This Side of Magic

by Debbie Dadey

  “How did he do that?” Penny asked. No normal kid could jump that high. There was no way a boy could push off a huge panther, either.

  But Bobby wasn’t normal. In front of their eyes, he changed from being a scrawny kid into an ugly ape-like creature with pointed ears and yellow eyes. He got bigger and bigger until the tree branch groaned under his weight.

  He cackled and pointed to Mr. Leery. “I know your secret. I know your secret!”

  Before Penny could blink, the ape-boy laughed wickedly and swung from tree branch to tree branch toward the woods.

  Mo growled and leaped into the air. As he soared over the ground, wings unfurled from his back and he flew after Bobby.

  “Get him, Mo!” shouted Mr. Leery.

  Suddenly, the gray fog swirled up from the ground and swallowed Bobby. Mo flew around and around, but the boy had disappeared.

  Penny’s legs shook. Her stomach felt like snakes were wiggling inside her. “Did I just see Mo fly and Bobby turn into some kind of ape?”

  “No, of course not,” Mr. Leery told her.

  “Oh good,” she said. Maybe the fog had made her see things.

  “That boy turned into a boggart. He was the spy I feared.” Mr. Leery waved his hand and Mo immediately flew to his side.

  Luke stared at the spot where Bobby had disappeared. “Where did he?…How did he?…”

  “He just vanished!” Penny said in amazement. She ran through the fog to right below where Bobby had been, but he wasn’t there.

  Mr. Leery shook his head. “This is not good. Not good at all.”

  “And Mo. He’s not an ordinary cat. He’s…he’s…” Luke turned to look at Mo, but Mo was a small cat with a spotted belly again, licking his paw. Luke’s head suddenly hurt. Was he asleep and having a bad dream?

  “This is real, isn’t it?” Penny said.

  “As real as homework,” Mo told her before licking his paw again. “If you hadn’t stopped me, our troubles would be over.”

  “But I couldn’t let you hurt Bobby,” Penny said.

  Mo turned his back to her. “You have much to learn.”

  Mr. Leery rubbed his bald head. “Oh dear. Oh dear. The Boggart Queen will soon know that I have chosen you as my apprentices. What to do? What to do?”

  Mo growled. “It can’t be helped. We’ll have to hurry.”

  “Of course,” Mr. Leery said, swirling around and rushing to his house.

  “Hurry with what?” Luke asked.

  Mr. Leery paused. “Why, the installation ceremony, of course.”

  “Whoa, let’s wait just a minute,” Penny said, holding up a hand. “This sounds crazy.”

  “Besides, I thought you needed three Keyholders,” Luke said.

  Mr. Leery nodded. “We do, but we haven’t time. I will stand in place of the third for now.” He looked up in the sky before adding. “If one boggart can get through, then more will soon follow.”

  Penny shivered. “More of what?” she asked. But she already knew the answer. She definitely didn’t like the idea of hairy, yellow-eyed monsters running around Morgantown doing whatever they wanted.

  Mr. Leery grabbed his walking stick from inside the house and walked toward the web of thorny bushes that bordered their town. With every step Penny and Luke felt fluttering in their stomachs.

  “We can’t go in there,” Luke warned. “We’re not allowed.”

  “It can’t be helped,” Mr. Leery said. “Don’t worry. Mo will protect us and you have your bracelets.”

  “Quickly,” Mo said. “I sent word. The ceremony must begin now.”

  Luke laughed. “Mo must be using his cat cell phone again.”

  Mr. Leery lifted his walking stick. Immediately, the thick bushes and tangled vines of the woods parted like they’d been cut by a knife. A glow from the end of the stick lit up the way.

  Penny held her stomach and hoped she wouldn’t throw up. “Wait. This is like a dream I had once.”

  Luke’s head pounded and he suddenly remembered. “I’ve had a dream like this every year on my birthday.”

  “And now is the time for the dream to come true,” Mo purred.

  Penny shook her head. “No, I’m not becoming a Keyholder until I’m old enough to drive. Maybe not ever!”

  Luke put his arm around Penny. “Mr. Leery would never do anything to hurt us. He’s baby-sat us all our lives. I think he’s telling us the truth.”

