Under the Magician's Spell Read online

  “Cool,” Sid says. He and Joanie lean forward in their seats.

  Maybe the cowboy knows what he’s doing, you think. You’ve seen this act in circuses before.

  You shut your eyes just before the cowboy throws the knife.

  “Ooooops! Wrong knife!” are the last words you ever hear.

  THE END

  You don’t think the Magician will let you go once you give him the book. Your best bet is to escape now. But how?

  “If the Magician got out,” you say, “so can we!”

  “But he’s magic,” Joanie counters. “And he knows his way around. He probably built this creepy room!”

  “Fine,” you tell her, “don’t help. Your pointy little head will look great on that shelf.”

  Joanie stamps her feet. The hollow sound echoes in the small room. “Quit picking on me,” she whines.

  You and Sid roll your eyes. “Come on, Sid,” you say. “Maybe we can find some sort of trapdoor.” You begin tapping on the brick wall, searching for a hidden door.

  Joanie stomps over to the corner. She sits there and pouts.

  You ignore her and wave at the coffin. “This stuff had to be brought in here somehow,” you tell Sid. You have a nagging feeling that you had the solution a minute ago, but it slipped away.

  Joanie’s singing TV jingles. She’s so annoying.

  “Joanie, cut it out!” you yell. “We’re trying to —” Then something occurs to you. As strange as it seems, you think the answer is in something Joanie said or did.

  Is the clue in something Joanie said? Find out on PAGE 46.

  Is the clue in something Joanie did? Turn to PAGE 108.

  “Let’s steal something from Larry,” Sid suggests. “Something that he would be willing to trade for the Magic Book.”

  “That’s an awesome idea,” you tell Sid.

  “But what are we going to take from Larry?” asks Joanie. “And how are we going to get it without anyone knowing?”

  “Don’t worry,” you reassure Joanie. “I know exactly what we can do.” You glance around the mall parking lot to be sure no one can hear you. You drop your voice down to a low whisper. “You know that pet rat Larry likes to carry around in his pocket?”

  “Do I? Ugh,” Sid says.

  “Well, we’re going to steal it. When it’s not with him, he keeps it in a cage in his room.”

  “What are we waiting for?” Joanie cries, already hurrying toward the bikes. “Let’s go!”

  Rush to PAGE 123.

  What’s a henway? You have no idea. Mr. Knowledge must be very smart.

  “A hen weighs about six pounds,” Mr. Knowledge says.

  You groan. That old joke.

  “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” someone calls from the audience.

  “Practice, practice, practice,” Mr. Knowledge answers.

  “Why did the chicken cross the road?” someone shouts. “Why do firemen wear red suspenders?” another person calls.

  You turn to Joanie and Sid. “These are just stupid old jokes,” you say. “I don’t think Mr. Knowledge will be any help to us.”

  “Agreed,” says Sid. “Let’s check out Ms. Cardsharp.”

  You, Joanie, and Sid find a side door and sneak out of the auditorium. The door opens into a small room. The only furniture is a round table with five empty chairs placed around it. A woman with frizzy blonde hair stands in front of the table, shuffling cards.

  “I’m Ms. Cardsharp,” she greets you. “We’ve been waiting for you. Time to meet your fellow players.”

  Turn to PAGE 56.

  The cabinet stops. Phew! You don’t think you could have taken anymore. Your stomach settles down. Sid’s face turns back to its normal color.

  “That was fun!” Joanie exclaims. You glare at her.

  The door to the cabinet is flung open. A woman with frizzy blonde hair smiles at you. She wears a red striped shirt, a black vest, and shiny black pants. She has a visor sitting low on her forehead. She shuffles a deck of cards.

  “I hear you want to play a little cards,” she says. “You’ve come to the right place.” She talks so fast you can barely understand her. “We are just about to start a new game.”

  You, Joanie, and Sid step out of the cupboard. You find yourself in a small room with a large round table with five empty chairs.

