All the Colors of Magic

by Valija Zinck

  * * *

  When the bus reached their stop, Leo said goodbye to the driver and promised he’d be at soccer training again soon. Penelope started to unlock her bike, then paused suddenly. A faint tingling sensation was racing down her neck and spine. Suspicion spread within her, growing and swirling and finally becoming a certainty.

  “They’re already there,” she whispered. “They’re already at our house.”

  “What? Are you sure?” Leo tensed—and then paused, nodding as if he felt it too. “Then—then …”

  Penelope saw fear in his eyes.

  “… then now we’ll give them what for!” she finished his sentence. “You wait here, and I’ll slip over to the dragon house—”

  “Are you crazy? I’m not letting you go down there on your own!”

  “But you have to,” Penelope said calmly. “They’ll be able to sense you. They won’t be able to sense me because I’m wearing the gray paste. So I’m going to nip home, grab Coco, and meet you back here in twenty minutes at the latest. And then they’ll really see some fire-red magic!” She grinned up at her father.

  Leo Gardener hesitated, his expression torn between hope and uncertainty. Penelope could tell that he would have preferred a different plan; that he wished he was stronger, and wanted it to be him protecting his child, not the other way round. Penelope took his hand. “I’m Penelope Gardener and I’m your daughter. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve inherited a lot from you, and I’d like to learn a lot more—so I’m not going to let them take you from us again!”

  He swallowed quickly and smiled, a little crookedly. At last he nodded, pulled Penelope to him, and kissed her on the forehead.

  Penelope raced off down the hill—on foot, because she had to be stealthy. As the beech tree came into view, she climbed down the little embankment, then ran along parallel to the road, stooping down and camouflaged by the scrub.

  Zuck! Zuck!

  Penelope jumped. The tingling sensation was even clearer now. She had been right—they were already at the house. Cautiously, she peered through the leaves of the bushes and spotted the silver-gray car, partially hidden in a haystack next to the dragon house. Do they think we’re blind? thought Penelope. Seller and Platell had covered the car so sloppily with the hay that even from a distance you could tell it was empty. She looked all around, but couldn’t see anyone. Did that mean Seller and Platell were already in the house?

  Penelope had reached the herb bushes. She crawled closer to the dragon house, remaining undercover. The front door was shut, as usual, and the windows were all undamaged—at least on this side. Where were those guys?

  Suddenly, there was a rattle above the steps. Coco nudged her way through the cat flap in the front door and stuck her nose in the air. Penelope’s heart gave a leap. You good, smart cat, she thought, feeling a warmth blossoming in her chest.

  “Come here,” she whispered, but Coco didn’t seem to hear her. She remained where she was, her face tilted upward, sniffing the air.

  “Come on, Coco, please,” said Penelope, a little louder. The cat still didn’t seem to hear her, but she came a few paces down the steps. Penelope crawled cautiously nearer. All of a sudden, Coco jumped, and started to retrace her footsteps back into the house. No, she couldn’t! No, Coco, not back inside!

  Penelope ran. Coco was halfway through the cat flap, when Penelope caught up with her and yanked her back outside. The cat mewed in protest, but Penelope pressed her to her chest. “It’s all right, Coco.” She turned to run down the sand track with the cat in her arms and slammed into thin air as if it were a stone wall.

  The wall of air grabbed Penelope and spoke. “Well, well, who have we here?”

  Seller! He was still invisible! Tractor Man emerged from the bike shed, a scornful sneer on his mouth.

  “If we’ve got her,” he said, “that means we’ve got Daddykins too.”

  At that moment, Coco raked her claws across Seller’s invisible face—clearly he wasn’t invisible to cats! Seller screamed loudly, and Penelope felt his grip loosen around her arm. She yanked herself free, leapt over the nearest bush, and raced across the meadow. She held the hissing cat in her arms and felt new strength flow through her.

  Platell started after her. He was faster and gained on her quickly, his footsteps thumping in the meadow grass. He was reaching a hand out to grab her when Penelope whispered into Coco’s ear: “Thank you for your power! He’s at the bus stop.” Then she let go of the cat and tore off toward the swamp forest.

