Pip raced back just in time to hear him. But the Hound didn’t see him, so he hid behind a tree.
Zelda stepped forward, trying to block the Hound from getting to the Buddies. “No!” she said as fiercely as she could.
The Hound opened his mouth and howled. The Buddies watched in horror as Zelda turned to stone!
“We’re doomed!” B-Dawg moaned.
The Hound took a deep breath, ready to howl again. But just then, Warwick and Hoot arrived.
“Not now, Hound. We need these puppies,” Warwick told him. He trapped the Buddies with a freezing spell so they couldn’t run away. Then he laughed wickedly. “Now all I need is the book.”
And he had a plan to get it.
“These puppies belong to those pesky kids. They will try to rescue them. Hound, take the puppies to the manor and wait for me.” And with that, Warwick sped back to the church on his staff.
“You in there!” he called from outside the church. “I have something of yours.” He waited a moment, and then the doors opened. Mr. Johnson and the kids peered out.
“If you want to see your puppies again, you’d better bring that book to my manor,” Warwick told them. Then he flew off.
“Oh, no, they’ve got the Buddies!” Alice cried.
Billy turned to Mr. Johnson. “What should we do?”
“I can’t let what happened to Pip happen to your pups,” Mr. Johnson said. “We must save them and put an end to Warwick once and for all.”
Pip had followed the Hound and the Buddies back to the manor. Now he sneaked in through the front door of the house.
Upstairs in the turret room, the Buddies were locked in a cage. The Hound was guarding them while Hoot looked on.
“Soon I will swallow all of your souls,” the Hound told the Buddies, licking his lips. “I can’t wait.”
Budderball looked nervous. “Is it just me, or does this guy talk about eating more than I do?”
Just then, Warwick swooped in through the window. “Master, where have you been?” Hoot asked anxiously.
“I told those wretched children to bring me the spell book,” Warwick replied.
“What if they don’t?” Hoot asked.
“Quiet, you moronic birdbrain!” Warwick yelled. “They’ll want to save their darling puppies, won’t they?”
Pip made his way upstairs and peeked in through the doorway.
“Psst…Buddies!” he whispered.
“Pip!” Rosebud shot a nervous look at Warwick, but the warlock wasn’t looking at them.
“We need a distraction to get you out of here,” Pip whispered. “I’ll be right back!”
He backed away from the door, trying to figure out how to distract Warwick. Just then a pair of rats raced by, followed by a black cat. Aha! That gave Pip an idea. He took off after them.
The rats ducked into a hole in the wall. The cat crouched outside, waiting to pounce.
Pip peered into the hole. “I need your help,” he told the rats. He believed they were humans who had been turned into rodents by Warwick. And he was right. The rats were Rodney and Skip!
“What’s in it for us?” Rodney the rat replied.
“First of all, I won’t let that cat eat you as a Halloween treat,” Pip said.
“Eat him!” Skip the rat said quickly. “He’s plumper.”
“You are such a rat!” Rodney told him.
“More importantly,” Pip said, “if we don’t break the warlock’s spell tonight, you’ll be rats forever.”
Rodney and Skip didn’t like the sound of that. Being rats wasn’t much fun.
“Okay,” Rodney said. “We’ll help.”
“Wise decision,” Pip said.
He convinced the cat to leave the rats alone. Then he led Rodney and Skip to the turret. They scurried in, staying close to the walls.
Warwick didn’t see the rats coming. He was staring intently out the window. Mr. Johnson’s hearse had just pulled up outside.
“Perfect,” Warwick told the Hound. “Soon I’ll have my spell book, and then you can devour those delicious puppy souls.”
Suddenly he felt something crawling up the inside of his pant leg. He let out a yelp.
“What is it?” the Hound asked, startled.
“Something is biting me!” Warwick cried. “Hound, Hoot, do something!”
He danced around the room shaking and wiggling, trying to get the rats off him.
“That dawg has some serious moves,” B-Dawg commented. He could definitely appreciate dance skills.
Finally Warwick shook the rats out of his robes.
“Change us back!” Skip demanded.