  Penny knew that Mo and Mr. Leery were telling the truth, but she wasn’t sure if she could do it. She always planned everything. She made her school lunch the night before and even laid her clothes out on her chair so she’d be ready faster in the morning. Her birthday wasn’t for four months, but she had already written out the invitations to the party. Being a Keyholder had never entered into any of her plans.

  “If we don’t like being Keyholders, can we quit?” she asked.

  Mr. Leery dropped his walking stick down to his side. Immediately the bushes, trees, and vines wove back together.

  In the faint light, Penny saw Mr. Leery’s face soften. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry this happened the way it did. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Being a Keyholder is a choice and one that can be changed. It’s a lot to ask of a ten-year-old.”

  Penny chewed on her lip and thought about her family. She pictured her home and how secure she had always felt there. Now she knew if the Keyholders failed, her world would change. More boggarts, and creatures even worse, would change everything. She’d never be safe again. Neither would her family.

  Penny had known Mr. Leery all her life. He had been a babysitter and friend. When she’d had chicken pox, he had stayed home with her when her mother had to work. She had always trusted him. Always. She couldn’t stop now—now that he needed her to help him. “Okay,” Penny finally said. “My mom always told me I’d be somebody great someday. I just didn’t know it’d be today. I’m ready.”

  Mr. Leery nodded and put his right hand on Luke’s shoulder. “And you?” Mr. Leery asked. “Are you ready?”

  Luke took a deep breath and stood up tall. Penny held her breath. She knew she couldn’t be a Keyholder without Luke’s help. Luke smiled, and Penny was afraid he would make a joke, but then Luke’s smile faded and he had never looked more serious. “Let’s save the world.”

  10

  The woods opened up and swallowed them whole. That’s how it seemed to Luke. When he looked back, the bushes and vines closed in darkness behind them, so he kept his eyes on the light and parting trees ahead of him.

  “This is the first time we’ve ever been in here,” Penny said in a hushed voice. She wasn’t sure why she whispered, but for some reason she did.

  “I know,” Mr. Leery said softly. “It’s very rare for anyone from the humdrum world to be here.”

  “It’s not as creepy as I thought,” Luke said.

  He spoke too soon. A rustling in the bushes made him jump. Shadows moved around them and strange noises filled the night. Luke got the feeling they were being surrounded. He grabbed a stick from the ground, just in case wild animals jumped at them.

  Penny was startled by an entire colony of fire-flies swarming in front of her face. She shook her head, but one still landed on her nose. Then she saw it wasn’t a firefly at all. A miniature person with golden wings and blue skin stared up at her. “It’s a tiny fairy,” Penny said breathlessly.

  Luke pointed to a clearing in front of them that filled up with short, rather fat people with pointy ears. “I think those are elves.”

  The oldest-looking of the elves approached Luke and swatted his finger. “It’s not polite to point.”

  Mr. Leery cleared his throat. “So sorry, Bridger. We have no time for pleasantries. The hour is upon us.”

  Mr. Leery poked his walking stick into the ground and the area around them glowed with a buttery yellow light. The shadows that Luke had sensed became real beings, but nothing like any the kids had ever seen before.

  Elf-like creatures wi
th long skinny legs stared at Luke. Young girls with violet skin and hair of flowers and leaves pressed close to Penny. They moved like dancers. Penny felt big and awkward beside them. A half man–half horse moved out from behind a clump of bushes. A tall green man with leaves for hands could almost be mistaken for a tree. So many creatures filled the area around the kids, Penny couldn’t keep up with them all. Just when Luke thought there couldn’t be any more, there were.

  A swirling blaze roared up out of the ground beside Mr. Leery. It became a large bald-headed man wearing only gold baggy pants. Three thin women whose bodies seemed to glow floated down from the treetops near a huddle of men wearing robes of many different colors. A loud clap of thunder made Penny look up to see if it was going to rain, but she only saw wings flying through a misty cloud.

  The young girls draped flowers on Penny’s and Luke’s heads and necks. “Thank you,” Luke said, but the girls only giggled as their eyes blazed a bright blue.

  “Are you…nymphs?” Penny asked. When they had studied mythology earlier in the school year, she had looked at a picture of beautiful girls like these. But the nymphs danced away as a large animal burst into the clearing.

