The Magic Escapes, Page 2

  Right. Now left. Straight. Left again. Left!

  He wondered if it was Keeah’s voice. Where, after all, were his friends? Hadn’t they been just behind him, rushing up the Dark Stair?

  “Faster!” cried the goblins, gaining ground.

  Around the corner …

  Eric slid through one more turn when he saw a shaft of light shining from the street above.

  “Thank you, whoever you are! I’m free!”

  Eric wriggled up and out of the sewers. The cool air of night was on him again. Overhead, the strange hovering disks glowed, and more carpets dipped and dived toward the big fortress.

  Somewhere nearby, he heard the roaring of engines and the splashing of water.

  “Boats,” he said. “Probably going through those weird canals to that big black ugly fortress. It’s like everyone’s going there.”

  He shook his head. “Neal and Julie should see this. They wouldn’t believe it’s our world —”

  Sploing! A green shape sprang down from a nearby rooftop. Its large feet slapped the wet stones. “Give us the magic, boy!”

  Eric shook himself from his thoughts. “As if anyone ever does what a slimy goblin asks him to. I think you’ll have to — chase me!”

  Eric ran from one black street to another, slipping finally into a narrow alley. He waited. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face. His pulse thundered in his ears. The goblin’s heavy feet plodded by, then passed on.

  Eric let out a breath. “That was close.”

  He looked around. He was right next to a courtyard of crooked buildings with steep, curving roofs.

  And a pointy-eared goblin was perched on every one of them.

  “Uh-oh,” Eric groaned. “I think I just discovered the International House of Goblins!”

  The creatures jumped down and surrounded him. “Give us the wand!” they cried.

  “Never,” Eric yelled. “It’s … mine!”

  The goblins howled and were all over him in a second. He tried to push them away, but in the struggle the wand was wrenched from his hand and skittered across the wet ground.

  “Noooo!” he cried.

  The goblins pounced on the glowing wand, shrieking, “We have it! We have it!”

  Before Eric could make a move, the goblin thieves sprang into the shadows with the wand.

  Others surrounded him. “Now, we get you!”

  Suddenly, there was a great whooshing sound, and a strong hand flung down out of nowhere and grabbed Eric.

  “Come with me!” said a voice.

  Eric looked up. “Come with you — where?”

  Fwoosh! Before he knew it, Eric was flying upward with a young man in a long blue cape and blue boots.

  “Sorry to steal you away from your party,” the man said, “but it didn’t seem as if you were having fun!”

  “I wasn’t!” said Eric. “But who — whoa!”

  They touched down on a balcony above the courtyard, then raced to the other end and leaped up.

  “Yiiiiiikes!” Eric nearly choked as the two of them flew to the rooftop of the next building.

  “You are awesome!” he said. “My friends should see this! If only I could find them —”

  A rushing sound behind their heads cut him off. Two goblins on flying carpets dived in from different directions.

  The stranger gave out a sudden, bright chuckle. “Goblins love speed. Which sometimes works against them. Watch this!” He bounced across the rooftop, then stopped and twirled to the side.

  “Akkkkgh!” the goblins howled.

  The two carpets crashed into each other, and the goblins tumbled to the rooftops below.

  “That is so cool!” said Eric.

  “Glad you liked it. Now, let’s move.” Holding Eric by the arm, the young man raced to the edge of the roof and took flight once more.

  Fwit-fwit-fwit! The cool night air rushed over them as they leaped, light as air, from one rooftop to the next, goblin carpets diving in pursuit.

  Eric felt like an acrobat winging from one building to another, stepping once, twice, then pushing off to the next rooftop.

  “How are you doing this?” Eric asked.

  The stranger grinned. “I imagine myself as a bird. It’s quite simple, after all.”

  “But —”

  The man took an impossible jump from the top of one roof to another far away, pulling Eric with him. Eric even thought he saw a flash of blue feathers on the stranger’s shoulders.

  “You’ve got to be a wizard,” said Eric when they touched down.

  “I am, and from a long line of them, too,” the stranger said. “Come on.”

