“Only old Maggie, who used to work there,” said the girl. “Two weeks ago, she went to the castle as usual. But she came running back, scared out of her wits.”
“Maggie says the castle is all haunted with ghosts,” said a boy. “She keeps repeating the same rhyme over and over.”
“Ghosts?” said Jack. His mouth felt dry.
But Teddy just laughed. “Ghosts don’t scare me!” he said.
“Have you ever seen one, Teddy?” asked Annie.
“No! But I should like to!” Teddy said with a grin.
“Look!” One of the girls pointed at the sky. “The ravens are back!”
A flock of large black birds was flying low in the dark gray sky. The village kids screamed. Several grown-ups rushed out of their cottages.
“Go away!” a woman yelled at the ravens. She picked up a handful of stones and began throwing them at the birds. “Leave us alone!”
“Stop! Stop!” cried Annie. “You’ll hurt them!”
A stone struck one of the ravens. It fell to the ground.
“Oh, no!” cried Annie.
The grown-ups pulled their children inside. Doors slammed and shutters closed.
Annie dashed to the fallen bird and knelt beside it.
Jack and Teddy hurried over to Annie and the fallen bird. The bird was crouching, slightly spreading its wings. Its head was bowed as it made low, squeaking sounds. One of its tail feathers was bent.
“COO-COO!” Teddy said loudly. He looked at Jack. “I once journeyed to the Isle of Birds to study their language,” he said. “I learned a bit of Dove, but no Raven.”
“Don’t worry,” said Jack. “Annie talks to birds and animals in her own language.”
“I’m sorry for what they did to you,” Annie said softly to the raven. She stroked its silky black head. “What’s your name?”
“ROK,” the raven croaked.
“Rok? Your name is Rok?” said Annie.
“ROK! ROK!” croaked the raven.
“See, I told you,” Jack said to Teddy.
“Rok, they were afraid of you for some reason,” Annie said.
Rok made soft, bell-like sounds: “CRONG? CRONG?”
“Yes, that’s why they knocked you out of the sky,” said Annie. “One of your tail feathers is bent. But your wings don’t seem hurt.”
Rok fluttered his long black wings. He took a few feeble steps.
“Go on, Rok,” Annie coaxed. “You can do it.”
The raven flapped his wings again. “QUORK!” he croaked.
He lifted off the ground.
“Great!” said Annie, clapping.
Rok flapped his wings. He glided up into the twilight. He swooped with ease back down to Annie. “CAW! CAW!” he called, as if thanking her.
“Be careful, Rok!” Annie shouted.
They all waved as the raven sailed off into the sky.
Annie smiled at Jack and Teddy. “He was really nice,” she said.
“Indeed he was,” said Teddy. “I think your gentle words were healing to him.”
“I wonder why the people here are so afraid of ravens,” said Annie.
“Yeah,” said Jack. “And what was that stuff about ghosts?”
“Ghosts?” said Teddy. He smiled. “You needn’t fear ghosts if you’re with me.”
Jack shrugged. “I’m not really afraid,” he said.
“Not afraid?” said a feeble voice.
Jack, Annie, and Teddy whirled around.
An old woman stood in the dark doorway of a cottage. She leaned forward. In a cracked voice, she said:
Where is the girl
who spins wool into thread?
Where are the boys
who play chess before bed?
Where is the hound
who waits to be fed?
The old woman stared at them with a fearful look in her eyes. Then she stepped back into her cottage and closed her door.
A shiver went up Jack’s spine. “That was strange,” he said.
“She must have been old Maggie, who worked at the castle,” said Annie. “I wonder what she was talking about.”
“I don’t know,” said Teddy. Then he grinned. “But she was good at rhyming, eh?”
Jack nodded. “Indeed she was,” he said softly.
“Let’s hurry along!” said Teddy. “Night comes fast upon us!”
Leaving the cottages behind, the three hurried on in the gathering dark. They left the village and followed the path through the woods.
