The cheollima taps his front hoof on the washing machine, considering the offer. Eventually, he stops and turns to us. “Hmm. Well, I could waive the authorized-personnel requirement in exchange for a cookie. But the portal still won’t open if you don’t pass the verification process.”

“What does that involve?” I ask.

“You have to answer my three riddles correctly. The people on the list know the correct answers.” He glances at Emmett’s cookies and licks his horsey lips. “Although, if you were willing to part with two of those, I might let you get away with just one correct answer out of three.”

“We’ll do it,” Emmett says.

The cheollima flaps his wings. “Deal!” He clears his throat and puts on one of those fake game-show-host voices. “All right, contestants, let’s get this party started. Verification question attempt number one: Who’s the more powerful of the two, the ant or the elephant?”

I shoot my hand into the air. “Ooh, ooh, that’s way too easy,” I squeal. “It’s the elephant. They’re the largest land animal on Earth.”

I hold up my palm for a high-five from Emmett, but a loud neigh escapes from the cheollima’s mouth.

“Incorrect!” he announces. “While the elephant is indeed very powerful, the humble ant is able to lift up to one thousand times its own body weight. The correct answer is ant!”

I lower my palm. “Sorry, Em,” I say sheepishly. “I should have checked with you before answering.”

“It’s okay,” Emmett says, a determined-to-win look on his face. “He said we have three tries.”

The cheollima shakes out his wings. “Better luck next round, contestants. And remember, two minds are better than one. Verification question attempt number two: Which is stronger, steel or silk?”

This time, I keep my mouth shut and look to Emmett. “What do you think?”

He pouts in thought. “I mean, steel seems like the obvious answer. But the obvious answer was wrong before. So maybe it’s silk?”

I nod. “That logic makes sense. There’ll be some kind of technicality that makes silk stronger. Let’s go with that.”

Emmett puts his hands on his hips. “Our answer is silk.”

We look hopefully at the cheollima, but he bleats out another incorrect-buzzer sound and looks disappointed. “Wrong again, my delicate macarons. Everyone knows steel is stronger than silk. I thought I’d throw in an easy one to help you out, but it looks like you threw it down the loo!”

My hands start to sweat, and Emmett lowers his head. “Sorry, Rye. That was my bad.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “We’re in this together, Em. No need to apologize.”