  The table is covered with a smooth green cloth. Yellow, red, and blue chips are piled on the edge of the table. You hear the rustling of the cards flying through Ms. Cardsharp’s fingers.

  “Now meet your opponents,” Ms. Cardsharp says.

  Turn to PAGE 56.

  Loud claps of thunder echo around the mall. The sky grows darker and darker. Huge cracks appear in the floor.

  You watch in horror as a huge split in the tile moves toward you. Faster, faster —

  “Look out!” you shout. You shove the Magic Book into the waistband of your pants. You try to outrun the widening gap but it’s no use. You fall into the opening.

  Your hands reach up for the edge, but the ground is shaking so much you can’t get a good hold. You slide down deeper and deeper into the black hole. Your fingers scrape at the dirt along the sides. You try to find something to hold on to but there’s nothing. The dirt crumbles away under your fingertips.

  “Help!” you shout. But there is no one to help you.

  You plunge into the earth’s darkness, tumbling over, and over, and over.

  Plummet to PAGE 60.

  You feel someone grab your other foot. It must be Joanie. You are easily lifted upward.

  Now that you think about it, you are being pulled through the hole in the ceiling awfully fast. Too fast. You have a terrible feeling that it isn’t Joanie or Sid holding on to your ankles.

  You’re pulled through the opening in the ceiling onto the solid, hard floor. You lie there, eyes shut, too tired and too frightened to move.

  But you can’t put it off any longer. You have to find out if it’s Sid and Joanie. You open your eyes. Nobody’s there.

  You untangle the rope ladder from around your feet. Then you hear a faint shuffling sound behind you.

  You glance back. Three kids walk toward you. They are wearing what look like baseball uniforms.

  “Hello,” you call. The kids don’t answer, but keep advancing. Closer and closer.

  Then you gasp. These aren’t ordinary kids — they’re corpses!

  Turn to PAGE 90.

  You watch Larry, D. J., and Buddy. You can’t hear what Larry is reading from the book, but something must be funny. Everyone is laughing.

  That’s when you notice the rabbits.

  Rabbits suddenly seem to be everywhere. They are hopping out from behind a stack of cartons on the other side of the room. One little white rabbit hops right onto the book in Larry’s hands!

  Larry yelps and jumps up, dropping the book. You have to cover your mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Larry the bully is afraid of a cute little bunny!

  Larry’s not laughing anymore. He scans the room. “Get those furry monsters!” he shouts. D. J. and Buddy jump up and begin chasing the rabbits.

  They are headed right your way!

  “We’ve got to find a place to hide,” Sid hisses.

  But Larry dropped the Magic Book. You spot it on the floor right where he left it — unguarded. This might be the best chance to get it back.

  What should you do?

  If you hide in the boxes, turn to PAGE 70.

  If you make a run for the book, turn to PAGE 52.

  As you near the top, you check the sand in the hourglass. Not much time left. You give Sid one last shove. He falls forward over the edge of the opening in the ceiling. You pull yourself up and over, flopping onto the floor beside him.

  “No time to rest,” you tell the others. “The sand has almost run out. We’ve got to find Mr. Knowledge.”

  As soon as you say “Mr. Knowledge,” lights flash on. You are standing in the back of another theater. A drumroll announces that the per
formance is about to begin. You, Sid, and Joanie quickly find empty seats.

  A man in a dark brown suit walks onstage. He pulls on his thin mustache and peers at the audience.

  “Ask me any question,” he says. “I know all the answers. I’m Mr. Knowledge.”

  “What’s a henway?” someone shouts from the audience.

  Do you know?

  Yes? Go to PAGE 26.

  No? Go to PAGE 38.

  You are pulled through the doorway and into glaring white lights. Joanie and Sid tumble out after you.

  You gaze up at the creature. You start laughing when you realize the face that scared you was only a gorilla mask!

  The man takes off his mask and winks at you. He’s short and bald. “Had you going there for a minute, didn’t I, pardner?” he says. He sounds like your cousin from Texas.

