Inside the Magic

by Debbie Dadey

  Kirin bowed before Flash. “But we are determined in our mission,” she said. “Even without them.”

  Flash glanced at the Keyholders huddled behind Kirin. “You haven’t much time. My mission has been successful. I know exactly where Leery is being kept.”

  “Well, it’s about time someone gave us information we could use,” Natalie said. “Where is he?”

  “The Cave of the Winds,” Flash said in a flat voice.

  “Nooooooooo!” squeaked Buttercup. Her tiny body shivered in horror. “Anywhere but there!”

  “Why?” Luke asked. “What’s wrong with windy caves?”

  Buttercup clung to Natalie’s shoes and nibbled at her stockings.

  “Tell them,” Dracula said. “Tell them!”

  “Yes, tell us,” Natalie said, giving her foot a little shake to dislodge the gnawing rat. “Before you have my clothes in shreds.”

  Buttercup looked up at her link. “It doesn’t matter. We must go in order to save Mr. Leery.”

  “And Mo,” added Kirin.

  “We haven’t time for this chitchat,” Flash said. “Sentinels are hot on my trail.”

  “I know I’m going to regret asking this,” Penny said, “but what exactly are sentinels?”

  “Creatures created by the Queen’s magic to guard her domain,” Flash told her.

  That’s when Kirin realized she knew exactly what the rumbling sound in the distance was—the hunting roar of sentinels.

  “They’re like guard dogs,” Kirin added. “Only worse.”

  “Much worse,” Dracula said. “Worse! Worse!”

  “Hide here, niece. I’ll lead the sentinels off on a wild goose chase,” Flash said. “Leave as soon as they’re gone. I won’t be able to run from them forever. When the sentinels realize they’ve been duped, they’ll be mad. And believe me, you don’t ever want to face a mad sentinel.”

  “Be safe,” Kirin told her uncle as his muscles coiled to resume his run.

  “And you,” Flash said. Their horns briefly touched once more before he leaped out of the clearing.

  “Quick, climb those trees,” Kirin said.

  “What about you?” Penny asked, not wanting to be separated from her link.

  “I can take care of Kirin,” Luke said. He frantically dug in his backpack and pulled out the invisibility web the spider Snuffles had weaved for them. He threw it over Kirin. The web was tattered, and some of Kirin’s glorious white hide peeked through. The kids hoped the sentinels would be in such a hurry to catch up with Flash that they wouldn’t notice. Penny threw leaves on top of the web, just in case.

  The kids, Dracula, and Buttercup had barely scrambled into the trees when four giant animals slinked into the clearing where the kids had stood only a moment before.

  Dead leaves and twigs matted the animals’ bellies and their tails were covered with rust-colored scales. Paws the size of dinner plates scratched at the dirt with long dirty claws. They had the ears of wolves, but their snouts were that of a boar. Two yellow tusks curled up over their top lips and came to a jagged point right in front of their orange eyes.

  The sentinels sniffed the dirt in the small clearing. Penny almost screamed when one of the sentinels started for the place where Kirin was hiding, but luckily another sentinel pointed its snout to the sky and roared from deep within its chest. It was the same rumbling sound the kids had been hearing. The other sentinels grunted and followed the leader as the beasts crashed through the forest after Flash.

  “That was close,” Penny said.

  “Too close,” Luke added.

  Natalie didn’t say a word. She was staring at the empty clearing. Penny snapped her fingers in front of Natalie’s eyes. “Come on,” Penny said. “We have to move it before they come back.”

  That was enough to send Natalie scrambling down the tree. “Which way do we go? Which way?” she muttered.

  Buttercup scampered up to Natalie’s shoulder and tugged on her hair. Hard. “That’s what you have to figure out.”

  “Me?” Natalie shrieked. “Why me?”

  “If only we had the troll’s map. I bet it showed where those windy caves are,” Luke said.

  “They’re called the Cave of the Winds,” Buttercup said softly. “Not windy caves.”

  “What’s the difference?” Penny asked.

