Ridge stumbled out next to me, visibly trembling at the confrontation. “This would be a good time to be a polar bear,” he whispered. But I held up my hand. Chasm had called me out for a conversation. Letting Ridge attack would only spur the evil genie into striking back.
Tina was staring at me with her one open eye, looking helpless and desperate. “What do you want, Chasm?” I shouted, trying to sound brave as smoke came out my ears.
“Oh, you’re taking my order?” He smiled. “I’ll have a double cheeseburger, extra ketchup, hold the pickle. A large order of fries and a soda. Do you have cookies? I’ll take a cookie.”
“We don’t have cookies!” It was kind of a strange thing to shout at the bad guy. But he was kind of a strange bad guy.
“I know what you’re up to,” said Chasm. “A little tip that I got from the Universe.”
“The Universe told you our plans?” I cried.
“Well, I mean, the girl and I had to wish for it,” Chasm said. “I actually knew about your plans long before you did,” answered Chasm.
“What?” I said. “How?”
“Well, right after Teeny and I left that cozy little cave in Texas, I said to myself, ‘Self, what if those bratty little Wishmakers come looking for you? What if they somehow get new genies and try to spoil your fun?’ And myself said, ‘But Kaz, how would they do it?’ Of course, I didn’t know the answer to that, so Teeny had to make a fancy wish so I could figure it out. As it turns out, some of your plans could be kind of helpful to me, so I’ve been making a few preparations of my own.”
“Helpful?” I said. The trinkets were designed to take Chasm down. What good would they be to him?
The big man turned to Tina. “Teeny, honey. I’ve got a bit of explaining to do. Can you lay down a beat for this next part?”
Tina reached out with her sock hand to stabilize herself against the checkout desk. Then she began stomping her non-skate foot to a steady pulse. Surprisingly, the sound came out with all the booming resonance of a drum, with faster rhythms making an interesting beat.
Chasm grinned. “Special beatbox shoe,” he said. “We wished for it a few days ago. I was just so sick of performing without backup, you know?”
Ridge and I looked at each other. It was official. Chasm was insane.
And then he started to rap.
“I’m not a friend of the Universe,
But sometimes I turn there for better or worse.
The Teeny and I made a couple of wishes,
We learned of some plans that sound awful suspicious.
Yeah! I know that you’re looking for trinkets!
Yeah! I think that you better rethink it!
But kid, I’ve discovered a great silver lining,
The thing that you got from the vault is aligning
With all of my plans for world domination.
Your first little trinket will lay the foundation.
Wait till you see what I do with that twine.
I’ll conquer the world! Don’t worry. It’s fine.
I admit that the second one gives me concern,
A trinket with power to make me return
Into the jar where I can’t hurt a fly,
Where I can’t conquer cities from here to Shanghai.
No! You never will make it that far.
No! You won’t get me back in the jar.
I’ll stop you from finding the trinket you’re seekin’,
The world will be mine by the end of the week, and
The people will bow before Kaz the almighty,
And yes, I will dance on your graves in my nightie.
Uh! Yeah! Chasm’s on fire!
Uh! Yeah! I’m here to inspire!
Uh! Yeah! I’ll never retire!
Y’all take a knee, it’s okay to admire!”
I didn’t know if I should applaud or run. Tina’s beatbox shoe fizzled out as she realized that the Wishbreaker genie had finished his rap.
Chasm rubbed his big hands together. “Honest feedback, guys,” he said. “Too forced? I just want to make sure I’m getting my point across.”
“Which point?” I asked. “The one about you taking over the world? Or the one about you taking over the world?”
He pointed at me with finger guns. “The one about me taking over the world.”
“Not going to happen!” I shouted through a cloud of smoke. “We’re going to find that second trinket and stop you.”
“You’re probably too late already,” added Ridge. “The others will find the dagger—”
“Oh, so it’s a dagger?” Chasm cut in. “The Universe didn’t specify about the trinket that would take me down. I found that odd, since it clearly mentioned the spool of string. While we’re on the topic . . .” He held out his hand and beckoned. “Give it up, Ace-face.”
