“You did?”
Josslyn nodded. “Of course! We used to come here with Mom and Dad in the summer. It was our family time. Gram and Gramps came too, but boy were we a handful!”
“What was your favorite animal?”
“Why, the dolphins of course!” Josslyn cried. “You know, they have a show here. It’s super cool. And the seals…they’re so cool!”
“I’d like to see a show sometime.”
“We’ll come back,” Josslyn said. “When we aren’t so crunched for time.”
“You guys don’t come here much anymore?”
Josslyn shook her head. “No. After Dad died, it kind of lost its magic. We haven’t been here in years.”
“Maybe a family trip is in order sometime,” Jasmine said. “Come on. The bird building’s over here. Let’s go get us an eagle feather!”
They pushed through the plastic wrap walking through the door, and birds flew above them. They ducked, a bird swooping toward them, its beak coming toward them.
“Eek!”
Josslyn jumped back, her hands flying up in the air. Every bird and person in the building freezing instantly.
“Josslyn!”
“What? You can use your powers to bring the book downstairs, but I can’t use them when a bird scares me half to death?” Josslyn asked. “I don’t like birds! I especially don’t like birds that are trying to peck at me.” She pointed to the bird above them.
“Well…”
“Oh, just be quiet!” Josslyn snapped, hurrying through the building. “And let’s get going!”
Jasmine huffed out a breath, hurrying after Josslyn, and disappearing though another doorway. “Ooh. It’s the endangered species wing.”
“There are so many birds in here!” Josslyn cried, gazing around the building. “Look. It’s a spotted owl! Oh look at him. He’s so pretty!”
“And look. There’s a Macaw!” Jasmine gasped, staring at the dark, blue, colored bird. “Oh…”
“And so many others! The Warbler.” Josslyn pointed. “And the Condor. There’s even a Crane in here. Oh, and look! There’s the Eagle!”
“There’s both the Bald Eagle, and the Golden Eagle in here,” Jasmine whispered. “Boy, are they pretty!”
“Yes, they are. Which one do you think we need? The book didn’t specify, did it?”
Jasmine shook her head. “No, but I’m guessing Golden. After all, we are talking about the God’s. But just in case.” She lifted her hand, flicking her fingers. She frowned, swinging her head toward Josslyn. “Josslyn! I can’t get the feather! They’re frozen!”
“Whoops. My bad.” Josslyn laughed, flicking her fingers, the building unfreezing. “There you go.”
“Gee. Thanks, Sis.” Jasmine rolled her eyes, glancing left, then right. She cocked her head to the side and the feathers appeared in her hands. “Gotcha.”
“Whoa! Jasmine, you didn’t even use your hand! Or even look at it! Have you been practicing?”
“Maybe just a wee bit,” Jasmine said, laughing as she slid the feather into her bag.
“I hate you.”
“Oh please! You can freeze an entire room! I think you’re doing pretty good yourself.”
“I guess that is true.”
“Yes. It is,” Jasmine said, dragging Josslyn out of the building. “Now come on! We’ve got some honey to get!”
“Honey.” Josslyn rolled her eyes. “Of all things, the Gods had to be obsessed with honey?”
“Hey. At least it’s not tuna!” Jasmine cried, crinkling her nose in disgust. “Now that stuff stinks!” She laughed. “But I think it’s smart we teamed up to get this done, Joss. I never get to spend time with just you and just think. We’ll be done a lot faster than everyone else!”
“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself,” Josslyn said as they neared the insect building. “Because I have a feeling getting this honey isn’t going to be as easy as any of us thought it would be.”
“Let me go!” Jade cried, struggling against the bird’s large talons as they flew through the air. She glanced down, gulping as the world flew by. Whoa… “Let me… Aah!”
The bird swooped down, and she screamed. The wind slapped against her face, and her breath caught as they flew toward the ground at a blinding-fast speed. The bird’s talon’s opening, her body falling through the air and hitting the hard ground with a loud thunk.
