CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Caitlin unrolled the new scroll with shaking hands. Her heart pounded as she realized that it was the second half of her Dad’s letter.

She quickly took out the first half of the letter, unrolled it, and held it up to this one. As she put them together, she saw that the ridges fit perfectly, and that now, finally, it was one complete letter.

She read the entire letter again, from the beginning:

My dearest Caitlin:

If you are reading this, you have already surpassed many obstacles. It means that you have already chosen to travel the road less traveled, to take the difficult path. For that, I commend you. You are truly your father’s daughter.

You must forgive all the riddles, codes, letters, and keys, but the secret that I guard is most powerful, and must be broken into fragments, to prevent others from decoding it. Only the truly worthy—only yourself—are meant to decode the secret that you ultimately will.

If you are reading this, you already have one key in your possession. You