The Wishbreaker

by Tyler Whitesides

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “Hopefully they already found the dagger and got out of here before Chasm figured out how to use the trinket book.”

  “How will we meet up with them if they’re already gone?” asked Ridge.

  It was a worrisome question. I needed to tell Jathon and Ms. Gomez what I had learned from Tina’s note so we could locate Chasm’s hideout and use the two trinkets to cut Tina free.

  Jathon only had another day and a half to complete his quest. I’d stay with him till the end, since I had one extra day with Ridge to try to find my parents. The Genieologist had been so close to giving me their address, but I hadn’t been able to stick around and see if his stone statue consequence would wear off. I’d have to make a wish to find the Stansworths on my own.

  “I don’t think we’re going to find them without help,” Ridge said, scanning the crowd.

  He was right. We didn’t really have time to search around. “I wish to know where Jathon and the others are right now.”

  “Good idea,” said Ridge. “If you want to know their location, then you have to wear an eye patch for the rest of the day.”

  “Which eye will it cover?”

  “It’ll randomly switch throughout the day,” Ridge answered.

  “Weird,” I said. “But, okay. Bazang.”

  Something clapped over my left eye, causing everything to go dark on that side. I reached up and felt the patch, an elastic band holding it tight around my head like a costume piece.

  “They’re over there.” I pointed. “Under the pier.”

  We set off across the beach. I was completely blind on the left side and my depth perception was a little off. In a moment, we saw the four familiar figures huddled in the shade of one of the pier’s pylons.

  No sign of Chasm yet. I figured that was a good thing, but we needed to warn them quickly. He could be there any minute!

  “Hey!” I shouted, smoke coming out my ears as Ridge and I sprinted over to them. They came out to meet us. As soon as we got within speaking range, everyone started talking at once. It took me a few moments to realize that my warning was too late.

  Chasm had already been there.

  Ridge and I fell silent, letting Jathon explain. “He showed up out of thin air! We had no chance to defend ourselves.”

  “Yarr!” said Thackary. “That be a stylish patch, Ace. What did ye do to yer eye?”

  “My eye’s fine,” I answered, waving him off. “How did Chasm find you?”

  “He was holding that book.” Vale gestured to Ms. Gomez, and I saw that she was gripping the familiar copy of One Thousand and One Nights.

  “How?” I muttered. “Chasm shouldn’t have been able to use that book. It would separate him from Tina, unless she put him in his jar.”

  “But she doesn’t have a voice to do that,” Ridge stated.

  “Chasm was carrying Tina in his shirt pocket,” Vale said.

  “Huge pocket?” Ridge asked.

  Jathon shook his head. “Tiny Tina,” he corrected. “Must have been a wish. Chasm pulled her out once they appeared, and Tina returned to full size.”

  “Bawk bawk!” said Ms. Gomez.

  “We don’t right know what happened to herrrrr,” said Thackary. “Started cluckin’ like a chicken the moment Chasm dropped in.”

  “She did something like this yesterday, too,” said Vale. “Right after you guys left, she made sheep sounds for about an hour.”

  “That’s the consequence tied to using that trinket book,” I explained.

  “Bagawk!”

  “How long ago did Chasm show up?” Ridge asked.

  “About fifteen minutes,” said Vale. “Ms. Gomez knocked the book out of his hand while he was distracted. He didn’t seem interested in fighting her for it.”

  Jathon leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Tina looked like she was barely hanging in there.”

  Ms. Gomez gave a sad-sounding squawk.

  “I know,” I replied. “We ran into them last night. We tried to get here before him so we could warn you that he wanted to steal—”

  “The spool of string,” Jathon finished. He looked down, ashamed.

  “He already got it?” Ridge cried.

  “I couldn’t stop him,” said Jathon.

  “I don’t understand what he’s up to,” I said. “He told me that he needed the spool of string in order to complete his plans for world domination.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” said Vale. “Why would it help him to make Tina’s tether visible?”

  “’Tis not what he meant,” said Thackary. “’T’would only help him by stopping us from succeeding.”

  “No,” I said. “He specifically said that the spool of string would help him, but the second trinket we were seeking had the power to bring him down.”

