The next person tied on, and I thought of Ms. Gomez, waiting for us on the mini golf course. With each new tether that formed, her ankles would get bound for an additional hour. She’d be helpless out there!
“Chasm’s going to be unstoppable,” Vale whispered.
“This was his plan all along,” I said. “He basically told me that the string would give him the power he needed to conquer the world.”
Three more people had tied on, each stepping back as soon as the task was finished.
“He’s going to destroy Tina,” Jathon said. “Once he has these other Wishmakers, she’ll only slow him down.”
It was probably true. Tina had been Chasm’s one limitation. Being tethered to her was the only thing keeping him out of his jar. He’d made some extravagant wishes with terrible consequences, but he couldn’t harm Tina too much.
All that was about to change. With multiple people tethered to him, Chasm could make some severe wishes, even if the consequence brought death to one of his Wishmakers. What would it matter when he had a dozen more to choose from?
“I wish that Chasm won’t be able to leave this cave for the next half hour,” said Jathon.
His unexpected wish made me turn in surprise. “Just a half hour?” I cried.
“Trying to lessen my consequence,” answered Jathon. “Besides, that’s all the time I have left with Vale. I figure we’ll either beat Chasm or the world will end in the next thirty minutes.”
“Well, ending the world would be one way to stop him,” Ridge said. “But it’s not great for us.”
“Chasm might still get his way,” said Vale. “At least for a little while.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The big consequence doesn’t always happen immediately,” she said. “Eventually, the air will turn into chocolate sauce, but it might not happen for a few months, even years.”
Jathon impatiently tapped at his hourglass watch and looked to Vale for an explanation of the consequence.
“It’s a bad one,” she said, “since trapping Chasm here is directly tied to your quest.”
“I’ll decide how bad,” Jathon said. “Just tell me.”
“If you want Chasm to be stuck in this cave,” said Vale, “then anytime you go outside, it will rain on you.”
“Just on me?” he asked.
She nodded. “Like in the cartoons. It’ll be a narrow stream of rain that will follow you anywhere you go.”
“How hard is it going to rain? Just a drizzle?”
“Torrential downpour,” Vale said apologetically.
“Can I use an umbrella?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Or a poncho. But you’ll need to take them everywhere you go or you’ll get soaked.”
“How long will this last?”
“Forever.”
I saw Jathon scowl, shooting a glance to the floor below. Brian, that newcomer we’d seen on the escalator, was just tying on the final piece of string. If Jathon didn’t accept the consequence in the next few seconds, it wasn’t likely that Chasm would stick around.
“Fine,” he said. “I guess I’ll just stay inside for the rest of my life. That would be better than letting everyone in the world choke on chocolate sauce.”
“You’ll be the pastiest kid in America,” I said.
“Probably the whole world,” Ridge added.
Jathon glared at us. “Bazang.”
The final tether flared brightly, and Chasm lowered his arm, a dozen strings stretching from his wrist like strands of web from a spider.
“All righty, then!” the big genie shouted. “We’ll be out of here in no time. On to world domination. But first, I believe I owe each of you one free wish.” He reached up and took off his hat as though showing respect. “Tell me the greatest desires of your hearts. Let’s start over there with Emily and go clockwise. Sound fair?” Chasm pointed to the woman on the far left. “You’re up, honey.”
Emily’s voice sounded small compared to Chasm’s booming baritone. “Anything?” she asked.
“Anything,” answered the evil Wishbreaker. “And I mean anything.”
“Well, I wish that my dog hadn’t died, but you probably can’t do anything about that,” she said wistfully.
“Aww,” said Chasm. “Poor pooch. When did she die? Well, let’s see if we can’t get little Fluffers back for you.” He leaned forward. “Could you do me a favor and say the word bazang?”
“Uhh . . .” Emily stammered. “Bazang?”