  Buttercup spat out the strand of Natalie’s hair she had been nibbling. “The name is misleading. It’s a magical place, one that was once used to benefit all of the Realm. But since the Queen’s reign, it has become a vortex of violence where weather is held, mixed, and boiled until the Queen needs it to set loose upon her enemies. It will be dangerous for us. Very dangerous.”

  “Everything about the Shadow Realm is dangerous,” Luke said.

  “Only because the Queen rules over it,” Kirin said. “But we can stop her.”

  “We must stop her,” Buttercup added.

  “How can we do that when we don’t even know where the caves are?” Penny asked.

  Natalie had been standing with her eyes closed. “I think I know where they are,” she said. She sank to the ground, picked up a stick, and started scratching in the dirt. Buttercup held tight to her sleeve and watched.

  “No,” Buttercup said. “They’re farther to the north. Remember?”

  Natalie closed her eyes for a few moments, then nodded. “You’re right, Buttercup. Help me.”

  Together, the two links murmured as Natalie continued scratching in the dirt. Finally finished, she looked up at Penny and Luke. “This is the way.”

  Buttercup gave a satisfied nod. “She’s right.”

  “How did you figure that out?” Luke asked.

  “I remembered Louis’ map,” Natalie said. “I closed my eyes and sort of redrew it in my mind. Buttercup helped.”

  Penny and Luke squatted in the dirt near Natalie’s drawing.

  “According to this, it isn’t far from here,” Luke said.

  “No,” Buttercup told him. “But don’t be fooled. It will not be easy.”

  “Nothing ever is,” Penny said, “with the Boggart Queen calling the shots.”

  8

  It was farther than the kids thought. They walked for hours without speaking, afraid that more sentinels would be patrolling the perimeter of the Queen’s domain. The sun remained hidden behind dense clouds, and as the day drew closer to evening the air grew thicker. Moss-covered ground gradually gave way to broken rock. Scraggly trees struggling to live rattled their branches as the trail climbed to meet a line of jagged cliffs.

  Finally Natalie could take it no more. “I’m going to die of thirst,” she muttered. “And no one will know what happened to me because you guys will be dead, too.”

  Penny rolled her eyes. She was exhausted and in no mood for Natalie’s complaining. “We would have had some water if you hadn’t washed your hair.”

  “Don’t worry,” Luke said. “I think we’re almost there.” He used Mr. Leery’s walking stick to point through the mist that circled their ankles. The kids walked on until they reached the side of a cliff that soared straight up and became lost in heavy clouds.

  “There’s a trail,” Penny said, pointing to a path that crisscrossed its way up the cliff.

  In the distance the group heard strange noises. It sounded exactly like the cackles a witch makes in a scary movie. Luke used Mr. Leery’s walking stick to struggle through vines and undergrowth—all of which snatched and grabbed at their ankles. The strange cackling grew louder, and it felt as if the branches themselves watched with spying eyes. Suddenly, a flurry of wings crashed through the air above them.

  Natalie screamed and covered her hair. “Bats!”

  The bats flew around the kids’ heads before they veered off. “Those weren’t normal bats,” Luke told them.

  “Of course not,” Penny said. “They aimed right at us and fully intended to suck our blood. It was definitely no accident.”

  “The Queen sent them,” Natalie agreed, wrapping her hair ar
ound her neck.

  The fog was thicker and they could barely see each other. Luke grabbed Natalie’s hand so they wouldn’t lose each other. Normally Natalie wouldn’t have held Luke’s hand for a million dollars, but this time she held on tight.

  “I have a bad feeling about this place,” Penny said as she reached for Natalie’s other hand. Kirin and Dracula hovered nearby, snuggling up against their links.

  Buttercup scampered up Natalie’s tights and dove into her pocket.

  KA-BOOM!

  A bolt of lightning lit up the sky and rain poured down on their heads. The wind gusted so hard, the kids had to lean into it just to keep from falling back.

  “We’re getting close to the cave,” Buttercup shouted. Her tiny voice was whipped away. “Be prepared for anything.”

  The walking stick in Luke’s hand pulled him to his knees. Dracula fluttered overhead, his wings battling the wind.

  “Are you okay?” Penny asked Luke. “I think his stick knows Mr. Leery is near,” Luke answered. The walking stick continued to vibrate until it scratched at the face of the cliff wall.