  Clasping Eric’s hand, he sprang off the roof’s edge and they glided down to the street below, landing silently on the cobblestones.

  “I’ve got to learn how to do this,” said Eric.

  The man glanced both ways, then grinned. “Maybe later, if there’s time. For now, listen. You are in the goblin city of Pesh, a place that didn’t even exist a year ago —”

  Eric blinked. “But it looks so … old.”

  “It is old, but I can’t explain it now. Beware of these goblins. But most of all, beware of their ruler, Princess Salamandra. She is extremely powerful. She collects magic. And people —”

  “People? What do you mean —”

  Whoosh! The carpet goblins circled the street.

  “There they are!” they shouted. “Get them!”

  The man turned one last time to Eric. “Find your friends. Meet me at a place called the Dirty Plate — top floor — at midnight!”

  Before Eric could say a word, the stranger did a double backward somersault — straight up in the air — and flitted away into the night, drawing the hordes of green goblins after him and leaving Eric stunned and alone under the stars he knew so well.

  Almost alone.

  “There he is —” shouted a voice behind him.

  Eric groaned. “Not again!”

  Three cloaked creatures stepped toward him. Their faces were hidden under deep hoods.

  “Oh, too scary to show your faces, are you?” said Eric, backing up. “Well, watch this!”

  He leaped for a nearby rooftop like the stranger did but tripped and fell flat on the ground.

  “Oww!” he groaned. He quickly flicked his fingers at the creatures, but no sparks came out. “What? Oh, man. Anyway, don’t you come near me!”

  But they did. They surrounded him. Then, pulling back their hoods, they laughed.

  Eric stared up at faces he knew.

  “Julie? Keeah? Neal!”

  “Helping you out — again!” Neal joked, pulling his friend to his feet.

  “You guys,” said Eric, catching his breath. “I thought I was all alone up here.”

  “You almost were,” said Julie. “It took forever to climb the Dark Stair. We were moving in slow motion until Keeah broke Sparr’s spell.”

  “And the minute we got here, you disappeared into the streets,” said Keeah. “Galen and Max are somewhere, too, but the goblins chased us, and we got separated.”

  “We’ll find them,” said Julie. “Soon, I hope. This place is totally weirding me out.”

  Keeah handed Eric a cloak of his own. Her golden crown flashed in the light from the fires. “Eric, are you all right?”

  He sighed. “Sort of, I guess. I mean, I’m as okay as you can be in the goblin capital of the universe. The problem is …” He looked at Neal and Julie. “Guys, I don’t know how or why, but … this is our world. Look at the stars.”

  Julie and Neal looked at the sky over the fortress. Their mouths dropped open.

  “You never told me your world has so much magic,” said Keeah. “Or goblins.”

  “It doesn’t,” said Julie. “Where are we?”

  Neal watched the flying carpets dip and dive overhead. “Some country they don’t talk about on the news?”

  “I don’t know,” said Eric. “But a princess named Salamandra runs the place. It’s called Pe
sh. Her goblins are stealing magic for her. They … they stole the Wand of Urik, too.”

  Keeah frowned. “We’ll have to get it back.”

  “We will,” he said. “Luckily, I met a guy who I think can help us. He is so cool. He even flies. But the weirdest part is that Sparr helped me, too. He actually saved me from getting caught.”

  Neal’s mouth fell open again. “Whoa! Saved you? Are you guys best buds now?”

  “Yeah, right!” Eric grinned, fingering the blue gem in his pocket. “But that’s not all. Sparr also gave me … gave me … he …”

  “What?” asked Keeah.

  Eric trembled. His fingers touched the gem in his pocket but he could not grasp it or pull it out without pain shooting right through his hand. The blood coursing through his veins suddenly felt like ice. Chills ran up and down his back and neck. He felt dizzy.

  “Sparr … gave me …”

  Everyone was looking at him now.

  “What did he give you?” asked Julie.

  Eric finally wrenched his empty hand from his pocket. “He gave me … advice. He said … I should be careful….”

  Neal looked strangely at him, then laughed. “Sparr told you to be careful? So, the evilest sorcerer in two worlds is suddenly Mr. Nice-nice?”