  “The dagger,” said Jathon.

  “He didn’t know what the second trinket was,” I said. “But Ridge might have let that part slip.”

  “An honest mistake,” Ridge said. “It was hard to tell exactly what he knew, since most of our conversation was a rap.”

  “Rap?” Vale said.

  “He didn’t rap for you guys?” Ridge asked.

  “There wasn’t much time for that,” said Jathon. “He grabbed the spool of string and took off.”

  “After he stuck our heads in the sand,” Vale said.

  “Ouch,” I muttered.

  “Yeah,” said Jathon, using his little finger to pick at his ear. “It’s not fun to be at the receiving end of Chasm’s wishes.”

  “We have to find that dagger,” I said. “Hopefully we can catch up to Chasm and Tina before he has a chance to use the string for his evil plans.”

  “Ye don’t know that the string be helpful to him!” insisted Thackary.

  “He told us!” I shouted with a puff of smoke.

  “All ye know is that he didn’t want us to be having it.” Thackary squinted at me in the morning sun. “If I had a purpose fer stealing a trinket, ye could bet I wouldn’t blab me plans to me enemy.”

  “Chasm was caught up in the moment,” Ridge said. “Stuff rhymed.”

  “Bawk!” said Ms. Gomez.

  “But what benefit would it give Chasm to see the tether?” Vale asked again.

  “Bawk! Bawk!”

  “I can only see how it benefits us,” said Jathon. “Since we can only use the dagger to cut it once it’s visible.”

  “Bawk! Bawk! Bagawk!”

  “Umm,” said Ridge. “I think Ms. Gomez would like to say something. Does anyone speak chicken?”

  “Bagawk! Bagawk!” This time she pointed frantically, and we all turned to the ocean behind us.

  Something was rising out of the water. Waves crashed as the creature stood taller and taller.

  What was it? A seaweed monster.

  Stringy ribbons of aquatic vegetation twisted together, forming long legs, whiplike arms, and a slimy-looking head. It stood a good ten feet tall, dripping salt water from its dark green body.

  The seaweed monster slogged forward, spraying salt water as it advanced onto dry land. The common people strolling the beach began to scream, running every which way. I had no idea what they thought they were seeing. The Universe would be shielding their non-Wishmaker eyes from the magical threat.

  “I’m guessing Chasm wished for this?” I said as the seaweed’s kelp arms stretched out, pounding the beach aggressively. Sand flew in all directions as the strands of kelp retracted.

  “Bawk!” said Ms. Gomez.

  “We must not have heard him with our heads in the sand,” Vale said. “That guy isn’t going to make it very easy to find the dagger.”

  “We should spread out and start searching,” said Jathon. “Chances are good that the seaweed will be guarding the spot closest to where the dagger washed up.”

  “Ridge and I can circle around,” I said. “You guys search this side.”

  Without waiting for a response, Ridge and I took off running, bare feet churn
ing through the sand. The beach was mostly cleared of bystanders by now, which made us the obvious target.

  Mr. Seaweed stood completely on dry sand, turning its slimy head this way and that as if searching for something to hit. Ridge and I veered sharply, splashing through the edge of the water as we tried to move behind the sea monster.

  We were almost past when the creature turned, bringing its seaweed arms together. In a flash, the long green strands had woven together like a net. Mr. Seaweed lunged, bringing the webbing down on Ridge and knocking him flat on his back, completely under the shallow waters.

  “Ridge, get into the jar!”

  The genie disappeared from the entanglement, causing the seaweed monster to whirl in surprise. A strand of kelp whipped me in the chest, knocking me backward. Water went over my head, but I held tightly to the peanut butter container.

  “Ridge, get out of the jar!” I gasped as soon as my mouth found air. The two of us were up in a heartbeat, scrambling out of the shallows and back onto wet sand.

  “Watch out!” someone shouted. I didn’t even know if the warning was for me, but I ducked anyway. Good thing, too! A streamer of slimy seaweed swiped right over my head. I backed up, observing the new technique Mr. Seaweed was using.

