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The greenery had been the first to go, shriveling up and turning the color of mud.
But today was different.
Credit: Random House Books for Young Readers
Today she knew what was hidden inside.
hey tell us youre not serious about this.
Dinahs best friend, Mandy Harper, shuddered as she stared across the street.
That place looks like a hangout for serial killers.
Especially when we could be at Natasha Wycliffes party right now.
Mandy gripped her arm.
What if someone sees us?
Is your plan really worth the risk of
Rotting in Arkham Asylum?
Ty finished her sentence.
Um, of course not.
Cmon, lets go.
She couldnt exactly blame them for their reservations.
The Court had repurposed Arkham, warping it into a torture chamber for anyone who dared to oppose them.
The kind of place you tried to avoid at all costs.
Gotham Citys rulers had far bigger fish to fry than high school students poking around a run-down park.
Dinah hadnt heard of anyone their age winding up in Arkhamyet.
Getting caught was a long shot.
And for better or worse, her want was greater than her fear.
And if we did somehow get caught, I would be the one to take the blame anyway.
Dinah felt a twinge of guilt for talking them into this.
You dont have to come with me if you really hate the idea.
Mandy gave her a wry smile and pulled a tiny can of pepper spray from her skirt pocket.
I mean, were obviously not going to let you go in there alone.
Dinah wouldnt have been surprised if he was only half kidding.
This just better be worth it, Mandy added.
The towering curtain of weeds rose up to meet them.
It surrounded the parks perimeter, blocking every entrance.
What are we supposed to do now?
Ty asked, raising an eyebrow.
They scratched at her skin as she elbowed her way forward, toward a half-buried entrance gate.
A tangle of bare branches poked through the gates iron bars, like spindly arms pushing her away.
Still, Dinah moved closer.
The latch was rusted shut after so many years untouched.
Dinah cringedthis wasnt going to be pretty, especially in her mandatory Gotham City girls uniform.
A starched white button-down and knee-length wool skirt werent exactly made for fence jumping.
And for the first time, Dinah was inside Robinson Park.
It looked wild, feral, in the twilight.
Still, there were hints of the happier place this used to be.
A pair of swings creaked as the breeze rattled their chains.
Dinah stepped up to the horse nearest her, a gray Thoroughbred with a cracked white mane.
Dinah shivered, stepping back.
Just then Mandy came hurtling over the gate, landing with a flying leap.
Think of the gymnast I could have been, Mandy joked, dropping into a playful bow.
Mandys smile fell as she took in the scene around them.
Its even more of a dump than I imagined.
A loud thump sounded behind them as Ty tumbled to the ground, glasses flying off his nose.
Why is it that I always seem to wind up bruised whenever we follow one of your plans?
he complained, fumbling through the grass for his glasses.
Sorry, T. Dinah reached out to help pull him back up to his feet.
But I promiseif what I overheard is even half true, youll be thanking me for dragging you here.
If you say so.
Ty shook his head at her but then fell into step as Dinah led the way.
Dinah glanced up and drew in a sharp breath.
An old stone monument loomed ahead of them, like a temple plucked straight out of ancient Greece.
Its front facade was bordered by twelve statues and, half buried among the leaves, twelve ornamented gravestones.
The Forum of the Twelve Caesars, she murmured as they approached it.
Thats what they used to call thisthis mausoleum.
I remember reading about it.
I vote we turn back now.
Martha Wayne, she read, a pit forming in her stomach.
Suddenly, a sense of movement in her peripheral vision jolted Dinah from her thoughts.
She could have sworn she had just seen a shadow flitting between the graves across from them.
Dinah blinked, telling herself it was nothing, or that shed imagined ituntil she heard Ty jump.
Did you see it?
Yeah, lets get out of here, Mandy urged her.
You guys, chill, Dinah said, standing up and trying to ignore her own nerves.
Thats nothing to be afraid of.
Cmon, were so close.
Her eyes continued to scan the forest, alert for any signs of life that could threaten their presence.
And then, finally, she found what she had come here in search of.
It rose from the weeds like a decaying palace: the centuries-old Gotham City Opera House.
A white marble outsider in a city of gray.
Fresh yellow police tape surrounded the building, its bold black letters shouting, no trespassinggovt propertydemolition ahead.
It was the only hint in this entire park that another human being had recently set foot in here.
When they had any power at all.
A Vault of Voices, where recordings of the old classical singers are hidden.
Her heartbeat sped up at the thought.
What she would give to hear them .
If thats true, Mandy said skeptically, then wouldnt the Court have destroyed this place by now?
Shed thought of little else since then.
She just wished it didnt have to be.
Well, that would explain the sudden demolition plans, Ty said darkly.
And why we have to get in there before they do.
Dinah quickened her pace.
Arent you dying to hear it?
A girls voice, singing .
Her dad and her friends had all written it off as an eight-year-olds dream, which was no surprise.
There was more color in this one room than shed seen before in all of Gotham City.
She hurried to the front entrance and got to work, angling the sharp pick into the keyhole.
Goose bumps prickled a warning across her skin.
A scream lodged in Dinahs throat as she recognized one of the unmistakable figures of Gotham Citys nightmares.
One that, until now, she had only ever seen in books and picturesbut never in the flesh.
The towering body was nearly seven feet tall, with muscles bulging beneath his black suit of armor.
And he was lunging straight toward her.
Black Canary: Breaking Silenceexcerpt text copyright 2020 by DC Comics.