  Running through a swamp forest wasn’t exactly safe—Penelope knew that. But she didn’t have much choice—and on the plus side, she was forcing Seller and Platell to run through the swamp forest too. She had to concentrate on sticking to the path. If she could just divert the pair of them for long enough … Coco wasn’t exactly the fastest runner on the block anymore, especially up the steep hill to the bus stop.

  At a moss-covered tree, the narrow path divided into two. Penelope raced for the left-hand fork, skidding on a slick of mud over a root. She heard laughter.

  “Go on, run!” shouted Platell. “Yeah, run the lungs out of your body. You won’t get away!” But his voice was a little distance behind, echoing through the trees, and Penelope realized she had built a decent lead. After another few moments, she risked a glance over her shoulder—but to her surprise, Platell had stopped running. He was walking. She didn’t understand … but as he laughed out loud, and as Penelope glanced ahead again, she saw why: In the middle of the road stood Seller. Well, his shoes stood there, anyway—and his head was floating in the air.

  Penelope stopped running and stood rooted to the spot. She was trapped.

  Platell was walking over to her at a leisurely pace: He had all time in the world. His prey could no longer escape him, and Penelope could tell he was savoring every moment. She bit her lip, her heart hammering—half from the run and half from the fear flooding her body with adrenaline. No! She couldn’t let herself be captured! If they had her, they could use her to blackmail her dad, and she just couldn’t let that happen. Her father had suffered for long enough and she wouldn’t allow him to suffer again.

  She breathed out, and a deep peace washed over her. My power’s almost run out, she realized, but Coco left me a little. I hope it’ll be enough.

  Seller’s head was bobbing in her direction, and Platell had smug satisfaction written all over his face. Penelope stayed very still as they drew closer and closer, feeling the soles of her feet tingle. Before the men reached her, she whispered two words under her breath, then took a large step down from the path—straight onto the surface of the swamp.

  And she didn’t sink!

  She ran, tearing along the surface of the swamp. Well, not exactly along the surface, but a millimeter over it—only the sharpest of eyes would have noticed that. Soon she had vanished from the pair’s sight between ragged giant leaves, and was relieved when she reached firm ground and stopped. Running in the air had never been easy.

  “Come on! After her, the ground’s holding!” shouted Platell, and the two men dashed after Penelope. The swamp slopped, the smacking noise resounding through the forest. Penelope watched through the leaves as Seller tried to turn back. Too late—they were already sinking! Platell rowed his arms comically, bending his body backward in an attempt to break free of the sucking mud … but the mire had them firmly in its clutches. Penelope knew the swamp mud would already be creeping under their clothes, cold and wet. And the more they thrashed, the deeper they sank. Platell was chest-deep, Seller right up to his invisible neck. Penelope frowned. If they didn’t stop thrashing about, they might be in serious trouble! She turned and started to float carefully back toward the pair. The two men were screaming now. What should she do?

  There was a rush of air above her. The treetops leaned gently to the side, and like a red dragon, Leo Gardener rushed downward and landed on the swamp at her side. He held his arms in the air, a dazzling light radiating from his hands. It was so
bright that Penelope shielded her eyes with her arm.

  “Mesoll vargerwno!” her father shouted, his voice deafening. The light rays were directed on the two heads in the swamp. The mud bubbled, there was a hissing sound, and then something seemed to rip, sending a glowing mud fountain shooting up to the treetops. Then all was quiet.

  “Wonderful, really wonderful,” chuckled Seller. Suddenly, he had a strong American accent!

  “So this is Europe!” said Platell.

  “Come along, Penelope,” her father said quietly. “We need to call the swamp forest rescue service straightaway and let them know that two tourists are lost.”

  “What?” exclaimed Penelope incredulously. “But that’s Seller and Platell!”

  “That’s as may be—but they now believe themselves to be Mr. Scott from Arkansas and Mr. Portway from Ohio, who are here on a relaxing break from their stressful businesses in the ironing board industry. European wellness excursions, swamp bathing inclusive. In Ohio they think of that as the ultimate in revitalization.”

  Penelope stared at her father. “What have you done with them?”

  “I’ve let them forget.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve let them forget who they are. ‘Mr. Scott’ and ‘Mr. Portway’ won’t give me any trouble in future,” said Leo. “And peace is what I need above all else, as I’m planning to spend a lot of time with my daughter and my wife.” He smiled down at Penelope. “Come on, we need to ring for help before those two sink without a trace.”