  KA-BOOM!

  The closeness of the thunder caused the Keyholders to clutch at each other. Kirin leaned against Penny, and Dracula landed on Luke’s left shoulder. Luke stooped under Dracula’s weight, and Mr. Leery’s walking staff touched against the cliff wall.

  In that instant the rock wall before them shimmered to reveal an opening in the cliff face.

  Dracula fluttered off Luke’s shoulder, causing the walking stick to fall away from the wall. The cave entrance disappeared; the wall became solid again.

  “Did you see it?” Penny shouted over the wind. “Did you see the cave?”

  Luke and Natalie nodded. “But where did it go?” Natalie asked. The kids felt along the cliff wall, searching for a hole.

  “It’s a hidden entrance,” Kirin said.

  The walking stick seemed to know exactly where it was. “Follow me,” Luke said as the stick pulled his arm.

  The fog swirled about their legs, almost becoming solid. Penny reached out for Natalie and Luke again as she fought against the thick wall of white clouds. It was so thick, it caught in her throat.

  “I . . . I . . . I can’t breathe,” Penny gasped as she gripped Luke’s hand. “Don’t let go of me, whatever you do.”

  From somewhere close they heard what sounded like voices. Cackling voices that spoke in a strange language.

  The walking stick suddenly stuck to the cliff like a magnet.

  “The opening is there,” Natalie said. “I feel it.”

  “Where?” Luke asked. “I can’t see anything!” Luke pounded the rock wall with Mr. Leery’s walking stick. When the stick met stone, the cliff wall dissolved right in front of their eyes, leaving a gaping hole that led inside the mountain.

  Buttercup held tight to Natalie as the kids stooped to enter the cave. Dracula and Kirin weren’t far behind.

  Buttercup jumped from Natalie’s pocket and scurried across the small cave to a large boulder. The tiny rat frantically clawed at the rock.

  “Stop that,” Natalie said. “You’re going to ruin your nail polish.”

  “I don’t care about my nails,” Buttercup said. “We have to free Leery.”

  “Free Mr. Leery?” Luke asked. “From where?”

  Buttercup squealed. “He’s inside the rock! Can’t you feel it?”

  Natalie looked at Buttercup before closing her eyes.

  “This is no time for a nap,” Luke told her.

  “Shhh,” Kirin warned. “Don’t you see? Natalie has the sense. She can feel things. Let her do her work.”

  The kids stared at Natalie as she stood, slightly swaying, in the damp cave. When her eyes opened, it looked like Natalie had seen a ghost. “He is here,” she said, placing her hand on the boulder.

  Luke and Penny stared at the giant rock. “Nobody can survive being trapped in stone,” Penny whispered.

  “Which is why we must hurry,” Kirin said. “Before Mr. Leery and Mo are forever turned to rock.”

  “Quick, hold hands,” Luke said.

  “What good will that do?” Natalie said.

  “Didn’t you notice?” Luke asked. “When we were all connected we were able to see into the cave. Maybe now we can see inside the rock.”

  The three kids held hands. Dracula pushed between Luke and Penny. Kirin stood between Natalie and Penny. Buttercup clung to Natalie’s shoelaces. They had a clear vision of Mr. Leery lying on the other side of the boulder. He wasn’t moving.

  “He’s here!” Penny shouted. They all pushed against the boulder until their faces dripped sweat, but the giant rock wouldn’t budge.

  Penny stepped back to get her breath and stumbled over Mr. Leery’s walking stick.

  “The stick!” Penny said. “It helped us find the entrance. Maybe it can help us move the boulder.” She snatched the stick off the ground and banged it against the boulder.

  Nothing happened.

  “Let me try,” Natalie said. “After all, I’m the one with the advanced powers.” She grabbed it, knocking it against the rock.

  Nothing.

  “It has to work,” Penny cried. “What are we doing wrong?”

  Luke held up Mr. Leery’s walking stick. “Maybe the power is too much for one of us. We have to work together to use it.”

  “You’re right!” Penny said, remembering that she was clutching Luke’s hand when he used the staff the first time.