Chasm thought I had the string! That was why he’d come to the library. He wanted that trinket for some reason. Apparently, the Universe had told him that the spool of string would further his plans for world domination.
“You’re not getting the string!” I clenched both fists at my sides. If I could stall him for a while, it might give Jathon and the others time to find the dagger before Chasm fulfilled his vow to stop them.
“Why do you insist on doing this the hard way?” Chasm looked at Tina. “Teeny, you wish that Ace would give us the spool of string trinket that he took from the vault.”
So direct! A wish like that was bound to have a terrible consequence. But Chasm didn’t care since Tina would be the one who had to pay for it.
It didn’t matter that I currently didn’t have the string. If Chasm wished for it, and Tina received the consequence, then the Universe would make it happen, even if I had to travel back to Jathon, steal the string, and deliver it to the evil genie.
Chasm’s hourglass watch popped up, red sands spilling from the top chamber. “If you want Ace to give us the spool of string,” said Chasm, “then a dozen snakes will constantly be slithering over your body. Are they venomous? No. Will they bite you? Sometimes. How long will it last? Forever.”
“Whoa! Whoa! Wait!” I shouted, holding out my hands as smoke came out my ears. “You don’t have to make that wish. I’ll cooperate.” I couldn’t let Chasm do that to Tina. It was my best option to tell Chasm the truth and try to stop him later.
“I don’t have the string,” I confessed.
“Who does?” asked the big genie, holding up his wrist threateningly, so I could see how much sand was in his hourglass.
“Jathon Anderthon,” I answered.
“Ah, the boy that helped Teeny open my jar.” Chasm grinned. “I think I like him. Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie. Chances were good that Jathon and the others were on an airplane by now, traveling from Utah to South Carolina. They might be anywhere across the United States.
“If you don’t know where they are, how did you plan to meet up with them again?” asked Chasm. I tried to resist, but he gestured to his hourglass again, the sands almost gone. “Don’t make me say the magic word!”
My eyes flicked to the checkout desk. Ridge swallowed hard as Chasm followed my gaze to the trinket. “The book!” I blurted.
Chasm watched the last grains of sand fall through the hourglass. “Phew!” he gasped as it folded away. “I’m so glad you decided to talk. Did you really think I’d let Teeny take that consequence?”
“You were bluffing?” Ridge cried.
“The girl already has a hard time keeping up without snakes tripping her,” he said. “Soon, I’ll be able to wish and not care about my weak little Wishmaker. But for now, I need her in working order, or I won’t get anything done. Teeny’s mortality is really the only thing slowing me down.”
Chasm crossed to the checkout desk and scooped up the heavy book. “One Thousand and One Nights,” he read. “Feels like a trinket.” He opened the front cover and took a big sniff. “Smells like a trinket. Let me take a stab at this on
e—the book has some kind of magical feature that will transport you back to Jathon.” He must have known he was right from Ridge’s moan and the drained expression on my face. “Boom, baby! Am I good or am I good?”
“Actually,” whispered Ridge, “you’re bad. Very, very bad.”
“Clever little work-around, finding an old trinket like this,” said Chasm. “It must be the pits not being able to wish for magical travel.” He thumbed through the book as if trying to figure out how to use it. “I’m not forbidden, like you, but the Universe doesn’t seem to give me what I want. I wished to transport the string to me. I wished to transport myself to the string. Had to turn down both options since the consequence would have left Teeny completely useless to me. I was ecstatic when I finally beamed over to your location. But I guess the Universe was just lowering the cost of travel since you don’t actually have the spool.” He lifted the book. “This will help me bypass all those pesky consequences and transport for free!”
“Ridge,” I said, tensing. We had to stop Chasm before he used the book. “Balaclava.”
The skinny kid beside me suddenly morphed into a massive polar bear, easily matching Chasm for height as he reared up on hind legs. I barely glimpsed his little penguin wings as I went down on all fours, my stiff arms and legs planting me in a bear crawl.