  The creature had rooted both feet in the sand, arms lashing out at anyone who stepped within range. Jathon and Vale were attempting to get close, with no success.

  I glanced to where Thackary and Ms. Gomez were combing frantically through the sand a short distance away. They were obviously coming up empty-handed.

  “Doesn’t look like the seaweed guy is interested in moving from that spot,” I pointed out. “If he’s guarding the dagger, then we must be close.”

  “What do we do?”

  “I need a distraction,” I said. “Do you think a polar bear could bite through those seaweed arms?”

  Ridge shook his head. “Yuck. I don’t want to eat seaweed.”

  “Just think of it like sushi,” I said.

  “I don’t like sushi.”

  “But maybe polar bears do,” I answered. “Besides, crawling on my hands and feet will put me at the perfect angle to search the sand.” I took a breath. “Balaclava!”

  Ridge transformed. I went down on all fours.

  “Phew, it’s hot,” Ridge said. “I’m really not meant for this climate, you know. Even my fur is sweating.”

  “Charge in there!” I encouraged.

  As Ridge leaped forward, the arms of kelp whipped around, lassoing the polar bear around the middle. More ribbons of seaweed surged from the creature’s body, wrapping around Ridge like a dozen pythons. His hairy arms were now pinned at his sides, sharp claws useless. With a heave, Mr. Seaweed hoisted Ridge into the air. He dangled, kicking his paws and screaming at me to make a wish.

  As uncomfortable as it was for Ridge to be waved around like a flag, the distraction opened the way for me. I tromped forward on all fours. With my hands down in the sand, it was easy to dig. I felt like a scavenger, rummaging desperately through the area where the creature had planted its feet.

  “The seaweed’s got me in a bear hug!” Ridge shouted from above. “It’s squishing my insides!”

  “Hang on!” I shouted, my ears suddenly smoking.

  Mr. Seaweed shifted sideways. Its feet had burrowed to form a very deep hole. As a ray of sunlight shone down, I saw something at the bottom of the pit. It wasn’t shiny, but I could tell it was metallic.

  It was the dagger!

  But there was no way I could reach it without climbing into the hole blocked by the monster’s feet.

  Behind me, I heard Jathon shout “bazang!” I hadn’t heard what he’d wished for, but it seemed pretty obvious as a huge wave abruptly roared higher than the rest, knocking into Mr. Seaweed and dragging him from his mark.

  “Ace!” Ridge screamed. The creature was still holding him aloft, but my genie was about to get swept out to sea!

  “Balaclava!” I called, returning Ridge back to his original form and jumping to my feet. Reducing so rapidly in size, the skinny boy instantly slipped through the slimy strands of kelp, landing in a heap on the sand as Jathon’s big wave retreated.

  “It’s here!” I shouted, ears smoking again. “The dagger is right here!” But as I looked down, I realized that the same wave that had removed our enemy had also filled the hole in the sand.

  I dropped to my knees and began digging for the buried dagger as water and sand sloughed inward. Ridge tapped me on the shoulder. I paused long enough to see that Jathon, Vale, Thackary, and Ms. Gomez had all gathered behind me. But that wasn’t what the genie was pointing at.

  Apparently, Mr. Seaweed wasn’t the only Mr. Seaweed. More than a dozen creatures stood surrounding us on the sand, blocking our way off the beach. Their arms twisted and snaked as they moved threateningly toward us.

  “Bagawk!” cried Ms. Gomez.

  Chapter 14

  “Arrr! We’ll never get around ’em!” said Thackary. “Best if we sacrifice Ace and Ridge to the monsters so the rest of us can sail past.”

  “That’s a horrible plan!” Ridge said. “There are too many of them, anyway. It wouldn’t even work.”

  “Maybe not,” he replied. “But at least we’d be rid of ye.”

  “Nobody’s getting sacrificed to the evil seaweed today!” My ears smoked as I shouted. “But we need to start digging!” I dropped to my knees again, hands clawing through the hot sand.

  “Bawk!” said Ms. Gomez, joining me.

  “The seaweed’s moving in on us,” Vale said. “This would be a great time for a Wishmaker to make a wish!”