Teddy held up his lantern to light their way. The wind blew the branches of the trees, making them whisper in the chilly autumn night.
When they finally came out of the woods, they all gasped in wonder.
“Oh, man,” said Jack.
Towering before them in the moonlight were the walls of a huge stone castle.
The castle was still and silent. No candles burned in its windows. No guards stood at its gatehouse. No archers patrolled the tops of its walls.
“Hello!” Teddy shouted.
No one answered.
“Not very well protected, eh?” said Teddy. “Our mission should be easy.”
“Yeah,” said Annie.
Jack didn’t say anything. He would have felt happier if guards had been protecting the castle. That would have seemed more normal.
“Come along!” said Teddy.
Jack and Annie followed Teddy over a wooden bridge to the gatehouse.
Teddy held up his lantern before the arched double doors. Cobwebs sparkled in the misty light.
“Hello! May we enter?” he called.
Silence. They all stared at the heavy wooden doors.
“Never fear, I shall get us in,” said Teddy.
The boy sorcerer put down his lantern. He took a deep breath. He rubbed his hands together. Then he stretched out his arms and shouted:
“Open, ye two oaken doors….”
He looked at Jack and Annie. “Quick, what rhymes with doors?”
“Uh—floors?” said Jack.
“Good,” said Teddy. He opened his arms again and yelled:
“Open, ye two oaken doors!
Or we will not mop up your floors!”
Nothing happened.
Teddy looked at Jack and Annie. “Bad rhyme,” he said.
Annie frowned and nodded.
“Are you sure they’re even locked?” said Jack.
“Let’s see,” said Annie. She pushed on one door. Jack pushed on the other.
Slowly the doors creaked open.
“Ah, brilliant!” said Teddy with a laugh. “Shall we?” He held out his hand and waved Jack and Annie through the open doorway.
The castle gatehouse was cold and empty. Jack could see his breath in the sharp air. He heard a creak. They all turned to look. The heavy doors moved by themselves and closed with a thump.
They all stared at the doors for a moment. Then Teddy broke the silence. “Interesting,” he said cheerfully.
Jack tried to smile. “Indeed. Interesting,” he said. He shivered. He couldn’t tell if it was from cold or from fright. Now? he wondered. Now are we entering the tunnel of fear?
“Onward!” said Teddy. He led them through the empty gatehouse onto the shadowy castle grounds.
There were no signs of life anywhere. Jack thought of the old woman’s rhyme:
Where is the girl
who spins wool into thread?
Where are the boys
who play chess before bed?
Where is the hound
who waits to be fed?
Jack wondered what the rhyme could mean. What girl? What boys? What hound?
Teddy crossed the courtyard to the entrance of a large building. Jack and Annie quickly followed him.
Teddy held up his lantern so they could see inside. There were rows of clean, empty stalls. Saddles and bridles hung from pegs on the walls. Hay was piled in the corners.
“Must be the stables,” said Jack.
“But no
horses,” said Annie.
“No matter, ’tis orderly,” said Teddy. “Onward!”
He led them to the open doorway of another building. Teddy’s lantern shone on a brick oven, a stone hearth, baskets of apples, and strings of onions hanging from the rafters.
“The kitchen,” said Jack.
“But no cooks or servants,” said Annie.
“No matter, ’tis orderly here, too,” said Teddy. “Onward!”
As they wandered through the moonlit courtyard, Jack looked to his right and his left. He glanced behind them. If there are ghosts, he thought, what do they look like? Halloween ghosts in sheets? See-through people like in the movies?
He stopped. “Hey, guys!” he whispered loudly. “Wait a minute, wait a minute!”
“What is it?” said Annie.
Jack pushed his glasses into place. “Are we just going to keep wandering from building to building?” he said. “What’s our strategy here?”
“Strategy?” asked Teddy.
“Jack means we should make a plan,” said Annie.
“Ah, indeed,” said Teddy. “Excellent idea. A plan, yes.” He grinned. “How do we do that?”