  He took Penelope firmly by the hand, and together they made their way home.

  Dusk was falling by the time Lucia Gardener arrived at the dragon house. She was tired after the long journey from the coast and was looking forward to a long, hot shower and, of course, to seeing her daughter again. It was a warm evening and she wasn’t surprised to see Penelope sitting on the porch steps—but what on earth had happened to her hair?

  “Penelope? What’s all this?” asked Mrs. Gardener, without so much as a “hello.”

  “My hair, you mean? It’s called Icelandic Earth Brown. I thought I’d try something new.” Penelope smiled.

  “But you can’t just … I mean, you really should have discussed this with me beforehand,” said Mrs. Gardener, vexed. She started to walk past Penelope.

  “Stop! You can’t go in yet. I need to talk to you first.” Penelope stood up and barred her path.

  “Penelope, please. I’m really not in the mood to play any of your little games right now. I’ve just traveled hundreds of miles and I’m absolutely shattered. And you’re sitting here, you’ve dyed your hair brown without my permission, and now you don’t even want to let me into the house. Would you like to tell me what’s going on, please?”

  “We’ve got a visitor.”

  “A visitor? Who?” Mrs. Gardener’s expression was grim. A guest was the last thing she needed right now. Who, for goodness’ sake, would be so impolite as to come so late in the evening—and without being invited at that?

  “It’s someone you know well, someone you like,” began Penelope. “Please, Mom, sit down on the steps for a minute, will you?”

  Finally, Mrs. Gardener surrendered. “OK, fine,” she said wearily, and lowered herself beside Penelope.

  “Actually, he’s not really a visitor at all. He belongs to us. The person inside is someone who’s very important to us. He’s been separated from us for a long time, but not because he wanted to be—he was forced into it. There was nothing he could do. He wasn’t the one who wrote that letter, and it wasn’t him who was sending the gray envelopes either. He’s been imprisoned and locked up all these years, Mom, and he’s missed us desperately. But today he managed to escape. Dad’s back. He’s here with us again.”

  Mrs. Gardener stared at her daughter, scarcely able to take in what Penelope was saying. But Penelope was looking back at her with a peculiar, piercing expression, and her eyes were shining.

  “Go in, Mom. Dad’s waiting for you. Only, don’t be frightened—he’s looking pretty thin.” Penelope stood up and put her hand on the door latch.

  Mrs. Gardener stood up, too, but made no move to go into the house. She opened her mouth, her jaw trembling, breathing fast.

  “But he was … I mean, he … he …”

  Penelope shook her head wordlessly, and her mother pressed her lips together. She looked at the sky, she looked at the trees of the swamp forest, she looked into Penelope’s eyes again. Then she nodded slightly, took the latch out of her daughter’s hand, and opened the door.

  Penelope blew her cheeks out and sat back down on the steps. She looked up at the evening sky too; the blue dusk was descending quickly, and a bright star hovered over the swamp forest. The cat flap rattled. Coco marched outside and nudged Penelope’s stomach with her nose. Penelope stroked her soft gray fur.

  “Isn’t there anything for you to eat in there?” she asked. “Come on, let’s go for a little walk. I need to go and get my bike.”

  Penelope and Coco wandered up to the bus stop together. Suddenly, there was a soft jingling sound, as though someone was jolting over the paving slabs on a bicycle. Penelope looked up. At the top of the hill, she saw a handlebar blinking in the twilight; then the rest of her bicycle rolled into view. It rode up to her, completely on its own, with only the slightest of wobbles.

  “AFTER A DAY LIKE THAT, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO STRUGGLE UP THE HILL AGAIN,” the road rumbled, bringing the bike to a standstill in front of Penelope.

  “Thank you.” Penelope took hold of the bike just in time to stop it tipping over. “So you’re speaking to me again?”

  “I’VE BEEN SPEAKING TO YOU ALL THIS TIME, BUT YOU DIDN’T SEEM TO BE INTERESTED. I’M GLAD YOU’VE COME TO YOUR SENSES AGAIN.”

