Winnie rolled her eyes. “If they bother us, I’ll make sure they’re sorry they didn’t just rest in peace.”

Ahmad had to be impressed at the fact that she was not creeped out by ghouls but had a hard time with birds.

No one was perfect, but it comforted him to know that Winnie had her struggles.

They stopped to rest against a tree. Ahmad leaned into the satchel to get the water bottle.

“Oh no! Ahmad!”

Before Ahmad could react, a wiry, stitch-scarred hand had snatched up the satchel.

“Not again!” Ahmad groaned.

Winnie took off in hot pursuit and managed to grab the strap, along with the monkey’s tail. The monkey squealed, struggling and trying to scratch her while Ahmad gingerly tried to grab the water bottle on the other side.

“It’s dropped the satchel, but it has the puzzle piece! Get a good grasp on it!” Winnie gasped around a mouthful of fur.

“I’m . . . I’m trying!” Ahmad’s fingers scraped against the puzzle piece—once, twice. Finally, triumphantly, he grasped its neck and gave a good pull. It popped out of the jittering creature’s fingers and into his hands. He rushed to shove it back into the satchel.

The monkey gave one final swipe at Winnie’s hands and ran for cover. Ahmad rushed to her side. “Are you okay?”

Winnie looked at her clenched fingers for a moment, loosening them slightly to see what was inside. When she looked back up, her eyes were shining.

“Oh, I’m better than all right. Take a look at this!”

There, between her hands, was an elaborately carved puzzle piece. Ahmad furrowed his brow, confused. Hadn’t he just put it away?

It hit him.

“Wait . . . so this is—”

Winnie nodded, her eyes shining. “It’s the next one! See?”

Rather than the monkey’s head, this piece featured its curved plume of a tail. Winnie slipped it in the satchel alongside the other piece they retrieved from the ground.

“Let’s get out first. After that, we can figure out what we have to do to get the last piece,” Ahmad decided. Grasping the satchel as tightly as he could, with an uneasy eye on the trees, he took Winnie’s hand and led her out of the grasp of the trees.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

GETTING OUT OF THE forest was more complicated than they thought.

“Ugh! Just . . . stop!” Winnie shrieked as she batted her hands at a snake slithering up her leg. It flickered its pink tongue at her, eyes intent on the knapsack at her side. “Ahmad!”