“Be careful,” Watch warned in a quiet voice. “This fairy might be on Klandor’s side.”
“I do not like Klandor,” Sarshi replied. “I never do a thing he says. I am on Pan’s side.”
“But if you follow Pan,” Cindy said, “how come you didn’t follow him into our world? Why are you still here?”
Sarshi was a long time in answering. “Because these are my trees. This is my home. And I knew that one day Pan would return with an army and throw down Klandor.”
Cindy had to smile. “He didn’t bring much of an army I’m afraid. Our other friends are all he’s got with him.” She paused. “I do believe you are a nice fairy, and I hope you can tell we’re nice humans. Would you please show yourself now?”
“OK. But you have to promise not to laugh at me.”
“Why would we laugh?” Cindy asked.
“Because I am a kid fairy,” Sarshi said, and with those words a tiny female figure appeared beside Cindy. She was at most half Cindy’s height. Like the fairy they had met outside the dwarfs’ cave, she wore a long dark coat and had bright green eyes. Only this fairy’s hair was black, curly, and her tiny face was more cute than beautiful. On each of her ten fingers shone a glittering ring, each a different color and design. She stared up at Cindy with a smile so sweet it melted Cindy’s heart. “Hello,” Sarshi said.
Cindy offered her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Sarshi stared at her hand. “What do you want me to do with your fingers?”
“In our culture,” Cindy explained, “it is customary to shake hands when you meet someone new.”
“You want to shake my hands?” Sarshi asked, puzzled.
“Just one hand would be enough,” Watch said.
“Will you shake it hard?” Sarshi asked. “Will it hurt?”
Cindy dropped her hand. “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
But Sarshi sounded disappointed. “Maybe we could shake later.” She glanced at Watch’s injured leg and frowned. “The elves should not have shot at you, especially if you were with Pan. That was naughty of them.”
“Are there elves still around here?” Cindy asked.
“No,” Sarshi said with a twinkle in her eyes. “I led them away from here.”
“How did you do that?” Watch asked.
Sarshi acted indignant. “I may be a small fairy but I am a powerful one.” She spoke in an excited confidential tone. “I confused them with a magical spell. They thought they were chasing a bunch of dwarfs, when they were just chasing little old me.”
“We’re grateful you got them out of here,” Cindy said.
Sarshi nodded to Watch’s leg. “Does it hurt?”
“Only when I breathe,” Watch said.
“Do you want me to heal you?” Sarshi asked.
“What do you mean?” Cindy asked.
Sarshi was confused. “You don’t understand this simple question?”
“We’re surprised at it,” Cindy explained. “Can you really heal such a serious wound?”
Again Sarshi affected a proud air. “You think I’m just a kid.”
“You said you were just a kid,” Watch reminded her.
“Yes, that is true,” Sarshi admitted. “But I am much older than you two. I know from my mother that humans are not kids for long before they turn into something horrible she calls adults.”
Cindy giggled. “They’re not all horrible. How old are you? In human years?”
Sarshi cleared her throat. “I am one hundred and seventy-six of your years.”
“No way,” Watch said.
Sarshi looked suitably crushed. “Well, I am almost twenty of your years old.”
“What does almost mean?” Cindy asked.
Sarshi lowered her head. “I’m ten years old.”
“You’re almost as old as us,” Cindy said. “We can be friends. But as your friends, we don’t want to take advantage of you. But if you can heal Watch’s leg, we would appreciate it. You see we’ve been sitting in this forest for a long time now and we’re getting hungry.”
Sarshi brightened. “Why didn’t you tell me? I know many food-making spells. What would you like to eat first?”
“After you fix my leg,” Watch said, “I’d like a Spam sandwich with sprouts.”
Sarshi frowned. “I don’t know if I know a spell for Spam.”
“A cheese sandwich would do just fine,” Cindy said. She added, “But if you can rustle up a chocolate cake for us, we would be eternally grateful.”
“And a carton of milk,” Watch added. “Can’t eat cake without milk.”
Sarshi nodded at Watch’s wound. “Take off your bandage and let me see what those elves did to you. Pan may be a great king, and an OK doctor, but he is no fairy. I’ll have you fixed up in a few minutes and then we can have a feast.”
“Then can we go after our friends?” Cindy asked.
Sarshi was uncertain. “Klandor is a powerful wizard, stronger than any fairy. If he catches us, he will probably kill us.” Then she added, “But I’ll go with you to the castle. I’m tired of Klandor running things. I’ll help in any way that I can.”
10
Pan’s castle was magnificent. Built of huge gray stones, it towered over them as they rode up on Pan’s back, heading for the massive front entrance. There were guards, of course, grim dwarfs and humorless elves. They flanked the drawbridge that spanned the moat separating the castle from the rest of the countryside.
Each of these guards was armed. The dwarfs carried swords and hammers, the elves bows and arrows and knives. They stared tensely at Pan as he galloped up with Adam and Sally, but Pan’s gaze was just as hard and fierce. Clearly he scared them—none of them thought to draw a weapon, but let Pan pass straight into the inner courtyard. Sally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I thought we were goners,” she said.