“Oh. Ow.” She groaned, holding a hand to her hip, wincing as she rose to her feet. I am so going to have a bruise tomorrow! She growled, jerking her head around to glare at the bird. “You know, you’re not very nice!” she cried, placing her hands on her hips as she regarded the bird. “You can’t just grab people whenever you feel like it and fly off with them! It’s rude!”
“Rude? What’s rude?” the bird asked, hopping forward, and pecking at her with his beak. “This?”
“Yes! Stop that!” Jade cried, slapping his beak away.
“Make me!” The bird shouted back, pecking at her again, and Jade scowled. She narrowed her eyes, clenching her fist, and the bird wrapped his wing around her fist, smothering the electricity. “Nice try, Witch, but you can’t fool me. I’ve dealt with plenty of your kind before. Now, come on. He’s waiting.” He pulled her forward.
“Stupid bird,” Jade muttered under her breath as he pulled her across the dirt covered ground. She glanced around her, at the dark, brown walls surrounding her, and the gray skies lying just above her. It looks so dreary, she thought. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” the bird said, stopping in front of the door, and pulling it open. They stepped inside, and she blinked at the sudden darkness, narrowing her eyes. “Where are we?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“Well, I don’t like surprises!” Jade snapped, digging her heels into the ground. “And I am not taking one more step until you tell me where we are or where we are going, bird!”
The bird sighed. “We’re going to my master.”
“But why?”
“Because he needs more luck. To free himself from the spell he’s under,” the bird said. “And stop calling me bird. My name is Casper.”
“Like the ghost?”
“Do I look like a ghost to you?”
“No. You look like a big bird with a big mouth,” Jade said, clenching her fist. A ball of electricity appeared in her hand, and Casper turned around. He slapped his wing out, hitting her hand. “Stop that!”
Jade narrowed her eyes again, blowing breath. “Stupid bird! You know, all I wanted to do was come here and get a few things for my friend. A friend, who I care about, and who I’m worried about! Now, you’ve ruined everything. I just… I…” She narrowed her eyes, electricity spewing from the blue depths, flinging toward the bird.
“I said, stop that!” the bird shouted, dodging the electricity.
“I want nothing more than to fry you to a crisp,” Jade said, narrowing her eyes. “You’re a menace!”
“You can try all you want, but you’ll only lose. I know a thing or two about witches,” Casper said, chuckling. “I’ve been around long enough.”
“How long have you been around?”
Silence sounded, and Jade jerked her head around, frowning. Where did he go? She wondered, staring at the empty spot where he’d just been standing. “Casper?”
Thunk!
The door slammed shut behind her, and she jumped. “Wait! Casper! No!” she shouted, racing forward and pounding her fist against the wood. “Let me out of here!”
Casper chuckled from the other side of the door. “Sorry, Witch, but you’re about to find yourself a new home. It was nice knowing you.”
“Bastard!” Jade shouted, slamming her fist against the door once more, pressing her cheek against the wood. Tears filled her eyes, and behind her she heard a loud thunk. She swung around, staring at the ground as something rippled underneath the dirt. Oh God. What’s going on? What’s in here with me? She backed up a step, pressing herself
back against the door, her eyes widening as a very large, reddish, brown colored worm jumped out from underneath the ground.
“Ahh!” She screamed, dodging its large body, and racing across the dirt. There has to be a way out of her! she thought. There has to be!
The worm swung around, its large tail wrapping around her, and she screamed as it opened its mouth. Her body propelling deep inside the beast.
“Agh. This is not happening!”
Jade groaned, sitting up, and rubbing the side of her head. “What the hell just happened?” she asked, pushing herself to her feet, and staring at the pink walls surrounding her. “Where am I?”
“In the belly of the beast.”
“What?” She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw the group of leprechauns sitting in a circle behind her. “The belly of the beast?” She blinked, scratching her head. Was he talking about the worm? Wait, had she just been eaten by a freaking worm? Her brain started to unmuddle, and she groaned. Just my luck!
