“What is your name?” he asked the dwarf.
“Bartmeal,” the dwarf said. Apparently the dwarf could speak, at least in the elemental kingdom.
“Bartmeal,” Klandor said. “Once the coin lands, I want you to read out what it is to the audience. Heads or tails. You understand?”
The dwarf was uneasy. Obviously he worried that if he had to read out that it was tails, when his master had called for heads, he would be placed in a precarious position. The reverse could be equally compromising. Bartmeal was probably wondering if he would have a head on his shoulders when the day finally ended. Yet he was caught in a jam, and there was nothing he could do about it. He seemed to recognize that fact. He nodded his large head.
“I understand,” Bartmeal said.
“I want you to tell the truth,” Klandor emphasized.
Bartmeal nodded. “I will tell the truth, Master.”
Watch yawned. “Can we get on with this, please?”
Klandor tossed the coin in the air.
“Tails,” he called out.
It was heads. Bartmeal called out the word.
The assembly buzzed with noise.
Klandor sat astounded. Then he shouted at the group. “Be quiet!”
The gathering quieted down. Fast.
Klandor reached for his hat and handed it to Watch.
“You have won your prize,” he said in a scratchy voice.
Watch smiled. “Would you like to win it back? The hat and the lighter? Double or nothing?”
Klandor was interested. His dark eyes flashed with a cold light.
“What do I have to wager?” he asked.
“The freedom of our two friends that you took hostage,” Watch said. “I assume they are still alive?”
Klandor hesitated. “Yes, they are alive.” He clapped his hands together. “Fine, it is a wager. Your friends for my hat and the lighter. But I toss the coin this time as well, and Bartmeal reads out what it is.”
“I would have it no other way,” Watch said.
Klandor tossed the coin in the air.
“Heads!” he called out.
It landed tails. Bartmeal whispered the word to the assembly.
“Louder please,” Cindy called.
“It was tails,” Bartmeal said, throwing his master an anxious look. Klandor fumed.
“You cheat me,” he accused Watch.
Watch was the picture of innocence. “How do I cheat you? You control everything.”
Klandor complained. “I don’t know how you are doing it!”
“Is it the necklace?” Watch asked sympathetically. “Is it disturbing you in some way? I know you made it, but perhaps it is not as safe to wear as you thought. You can take it off now, if you like. I’m sure all those watching wouldn’t mind.”
Of course, Klandor could not remove the necklace. That would be the same as admitting it was rigged and admitting that Pan had indeed been cheated out of his kingdom. Klandor continued to fret.
“You have to give me a chance to win back what I have lost,” he told Watch.
“Fine. We can go double or nothing again.”
Klandor was wary. “What do I have to wager?”
“Just your castle.”
“My castle! That’s ridiculous. What makes you think I would wager all this just to win a few trinkets and the lives of your friends?”
Watch spoke smoothly, loud enough for all to hear. “Because you are a gambling wizard. Because you have never lost before. Because you are sure, this time, you can beat me.” Watch paused. “Or have I really beaten you at your own game?”
The wizard’s face flushed with blood. “I toss the coin again.”
Watch shrugged. “As you wish.”
Klandor tossed the coin in the air.
“Tails,” he called.
It was heads. Bartmeal didn’t look so good.
Nor did Klandor. “I can’t give up my castle,” he moaned.
Watch leaned forward. “I’ll give you a chance to win it back. Double or nothing.”
Klandor sat back. “What do I have to wager?”
“Everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everything you took from Pan: his title, his castle, his kingdom. If you lose you must give it all back.”
Klandor was insulted. “That’s absurd. I would never wager that much.”
“It’s your choice,” Watch said.
Klandor burned with indecision. Then he nodded his head vigorously.
“I have to win at least once,” he said.
The wizard tossed the coin in the air.
“Tails!” Klandor screamed.
It was heads. Bartmeal fainted.
Klandor threw a fit. “I’m not giving up my kingdom! I’m not going back to being ignored by everyone!”
Pan stepped forward then and grabbed the wizard by the neck.
“You have no choice, Klandor,” he said in a clear and strong voice. “Just as I had no choice.”
Glancing around the room at the enthusiastic nods of the assembled dwarfs and elves, Watch and Cindy could see that everyone else agreed with Pan.
Klandor was history.
But they still needed the wizard for one last thing.