  Eric tried to smile. “Um, yeah, I guess….”

  Why can’t I tell them? What’s keeping me from telling them about Sparr’s dumb gem?

  Suddenly, that voice sounded in his head again — Our little secret … secret …

  And Eric knew. Sparr had put a spell on him!

  In the sewers, when he gave Eric the jewel, Sparr had stared deeply into his eyes. It hurt, Eric remembered. That was when Sparr must have done it.

  That was when he cast some kind of spell over him. A spell of silence.

  Oh, man, Eric thought. This stinks!

  “What does Sparr want? Why did he come to the Upper World?” asked Keeah as more carpets flew to the fortress.

  Eric knew what Sparr wanted. Something called the Coiled Viper. But he couldn’t say the words. It even hurt to think them!

  “Um, I don’t know,” he said finally. “But he wasn’t expecting Pesh, that’s for sure. He wanted the stairs to lead him somewhere else. It’s messing up his plans. Plus, he was afraid.”

  “Sparr? Afraid?” Neal snorted. “Of what?”

  “Of being captured by goblins,” said Julie, tugging them all into the shadows. “Which is what will happen to us if we’re not careful. Listen!”

  Thrum-thrum! The sound of drumming filled the air. Then came the clashing and clanging of cymbals as goblins of all sorts — large, small, tall, short — marched slowly up the street.

  “Our first goblin parade,” whispered Neal, peeking over Julie’s head.

  “And I can just guess who it’s for,” said Eric.

  In the middle of the crowd, four very large goblins trudged along, carrying a heavy golden chair studded with jewels.

  Sitting on the throne was a young woman.

  “Holy cow!” Neal whispered.

  Keeah blinked. “Is that … Salamandra?”

  “Yuck,” said Julie, making a face. “No wonder the goblins do what she says.”

  Salamandra looked human — more or less.

  Her skin was a deep purple. Her eyes flashed with a yellow, catlike light. But most remarkable was the mass of thick black thorns that cascaded from her head and down her back.

  “You call that hair?” whispered Neal. “You’d need a rake to comb through that tangle!”

  Salamandra held a long staff. At the top was a cluster of pointed thorns that seemed to burn with a green flame.

  The crowd passed slowly. Following Salamandra’s throne were six goblins in black cloaks.

  They were chanting strange words over and over. “Om — yee — Pesh! Peshhhh!”

  Julie grabbed Neal and Eric. “Oh, my gosh! Om — yee — Pesh? We’ve heard that before.”

  “You have?” asked Keeah.

  Julie nodded. “When Eric first used the wand back home, and everything went nutty, these goblins suddenly appeared on our street!”

  “I remember them,” said Neal. “You mean those crazy dudes are these crazy dudes?”

  “Om — yee — Pesh!” the creatures chanted.

  Eric stared at the goblins. It was true. He remembered it all. “These are the same guys. And somehow they got from here to our home. Guys, I have a feeling we’re in big trouble.”

  The procession drifted around the corner.

  “We’re in trouble, all right,” said Keeah. “If these goblins appeared on your street, and Sparr is on the loose, and Urik’s wand is gone — I’d say our troubles are just beginning.”

  “Thanks for making us feel better,” said Eric.

  Keeah smiled. “But we’re together. And together, we can figure this out.”

  “I like the sound of that,” said Julie.

  “And I like the smell of that!” said Neal, pointing down the street. “Look!”

  An enormous wooden cart, heaped high with pies, rolled out from the shadows at the end of the street.

  Then they saw what was pushing it.

  “Um … is that a … dragon?!” asked Julie.

  “Well, a small dragon,” said Keeah.

  Behind the cart trudged a short, squat creature with brown spiky skin as rough and dusty as a potato. When he got halfway up the street, he stopped, looked both ways, then groaned.

  “Oh, dear. Is Jabbo late? Oh, poor Jabbo!”

  Tied around the dragon’s waist was an apron. On top of his head, set between a pair of long, floppy ears, was a puffy, muffin-shaped hat.

  “Jabbo is late, and Salamandra will send her green gobbies after him, dear, dear — oh — oh!”