  Penny gasped. It was a pure white unicorn the size of a Shetland pony. It stared at Penny with liquid blue eyes before rearing up on its hind legs and tossing its long white mane. A silver collar, complete with an emerald that matched Penny’s, hung around the unicorn’s neck.

  Penny suddenly felt at peace with the world, as if a warm blanket had engulfed her mind. Everything was good and as it should be. How could anything be wrong when such a glorious creature existed? The silver horn spiraled upward toward the sky, but when the creature opened its mouth Penny’s peaceful spell was broken.

  “It’s about time!” the unicorn snapped in a voice that sounded like one of Kendall’s snotty teenage friends.

  Luke laughed. “You can talk, too?”

  The unicorn snorted. “Of course. I’ve been waiting here for, like, forever. What took you so long? Don’t you think I have better things to do than wait on you? Don’t you know we need to hurry?”

  “I—I didn’t know,” Penny stammered.

  Mr. Leery took Penny’s hand and laid it on the unicorn’s large white nose. It felt softer than anything Penny had ever touched, even the velvet dress she’d gotten for Christmas. “Penny, this is Kirin.”

  Kirin nuzzled Penny’s hand, filling it with a warm whiff of breath. Penny couldn’t imagine an animal more beautiful. Kirin leaned against Penny and Penny instinctively looped her arm over the unicorn’s neck. Kirin’s scent was like sweet wild-flowers.

  A loud burp rang through the trees above the kids. A flash of light and warmth filled the air over them. Luke looked up in time to see fire come out of the mouth of a green bird the size of a Doberman pinscher. It only took him a moment to figure out that the large scaled creature that swooped down to land in front of him was no bird.

  “It’s a dragon!” Luke exclaimed.

  Kirin snorted. “You picked a smart one there, Leery.”

  Luke’s cheeks burned. Obviously, the animal was a dragon, but it wasn’t like he’d ever seen one before. It wasn’t as if they even existed. None of these things were supposed to be happening.

  The dragon burped again and flames shot out of his nose, roasting a small bush. “I’ll take him,” the dragon said.

  Mr. Leery nodded. “Thank you, Dracula.”

  “Dracula?” Luke gulped and put his hands over his neck, but then Dracula plopped down on the ground in front of Luke. A silver collar with a single red stone sparkled on the dragon’s neck. Luke looked at his bracelet and for the first time noticed it had a garnet, too.

  “Scratch my chin! Scratch my chin!” the dragon said, holding his head up to show a line of bright blue scales. Luke couldn’t help but grin. The scales were softer than Luke thought they’d be. Dracula’s tail thumped on the ground, and the dragon gurgled with delight. When the dragon looked deep into Luke’s eyes, Luke felt a tickle in his brain.

  “That settles it,” Mr. Leery told them. “You have been accepted by the magical world.”

  “We have?” Penny said.

  “Oh, yes. Only those who are accepted by a link can be chosen as Keyholders.”

  Mo leaped into Mr. Leery’s arms. “I am Evan Leery’s link. I chose him two hundred years ago. Behold your own links for life.”

  Luke reached out his hand to touch Dracula again. Luke’s hand was almost to the green scaly nose when Dracula reared back and let out a large sneeze. Dragon snot flew onto Luke.

  “Sorry about that,” Dracula said as Luke stood dripping in bright orange goo.

  “Oh, for heavens sake,” Kirin snapped. “Will you please stop eating wild turkberries? You know you’re allergic.”

  Kirin tapped Dracula’s nose once with her spiraled horn. Immediately, Dracula’s red nose turned green.

  “Wow, how did you do that?” Luke asked.

  Kirin huffed. “I’m a unicorn. Unicorns can heal. Don’t you know anything?”

  “Thanks,” Dracula told Kirin.

  “You’d better be more careful. You could have burned him to ashes and then where would we be?” Kirin shook her thick white mane out of her eyes and stepped beside Penny.

  “Let’s begin, then,” Mr. Leery said. A large group of men wearing different colored robes stepped forward along with the three thin women. They raised their hands over the kids.