Ridge sprang forward in an impressive display of courage, knocking the big genie onto his back. It was hard to see with my head down, but it seemed like Ridge had him pinned, hairy paws swatting at the bad guy.
“Stop! Mercy! Please!” Chasm shouted. But wait a minute. Was he laughing? Yes, because I suddenly had the hiccups. “It tickles! Oh, it tickles! Make him stop!”
Ridge’s polar bear attacks were tickling him? Could nothing hurt this guy? Still, his pounce had caused Chasm to drop Arabian Nights next to the front desk. I had the checkout card in my pocket. If I ordered Ridge into his jar, I could slip the stamped card into the cover envelope and we’d be out of here!
But in my current state, I couldn’t possibly reach back to access the peanut butter jar in my backpack. I’d have to turn Ridge back into a boy.
“Balaclava!” I shouted, smoke puffing out my ears.
“Not now!” Ridge replied as he morphed into a boy again. Then I saw him go sailing across the library, his skinny figure getting wedged in the top shelf of a bookcase.
“The polar bear was a nice touch,” Chasm said, leaping to his feet. “A little pay-as-you-play wish? I like it. It’s classy.” He turned to Tina, who had ducked behind the checkout desk.
“Teeny,” he said. “You wish that anytime I say the word abracadrizzle I’ll transform between my current form and a fire-breathing dragon.”
Yikes! Why hadn’t I thought of that? His hourglass clicked into sight.
“As a consequence,” said Chasm, “whenever I’m in dragon form, you will be surrounded by a wall of fire ringing tightly around you. Will it be uncomfortably hot? Absolutely! Will it burn you? Not much.”
Ouch! Maybe that’s why I hadn’t wished for something as big and powerful as a dragon.
“Very well,” said Chasm. “Not super convenient for me, since you won’t be able to move while the fire surrounds you. But I guess it’ll have to do.” And then he sang the magic word. “Ba-ba-bazang!”
Oh, man. We had to get out of here! Reaching back, I gripped the side of the peanut butter jar and shouted, “Ridge! Get into the jar!” He disappeared from his precarious perch, leaving a wisp of smoke in his wake, and my shout leaving a wisp of smoke next to my ears.
Chasm tilted back his head and yelled/sang, “Abracadrizzle, baby!”
Fire suddenly sprang up around Tina, and I saw her pull her arms close to her sides to avoid getting singed. At the same time, Chasm underwent a sudden transformation.
The dragon was about the size of a minivan, not counting his long tail that snaked around by the library exit. His scaly skin was red, with Chasm’s familiar spiderweb of tattoos laced across his torso. His face was downright terrifying, with tendrils of smoke wafting up from his nostrils, and teeth as long and sharp as kitchen knives.
Chasm’s dragon wings were kind of pathetic, though I didn’t feel inclined to point that out. They were obviously too small to carry him, which left them looking useless and ornamental. Ha! I guess even the Wishbreaker didn’t always get his wishes granted as perfectly as he wanted.
But then there was the whole fire-breathing thing. Chasm opened his mouth and spewed flames directly at me. They went over my head, igniting one of the bookshelves behind me.
I plunged my hand into my pocket, but withdrew it with a yelp. There was something hairy wriggling its way out. Oh, yeah. Rats. Bracing myself, I reached in again, feeling the rodent climb out. As the rat scampered across the floor, I fumbled between my familiar ace card and the stamped library checkout card. Behind me, I knew the fire was spreading. I could feel the heat on the back of my neck and hear the crackling flames. I thought of how terrible it must be for Tina, who was even closer to the fire.
“Abracadrizzle!” Chasm shouted as I pulled out the card I needed. I saw Tina collapse onto the desk, sock hand wiping at her sweaty forehead.
I lunged for the trinket copy of Arabian Nights. Just as I reached it, a suede loafer shoe stepped on the hard cover. Chasm reached down with one hand, gripped the front of my shirt, and lifted me completely off the ground.
Chasm swiped the stamped checkout card from my grasp with his free hand and then tossed me to the floor. I hit hard, rolling over to grip the peanut butter jar. I whispered the command.