  “Oh!” exclaimed Penelope indignantly. “So now it’s my fault?”

  “WELL, IF I WAS TO COLOR MY TAR, PERHAPS I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO HEAR THINGS ANYMORE EITHER,” boomed the road. “AND I HAVEN’T GOT A CAT TO HELP ME OUT IF I GET INTO HOT WATER. AND NOW I BID YOU GOOD NIGHT.” The voice faded to a distant echo, then fell silent.

  “GOOOOOD NIGHT TO YOU TOOOOOO,” Penelope boomed back. She laid her sweater in the basket of her bike, lifted Coco into it, and pushed to the sand track, then down to the house. She was so tired that she almost fell asleep midstep, but at the same time, she felt vibrantly alive and full of joy as she lifted the latch to go indoors, where both her parents were waiting for her.

  The newspaper headline should have read: Sunshine on August 13—the sensation of the year! But since hardly anyone had ever noticed that the rain on Penelope’s birthday wasn’t really wet, there probably weren’t all that many people who were interested in the fact that it was sunny the day she turned eleven.

  Apart from Penelope, of course.

  “Yes! Yes, yes, yesssss!” She grabbed her mother’s hand and pulled her out into the yard. Together they ran through the grass, and Penelope climbed the pear tree. “There’s no rain today. And I’m eleven. I’m eleven, eleven, eleven!” She plucked one of the unripe pears and threw it at her father, who was just coming out of the dragon house. “What’s up, Dad? Aren’t you excited? Would you rather it was raining, like it normally does on my birthday?” Penelope shouted, throwing three more pears in his direction.

  Leo caught them one by one, biting into one of them, which had suddenly turned ripe in his hands. “Yes, yes. I’m glad,” he said, but he looked a little bit embarrassed.

  “Well, why do you look like you’ve eaten a thistle, then?” Penelope asked.

  “Well, because I’m pretty sure I’m to blame for the weather on your previous birthdays.”

  Penelope jumped down from the tree. “That’s rubbish! Why should you be to blame for that? You haven’t been here all these years.”

  Leo nodded slowly. He sat down on the wooden steps. “That’s just it. On the thirteenth of August every year, I thought of you. Every year I wondered how much you’d grown, how you were, and what you were doing. Wh
ether you’d inherited my red hair—and the other thing too. I thought about you and wished I could be with you. That I could take you in my arms and twirl you around. That I could say, Look, Lucia, my darling, look at our Penny—she’s eight already, she’s nine, she’s ten.

  “When someone like us thinks so strongly about another person, it sometimes results in a thunderstorm around that person. But since I was sitting in that dungeon, and hardly had any strength, there probably wasn’t even a storm—just that strange rain.”

  Penelope sat down next to him on the steps. She patted his knee. “Well, at least I never got wet from your rain. You know what? I think I’m going to lock myself into Mr. Ritter’s old goat barn, and think of you very hard, and then we’ll see what falls down on you, shall we?” She snickered.

  “I think our daughter’s just a little too sassy, Lucia. Don’t you think so?”

  “I think we should eat our breakfast birthday cake soon, that’s what I think. There won’t be any leftovers once Tom and Pete get here,” said Mrs. Gardener, putting an arm around her husband.

  “But I could always make another one,” Granny Elizabeth, who was now outside too, said generously.

  “Aww, thank you, Granny! But I’m pretty sure Gina will bring some fantastic treats from town this afternoon, when she comes for the party,” Penelope said quickly.

  “OK,” said G.E., rubbing her old hands with some of the extra-special healing salve Penelope and her dad had cooked up. “Let’s just hope she brings something better than the last time she was here. That so-called ice cream she tried to conjure up was nothing but colorless mush.”

  Penelope giggled as a bubble of excitement rose in her belly. Another thing had occurred to her: Now that she was finally eleven, she’d be able to start studying with Alpha Regius soon, like Gina’s brother!

  * * *

  Penelope’s birthday party that afternoon was the most fun that she’d ever had. She didn’t know exactly why, but she laughed almost all the way through it. It was nice that Tom and Pete got along so well with Gina. It was nice when her mother played the clarinet for them too. And it was even nice when Granny Elizabeth showed them her collection of coins and explained them all, down to the tiniest detail.