“I’m going to get you filthy vermin!” Warwick cried as the rats scurried away. “No one bites me! Hound, catch them and they’re yours to eat. I’ll go get that book from those stupid kids.”
“Our kids are here?” Rosebud perked up her ears. “Oh, no!”
“Hoot, guard the puppies,” Warwick ordered. “Fail me, and I’ll make you into a feather duster.”
“Yes, Master,” Hoot said as Warwick and the Hound rushed out of the room.
Pip waited until the coast was clear and then sneaked over to the Buddies. He tried to unlock the cage, but Hoot spotted him.
“Hoo! Hoo! Stop!” he hooted. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving my friends,” Pip said.
Hoot shook his head. “I can’t let them escape.”
“Hoot, why are you so loyal to Warwick?” Rosebud asked.
“Seriously, dude,” Mudbud said. “It’s totally obvious he plans to get rid of you.”
“Master sometimes gets angry,” Hoot said. “But he would never get rid of me. He needs me!”
“He’s got that Howlloween Hound to do his dirty work now,” B-Dawg told the owl. “He calls you names like ‘moronic birdbrain.’”
Hoot nodded. “That does sound like something he’d say.”
“I know that you never meant to hurt me, Hoot,” Pip said. “I’m Pip, the ghost dog. Haven’t the last seventy years without evil been a lot nicer than your time under Warwick’s wing?”
Hoot looked thoughtful. “It was kind of nice not having to look over my shoulder all the time,” he said. “Even though that’s quite easy for me.”
To demonstrate, he turned his head all the way around. Warwick and the Hound were still nowhere in sight. So Hoot hopped down and used one of his claws to pick the lock on the cage.
Pip smiled. “You won’t regret it, Hoot. I promise.”
Rodney and Skip raced through the manor with the Hound on their tails. They made it to their hiding hole just in time.
The Hound skidded to a stop. “I’ve had enough of chasing you measly morsels anyway,” he growled. He was ready for the puppies.
The Hound headed back to the turret room. When he walked in, he saw that the Buddies were out of their cage.
“How did you get out?” he demanded.
“Hound! Over here!” Pip called. “It’s me—Pip. You stole my sister’s and all my brothers’ souls, and you only needed mine. The spell was broken before you got my soul.”
“I remember you,” the Hound said.
“Then take me and let the Buddies go,” Pip said bravely. “Take me, and you’ll have five souls of the same blood.”
The Buddies watched in horror as the Hound nodded. “You make a sound proposal,” he told Pip. “I agree.”
He opened his mouth and howled. “No, dude!” Mudbud cried. “Don’t!”
“Good-bye, Buddies,” Pip said.
A second later, he was stone again.
“The final soul is mine!” the Hound growled in delight. He stepped over to the mirror. “Open the portal! Release the evil spirits!”
He howled at the mirror. The dark glass glowed. Strange, ghostly spirits started to fly out of it. They headed straight for the town to put curses on all the townspeople.
The Hound watched for a moment, then turned to the Buddies. “Now,” he said, “to
take five more puppy souls.”
“You promised to let them go!” Hoot reminded him.
“I lied,” the Hound said.
Hoot couldn’t believe it. And he couldn’t let this happen! He flew at the Hound to stop him. The Hound howled, and Hoot turned to stone and fell to the floor with a thud.
But he’d distracted the Hound just long enough for the Buddies to run out of the room.
The Buddies raced down the stairs, heading for the front door. Suddenly Warwick stepped into view!
Mudbud looked back. The Hound was at the top of the stairs behind them.
“Dudes, we’re trapped!” he cried.
But Rosebud didn’t panic. “This way,” she said, leading them through a door off the stair landing.
“Hound!” Warwick yelled. “Get those puppies, now!”
The Buddies found themselves in a parlor with dusty furniture and a fireplace. There were no other doors.
“Great, dawg,” B-Dawg said. “A dead end!”
The Hound bounded into the room. “I have you now!” he growled.
Suddenly, the rats Rodney and Skip appeared by the fireplace. “This way, puppies!” Rodney called.