  She was right. My first thought was to wish for the dagger to resurface, but that was probably too direct. We needed some kind of protection to buy us time. I glanced at Ridge, who had also started digging. He was using his hands to pack the wet sand as he dug it up, forming it into a tidy mound. That gave me the perfect idea!

  “Ridge,” I said. “I wish there was a giant sandcastle surrounding us while we dig for the dagger!”

  “If you want a sandcastle,” he said, “then anytime someone greets you, you’ll be forced to take a knee and say, ‘I am at your service, my liege.’”

  “Liege?” I said. “What does that even mean?”

  “It’s just something servants said to their lords in the Middle Ages,” answered Ridge.

  “But what if I don’t want to be a servant to the person that greets me?” I said. “What if we meet Chasm again and I have to pledge myself to him?”

  “Oh, you don’t actually have to serve them,” said Ridge. “You just have to say the phrase. It won’t mean anything.”

  “Do I have to say it the way you said it?”

  “How did I say it?” Ridge asked.

  “It was pretty melodramatic,” I said.

  “You can say it however you want, Ace.”

  The seaweed monsters were closing in on both sides. If I debated the consequence any longer, my sandcastle might become useless. One more quick question.

  “How long will this last?”

  “For a year,” he said.

  Okay. It would probably be worth the awkward greetings if the sandcastle gave us enough time to find the buried dagger.

  “Bazang!” I said.

  At once, a spectacular castle was constructed around us. It must have taken up a good fifty yards of the beach, with walls that rose well over thirty feet high, forcing back the approaching seaweed monsters. We seemed to be in some kind of central courtyard. The blue sky could be seen overhead, but the damp sand walls instantly cast a comfortable shadow across the spot where we’d been digging.

  There were a few enclosed rooms around the courtyard, complete with sand doors and everything! I could see flights of stairs leading up to walkways at the top of the wall where medieval lookouts would be able to see anyone approaching the castle.

  Pleased with my wish, I returned to helping a clucking Ms. Gomez dig for the dagger. The others joined in, pulling sand
away as we delved deeper in the spot where I had seen the old blade.

  Something slammed into one of the castle walls, causing it to bow inward, sand sloughing down. Could the seaweed monsters break through? The sandcastle was just supposed to surround us. I had no idea how strong it would be! I mean, it was only made out of sand.

  I stepped away from the hole we were digging. “We’ve got to get up there and check the castle defenses.” Made me feel pretty heroic to say that line.

  Ridge shook the sand off his hands and joined me as I sprinted across the courtyard. The stairs looked like they might collapse under our feet, but they turned out to be pretty sturdy as we made our way to the top of the wall.

  From the upper walkway, we were able to appreciate the true scope of my wish. The wall had that cool castle edge, with square blocks that looked like jack-o’-lantern teeth. The front gate faced toward the ocean. There was a deep moat surrounding the sandcastle, the crashing waves delivering water to fill it. I even saw a drawbridge, though it was held in the upright position since we were apparently at war.

  The seaweed dudes appeared to be less impressed by my massive sandcastle. Instead of admiring its construction, they seemed bent on tearing it down. Several of them had already made it across the moat. They stood close against the castle wall, using their kelp whips to lash at the structure.

  “Why isn’t the moat keeping them back?” cried Ridge.

  “They’re made of seaweed,” I pointed out. “I don’t think they’re afraid of the water.”

  A little ways down the wall, one of the seaweed monsters was growing its arms. The kelp snaked up the castle wall like slippery vines, groping for something to hold on to at the top.

  Ridge and I raced over to the spot, desperate to prevent the enemy from pulling itself up. I stepped on a strand of kelp that had stretched across the walkway, feeling the aquatic vegetation squish between my sandy toes.

  Ridge grabbed a handful of the castle wall and leaned over the edge. “Eat sand!” he yelled, hurling it down at the creature’s head.

  But our defenses were weak. Mr. Seaweed was hoisting itself at an impressive rate. Its dark green head popped over the edge of the wall, and Ridge let out a little squeal of fear. I stumbled backward on the narrow walkway, unsure what to do.