crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “That is very thoughtful of you, Benvolio.”
“Romeo, look! The light came on inside the castle!” Mercutio said, pointing at the room where the maid servant had promised to give them safe passage.
Romeo sighed in relief. “Thanks be to God.”
“Do not thank God yet,” warned Benvolio as he patted Romeo hard on the back. “This mission has only just begun. Who knows what will happen when we enter the vampire lair during dinnertime?”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Mercutio said as he reached into a hessian sack and pulled out three garlic cloves attached to link chains. “Here, take these. Friar Laurence dipped the cloves in triple-blessed holy water and the chain is made of pure silver. This combination will render us invisible to both vampires and werewolves. But it only lasts for another hour, so Romeo, you and your wench cannot dawdle.”
“One more foul word about Rosaline, and I will pummel you with my fist,” Romeo snapped, ripping his string of garlic away from Mercutio and putting it around his neck.
“Actually, I think you should bludgeon him with this.” Benvolio reached into the hessian sack and brought out a foot-long crowbar.
Romeo stared at it in sheer amazement. “What else do you have in that bag?”
“Just the usual—a handsaw, wooden stakes, a mason chisel, shears, and a couple of axes,” Mercutio explained matter-of-factly.
“I suppose that will suffice,” Romeo said.
“We cannot carry it all. That would only slow us down. Pick just one or two weapons and follow me.” Benvolio sneaked out of the bushes with cloves of garlic dangling around his neck and the crowbar in his right hand.
Romeo stuffed the mason chisel and a wooden stake into the waistband of his trousers and then darted off behind Mercutio, who was already ahead and walking stride for stride with Benvolio.
Romeo’s heart started pounding as he and his cousin dashed across the outskirts of the estate, making their way towards the gate. Romeo kept his eyes trained on the tower guards to make sure they had not been spotted. Fortunately, no one seemed the slightest bit aware of the Montague trespassers. The necklaces must have been working.
“Here it is,” Mercutio whispered. He halted in front of a warped section of the gate, where one of the bars was bent to the side, creating a small hole. “Maribel told me that when she steals away to see me, she slips through this spot here to evade the guards.”
Benvolio examined the damaged gate and sniggered. “Obviously she eats less than your last lady friend. That boar could not have got through here if she tried!”
Mercutio poked Benvolio in the stomach with the handle of his mallet. “Neither will you, my paunchy friend.”
“Stop fooling around and step aside.” Romeo snatched the crowbar away from Benvolio, wrapping his fingers around the base of it with all his strength. “We have a party to attend.”
Careful not to make any loud sounds that would alert the guards, Romeo placed the crowbar between the two metal rungs in the gate so he could get ample leverage. He shifted his shoulders forward and then leaned backwards, hoping to prise the rungs apart even further so he and his cousins could sneak through. However, his effort made little difference.
Romeo tried again, this time using both his arms and his leg muscles with all his might. His palms became wet with perspiration and his arms ached, but he ignored the pain and thought of Rosaline—her gorgeous, milk-coloured skin and bright, beaming eyes. He was so close to seeing her, he would not let anything or anyone stand in between them.
Romeo dug deep into his soul for a surge of brute power, and with one final swift, heaving motion, he bent the metal rung so far that it almost snapped in two.
“Aha! I did it! “ Romeo said, pumping a fist into the air in jubilation.
“Congratulations, Romeo. That only took forever.” Benvolio rolled his eyes.
“Let’s get on with this already,” Mercutio said.
“I will lead the way,” Romeo said as he handed the crowbar to Benvolio and stepped through the new partition in the gate. One at a time, Benvolio and Mercutio followed behind him, their feet swift and light on the ground.
“It is so dark out here. I can hardly see anything,” Romeo said, using the ambient yellow glow from the maid servant’s window to guide himself across the grounds.
Suddenly Mercutio stopped dead in his tracks. “Wait, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Romeo asked.
“It sounded like … growling.”
Romeo remained still and listened. Other than the sound of rustling tree branches, he did not hear anything out of the ordinary. “It is just the wind, Mercutio. Carry on.”
The trio picked up their pace, taking large strides towards the castle, but they did not get too far before Benvolio made an abrupt stop.
“Mercutio is right. Something is out here, watching us.” Benvolio shifted his legs apart into a fighting stance and held the crowbar in an attack position.
Romeo could hear it now—a low, hungry growl that was seething with anger. He instinctively rubbed a garlic clove between his fingers. “Mercutio, you said we were invisible to vampires and werewolves.”
A thin stream of moonlight illuminated two pairs of beady golden eyes and salivating mouths with sharp teeth.
“But not to dogs,” Mercutio said, his voice wavering.
Romeo gulped as the two snouts sniffed the air for fear.
“This is bad,” Benvolio said.
“Very bad,” Romeo agreed.
Once one of the dogs had lunged at them, there was nothing left to do but—
“Run!” Benvolio proclaimed, and took off like a scared rabbit.
Without a second to lose, Romeo broke into a fast sprint, with Mercutio scrambling alongside him and the dogs in hot pursuit. Romeo ran through a cluster of stone bunkers and over a wooden footbridge that crossed a small moat. Mercutio put forth a burst of momentum and dashed past Romeo, which annoyed him immensely.
With both his mates ahead of him, Romeo was tempted to look back and see how close the dogs were, but that would only slow him down. Besides, their ferocious barking was ringing in his ears, so he knew they were on his heels.
“This way! “ Mercutio called out from a few feet ahead.
Romeo was running so hard he was barely able to breathe. He locked his gaze on Mercutio, who had reached the window of the ground floor and dropped to his knees in front of it. Mercutio quickly felt around a thick swathe of grass with both hands, searching for the hidden door handle. He pulled the door open to reveal a secret entrance to an underground tunnel.
“Hurry!” Mercutio waved at Benvolio and Romeo.
Benvolio