“There’s plenty of time for that,” Adam said.
Sally nodded, knowing Pan wasn’t even paying attention to them. He hadn’t spoken to them once on the wild ride to the castle. He was so intent on having a showdown with the wizard that he wasn’t thinking what he was going to do when it came. Adam said as much to Sally, who agreed.
“Klandor will just deny everything,” she said.
“He will probably do worse than that,” Adam said.
“Do you think we’ll be killed?”
“I don’t think he’s going to roll out the red carpet.” Adam paused. “I wish I could get Pan to slow down and consider what to do next.”
“Talk to him.”
“I tried.”
“Talk to him again. It’s our lives that are at stake.”
Adam gently poked Pan in the back of his neck. “Pan,” he said carefully. “Can we have a word with you?”
“Hmm,” Pan muttered, distracted, as they strode through the courtyard. Along the high walls were more guards—dwarfs and elves—who had deserted Pan to follow the evil wizard. “What do you want?”
“It’s about Klandor,” Adam said. “He must know by now that you’re on your way.”
Pan was brisk. “I want him to know. Let the stinking wizard tremble on his staff.”
“But what are you going to do about him?” Adam asked.
“What do you mean?” Pan asked impatiently.
“What he means is that Klandor is not going to welcome you with open arms,” Sally explained. “Or us for that matter. We need a strategy.”
Pan waved the crystal necklace. “I have this as proof. He cheated me out of my own kingdom, plain and simple. He is to return it immediately or else.”
“Or else what?” Adam asked hopefully.
Pan made a mean face. “Or else he will feel my wrath.”
“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Adam said. “This wrath
of yours. It won’t do you much good if you have nothing to back it up.”
Pan snickered. “I can take Klandor any day, anytime.”
“I’m sure you can,” Sally said diplomatically. “And we wouldn’t be worried if this was going to be a one-on-one contest. But if you haven’t noticed, Pan, Klandor controls this castle. He has plenty of elves and dwarfs backing him up. I don’t know if you can handle all of them at once.”
Pan was not impressed. “They wouldn’t dare hurt us.”
“Actually,” Adam said, “they’ve already shot one of us. We mustn’t underestimate them. You said it yourself, they have sworn allegiance to the wizard. If he tells them to grab us, they will.”
Pan nodded grimly. They may have gotten to him a bit.
Yet he remained stubborn.
“I won’t give him the chance,” Pan swore.
* * *
They were inside the castle only two seconds when they were surrounded by a dozen dwarfs and elves. Each carried a long spear, which was pointed at Pan and his friends with significant effect. Pan couldn’t just push them aside, and because he couldn’t, his temper grew worse.
“You’re my subjects!” he hollered. “I am your king! Get out of my way!”
They did clear a path of sorts for him. But they only gave Pan enough room to move forward; the spears didn’t come down. If anything the tips were brought closer. A sharp point brushed Sally’s ribs and she squealed.
“Ouch!” she said, and then she complained to Adam. “Why do we let ourselves get roped into these situations? The next time a supernatural creature appears who needs help defeating the forces of darkness, we should just say, ‘No, we’re too busy. We have better things to do with our time.’”
Adam shook his head. “You know we can’t turn down a friend in need.”
“But Pan isn’t a friend,” she said in an anxious whisper. “We only just met him today. Maybe we can explain that to the wizard. Maybe we can tell him that Pan has, in reality, kidnapped us.”
“You can’t say that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not true,” Adam said.
“Who cares about the truth? We’re talking about our lives here. If we have to lie to save ourselves, we should do it.”
Adam was grim. “I doubt the wizard will believe any of our lies.”
They were ushered into a vast room. The design was elaborate: there were many statues and exquisite paintings on the stone walls. Adam suspected it was here that Pan had his fateful celebration. At the end of the long room was a throne that had been Pan’s, but now it belonged to the evil wizard, Klandor.
Even seated he was tall—as wizards usually were—and old and wrinkled. His skin was very pale and leathery; it looked as if he had never seen the sun, and that if he laughed, even once, his expression would crack into something more awful than it already was. He wore a ragged purple robe; it looked as if the blood of many past enemies had been spilled on it. But it was his eyes that were the real horror—tiny and black, beads spun at night by spiders who ate their victims alive.
These eyes followed them as they were carefully escorted to the throne. On top of Klandor’s old head was a pointed red and black cap. The colors on it moved as Adam stared at it, flowing currents of danger. The cap was a storage container of energy to fuel the wizard’s evil magic.
Pan was brought within thirty feet of the throne before Klandor raised his hand. The spears converged to stop Pan. Adam noticed then how long the wizard’s nails were, how sharp and darkly stained, as if they had been dipped in blood. Klandor leaned forward in his seat and held up a bony finger.
“You were banished from my kingdom,” he said in a scratchy voice that carried disturbing authority. It sent a chill deep into Adam’s bones. “Why have you returned?”
Pan held up the crystal necklace. “You know why I have returned! You lied to me the night I won this necklace. You said it was merely decoration, something that complemented my horns. What you did not say was that it was a magical device designed to twist the vision of the one who wears it. I did not lose all those many times to you. I won often, and sitting across from me, you knew that I won. But you cheated me and forced me to risk everything to steal my kingdom, a kingdom that still belongs to me!”
