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foot, Lil. You do realize your grandmother sent us?"
    "My grandmother?" I said with disbelief.
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    He pointed to the key around my neck. "Maureen was one o' our own--but, then, you called her Gigi, right? We've been holding that key for your thirteenth birthday, just like we promised we would."
    "Gigi gave you her key?"
    "In a manner o' speaking. It's a long story, Lil, and she'd definitely want you to hear it. So put on some shoes and let's go."
    "But--"
    "I know someone who can fix that hair for you," Maxwell wheedled. "A bit o' magic will grow it back good as new."
    "Really?" I asked hopefully.
    "We'll just nip home, then nip right back," Balthazar promised. "Won't take a minute."
    "Well ... if you're positive I'll be home before my mother gets--"
    The wail of a siren cut through my words, snapping me back to my senses. What was I agreeing to? My mom would be home any second, and these little green men could only be figments of my explosion-scrambled brain.
    The siren swelled louder. I heard Mrs. Douglas calling out front. Considering that I was conversing with my imagination, maybe medical attention wasn't such a bad idea after all.
    "You guys have to leave now," I said, standing up to move toward my closet. "I have to change into some normal
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    clothes, and if anyone catches me talking to you, I'll wind up in a rubber room."
    "By all that glitters, girl! Don't be difficult!" Balthazar exclaimed. "We're not leaving without you. Why else are we here?"
    "Don't ask me. I'm not even sure you are here."
    We faced off in a four-way stare-down. And then I noticed something that made the peach fuzz prickle down my spine. Slowly, barely perceptibly, all three were creeping closer.
    "I can't," I pleaded uneasily. "What would I tell my mom?"
    "Don't tell her anything," Caspar suggested. "Let her think you ran away. That usually works grand."
    "Usually? You guys have done this before?"
    Balthazar whipped a glare in Caspar's direction.
    "Um ...no," Caspar stammered. "Not this. Exactly."
    They eased another inch closer.
    "Moooooom!" I shouted. "Mrs. Douglas! Help!"
    All three of them jumped me at once. Six legs ran circles around mine. Hands reached above my knees, tying me up with a gold chain barely thicker than fishing line. Trying to kick free, I lost my balance and crashed to the floor. They buzzed about like frenzied green bees, able to reach all of me now.
    "Knock it off!" I shouted, slapping and struggling. "Stop!"
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    "Not to worry, Lil. We'll be out o' here in a jiffy," Balthazar huffed.
    It was far from a fair fight, especially with me still half dazed by that blast on the porch. In seconds, they had tied my wrists together and bound my arms to my body, trussing me up like a sausage.
    "If there's anything you'll be needing in the next few days," Balthazar said, "you'd best name it now."
    "Days! You said we'd be gone a minute!" I tried to sit up, but they had me so hog-tied I could barely wiggle. I'd have to talk my way out of it.
    "Look, this is obviously a big misunderstanding," I said, forcing down my rising panic. "If Gigi sent you guys, of course I'll go. Just untie me so I can put on some shoes and we'll go wherever you want."
    Balthazar held my gaze for a long moment. Then he threw back his head and laughed. "Bit o' a liar, are you, Lil? You're a Green, all right! Get the door, Caspar."
    Removing a coiled rope from his jacket, Caspar lassoed my doorknob and flicked the door open. No one was in the hall. In a flash, the three of them wriggled beneath me and hoisted me over their heads like a surfboard. Something about the way they'd tied me up would not let me bend at all.
    "Mrs. Douglas!" I bellowed again. "Help!"
    "On my mark, lads," Balthazar said. "Ready ... go!" They marched in unison, carrying me faceup.
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    "Seriously! Stop it!" I begged. "This isn't funny anymore. Besides, do you really think you can carry me past all those people outside?"
    "What a leprechaun carries is invisible, Lil. Everyone knows that,"