  The man drops the gorilla mask on the floor and picks up a giant cowboy hat. That’s when you notice he’s dressed head to toe in a cowboy outfit — jeans, cowboy boots, spurs. He helps Joanie to her feet, then shakes Sid’s hand.

  “You’re just in time, pardner,” he tells Sid.

  “In time for what?” Sid asks.

  “In time for some real fun,” the cowboy answers.

  You glance around. You are on a stage that has been decorated to look like a western ranch. Bales of hay are stacked around a fake barn door. A large wooden wheel painted red, white, and blue stands in the center of the stage.

  What kind of place is this? you wonder. Then you feel something cold and hard pressed into your back.

  A knife.

  Go to PAGE 86.

  “Why don’t we play Draw?” you manage to say. You usually do well at Draw, and it’s safer than trying to play a game you don’t know.

  Everyone seems to like the idea. Ms. Cardsharp does some fancy shuffling. Then she takes a card from the middle of the deck and places it on the table in front of her. She passes the deck to her left.

  The deck of cards is passed around the table. Each person takes a card and puts it facedown on the table. Then the deck of cards reaches you. With a trembling hand, you pull a card from the deck. You take a deep breath and cross your fingers for luck.

  What card did you draw?

  Find a deck of playing cards. Shuffle them and then, without looking, draw one card. Put the card facedown in front of you. Then take a deep breath and turn to PAGE 74.

  Get real! When has Joanie ever said anything that was of any help?

  Are you having a good hair day? Because your head is going on permanent view in the Magician’s collection.

  THE END

  “Let’s go to the clubhouse,” you say. “We must have something that will work.” You leave your bikes at the mall. Sid can’t ride with his hands locked together. Luckily, your clubhouse is only a few blocks away. You made it last summer out of the toolshed behind Sid’s house.

  The three of you sneak into the toolshed. Sid is handcuffed, and Joanie is hiding a stolen Magic Book in her backpack. You figure you’re better off without any grown-ups around.

  “Okay,” you say. “Let’s get to work setting Sid free. On second thought,” you tease, “maybe we should keep him a prisoner a while longer.”

  “We can play cops and robbers,” Joanie suggests. “We already know who the robber is!”

  “That won’t be any fun,” you joke. “He’s already caught!”

  “Come on, guys, quit kidding around!” Sid whines. “These handcuffs are getting tighter! Really!”

  You glance down at Sid’s wrists. You realize he’s right. The cuffs are starting to dig into his skin. They weren’t doing that when he first put them on. Could they be magic handcuffs?

  Turn to PAGE 83.

  “Hey, what’s going on over there?” It’s the voice of Mr. Pool, the owner of the nearby yogurt store. D. J. lifts his foot off your hand.

  “You’re dead,” Larry grumbles, picking himself up. “We’re out of here,” he tells D. J. and Buddy. “Bring the book.”

  D. J. yanks the book from your hand. Several pages of the book tear out. You watch them flutter to the ground.

  The three bullies strut away with the Magic Book.

  “Let them have the stupid book,” Sid says.

  “Are you all right?” Mr. Pool calls.

  “Fine, thanks.” You stand up and wave at him, and Mr. Pool goes back into the store.

  You gather up the four pages that are scattered on the ground in front of you.

  “What do you think this …” You stop speaking and quickly read through the first paragraph. Silently.

  Oh, no! This is terrible! You gaze over at Joanie and swallow hard.

  “What’s wrong?” Joanie cries. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

  Turn to PAGE 130

  “I’ll do the sawn-in-half trick,” you say. At least you’ve seen this trick before. Who knows what a Cabinet of Swords is?

  “Excellent!” The Masked Man claps his hands. The table with the long box on it rolls toward you. Taking your hand, the Masked Man helps you climb into the box.

  You lie down in the hard wooden box. Your head sticks out one end. “So what do I do?” you ask. You gaze up at the Masked Man. He looks awfully nervous.

