It was nearly midnight when they slipped out of the house, Mr. Potiron leading them to the outskirts of the village, then into a valley where the cave entrance was hidden. Three men guarded the interior of the cave, each one nodding silently to Mr. Potiron as Grandpa and Eddie followed him down a ladder into an enormous cavern.

Eddie shivered. It was cold down here. And gloomy.

“This way.” Mr. Potiron pointed to a tunnel, where two soldiers were waiting to escort them deeper into the cave. Mr. Potiron led them on, through cavern after cavern, their torches scouring the pocked interior with flickering yellow light.

Eddie blinked.

All at once the rocky surface was replaced with stacks of paintings. There had to be hundreds of them, leaned against the walls, wrapped in sheets or staked in large crates. And that’s not all: there were vases and statues, rugs and tapestries, chests and commodes.

“Half the treasure of France,” Grandpa said with a low whistle. “And only a handful of men to protect it.”

“They’re good men.” Mr. Potiron clapped a hand on a guard’s shoulder. “And the fewer people who know of this place, the better chance we have of keeping our patrimony safe from our enemies.”

Grandpa nodded. “It’s important work,” he said. “You’re doing a wonderful job.”

“For the art, yes, but these latest acquisitions smuggled out of Germany are beyond my expertise. It’s why I asked for your help, Edouard.”

“Right now, you have more experience than anyone.”

“Yes, but I’m a museum curator, not a zoologist! And these animals are…they’re—”

“Rare,” Grandpa finished.

“Exactement. They’re through here.”

They entered the grotto and Eddie drew in a breath.

A huge grey bird was running untethered around a large cage. A dodo! Eddie had seen a picture of one in Grandpa’s library. With wide flappy feet, it was almost as tall as Eddie. A single feather had to be as long as his forearm. But Grandpa’s book said dodos were extinct!

“Amazing,” Grandpa murmured.

Eddie frowned. Something was wrong. The bird was pacing about the cave in circles, its flat feet making a dum-dum sound on the rock floor. It let out a sad caw, so pitiful that tears pricked at Eddie’s eyes. “What’s wrong with him, Grandpa?” he said.

“Lonely probably, Eddie,” Grandpa said. “Or cold. Homesick. Confused by the darkness. There are a lot of reasons why he could be behaving strangely. Caverns aren’t exactly their usual habitat.”

Eddie wrapped his arms about his body. He wouldn’t want to live down here in the dark either.

“He’ll be happier when we get him back to Castle Baird.”

“The elwedritsche is over here, in the cage,” Mr. Potiron said.

An elwedritsche? Eddie had never heard of one of those. Leaving the dodo to its pacing, they approached the cage.

Eddie squinted. Lying on its side, the animal looked like an oversized chicken, but instead of feathers, it had scales. Two solid spikes like stegosaurus horns sprouted from its head above a sword-like beak. A large bandage was wrapped around the creature’s stomach.

The elwedritsche watched them warily, but didn’t move.

“What happened to it?” Grandpa said.

“The men who rescued it said the Germans were experimenting on it. Some new kind of genetics.”

“What? Experimenting on an animal this rare? To what end? For all we know, it could be the last of its kind.”

Mr. Potiron nodded. “The poor thing was in a sorry state when it arrived. Weakened by the experiments, I expect. Franck and Xavier were able to hold it down while I cleaned the wound. To be honest, I didn’t know what else to do. Until I saw it for myself, I’d always thought these animals were a myth!”

Someone shouted from the tunnel system. “Potiron! Intruders have breached the entrance!”

Mr. Potiron frowned. “Intruders? Quickly, we need to—”

They didn’t hear the rest of the sentence because Mr. Potiron’s head exploded, wet mist falling across Eddie’s face. The curator crumpled to the ground and more gunshots echoed around the cave, Franck and Xavier returning fire even as they scattered.

Grandpa dragged Eddie to the back of the cavern and pushed him behind a stack of artwork. “Stay here, Eddie. Keep quiet and don’t come out until I come for you.” He pulled a handgun from his waistband. Moments later, he was gone.