  The chubby dragon staggered back when he saw the children. His tail slapped the street excitedly. “Don’t hurt Jabbo. Jabbo’s only a humble little pie maker — wait. You’re not gobbies.”

  “No,” said Keeah as the four friends emerged from the shadows. “We’re not goblins.”

  “And we won’t hurt you,” added Julie.

  The dragon clacked his jaws, grinned, and bowed low. “Well, then. May Jabbo introduce himself? Jabbo is … Jabbo, pie maker to her royal thorniness. Would you like a pie?” He held up a large one, topped with a golden brown crust.

  Neal jumped. “I thought you’d never ask!”

  He took it and bit into it instantly. “Mmm … berry goob …”

  There was a roar of engines in the distance.

  “Salamandra’s royal boat,” said Jabbo, taking up the cart handles again. “If I am late to the fortress, I’ll be late for the party. Big party in the morning. Can’t be late for that. Can’t be!”

  “Wait a second —” said Keeah.

  But the little dragon merely waved and rushed his heavy cart away until he disappeared around a corner.

  Neal licked his fingers. “Good pie. Very good. I wish I’d taken two. Do you think we should follow him? Aren’t you guys hungry?”

  Julie rolled her eyes. “Neal, I think we have to focus here.”

  “Julie’s right,” said Keeah, looking around. “We came here to stop Sparr. That has to be our main goal. Eric, did Sparr say where he was going?”

  Eric searched his memory. “Um …”

  Don’t tell them! It was Sparr’s voice inside Eric’s mind.

  Eric clutched his forehead and silently replied, Get out of my head, Sparr!

  Sorry. It’s all part of my plan —

  Oh, yeah? Eric snapped. Well, plan on trouble, Sparr. Over and out!

  “Eric, are you all right?” asked Keeah.

  He nodded. “When I saw him before, Sparr said he was going to find Salamandra. I think he’s going to try to team up with Little Miss Tanglehair —”

  You will pay for that, said Sparr.

  Send me the bill! said Eric.

  “If we’re going to tackle Sparr and this nasty princess,” said Julie, “then we’ll ne
ed help. Eric, that stranger who helped you …”

  “I don’t know his name,” said Eric. “But he’ll be at a place called the Dirty Plate at midnight. On the top floor, he said.”

  Neal glanced at Julie and Keeah. “Didn’t we pass a place with that name when we lost Galen and Max?”

  “It wasn’t the nicest place we’ve seen,” said Julie. “Sort of nasty and creepy.”

  Eric grinned. “At least it’s not in the sewers.”

  “Pretty close,” said Keeah with a wink. “Come on, then. It must be close to midnight. But let’s be on our guard. We might see goblins.”

  “Or we might see Jabbo,” said Neal, licking the last of the pie juice from his fingers. “If we do, I’m asking for that recipe!”

  “Neal, focus?” said Julie.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry….”

  Keeping to the shadows, and with their hoods pulled tight, the four friends wound through the twisting streets in search of the Dirty Plate.

  The Dirty Plate was a little inn leaning over one of the canals that led to Salamandra’s island.

  Even from the street, the four friends could hear loud talking and rough laughter coming from inside. Every now and then a glass broke. This was followed by yelling and thumping.

  “I don’t know about this,” said Neal. “Maybe we should wait till later? Like maybe … never?”

  “It does sound a little rough,” added Julie.

  Keeah smiled. “To stop Sparr we’ll need all the help we can get. Keep your hoods low. I’ll take the lead….”

  Another glass broke inside the inn.

  “That is, unless someone else wants to.”

  Neal gulped. “Not me. I’m just the funny one. You’re the one with the powers. You go first.”

  “I agree,” said Eric. “You’re way more powerful than me.”

  “And way, way more than me,” said Julie.

  Keeah made a face. “Thanks a lot.” She tugged her hood over her eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed on the door.

  It squeaked open.

  The room inside was long and low and filled with what looked like older goblins. Some of them were sprouting gray hair. Others had wrinkled green skin. They sat at small wooden tables, gorging on purple fruit pie and drinking cloudy liquid from glasses.