The Buddies hurried over. The rats pushed a button, and the fireplace spun around, taking the Buddies with it!
Mr. Johnson and the kids walked toward the manor’s front door. Mr. Johnson was holding a large book.
As they looked up, they saw strange lights flashing in the turret. Ghostly shapes flew out of the windows in every direction.
“Oh, no!” Mr. Johnson said. “They’ve opened the portal. Now all Warwick needs to do is complete the spell and it will remain open forever. All good will be overcome by evil. But we can still stop it.” He took a large cross out of his coat. “Stay close to me, kids.”
They had to find the Buddies before it was too late!
When they entered the manor, Warwick was waiting for them.
“We have your book,” Mr. Johnson told him.
Warwick didn’t want to waste any more time. The moon would be setting soon. “Hand it over,” he ordered.
“Where are our Buddies?” Billy asked.
“Oh, they’re around here somewhere,” Warwick said.
He reached for the book. But Mr. Johnson held up the cross to stop him.
Warwick sighed. Why did nonevil people have to be so stubborn?
“As you wish,” he said. “Follow me.”
He flew up the stairs. Mr. Johnson and the kids followed Warwick into the turret room. “Where are the Buddies?” Billy asked.
“They were right here,” Warwick said. “But you’re too late.”
He pointed his staff at Mr. Johnson and shot a beam of magical energy at him. The magic knocked Mr. Johnson off his feet. Warwick grabbed the book from him.
“Now I will finish the spell, and the creatures of the netherworld will be here forever! I will rule the land once and for all!” He cackled with glee and opened the book. “Wait a minute,” he said, a confused look on his face. “This isn’t my spell book!”
Taking advantage of the warlock’s surprise, Mr. Johnson grabbed Warwick’s staff and tossed it to Billy. “Billy—the spell!”
“My staff!” Warwick howled, struggling to get past Mr. Johnson.
Billy pulled the real spell book out of his backpack and opened it. “Protectus!” he chanted.
The staff fired a magical beam at Warwick, knocking him back.
Meanwhile, the Buddies were trying to sneak out of the manor. But the Hound caught up to them in the kitchen.
“That’s it, you miserable pups,” he growled. “Nowhere left to run! I’ll have all your souls now.”
Luckily, B-Dawg had an idea. “All right, dawg. You win,” he said. “But take Budderball first. He’s the plumpest.”
The rest of the Buddies gasped.
“Silence!” the Hound ordered. “I don’t care who’s first.”
“Trust me,” B-Dawg whispered to the others. “I’ve got a plan.”
“B-Dawg has a plan?” Rosebud whispered, surprised.
“I can have a plan!” B-Dawg said defensively.
The Hound began to howl. Magical green energy came out of his mouth and drifted toward Budderball.
But at that moment, B-Dawg started dancing. He spun and jumped and danced so furiously that all the dust that had built up in the house over the years came swirling into the air. The Hound started coughing.
“Ugh!” the Hound cried, trying to suck in some fresh air. But as he breathed in, the green magical energy got sucked back around him!
“No!” the Hound cried. “This can’t be happening!”
But it was. The magic surrounded him—and before the puppies’ eyes, the Hound turned to stone! The Buddies couldn’t believe it!
“That was totally wicked!” Mudbud exclaimed.
B-Dawg smiled. He knew he had it in him.
In the turret room, Billy’s spell was keeping Warwick away from him and his friends. But for how long?
“Hand me the staff, boy!” Warwick ordered.
“No!” Billy closed his eyes. He was scared out of his wits. Could he do what he needed to do next?
Mr. Johnson looked out the window. The sun was breaking over the horizon.
“Quick, Billy!” he urged. “The sun is rising. Say the spell!”
Billy held up the staff. Sunlight bounced off it and hit the mirror nearby.
Just then the Buddies rushed in. But Billy hardly saw them. He was focused on the spell book.
He read one of the spells out loud.
“To annul the spell and still the beast
And all that has been wrought release,
Turn about, and say it thrice:
All’s as was in a trice.”