Klandor smiled, his lips a thin, straight line, and the many wrinkles on his face crowded so tightly together that it was as if his skin were covered with spiders’ webs. He looked more than old then, more like something that had been dead for weeks and only brought back to life with the power of forbidden spells and unthinkable sacrifices. His black eyes shone with a cold light as his hideous smile widened. Adam had the feeling that he was not impressed by the fact that Pan had just called him a liar and a thief.
“I forced you to do nothing,” Klandor said. “You were mad that night, so puffed up with your pride and position that you didn’t know when to stop. In front of a hundred witnesses you gambled away your kingdom. Everyone saw, everyone knows the truth. Now you enter my home and insult me with your lies. You try to rewrite what was. How should I reward such behavior, Pan? Perhaps I was too kind to allow you and your miserable followers to leave this land in peace. For it does not seem that you have returned in peace. Yes, I know about the four human warriors you have brought with you to assassinate me. I see you have two of them on your back. Wretched creatures they look to me, and unworthy of being even in your questionable company. Have they anything to say for themselves?”
“Yeah,” Sally spoke up. “First of all, I resent being referred to as a wretched creature. Now, it is true that from time to time I suffer from bad moods, and on such occasions it could be said that I am wretched. But that is a momentary state of mind and doesn’t constitute my true nature. In other words, it’s not fair to label me wretched. Especially when the label is being applied by the likes of you, since you are obviously a down-on-his-luck magician who couldn’t get a decent gig at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast.” Sally paused and then suddenly jerked to the side. “Ouch! Adam? Why did you poke me in the side?”
“Because I think I should talk to him instead of you,” he whispered.
“What am I doing wrong?” she asked.
“I thought you were going to try to reason with him?”
“But you told me not to lie!”
“Not all reason is a lie,” Adam reminded her.
“You can’t reason with an evil wizard,” Sally whispered back.
“I can try.” Adam cleared his throat and spoke to Klandor. “As you can see, Mr. Klandor, we’re friends of Pan. We don’t deny that, although we just met him this afternoon while we were trying to find our bikes in the forest. But we’re not assassins. We didn’t come here to kill you. We don’t believe in killing, especially if it could get us killed. But we do believe Pan has a point when he says he was conned out of his kingdom. Now, I tested this necklace and I discovered that it definitely alters how one sees the world. And I know if Pan was wearing it when he gambled his kingdom away, then he was playing with an unfair disadvantage. Now, what I think you two should do is retire to a nice quiet place and talk about how—”
“Silence!” Klandor shouted, raising his bony hand again. “You have the nerve to accuse me of being a cheat in front of all my loyal subjects?”
“Well,” Adam said carefully, “I didn’t use the word cheat.”
“But he did imply it,” Sally added. “Because you did cheat Pan. You cheated him because you’re a natural born loser. Just look at the company you keep—all these half-baked dwarfs and elves. Why, I’ve seen leprechauns with chocolate cakes for treasure that could take this lousy company.”
“Sally,” Adam said.
“What?”
“Please do not speak again until we are back in Spooksville and there are no sharp spears pointed at us.”
“Like you had a lot of success ca
lling him a cheat,” Sally snapped.
“You are going to get us killed.”
“Then at least I’ll die with my tongue working, which is all that matters.”
Adam sighed. “Oh brother.”
Pan spoke up, and his temper was no less for having listened to the ramblings of the rest of them. “Klandor!” he shouted, waving the necklace again. “You were always good with words, but let’s see how good you are with a sword. Right now, in front of all these traitors you call loyal subjects, I challenge you to one-on-one combat. If truth is on your side, you will surely defeat me. But if you refuse to fight, then all will know the reason why. Because you are not only a cheat and a liar, but a coward as well!”
Sally looked at Adam. “He’s worse than both of us.”
“Shh,” Adam cautioned.
Klandor chuckled long and wickedly. “You come here swearing challenges of honor and bravery. You, who have not even a place to hang your horns. You’re not a king anymore, Pan. You have no right to challenge a true king, like myself. But because I am a king I know the meaning of mercy. My loyal servants are going to once again escort you from my land. Should you try to return, though, should we see your face ever again, you will be slaughtered and eaten by those who strike you down. Goat meat is a delicacy in these parts. As to your insolent human friends, they are to remain here with me, where I will do with them what I wish. And as to the crystal necklace you won from me, I will let you keep it. Let it be a reminder to you of how far you have fallen.”
Sally looked at Adam again. “I told you how evil he was.”
Adam sighed. “I’m afraid you were right.”
11
Cindy, Watch, and Sarshi ran into Pan about midway between the castle and the interdimensional portal. Cindy and Watch were concerned that Adam and Sally weren’t with Pan. But when they questioned Pan about their friends’ whereabouts, Pan merely hung his head low and acted depressed. It was then they noticed that he wore a crystal necklace. Both Cindy and Watch wondered if it was the one that was responsible for all the trouble. But it was difficult to get any information out of Pan.
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