Read 39 Clues - 05 - The Black Circle for Free Online Page B

We're
    dead. Dead, dead, dead!" Dan yelped."At least we got another note from NRR," said

    Amy. "We're hot on the trail of something ... I just wish we knew what it was."She put
    her hand on Dan's shoulder as if to steady both of them."I think we should keep going,
    don't you? It's not like we have a lot of choices here. And besides, the man in black is
    gone," Amy said."Okay, let's assume he's actually hit the road, which I doubt. So what?
    Apparently, there's someone else tailing us, not just him. It could be anyone, but it's
    probably someone who wants to drop a piano on our heads!""Chances are it's another
    team, that's all I'm saying. And besides, NRR gave us something to keep them
    busy.""Maybe he wants to get us away from everyone else so we're an easier target,"
    Dan argued. "Did you think of that? What if the picture of Mom and Dad is just a trick
    to get us totally off on our own?"Amy paused. "Dan, I hate to tell you this, but we've
    been on our own for awhile now."56The truth of that silenced them both.Amy took the
    letter from Dan. Across the bottom there was an elaborate map of St. Petersburg with a
    dotted line winding through it. It ended across two canals in an entirely different part of
    the city. Amy tore the map free from the rest of the letter."See? It looks like a trail
    leading somewhere important, but it's a wild goose chase. All we have to do is give it to
    whoever is tailing us when they show themselves, then they leave us alone for awhile.
    Maybe NRR is trying to isolate us, but the photo ... I want to know what it means."Amy
    could see Dan had run out of steam. He took a half-empty box of Skittles out of his
    back pocket and dumped about twenty of them in his mouth, chomping morosely."If we
    can just get inside the palace, I know what NRR means about Rasputin. There's a
    reenactment exhibit inside. It's all about when they tried to kill him, the stuff I was
    telling you," Amy coaxed."Suppose I gotta see that," said Dan, getting reluctantly
    excited again at the thought of an unkillable monk.Amy smiled. "Okay! Now all we have
    to do is find a snake to follow."* * *It was nearly eleven o'clock by the time Dan and
    Amy approached Yusupov Palace. Things were starting to57wind down along the quiet
    banks of the Moika, a river that ran along the front of the three-story palace of yellow
    and white. A few pedestrians strolled here and there along the embankment rail, and
    the occasional headlights came toward them, but other than that, the area was
    deserted.The Yusupov Palace stretched along the river with thirty darkened windows on
    each level staring out onto the Moika. There was a giant arched entryway at the very
    center of the building, and three tall white columns on each side of the door."Somehow
    I don't think the door is going to be open," said Dan. "Should we try a window?"Amy
    walked along the front of the palace, looking for anything that might resemble a
    snake."Amy," called Dan. He'd crossed the street to get a better look at the narrow
    river. It was only about sixty feet to the other side, where windowed buildings and
    houses lined a street similar to the one he stood on.Amy arrived next to Dan and stared
    out into the black water."Do you see it?" asked Dan."See what?"Dan pointed into the
    center of the waterway, where a glowing orange snake danced on the shimmering
    water. It was small, no more than a foot across. Dan followed a laser beam of light up
    and over the edge on the other side of the river. There, in one of the windows, he
    found what he was looking for: the shadow58of someone in a room high above the
    water, pointing a laser out the window."It's moving," said Amy. And sure enough, when
    Dan looked back down, the orange snake was slithering across the water toward
    them."This is creepy," said Amy. "But cool. It's the kind of hint no one else can get.

    When it's gone, it's gone. If we can just follow it and get inside, no one else will know
    what to look for."The orange snake