Pan was naturally overjoyed to have his kingdom back and wanted to throw a huge feast to celebrate. But while they were waiting for the food to be prepared, a rooster and a hen suddenly flew through the hall. Apparently they had just escaped from the kitchen. Both birds were making an awful noise. Pan nodded to one of the armed elves.
“Shoot those birds down,” he said. “We can have them for our meal.”
The archer raised his bow and arrow.
“Wait!” Cindy screamed. “Don’t shoot!”
The elf hesitated. Pan looked at Cindy.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“That’s Sally,” she gasped. “The hen is Sally.”
“But it’s just a chicken,” Watch said.
Cindy shook her head. “No, it’s Sally, I’m positive. The rooster must be Adam. Klandor must have changed them into birds. Pan, we have to get the wizard out of your dungeon. He has to change them back.”
“But how can you be so sure?” Pan asked.
Cindy smiled. “I would recognize Sally’s squawk anywhere.”
Epilogue
Pan was unable to escort them back to the interdimensional portal. He said he had too much work to do to get his kingdom in order so that he could invite the elementals to come home. Pan wished them his best as they said goodbye, however, and promised that their bikes and other stuff would be returned to them soon.
But cute little fairy Sarshi came along to keep them company. She walked between them as Watch explained his plan to Adam and Sally, who were still scratching at feathers that were no longer there.
“First I reversed the order of the stones in the crystal necklace,” Watch said. “I discovered that when I did that, it didn’t work at all.”
“Then why did you insist Klandor wear it?” Adam asked.
“To confuse him. He expected to see everything the reverse of what he wanted. When that didn’t happen during the coin tosses, he lost all his sense of balance.”
“But why was that important?” Sally asked.
Watch explained. “To keep him distracted so that he wouldn’t notice Sarshi hanging invisible in the air between us, tipping the coin at the last second so that it would always land the opposite of what he called out. I had him throw the coin for that same reason. The more he had to do, the less likely he was to notice what Sarshi was doing.”
Sally patted Watch on the back. “You’re a genius.”
Watch was gracious. “Cindy contributed at least half the plan.”
“No,” Cindy
said. “Ten percent, at most.”
Adam patted Cindy on the back. “You’re still a genius.”
Cindy blushed. “Sarshi deserves most of the credit. After all, she was the one who had to stay invisible right in the face of a powerful wizard, and keep altering the coin as it fell on the pillow. I’m sure that was no easy trick. Isn’t that right, Sarshi?”
The little fairy was embarrassed. “I have a confession to make.”
“What?” Watch asked.
She hesitated. “I wasn’t there.”
Watch chuckled. “You’re kidding.”
“No,” Sarshi said in a tiny voice. “I couldn’t get my invisible web to work. I tried again and again but the spell kept failing.” She added, “When you were gambling with the wizard, I was sitting in the back with the dwarfs, watching.”
They were all shocked.
“But how could you have failed me?” Watch asked.
“Maybe I was too nervous.” She added quietly, “To tell you the truth, I’m only nine years old.”
Cindy burst out laughing. But Watch was still confused.
“But how did I win on every toss of the coin?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Sarshi smiled sweetly. “Sometimes you just get lucky.”
Turn the page for a sneak peek at
Spooksville #9: The Wishing Stone
Sally Wilcox saw the Wishing Stone first. For that reason she felt it belonged mainly to her. That was probably the same reason she suffered more than the others from the stone. The more that was asked of it, the more it demanded in return. Of course no one knew that at first. But even if Sally had known, she probably would have made the same wishes anyway. She was a strong-willed girl, and rather impulsive.
She and her three friends—Cindy Makey, Adam Freeman, and Watch—were not far outside of Spooksville, their hometown, when they first spotted the stone. Since dealing with Pan’s leprechauns and fairies in the thick forest high in the hills overlooking the town, they had been staying closer to Spooksville, not wandering too deep into dangerous places that were hard to leave. However, no place in or around Spooksville was really safe. The gang was only hiking in the foothills when Sally stopped and pointed toward a sparkle in the trees, maybe a quarter of a mile off the path they were taking through a gully.
“What’s that?” she asked, brushing aside her dark bangs.
“I don’t see anything,” Adam, who was shorter than the others, said.
“Neither do I,” Watch said, removing his thick glasses and cleaning them on his shirtsleeve. “Did you see an animal?”