I heard barking. There, yapping at Emily’s feet, was a little white dog. She screamed, stooping to pick up her pet. “It’s her! It’s really her! Oh, thank you, Mr. Kaz! How did you—”
“That’s enough from you.” Chasm held out his hand. “Please save all questions and comments until the end of the presentation. Anthony!” He pointed at the next man in line. “Your turn, bud.”
“Oh, wow.” The man named Anthony fidgeted nervously before saying, “I wish for a million dollars.”
“Basic, and rather boring,” droned Chasm. “No real imagination, but that’s to be expected among a group of adult humans. Anthony, my friend, your wish will come true as soon as you say ‘bazang.’”
“Bazang,” he replied.
“Very nice,” said Chasm. “You are now a millionaire. Go ahead. Check your bank account.”
Anthony pulled a mobile phone from the jacket of his sport coat.
“Not now!” said Chasm. “We’re in a cave. You really think you’ve got service down here? Next!”
“Thank you, Mr. Kaz,” said the next man. “It’s an honor to be one of the winners of your mini golf contest and I—”
“Save it for someone who cares,” Chasm cut him off.
“Okay,” said the man. “I wish for two million dollars.”
“Really?” Chasm chuckled, causing me to hiccup. “You’re going to one-up old Anthony? I mean, I thought you looked dull, but I never . . .” He trailed off with a sigh. “Say it.”
“Bazang,” said the man.
“My turn?” asked the next woman. “I wish to be a famous actress.”
Chasm yawned. “And . . . there it is. Fame. When you walk out of this cave, don’t be surprised if the paparazzi are waiting. Your latest movie was a smash success.”
“I’ve never . . .” the woman stammered. “I’ve never been in a movie.”
“Oh, get over yourself, dollface!” answered Chasm. “Just say the magic word, and you’re a star.”
“Bazang!” said the woman.
“We’ve got to do something,” Jathon whispered as the conversation carried on below.
“This is like a bad reality-TV show,” Ridge said. “Money, fame . . . Chasm’s right. These people don’t have much imagination.”
“You shouldn’t agree with Chasm,” I said. “He’s the bad guy.”
“I’m just saying, I don’t think we can count on any of those adults to wish for something that could slow Chasm down,” Ridge explained. “They’re just going to waste their free wishes.”
“Ridge has a point,” Vale said. “We’ve got to go down there.”
“You have the dagger?” I asked Jathon.
In response, he flashed me the ancient blade. “I’ll need to slash through all of those strings,” he said. “The only way we can get Chasm to go back into his jar is by severing every one of his connections.”
“What about Tina?” Ridge asked.
“We’ll have to figure something out,” I said. “If we can cut one of the strings close to the person’s wrist, maybe it’ll be long enough that we can reuse it on Tina.”
“Chasm isn’t going to like us interfering,” said Jathon.
“At least your wish will stop him from leaving the cave,” I said.
“Still, with thirteen Wishmakers at his command, Chasm will be able to make some pretty big wishes, regardless of the consequences.”
“Then you’ll have to use the element of surprise,” I said. “Cut as many people free
as you can before Chasm notices.”
“We’ll need a distraction,” Jathon said.
“I’ll take care of it,” I answered.
“You’ve got something in mind?” Vale asked.
“It had better not involve me wearing a hula skirt and coconut bra,” said Ridge.
I shook my head. “Oh, I’ve got a distraction that Chasm won’t be able to ignore.”
The four of us turned our attention back to the floor. The final person was stepping forward to make his free wish. I could see him wringing his hands together nervously.
“Do you know Julia Johnson?” he asked awkwardly.
Chasm took an impatient breath and said, “No.”
“Of course not,” the man muttered. “She’s from my work. She’s in HR. . . . She doesn’t know me, but I . . . I wish that Julia Johnson would fall in love with me.”
“There’s the lovesick fool I was waiting for!” cried Chasm. “You know the drill. Let’s hear the word.”
“Bazang,” said the man.
“Exactly,” Chasm said. “Julia Johnson will now follow you to the ends of the earth, which may actually be necessary by the time I’m done with this planet.”
