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took forever.” Benvolio rolled his eyes.
    â€œLet’s get on with this already,” Mercutio said.
    â€œI 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.
    â€œIt is so dark out here. I can hardly see anything,” Romeo said, using the ambient yellow glow from the servant maid’s window to guide himself across the grounds.
    Suddenly Mercutio stopped dead in his tracks. “Wait, did you hear that?”
    â€œHear what?” Romeo asked.
    â€œIt 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 toward the castle, but they did not get too far before Benvolio made an abrupt stop.
    â€œMercutio 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 steam of moonlight illuminated two pairs of beady golden eyes and salivating mouths with sharp teeth.
    â€œBut not to dogs,” Mercutio said, his voice wavering.
    Romeo gulped as the two snouts sniffed the air for fear.
    â€œThis is bad,” Benvolio said.
    â€œVery bad,” Romeo agreed.
    Once one of the dogs had lunged at them, there was nothing left to do but—
    â€œRun!” Benvolio proclaimed, and took off like a scared rabbit.
    Without a second to lose, Romeo broke into a fast sprint, with Mercutio scrambling alongside of 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.
    â€œThis 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 swath 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.
    â€œHurry!” Mercutio waved at Benvolio and Romeo.
    Benvolio got there first, leaping into the entrance-way like a flying acrobat. Romeo was three or four steps away when he felt something tug hard at the bottom of his cloak. There was another sharp yank on his arm and he was dragged to the ground. While the dogs gnawed on his cloak, he tried to reach for the mason chisel he had lodged in the waistband of his trousers, but he could not grasp it. He said a short prayer, just in case he didn’t survive the brutal mauling about to unfold.
    Luckily for Romeo, the dogs let go of him willingly, in order to chase down large chunks of raw meat that had just been tossed into a row of rosebushes. He glanced up and grinned at Mercutio, who was standing above him with a light glaze of blood on his hands.
    â€œMaribel’s a smart one.” Mercutio beamed. “She left some treats for the dogs at the foot of the door. I guess they haven’t eaten in a while.”
    â€œWell, that much is obvious,” Romeo replied. “Let’s get out of here before they are ready for dessert.”
    Mercutio held a hand out to Romeo, and he