“No,” Sally said, thoughtful. “It was a flash of light.”
“It could have just been a reflection,” Cindy said, standing behind them.
“Obviously,” Sally said, leading the group. “But a reflection of what?” She paused. “I think we should look.”
“I don’t know,” Cindy said, fingering her long blond hair. “If we go off the path, we’ll get all dirty.”
“And we might run into a strange animal and have our internal organs ripped from our bodies,” Watch added.
Sally frowned at Watch. “And you used to be so adventurous,” she said.
“I was younger then,” Watch said.
“You’re only twelve now,” Adam observed. He nodded to Sally. “I’ll go with you to check it out. It shouldn’t take long to hike over there.” Sally had pointed to the far side of the gully they were presently hiking through.
“We should probably all go together,” Cindy said. “It’s not safe to separate out here.”
“It’s not safe to be alive out here,” Sally said.
“But it’s better than being dead,” Watch said.
They hiked in the direction of the supposed flash Sally had seen. When they reached the spot, they searched the area without seeing anything unusual.
“It was probably just a trick of light,” Adam said.
“Perhaps some debris from a crashed flying saucer,” Watch added.
But Sally was unconvinced. “It was a bright flash. There must be something strange out here.”
“But strange is not necessarily good,” Cindy said.
Sally looked at her. “Are you getting scared again?”
“Yes,” Cindy said, and added sarcastically, “just being out in the wilderness with you makes me tremble in my shoes.”
“Let’s continue our hike,” said Adam. “Then we can go and get some ice cream.”
But Sally was unconvinced. “I want to search the area one more time. I can do it myself. You guys rest here if you’re tired.”
In fact, they were all tired. The summer was almost over but obviously the sun didn’t know. It was another hot, cloudless day. Adam, Cindy, and Watch plopped down on some boulders in the shade while Sally went off on her own. Cindy had brought a bottle of apple raspberry juice and passed it around.
“Another ten days and school starts,” Watch said, taking a deep gulp of the juice and letting out a satisfied sigh. “We won’t have many more days like this.”
“We’ll have the weekends free,” Adam, who was new in town, said. “We’ll have plenty of time to hang out and have fun.”
Watch shook his head as he passed the juice to Adam. “You don’t know the teachers in this town. They give you so much homework, you have to work all weekend.”
“Why do they do that?” Cindy, who was also new, asked. “We don’t all want to grow up to be rocket scientists.”
“They just want to give us a chance to complete our studies,” Watch said.
“But what’s the hurry?” Adam asked.
Watch shrugged. “You’ve been here long enough to know the answer to that. Not that many kids live long enough to graduate. Last year only about a dozen people graduated from junior high, and half of them were missing body parts.”
“What about the other half?” Adam asked reluctantly.
“Most of them were insane,” Watch said.
Cindy grimaced. “That’s horrible!”
“I don’t know,” Watch said. “They had a great all-night graduation party.”
“I hope we get to be in a lot of classes together,” Adam said.
Watch shook his head. “It might be better to separate. Then, if there is an explosion or something, at least one of us will survive.”
“You have explosions at school?” Cindy asked. “I don’t believe it.”
“We had a half-dozen explosions last year. Most of them were in chemistry class. The teacher used to work for the CIA.” Watch added, “But I think they got rid of him.”
Suddenly they heard Sally shouting.
“I’ve found something! I’ve found something!”
About the Author
Christopher Pike is the author of more than forty teen thrillers, including the Thirst, Remember Me, and Chain Letter series. Pike currently lives in Santa Barbara, where it is rumored he never leaves his house. But he can be found online at ChristopherPikeBooks.com.
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Don’t miss any of the chilling adventures!
Spooksville #1: The Secret Path
Spooksville #2: The Howling Ghost
Spooksville #3: The Haunted Cave
Spooksville #4: Aliens in the Sky
Spooksville #5: The Cold People
Spooksville #6: The Witch’s Revenge
Spooksville #7: The Dark Corner
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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This Aladdin hardcover edition July 2015
Text copyright © 1996 by Christopher Pike
Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Vivienne To
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket designed by Jessica Handelman
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Weiss Std.
Library of Congress Control Number 2015931897
ISBN 978-1-4814-1081-6 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-1079-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4302-9 (eBook)
This book was previously titled The Little People.
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