“The worm,” a leprechaun with short, brown hair said as he studied the chess board in front of him, twirling his mustache around his finger. “Don’t worry, it’ll come back to you.”
“I think it already is,” Jade muttered. “A worm! I was eaten by a freaking worm?”
“Not just any worm,” another one of the leprechauns said, as he glanced over his brother’s shoulder at the chess board, grinning across at his other brother. “An evil sorcerer.”
“Evil sorcerer?”
“Yup. The worst of the worst. We cursed him centuries ago.”
“Why?”
“Well, because he’s evil!”
“But I didn’t even know leprechauns could cast curses!”
“If you piss us off enough, we can,” a leprechaun with a long, red beard said, glancing at his brother. “My turn?”
“Well, duh.”
“Good.” He grinned, moving his chess piece. “Got you! Checkmate!”
“Bastard!”
“So, what did he do?” Jade asked, rolling her eyes as she watched them. They were stuck inside a worm, and they were playing chess? “Besides being evil, that is.”
“What didn’t he do?” the brown-haired leprechaun asked, as he stuck his tongue out at his brother. “He only killed our family, all of our friends, turned our home to ashes, oh, and he tried to steal our luck!” He glanced over at Jade. “That’s a no-no in this land.”
“Why’d he kill your family?”
“Because he wanted to use our luck for evil. We couldn’t have that, so our ancestors banded together and cursed him to be a worm.”
“A worm was the worst they could come up with?”
“Don’t you think being a worm is bad enough?”
“Well, I guess that is true,” Jade murmured, thinking she would never want to be a worm. Crawling around in the dirt, a hideous, ugly creature that no one liked? No way! “Plus, he can’t use his magic. That’s probably torture to him!”
“Exactly, but then he found Casper.”
“Stupid bird,” a young leprechaun, with said, frightened, green eyes said. “Because of him, even more of us are missing! Dead!”
“And with each one of us he takes, the more our land suffers,” another leprechaun said, pouting. “And now, he’s close to breaking the curse. Just a little bit more luck, and he’ll be free!”
“Well we can’t let that happen!” Jade cried. She walked across the room, eyeing the pink wall. “You know, this worm reminds me of that whale in Pinocchio. Man, I hated that movie!” Rage filled her, and she slammed her fist into the wall. White goo oozed out from the wall and she jumped back, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Eww! That’s disgusting! There’s got to be some way out of this place!”
“There’s not. We’ve looked,” another one of the leprechauns said, bowing his head. “By the way, who are you?” he asked, frowning. “You look nothing like us!”
“That’s because I’m not,” Jade said. “I’m Jade. I’m a witch, and I always find my way out of iffy predicaments.” She lifted her hands, electricity zinging from her fingers.
“Wait! Jade! No!”
She flung her hands forward, a stream of electricity slinging from her fingers, and flinging toward the wall. Her eyes widened, as the electricity bounced off the wall, and she ducked. The bolt of electricity flew over her head, bounced off the walls to her left, then to her right. “Whoa…”
“Ahh!”
The leprechauns scattered, and she followed the stream of electricity. Watching as it zinged toward one of the younger leprechauns. “Watch out!” she screamed, lunging forward, wrapping her arms around the leprechaun, and tossing him to the ground. She shielded her body over his, watching as the worm’s mouth opened, the bolt of electricity disappearing out of the worm.
“You… you… you almost killed us!” the red-bearded leprechaun shouted, jumping to his feet and jabbing a finger toward Jade.
“I didn’t mean to!”
“You could have at least listened to us!” The brown-haired leprechauns said, wagging a finger at her. “Instead, you just went ahead and did your witchy thing. Just like all you witches do.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You’re stupid!”
“I’m not stupid! I’m just trying to help!”
“Well—”
“Oh, would you get over yourself!” Jade snapped. “I meant well! I was trying to help and yes, it backfired, but…” she trailed off, lifting her head as the worm opened its mouth again. “Wait a minute, I have an idea.” She glanced down at the Leprechaun underneath her. “And I’m sorry for this,” she said, wrapping her arms around his small body and tossing him high into the air. His body flying through the worm’s mouth.