  “Leave it all to me,” he tells you. He ties a blindfold over your eyes and plunks the lid on the box.

  “If I can just remember what I’m supposed to do,” you hear the Masked Man mutter.

  You don’t like the sound of that!

  “Hey!” you shout. You pound on the lid. “I changed my mind! I want to do the other trick!”

  But no one answers. You listen hard, trying to figure out what is going on.

  Then you hear the sharp teeth of a large saw slicing through the lid of the box!

  Turn to PAGE 135.

  “I can’t tell you,” the Masked Man continues, “but I know two people who can.”

  He snaps his fingers and Joanie and Sid awaken from their trance. They glance around, dazed.

  “What happened?” Sid asks.

  “The Masked Man is going to tell us how to get out of here,” you explain.

  “Good,” Joanie says. “Because the sand in the hourglass has almost run out.”

  You hold up the tiny hourglass. It’s still on the rope around your neck. You had almost forgotten about it. But Joanie is right. There is very little sand left. You are down to minutes now.

  “Who can tell us the way out?” you ask the Masked Man.

  “You can ask Mr. Knowledge,” he tells you. “He knows everything, and he answers all questions.”

  The Masked Man picks up a piece of rope and throws it into the air. The rope stiffens then rises up to the ceiling. It disappears into darkness.

  “Mr. Knowledge is performing up there,” he says, waving at the rope. “Or you can ask Ms. Cardsharp. She would know the way out. She’s playing cards right now.”

  To meet Mr. Knowledge, climb the rope to PAGE 97.

  If you want to meet Ms. Cardsharp, go to PAGE 82.

  You are frozen in fear as you watch the Magician’s hand grasping the hourglass.

  Where is the rest of the Magician? you wonder.

  You don’t have to wait long to find out. The cape rises, rises, rises, until it towers over you. The silky fabric slips to the floor.

  The Magician stands before you, one hand holding the hourglass. His other hand shoots out and grabs you by the throat.

  You try to scream, but the words are choked off. The Magician’s fingers squeeze tighter and tighter. The hourglass dangles in front of your eyes.

  Two grains of sand left. And then it will be all over for everyone.

  You must stop those grains. It’s your only hope of defeating the Magician. You struggle for air and reach for the hourglass.

  You miss. Your lungs are burning. You are about to pass out. You have one more chance.

  You lunge for the hourglass. Do you grab it?

  Close your eyes. Let your finger land on one
of the numbers. Then go to that page.

  77 88 77 88

  “We have to grab the book now,” you urge, “while Larry and his friends are chasing the rabbits!”

  Larry, D. J., and Buddy race around the left side of the stack of boxes. You, Joanie, and Sid sneak around the right side. You grab the book off the floor and run.

  When you reach the door, you glance back. Larry and his friends still don’t notice you. They’re too busy trying to catch all the rabbits.

  “Hurry up,” you whisper to Sid. “Open the stupid door.”

  “I’m trying,” he says. “It’s stuck or something.”

  You, Sid, and Joanie all push your weight against the door.

  “Going somewhere?” a voice behind you says. You stop shoving the door and turn to face Larry. Buddy and D. J. stand right behind him.

  D. J. and Buddy snicker. You are trapped between the bullies and a door that won’t open.

  Turn to PAGE 102.

  The path has turned into a slithering, slimy, gigantic snake!

  You slide off the back of the snake and it rears up its head and hisses at you. Its enormous tongue flicks at you. You stumble out of its reach.

  This must be the Path to Doom. You’ve got to go back. But how? The snake slithers away. You rush back onto the stones of the path.

  You run faster and faster. But you’re confused, you’ve lost your sense of direction. Are you running back toward Safety? Or ahead to Doom?

  Then you see it.

  Right in front of you stands a giant scorpion. His mouth is open — waiting.

  You go cold with horror. You choke down the feeling of panic in your throat. The path below you, the one you’ve been running on, is covered with scorpion drool.