  “Excuse me,” Luke said as he wiped orange dragon snot off his face. “Could I have a little help here? Does anyone have a towel?”

  The old elf called Bridger chuckled. “Not to worry. Dragon snot won’t hurt you. In fact, some say it has magical powers.”

  Luke shrugged and let the goo drip off his chin. Dracula took his place beside Luke.

  Music came from the fluttering wings of the fairies. The fairies sang with such lovely voices that Penny felt like crying.

  “Centuries pass like a day;

  New Keyholders look our way.

  Keep our worlds free from those who roam;

  Let all within each find a happy home.”

  The fairies sang the song over and over. The nymphs tossed green leaves and flowers over Penny’s and Luke’s head as magical creatures walked or flew by. Each sang along with the nymphs. Penny’s eyes misted over at the beauty of it all. It seemed like hours until every elf, centaur, wizard, and unidentified creature had waved their hands over Penny and Luke.

  Finally, Mr. Leery cleared his throat and said, “It is done.”

  Penny looked at Luke and burst out laughing. He had green leaves and purple flowers plastered all over the orange dragon snot on his body.

  “You’re a mess,” she told him.

  Luke shook his head and reached out to touch a scale on Dracula’s wing. “No, I’m a Keyholder. And that is a huge responsibility. But I’m ready.”

  The smile faded from her face as she realized Luke was right. “Now what happens?” she asked softly.

  11

  Kirin butted Penny gently in the behind with her forehead. “Move it, would ya? It’s not like I have all night, you know. I need my midnight snack.”

  Penny lurched through the bushes and fell into Mr. Leery’s backyard. Kirin leaped over her with a snort. Luke tripped over Penny and fell on the ground next to her as Dracula flew through the gaping hole in the bushes. Dracula had a strand of pink berries in his mouth. He settled next to a tall oak tree and crunched the berries with big pointed teeth.

  As soon as Mr. Leery stepped into his yard, he waved his walking stick at the bushes. The giant thorns clicked and clacked like deadly knitting needles as they weaved back into place, the web that would keep the world of the humdrums separate from the world of magic.

  Kirin tugged up grass and chewed it while the bushes finished their work.

  Dracula hiccupped and shot a stream of fire across Mr. Leery’s yard. A forsythia bush burst into flame. “Oops,” said the dragon.

&nbs
p; Kirin swished her tail over the flames, putting out the fire, but the bush collapsed into a pile of ash.

  “How in the world are we supposed to hide a unicorn and a dragon?” Penny asked Mr. Leery.

  “Yeah. What happens if Dracula sets fire to the school?” Luke added. He smiled and looked at his link. “Could you really do that?”

  “Luke!” Penny snapped. “You are not going to burn down the school.”

  “But we have that math test on Friday,” Luke reminded her.

  “No,” Penny said firmly. “But what are we going to do with our links?” she asked. “It’s not like a unicorn and a dragon can just blend in.”

  Luke agreed. “You have it easy. Mo is just an ordinary cat.”

  Luke had obviously said the wrong thing. Mo hissed. He bristled. He began to grow and grow. His back legs morphed into lion claws, his front legs into a raptor’s talons. Whiskers curled and melded into a razor-sharp beak and wings sprouting bright feathers unfurled from his sides. The tuft of fur between his ears became a golden crest. What had once been Mo, glared down at Luke as if he were a pile of fresh hamburger.

  “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Mr. Leery said. “There is nothing ordinary about a shape-shifter, especially when his original form happens to be a griffin. They are majestic and vigilant creatures sworn to protect and defend us all against evil. But they are a little proud. Please say you’re sorry.”

  Luke stuttered an apology and Mo shrank before their eyes until he was once again a cat. A lone purple feather floated through the air and landed on Luke’s sneaker. Mo gave Luke one last look and then turned his back on the kids and started smoothing down the tuft of hair between his ears with his paw.

  “Are you a shape-shifter, too?” Penny asked Kirin hopefully.

  Kirin stopped munching grass. “Why would I want to change shapes? I’m perfect just the way I am.”

  Dracula spread his wings and flew to the top of a crab apple tree. His weight caused the tree to double over until it rested on the ground. “Me, too! Me, too! I’m perfect, too!” the dragon squawked.