“No!” Warwick yelled as Billy recited the last line of the spell.
The mirror lit up, and spirits came flying toward it from every direction. The mirror was sucking them in as if it were a magical vacuum!
Warwick fought the pull of the mirror. But it was too strong.
“Drat!” he cried. “Not again!”
He tried to grab Mr. Johnson. But the man stomped on the warlock’s foot.
Warwick yelped in pain. All of a sudden he noticed that Mr. Johnson looked familiar. And that foot-stomping definitely felt familiar.
“It’s you!” he exclaimed, realizing that Mr. Johnson was Joseph. “I’ll take you with me this time!” He grabbed Mr. Johnson, dragging him toward the mirror.
“Mr. Johnson!” Billy yelled.
Just then, the stone statue of Pip came back to life, thanks to the power of Billy’s spell. Pip saw what was happening and leaped forward, knocking Warwick and Mr. Johnson apart.
“Nooooo!” Warwick wailed.
The mirror grabbed the warlock and pulled him in. He clutched the edge, trying to stay free. But the magic was too strong. Warwick lost his grip and tumbled into the mirror, disappearing just as the magical light faded away.
A second later the room was normal again. Mr. Johnson looked down at Pip.
“You saved my life,” he said.
Pip barked and jumped up joyfully.
Then there were several other barks. It was Pip’s brothers and sister! Their stone forms had been sitting in the turret room all along. They’d come back to life, too!
Hoot also returned to normal. He hooted happily.
“Thank you, Hoot,” Pip said. He knew they couldn’t have beaten Warwick without the owl’s help. “Now my brothers and sis can be reunited with their kids, too.”
All around town, the evil magic was reversed. Zelda and Deputy Sniffer returned to life. Sheriff Dan changed from a monkey back into a man. Rodney and Skip turned back into boys. All the townsfolk woke from their spells.
In the turret room, Mr. Johnson lifted the staff. He smashed it down on a table. The gem shattered. A moment later, a crack formed in the turret’s mirror, then another. Finally the whole thing fell to pieces! Warwick would never be able t
o return.
Then Mr. Johnson picked up his puppy, Pip. Pip licked his face happily, and Mr. Johnson smiled.
“Come on, everyone,” he said. “Let’s get out of this evil place.”
Billy stood at the front of the classroom. Mr. Johnson, Pip, and the Buddies were at his side as he finished his history presentation. “And so the evil warlock was sucked into the mirror, never to be seen again,” he said. “And Joseph Johnson was finally reunited with his long-lost puppy, Pip. The curse of the Howlloween Hound has been lifted, and Fernfield is now safe forever.”
The class applauded. Mrs. Carroll smiled.
“That was quite the story, Billy,” she said.
“It’s more than just a story, Mrs. C,” Billy said. “It really happened. Just ask Rodney and Skip. They were total heroes. Right, guys?”
Rodney and Skip looked sheepish. “Every word of it,” Skip said sarcastically. “Especially the part where we didn’t get turned into rats.”
“Well, that was a very thorough presentation, Billy,” Mrs. Carroll said. “You get an A-plus for your efforts. Congratulations.”
Later, the kids and the Buddies stood beside an old van with Mr. Johnson and Pip. Mr. Johnson had packed up the car with his belongings.
“What are you going to do now?” Alice asked Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson smiled. He looked much happier now.
“I tracked down the owners of Pip’s brothers and sister,” he said. “They live all over the country now, so we’re going to visit them.”
“It’s great to have a new leash on life,” Pip added jokingly. “But I’ll miss you, Buddies.”
“Yo, we’ll catch you on the flip side, dawg,” B-Dawg said.
“I think what my brother means,” Buddha added, “is we’ll never forget you.”
Pip smiled. He would never forget the Buddies, either. With that, Mr. Johnson and Pip climbed into their van. As they drove off, the Buddies and kids waved good-bye. And above them all flew Hoot, very happy to be free—and especially happy that the Buddies had rid Fernfield of the curse of the Howlloween Hound once and for all.
Spooky Buddies Junior Novel Page 4