Eddie crouched in the near darkness, too frightened to breathe. Gunfire crackled in the distance where Grandpa and the guards were fighting bad men.

Over the racket, Eddie heard a small noise. He froze. Had someone found him? He waited, holding his breath. A moment passed. Another. When nothing happened, he peeked his head out.

Dum-dum, dum-dum.

The dodo was waddling in circles again. Stupid bird. It was going to get itself killed. Checking for soldiers, Eddie crawled out of his hiding place. The dodo backed away.

“Sssh. It’s okay,” Eddie said, stepping forward.

The dodo waddled in a circle.

Eddie needed another plan. He checked a stack of crates and found one that was empty, then scooting behind the bird, he herded the dodo inside, closing it quickly. Eddie hoped the bird would stay quiet. At least, it was out of sight.

He was about to hide again, when mewling sounded from over by the cage. Mr. Potiron? Was he still alive? Eddie shuddered. It wasn’t possible. Eddie had seen his head explode into mash.

The mewling came again. It was elwedritsche!

Using the art work for cover, Eddie crept towards the cage. He peered in. The elwedritsche saw him and let out a little whine. A shell had hit one of its horns and it was bleeding. Eddie had to save it, but what if it attacked him? No, Mr. Potiron had said it was weak. Besides, Grandpa had said this elwedritsche might be the last one ever. They were going to take it to Scotland, where it would be safe from the Germans. He had to risk it.

Still crouched, Eddie reached up and flicked the latch.

The elwedritsche raised its bloodied head.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” Eddie whispered. Did the animal understand? Eddie didn’t know. Slowly, trying not to make any sudden moves, Eddie opened the age.

The creature hooked its sword-beak into the wire netting and hauled itself to its feet.

“Good boy, come on,” Eddie urged. “You have to hide.”

His skin prickled as the creature lurched towards him, swinging its sword-beak. Eddie scrambled backwards like a crab, his blood turning to ice.

No, I’m trying to help…

Gunfire exploded behind him. The animal stumbled, the shell shattering a patch of scales, leaving them blackened and smoking.

Eddie whirled. He didn’t recognise the man with the gun, but he’d seen those broken shoes before. “No, Monsieur Bertrand. Don’t shoot!” Eddie screamed.

Snarling, Bertrand kicked him out of the way. Eddie’s head hit the side of the cage. Dizzy, he pushed himself to his knees and lunged at the man’s ankles. “Let him go. He’s the last one.”

“Get off!” Bertrand roared. “Get off or I’ll shoot you!”

Eddie clung on. He had to give the elwedritsche a chance.

Go, go, run away.

Bertrand fired at Eddie’s legs and missed, flinging up rock.

Suddenly, the elwedritsche was there, closing its sword beak around Bertrand’s neck.

Bertrand screamed. He fired wildy, bullets pinging off the walls, the cage, everywhere. But it was no use. The elwedritsche clamped down on his windpipe, the blades of its beak slicing through skin and muscle to the bone. Bertrand gurgled and slumped to the ground, the elwedritsche falling on top of him.

Eddie scrambled to the elwedritsche. The animal’s eyes were glassy. No! They were going to take it home to Castle Baird. Eddie put a hand on the animal’s head, gently patting the remaining horn. “Thank you for helping me.”

Franck and Grandpa rushed into the cavern.

“Eddie!” Grandpa screamed. “Are you hurt?”

Eddie shook his head. He looked down. He was covered in blood, none of it his.

Grandpa hugged him. Eddie breathed in his familiar scent of soap and barley sugars.

Franck kicked at Bertrand’s boot. He spat on the ground. “Filthy traitor.” He turned to face Grandpa. “Monsieur Baird, you and your grandson should leave now. It isn’t safe for you here. For any of us. Some of our enemies have escaped…”

“Got away? How? I thought we caught them all.”

Franck shook his head. “We must have missed some, because they took the dodo.”

No, not the dodo, too!

Eddie pulled away from Grandpa. But that can’t be right. He’d hidden the dodo. Crossing the cavern, Eddie approached the crate. Put his ear to the wood.

Inside, the dodo paced. Dum-dum, dum-dum.