“Ridge, get out of the jar.”
My genie friend appeared at my side, giving a yelp of terror at seeing the spreading flames. “What about Mr. Wong?” he shouted.
As long as the Genieologist remained a stone statue, he had a chance of surviving the fire. The books, on the other hand . . . Would there be anything left of the Library of Wight and Wong?
“It’s been a pleasure, boys,” said Chasm, scooping up Arabian Nights. “But it’s time to find that spool of string. So, if you’ll excuse us . . .” He opened the front cover of the book.
I knew the trinket wasn’t going to work correctly unless Chasm put himself in a jar. If he teleported across multiple states, the tether would snap, flinging Tina and the Wishbreaker together again. Over such a great distance, there was no telling what kind of damage that would do to my friend.
I needed to wish for something to stop him. I could turn him to stone, like poor Mr. Wong. But then Tina would be trapped in a burning building with her genie. Maybe I could just turn the book to stone, like the one Mr. Wong had been holding!
I reached out and grabbed Ridge’s arm to make sure he was listening. “I wish that all the books in the Library of Wight and Wong would turn into stone until the fire goes out.”
I was proud of this wish, since it would kill two birds with one stone. By turning Arabian Nights into rock, it would prevent Chasm from immediately using the trinket. And turning the Genieologist’s special collection would protect it from burning up.
“If you want the books to turn to stone,” said Ridge, talking fast, “then anytime you step on the sidewalk, you’ll have to dance.”
I didn’t have time to debate my options or ask any questions. I was a horrible dancer, but Chasm was only inches away from placing that checkout card in the envelope!
“Bazang!” I shouted with more smoke escaping out my ears.
The checkout card skidded across the stone cover of Arabian Nights, deflecting off the envelope that had changed with the rest of the book. Chasm looked up, his face twisted with rage.
“You two will burn!” Chasm yelled. “And the only reason I feel bad about that is because you won’t get to see me debut my rap musical on Broadway.” He stuffed the checkout card into his shirt pocket and maneuvered the petrified book into a more comfortable position. Then he tipped his hat to us and turned to exit, calling over his shoulder, “Keep up, Teeny! Snapping that tethe
r hurts you a lot more than it hurts me.”
“Tina!” Ace cried.
I raced toward her, but what could I do? Tina was a slave to the Wishbreaker, even though her decision to open his jar had saved the world three times over.
Tina’s uncovered eye locked onto mine and she reached out her sock-clad hand. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I reached across the checkout desk to take her hand. But it wasn’t just a farewell handshake.
Tina was passing me a note!
Her hand slipped away from mine and she turned, coasting out the door on her single roller skate.
Through the open doorway, I heard sirens. Fire trucks were almost here, but the flames were spreading fast.
I glanced at the scrap of paper in my hand. The edge was blackened and burnt, and Tina’s writing looked rushed and sloppy. I wondered when she had found time to write anything. Probably during Chasm’s lengthy rap.
Chasm’s hideout: Wish-Come-True Mini Golf Park, Nashville.
Beneath that, Tina had written the address.
“Ace!” Ridge shouted. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
He pulled me toward the library exit, both of us coughing on smoke as we burst onto the New York City street.
Chapter 13
The morning light glinted off the Atlantic Ocean as Ridge and I made our way toward the beach. The summer day was already very hot, and I took a drink from my water bottle.
Ridge and I had been pretty shaken up after Chasm’s surprise attack in the library. Eventually, I’d made a simple wish for an airplane to pick us up and fly us to South Carolina. It wasn’t very creative, but Chasm had grounded me from wishing for magical travel. Besides, the flight had given us a few hours of needed sleep. As a consequence, until the end of the week all I would have to do was walk into a cobweb every time I went through a doorway.
“Popular place,” Ridge said as we stepped onto the sand. He was right. People were spread up and down Myrtle Beach. The piers were bustling, and I saw lots of surfers and swimmers. We took off our shoes and loaded them into my backpack as we headed toward the water.
“Do you think we beat the others here?” Ridge asked.
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