“Well, first we ask ourselves: Where exactly are we going?” said Jack.
Teddy looked about. He pointed to a tower rising above the courtyard. “There,” he said, “the keep. ’Tis where the family lives, the duke and duchess.”
“Great,” said Jack. “Now, what will we do when we get there?”
“Climb the stairs to each floor,” said Teddy. “Have a look around.”
“And if we see anything that’s not orderly, we’ll tidy it up!” said Annie.
“Excellent,” said Teddy.
“And then?” asked Jack.
“We leave!” said Teddy. “Our mission done.”
Jack nodded. This wasn’t much of a plan—or a mission, he thought. But he liked the “leaving” part. He hoped that happened before any ghosts showed up. “Okay,” he said.
Holding his lantern to light their way, Teddy led them to the entrance of the castle keep. He pushed open a wooden door, and they all stepped inside.
Dark figures loomed against the stone walls.
“Ah!” Jack cried. He jumped back, bumping into Annie.
Annie laughed. “It’s only our shadows,” she said.
Jack felt silly. “Right. Sorry, sorry,” he said. He took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s find the stairway.”
“Aye,” said Teddy. He started walking slowly down a dark passage-way. Jack and Annie followed close behind.
The air was heavy and damp. Jack’s heart was pounding. Now? he wondered. Now are we in the tunnel of fear?
A moaning sound came through the passageway. Then a loud bang!
“Yikes!” said Annie. She and Jack grabbed each other.
Teddy laughed. “’Twas only the shutters banging,” he said.
“What about that moaning?” asked Jack.
“’Twas only the wind blowing through the crannies,” said Teddy.
Jack took another deep breath and kept going. Soon they came to a twisting stairway.
“The stairs!” said Annie.
Good, thought Jack. Climbing the stairway was a solid part of their plan.
“Shall we?” said Teddy.
“Indeed. Upward!” said Jack, trying to sound like Teddy.
Teddy held up his lantern and started up the steep stone stairs. Jack and Annie followed. They climbed around and around the twisting stairway.
When they came to the first landing, Teddy led them to the doorway of a room. They peeked in. They saw rows of helmets, breastplates, gauntlets, shields, spears, and swords.
“The armor room,” said Jack.
“Aye,” said Teddy.
“Everything seems in order here,” said Annie.
Jack nodded. He liked the order in the room. It made him feel safer.
“Shall we keep going?” said Teddy.
“Of course,” said Jack. He was starting to feel a lot braver now.
They returned to the stairs and began climbing again. On the third floor, they peered through an arched entrance into a huge room.
Teddy used the candle from his lantern to light torches on either side of the doorway. In the flickering light, Jack saw a high ceiling and walls hung with tapestries.
“It’s the great hall,” he said, “where they have feasts and stuff.”
“Let’s look around,” said Annie. “See if anything seems out of order.”
As the three of them slowly walked forward, Jack kept an eye out for ghosts.
Teddy held up his lantern. It shone on a long banquet table.
“Aha!” he said. The table was littered with bread crumbs, candle wax, and the petals of dead flowers. The floor near the table was messy, too, with bits of food and meat bones.
“Finally we’ve found something to put in order,” said Teddy. “Shall we?”
Jack caught sight of a straw broom in the corner. “Sure, I’ll sweep,” he said.
“I’ll clear the table,” said Annie.
“I will scrape the wax,” said Teddy.
Jack grabbed the straw broom and began sweeping the floor around the table. He swept up apple peelings, fish bones, bits of eggshells, and old cheese.
As he swept everything into a neat pile, he felt good. They were finally carrying out their mission. We’re bringing order to the castle, just like Merlin told us to, he thought. Soon we can leave.
Suddenly Annie screamed.
Jack dropped his broom and whirled around.
“Look!” Annie cried, her eyes wide. She pointed toward a stone hearth at the other end of the great hall.
In front of the hearth, a large white bone hovered in the air. It bobbed up and down. Then it began floating straight toward them!