“He’s free!”
The leprechauns stared at her in surprise. “You did it!”
“I guess I did,” Jade said, scratching her chin. “But how?” She closed her eyes, thinking. Maybe if I teleport, I can free everyone? She cleared her mind, focusing, but nothing happened. She groaned. “Dang it! Why can’t I get a hold of this stupid teleporting power! It worked once!”
“Teleporting?” the leprechauns looked at her in confusion. “You can teleport?”
“I’ve only done it like twice.”
“Forget about the damned teleporting!” one of the leprechauns shouted. “The beast is ticklish!”
“Ticklish?” Jade laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No! Just think about it, Jade. When the electricity hit him, he opened his mouth!”
“But that doesn’t mean…”
“Do you want to be stuck inside this beast forever, Jade?”
“Well, no.”
“Then help us tickle the monster!”
Leprechauns, Jade thought, rolling her eyes. Now I know why I’ve never met them. She blew out a breath and followed them to the wall, thinking this had to be the stupidest thing ever.
She lifted her hand, tickling the bright, pink walls with her fingers, glancing around her at the leprechauns as they did the same. Hating the gushy feeling underneath her fingers, feeling weird, and the worm suddenly moved. She gasped, losing her balance, and falling back against the wall. A moment later a loud sneeze sounded from the worm, and she screamed as she flew up high into the air. Flying out through the worm’s mouth.
“We’re free!”
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Jade said, pointing behind her as the worm lunged high into the air. “And it will be my pleasure to send this beast straight to hell!” She flung her hand forward, electricity slinging from her fingers, and striking the worm in the chest.
The worm jerked back, its body shaking from the shock, and it evaporated into thin air. “Now, that’s exactly how I like my worms. Non-existent.”
“No!”
A loud cry sounded above them, and Jade lifted her head as Casper swooped down from high above. He landed on the ground in front of them, pecking at the ground. “Master!” He swung his head arou
nd, glaring at Jade. “You! You did this!”
“Oh, don’t blame me for your master’s evil doings,” Jade said, folding her arms across her chest. “Maybe if he’d been a little nicer and hadn’t ruined so many lives he’d still be here. But now, he’s where all evil beings go, and as for you.” She glanced at the leprechauns. “What do you think? Does he deserve a pass after everything he’s done?”
“No!”
“Then what should we do with him?”
“I think I have an idea.” The leprechauns smiled and held their hands out. A brown stick appeared in each of their hands, and they tapped them on the ground. The sticks glowed a bright yellow, and they pointed them toward the bird. Blue, green, orange, yellow, and purple hues sprung from the sticks, streaking toward the bird.
“No!” Casper took flight, and a second later he was turned to stone.
“Hmm. Not bad,” Jade murmured, walking around the statue, examining it. She poked a finger forward, jabbing him in the beak. “How do you like that, Casper?” she asked, laughing.
“Serves him right after everything he’s done to us,” the older leprechaun said, stepping toward her as the darkness disappeared from around them. Bright green grass appeared underneath their feet, large trees surrounding them, and a bright, blue sky appeared above them. “Thank you, Jade, for everything you did for us. We probably would still be trapped inside that worm if you hadn’t shown up.” He glanced over his shoulder, as running feet sounded behind them. Grinning, as a herd of leprechauns raced toward them. “How can we ever repay you?”
“Oh, I think I have a couple of ideas,” Jade said, grinning. “After all, I am looking for a coconut and a four-leaf clover for a friend.”
“Now, why didn’t you say so?” the leprechaun asked, tapping his stick on the ground. “Come on, guys, we’re going on a trip.”
“A trip to where?”
“Hawaii.”
“Are you freaking kidding me! This is what happens to me?” Julie seethed, slamming the door shut behind her, and shaking the rain drops from her hair. She hung her coat up on the coat rack, and trudged up the stairs, slamming the vial of holy water on the table next to Sky. “Here! Here’s your damned holy water!”
Crossroads Page 3