Chasm clapped his hands, causing my head to swivel. “I hope you’ve all had fun here. I’ve made your greatest wishes come true, but I’ve been saving the best part for last. You see, as the Wishbreaker, I’m not allowed to force people to be my slaves. You all had to come willingly, lured in by the opportunity to see your greatest dream fulfilled. I tried standing on a street corner and offering free wishes, but apparently everyone thought I was crazy.”
“I still think he’s crazy,” whispered Ridge.
“I’m actually quite sane,” Chasm went on. “I’m just a magical guy, and the Universe has a way of shielding regular people from my real intentions. So I had to create some sort of test to get people excited about coming to me. Hence, the whole golf park thing. I tried to make it as easy as possible for regular people, but I seriously overestimated human hand-eye coordination. Anyhoo . . . Now you’re mine, and I can do as I please with you.”
“That’s not fair!” shouted one of the men.
“Who do you think you are?” cried a woman.
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer about this!” yelled another.
Chasm held up a finger. “Cue the bickering,” he said. “Ugh. The grown-up humans are even worse than the little ones. But then, that’s another reason I made the mini golf course exclusive for adults. You see, you never know what a child will wish for. I couldn’t take the risk that one of them would use their free wish for something that would complicate my plans. But adults . . .” He waved his hand dismissively. “You guys pretty much stick to love, fame, and fortune. So predictable.”
“Hey!” called one of the men. “Why can’t I get this string off my wrist?”
“You’re a Wishmaker now, sonny,” answered Chasm. “That means we’re inseparable. I know. It’s kind of the pits, being all tied together.” He raised his arm, gesturing to the strings trailing from it. “I’m counting on you guys not to get all tangled up, okay?” Chasm sounded kind of like a teacher laying down rules for a new school year. “I should probably force one of you into making a wish for that. . . .”
“You have to let me go!” cried a woman. “I don’t want to play anymore!”
“You know what?” said Chasm. “I don’t want to play anymore, either. So, let’s get down to business. The twelve of you have another wish to make. This time, you all wish for your voices to be silenced in my presence.”
This was met with a chorus of complaints and shouts. I saw Chasm’s red hourglass pop open as he began to explain the consequence.
“If you don’t want to be able to speak,” Chasm said, “then your mouths will permanently hang agape while you are with me. Don’t worry!” He held up a hand. “They’ll be able to close your jaw when you’re lying in your coffin.”
This was exactly how it started for Tina. Chasm had made this same wish, coupled with this same consequence, as a way to silence Tina and take control.
The shouts of protest rose even louder, but Chasm sang over the top of them, his voice echoing through the vast chamber. “Ba-ba-ba-zang!”
The cave suddenly went eerily silent. I couldn’t focus on the faces of the adults below, but I saw several of them fall to their knees in despair.
“See, I like this better,” Chasm said to his silent slaves. “Much more interesting when I’m in charge. Now, as much as it grieves me to leave this place . . .” He reached out to a corner of the room. “I’ll miss you, minibar and Jacuzzi. But it’s time to take over the world.”
Chasm twirled his fedora and deposited it perfectly on his head. “Where should we go first? Somewhere with a lot of people. Make a big splash. Maybe I’ll start by making myself the president of the United States.”
He spun around, pointing a finger at one of his newly tethered Wishmakers. “Eeny, meeny, miney, Allison. Your turn! You wish to instantly transport us all to Washington, DC.”
Allison held up her hands in fear, but Chasm suddenly went rigid, glancing around the big cave. “I can’t?” he muttered. “Why not? Someone wished to keep me here? Who?”
Time to make my big debut. I patted Jathon on the back for luck and then stepped onto the top step of the escalator.
“Hello, Chasm!”
Chapter 23
Chasm whirled around, his gaze falling on the descending escalator where Ridge and I were standing one stair apart from each other.
“Why, hello, little Ace,” Chasm said with an unintimidated grin.
I instantly dropped to one knee on the moving staircase and bowed my head. “I am at your service, my liege,” I recited, forced into the saying since Chasm had greeted me.