“AHHH!” yelled Teddy.
“AHHH!” yelled Jack.
“AHHH!” yelled Annie.
Still screaming, they all ran toward the door. The bone came after them.
Teddy led the way as they tore through the archway and scrambled up the winding staircase.
Jack looked behind them.
“It’s still coming!” he shrieked.
“AHHH!” they all screamed again.
On the next landing, Teddy charged into a nearby room.
“Make haste!” he yelled.
He pulled Jack and Annie into the room and slammed the door behind them. Out of breath, they all leaned against the door, panting and trembling.
“Safe—” Teddy gasped. “Safe from the bone!” Then he started laughing.
Jack laughed, too. He laughed out of sheer terror. He couldn’t stop.
“Listen, guys! Listen!” said Annie. “I hear a noise!”
Teddy stopped laughing. Jack clapped his hand over his mouth. He listened. He heard a faint clicking sound, but he couldn’t see anything.
Teddy used the fire from his lantern to light torches near the door. Then they all looked about.
“Looks like a nursery,” said Teddy.
The torchlight showed a kids’ room. The room had three small beds. Wooden toys were scattered across the floor. A long white curtain fluttered from an open window.
The clicking noise seemed to be coming from a dark corner.
“What is that?” whispered Annie. She started toward the noise.
Jack and Teddy followed her. Teddy held up his lantern. His light shone on a child-sized spinning wheel. It sat in the corner near a basket of wool and a tall, dusty mirror.
The spinning wheel was spinning thread. But no one was touching it. It was spinning all by itself.
“Look!” whispered Annie.
She pointed to a low table near the spinning wheel. On the table was a chessboard. Large wooden chess pieces sat on the squares of the board.
But some of the pieces weren’t just sitting!
As Jack, Annie, and Teddy watched, a horse piece slid slowly from one square to another. Then a queen piece did the
same!
“Yikes!” said Annie.
“Ghosts!” said Teddy.
“Let’s get out of here!” said Jack.
They bolted across the room. Teddy threw open the door. The white bone was hanging in the air, right outside the door!
“AHHH!” they all screamed.
Teddy slammed the door shut. They huddled together, afraid to leave and afraid to stay. Jack’s heart was beating wildly. He couldn’t breathe.
“I—I thought you weren’t afraid of ghosts!” he said to Teddy, gasping.
“Yes, well, I believe I just discovered that I am!” said Teddy.
“What’ll we do?” said Jack.
“A rhyme—a rhyme,” said Teddy. He gave Annie his lantern. He threw out his arms and started a rhyme:
Spirits of the earth and air!
He looked at Jack and Annie. “Quick, what rhymes with air?”
“Bear!” said Jack.
Teddy shook his head. “I fear a bear might make things worse.”
Jack tried hard to think of a better word to rhyme with air.
“Wait a minute!” said Annie. “I get it now! I get it!” She grinned at Jack and Teddy.
Has she lost her mind? Jack wondered.
“Remember what old Maggie said?” asked Annie. Then she recited:
“Where is the girl
who spins wool into thread?”
Annie pointed at the spinning wheel in the corner. “There she is!” she said. “She’s spinning at that wheel.”
Annie recited more:
“Where are the boys
who play chess before bed?”
Annie pointed at the chess table. “There they are!” she said. “They’re probably her brothers! They’re playing chess!”
She recited more:
“Where is the hound
who waits to be fed?”
Annie threw open the door to the nursery.
The bone was still hanging in the air. Jack and Teddy jumped back in fear.
“Don’t be afraid!” said Annie. “It’s just a dog—a hound! He’s carrying a bone in his mouth. Don’t you see? The girl, the boys, the hound—they’re all here! They’re just invisible!”
Jack and Teddy were speechless. They kept staring at Annie as she got down on her knees and talked to the invisible dog.
“Hi, you,” she said in a soft voice. “Are you hungry?”
Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve Page 2