  Luke held the walking stick in front of him. Penny and Natalie grabbed it with both their hands. Just as the three friends pointed it toward the boulder, Kirin touched the stick with her horn, Buttercup leaped on one end and Dracula hiccupped a flame that caused the other end to glow.

  The mountain shook with a ferocious force at the touch of the walking stick. Jagged shards of rock fell from above them and crashed to the floor. Stone ground against stone as the boulder rolled away from the wall.

  And there, before them, a very pale Mr. Leery lay on a shelf of stone. He was still. Very still, just like the rock.

  “I’ve got you, now. I’ve got you all,” a voice like fingernails tearing through aluminum foil cackled from behind them. “The Queen will be so happy. At last I shall be rewarded! At last!”

  The kids turned, peering through a cloud of dust and falling rock.

  Luke’s scream caught in his throat. Penny forgot to breathe. Natalie nearly fainted. For there, blocking the entrance of the cave, was a being so ugly it would give them nightmares until they were a hundred and two.

  Squeak! A horrible grating noise filled the air as a gigantic cage slammed down around the kids, Mr. Leery, and the kids’ links.

  They were trapped!

  9

  Natalie threw herself against the bars of the cage, trying to squeeze through. “Ouch!” She fell back. “There’s some kind of spell, keeping us in. It zapped me.”

  Buttercup nodded and kept hidden in Natalie’s pocket. “A container spell formed with enchanted glass. No way in or out until the harpy leaves.”

  “Is that what that horrible thing is?” Luke whispered. The three kids looked at the cackling creature. It had the face of a two-thousand-year-old woman, the wings and body of a rotting vulture, and jagged claws that snaked out from her hands like daggers.

  “It stinks like last year’s gym socks,” Natalie said, holding her nose. “If we don’t get out of here soon, I’m going to throw up.”

  “Maybe Leery can help us,” Kirin suggested. The kids bent over Mr. Leery. He was alive, but they couldn’t get him to wake up, even when Natalie smacked his face.

  “Let me try,” Kirin said, lowering her horn.

  Buttercup shook her head. “No, this is the same spell that was cast on Mo. Your magic will be of no help here.”

  “What are we going to do?” Natalie said.

  “Mr. Leery was nothing but bait,” Penny whispered.

  “And we walked right into the trap,” Luke said. “A trap set j
ust for us.”

  “Why in the world did Mr. Leery choose us to be Keyholders anyway? I can’t do anything right,” Penny said, big puddles of tears standing in her dark brown eyes.

  “The Queen is coming! The Queen is coming!” The harpy danced an evil jig and sang, ignoring the children’s whispers. The kids huddled on the floor of the cave with their links, close to Mr. Leery and as far away from the hideous harpy as they could get.

  Luke put his hand on Penny’s shoulder. “We’d still be battling pixies if it weren’t for you.”

  Penny shook her head. “Anyone could find that in a book.”

  “But not everyone would know to look,” Natalie said, surprising everyone. “Or take the time.”

  “If it wasn’t for Luke and his perfect aim, we’d still be on the far side of the river,” Penny said.

  “And we’d be lost if it hadn’t been for Natalie’s ability to sense things,” Luke added.

  Natalie nodded. “It took all of us to make it this far.”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Penny said, feeling defeated. “We’re doomed.”

  The harpy laughed, sending chills down the kids’ backs. “The Queen is on her way, riding her red dragon.”

  Now Dracula shivered. “Red dragons bad. Bad! Bad! Bad!”

  “Wait a minute,” Penny said, feeling hopeful again. “What did you say?”

  Dracula flapped his wings. “Bad dragon.”

  “No,” Penny said, pointing to Natalie.

  Natalie rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about? I’m about to get crispy fried by an evil harpy who’s got me in a cage. I can’t remember everything I said about you reading books.”

  “That’s it!” Penny yelled. She ripped open her backpack and pulled out a thick book.

  “You carried that heavy thing all this way?” Natalie said. “You’re crazier than I thought.”

  “It’s from Mr. Leery’s library. I thought we might need it.” Penny zipped through the index until she found what she was looking for, then flipped pages backward and started reading.

  “Um, Penny. I don’t think this is the time for a story,” Luke said, tapping her shoulder. “We should be doing something.”