“Interesting,” said Chasm. “You’ve come to be my servant? I must admit, I did not see that coming.”
I rose to my feet. “That was a simple slip of the tongue,” I said to Chasm. “What I meant to say was, ‘I am not at your service, my whatever-the-opposite-of-liege-is.’”
“Ah,” replied Chasm. “So, you’re the one who wished to keep me in this cave.”
“Yep,” I said. “That’s right.” The whole point of this confrontation was to draw Chasm’s attention away, allowing Jathon to sneak down and cut the people free.
“You’re not going anywhere, Chasm!” I continued. “Because you have an appointment.”
“An appointment?” Chasm raised one eyebrow curiously. “Let me guess, with destiny.”
“No,” I scoffed. “Not with destiny.”
“Were you really going to say destiny?” Ridge whispered.
I shrugged at him. “It’s a good line.”
“Did you really have a plan for a distraction?” Ridge said quietly. “Because it seems like you’re just stalling.”
“Stalling is a distraction tactic,” I pointed out. “But that wasn’t my plan.”
“Well, you’d better get to it,” Ridge said. “Once we reach the bottom, I fully expect Chasm to squash us.”
I cleared my throat and shouted to my enemy. “I challenge you, Chasm!” I pointed at him for dramatic effect as smoke vented out my ears. “To a battle!”
Chasm threw back his head and laughed. “I would crush you like a potato chip, puny human.”
I hiccuped. “Not just any kind of battle,” I went on. “A rap battle!”
“Now, this just got interesting!” Chasm answered. “I accept!”
Ridge grabbed my arm. “That’s only going to buy us, like, two seconds,” he whispered. “You heard Chasm rap at the library. There’s no way you can keep up with him.”
“I’m not going to do it without help,” I said. “I’ll make a wish.”
“When?” Ridge cried. “We’re almost to the bottom. If Chasm hears you wish for it, he’ll think you’re cheating. You know he doesn’t like cheaters.”
“Good point,” I said. “Walk with me.”
&
nbsp; I turned around and began walking up the escalator. This didn’t take us anywhere, but it kept us from reaching the bottom. We hovered about ten feet above the landing, padding over the steps as quickly as they came.
“I wish to be a great rapper,” I whispered. But what if Chasm was still better? What if he used Tina’s wishes to be the best? “Not just great,” I added. “I wish to be an unstoppable rapper.”
“If you want to rap,” said Ridge, “then anytime you stand still, you will slowly sink into the ground.”
“Will I be able to get myself out?”
“As long as you don’t sink too deep,” said Ridge. “The ground will be like goo under your feet. Keep shuffling and you won’t sink.”
“What about when I’m sleeping?”
“It only happens when you’re standing,” he said. “So, don’t sleep standing up.”
“I usually don’t,” I said. “How long?”
“Rest of the week.”
I nodded. “Bazang.”
We stopped walking, turned around, and let the moving stairs carry us down to the floor.
“Did you get a little confused on how an escalator works?” Chasm asked. He was waiting near the landing, a sneer on his broad face. His group of Wishmakers stood behind him, many of them stretching their new tethers to the full forty-two feet. I spotted Tina sitting on the stone floor, not fifteen feet behind the Wishbreaker. She looked bad. Even worse than when we’d seen her at the library.
“I was getting ready for the rap,” I answered. “Just had to ask Ridge what rhymes with Chasm the loser.”
“Easy,” answered Chasm. “Battleship cruiser. Library user. Bus ride snoozer. Textbook abuser. Broccoli refuser.”
Wow. He was fast. “Let’s do this.” I stepped off the moving stairs, but I didn’t hold still out of fear of my new consequence. Instead, I hopped side to side, my feet skimming back and forth so I wouldn’t sink into the floor.
“Hey, bud,” Chasm said. “I see you shuffling there. Do you need to go potty? I’m okay to wait. The restroom is just past the ping-pong table.”
The Wishbreaker Page 18
