Spirits and Spells (7 page)

Raising her hands, Tansy pointed them at the closest patch of flames. She began to concentrate, imagining a blast of cold so intense it could kill the fire.

Ice. Ice and snow. Freezing.

Suddenly she felt as if she had been plunged into a vat of ice water. A ring of cold around her heart threatened to stop it from beating. Then a burst of frost surged out of her fingertips, struck the nearest patch of fire, and extinguished it instantly.

There remained three spots where the fire was a serious problem. Setting her feet slightly apart to brace herself, Tansy directed a blast of frost at each of them.

At once the flames were gone.

“Oh, that was wonderful, miss!” cried Charity.

“It hurts,” gasped Tansy. Groaning with pain at the intense cold, she wondered if Matt had experienced heat in the same extreme. If so, it was little wonder he had collapsed. She put her hand to her forehead. She didn't feel very well.

“Oh, miss!” cried Charity as Tansy crumpled and fell to the floor.

Travis sat at the table, waiting for the others to return. He flipped through the game manual impatiently. Sending them all through the house had been a good idea, except for one thing: It left
him
sitting here along, doing nothing.

He put the book down and smiled. At least it would be fun when they came back. He couldn't wait to hear what they would have to say. That plastic octopus of his little sister's that he had put in the cellar should have been just enough to give Jenny a bit of a scare without getting her too upset. And the tape recorder in the attic had probably given Tansy a good jump, too. But she wouldn't mind, not really. She'd be a little angry at first, but she could take it. That was one of the things he liked about her.

He heard a noise in the hall and looked up. Some of the searchers were on their way back. He started to stand, then thought better of it. Let them think he had been waiting casually while they finished their assignments.

He turned back to the game book. He needed to brush up on the next stage of the game anyway. But the sound of the rain slashing at the windows behind him was distracting, and the flickering candlelight made reading difficult. Most of all, his eagerness for the others to return made concentration almost impossible.

He put his finger on the page, as if he could force his attention to stay with the material by touching the printed words.

“Once the objects of power have been regathered, the Master Mage must take a more active hand. There is apt to be conflict among the players about how to use the items. Master Mage Karno must negotiate …”

Travis looked up again. The noise in the hall was louder this time.

He frowned. Had the others decided to get back at him for his little tricks? He pulled back his chair, stood, and listened carefully. He could hear Tansy's voice.

Why was she yelling?

He started for the door, then stopped in his tracks.

Someone was in the room with him.

He turned around to see if one of the others had snuck in somehow.

The room was empty.

But it wasn't! There
was
someone else. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. He could feel it—feel the presence of another being.

Travis
.

The voice was rich and deep.

Travis began to tremble. Outside there was a horrible crash of thunder. He turned to face the table, then cried out in fear.

Slowly, one by one, the candles were going out.

When Denise saw Tansy fall, she scrambled to her feet. She looked at Tansy, then at Matt.

She had to get them to the library. It wasn't that far—she could just go for help. But considering everything that had happened already, she didn't want to leave them alone for even a moment. Who knew what might happen while she went to get Travis?

She took a deep breath. The one thing she understood about the bizarre scene that had just occurred was that Tansy and Matt had been using their game powers. Was it possible hers worked, too?

Furrowing her brow in concentration, Denise passed her hands over Matt's body.

Even though it was what she was
trying
to do, she gasped when his body slowly lifted from the floor and rose until it was floating about three feet in the air.

Once she had Tansy floating, too, she turned and headed for the library.

10

MAGIC TAKES OVER

“No!” cried Travis.

The room grew darker.

Travis
, said the voice.
You can be the Master Mage. We can give you power—the kind of power you've always dreamed of. No one will ever laugh at you again. Nothing will be impossible for you. All you need to do is let me in.

Travis clapped his hands to the sides of his head. The voice was already inside. He remembered Lydia's screams the night they had first tried to play the game, and what she had said to Tansy later about “fingers” in her mind. Now he knew what those strange words meant. Someone was trying to get inside
his
brain. The attack came as a strange probing feeling that made him squirm with disgust.

“Stop it!” he cried.

Just then the library door swung open. Travis staggered back against the table as he saw first Matt and then Tansy float through the doorway. They were lying on their backs, about three feet above the floor. The stave lay on Matt's chest.

Denise appeared in the doorway, hands held out before her, face dripping with perspiration. With a sigh she lowered her hands. Matt and Tansy settled to the floor, dropping as lightly as balloons that were slowly losing their helium.

Once they were safely down, Denise sagged against the doorsill with a little moan of exhaustion.

Travis looked from Matt and Tansy to Denise and back again. Suddenly he realized that the fingers in his mind were gone.

Tansy moaned and turned on her side.

Travis licked his lips. His throat was dry. When he tried to speak, nothing came out. He swallowed, tried again. “Denise, what's going on?”

“That's what I wanted to ask you,” she replied, and Travis found the haunted look in her eyes as frightening as anything that had happened in the last few minutes. He had never seen the unshakable Denise look this way. A pang of helpless terror shot through him.

“What … what happened to Matt and Tansy?” he stammered.

“They wore themselves out. Using their spells.”

Travis looked at her incredulously. “What …”

Tansy moaned again, and then opened her eyes. “Travis?”

He rushed to her, knelt at her side. “Tansy! Are you all right?”

She put her hand to her forehead. “I … I think so. Matt! Matt, are you …” Her voice trailed off as she realized that Matt could not answer her.

Denise had crossed to join them. Kneeling, she lifted Matt's head into her lap. “Matt,” she whispered. “Matty, it's me, Denise. Matt, wake up!”

As she stroked his forehead, his eyes flickered open.

Travis shivered. “Your name is Niana,” he whispered. “You are a healer.”

Denise glared at him. “Don't call me that!”

Travis stepped back, startled by the intensity of her anger.

“They want me,” said Denise. Her eyes were large, her voice desperate. “They want me to
be
Niana. Don't help them!”

Matt moaned and sat up. “Denise? What happened? The warriors …”

“Oh, he's awake, miss. I'm glad. I was so worried.”

“Charity?” asked Tansy. “Where are you?”

“Right here, miss. Standing beside you.”

Travis and Denise glanced at each other, then stared nervously at Tansy, wondering who she was talking to—or if she had simply lost her mind. But Matt leaped to his feet and cried out in terror, “Tansy! Tansy, there's someone beside you!”

“You can see her?” asked Tansy in surprise. “Oh, of course you can. That's your power! It's all right, Matt. She's a friend.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” asked Travis.

Matt was holding on to the back of a chair for support. “There's someone standing beside Tansy,” he said. “A girl. A ghost! Can't you see her? Denise? Travis?”

Denise shook her head. Travis rubbed his eyes and stared at Tansy.

“Of course they can't see her,” said Tansy. “They don't have the power. Remember the game, Matt. You're the only one who was given the power to see spirits.”

“Do you want me to go, miss?” asked Charity, a note of sadness in her voice. “I don't want to cause trouble.”

“No,” said Tansy. “We'll get things straightened out in a minute. Travis, why don't you light the rest of the candles? It's dark in here.”

His long fingers trembling, Travis took out a pack of matches and fumbled with the candles, glad to have something to do.

“Let's sit,” said Tansy. “I think we need to calm down and talk this whole thing over. Matt, this is Charity. She's on our side.”

“Charity?” asked Travis. The color drained from his face. “Not the murdered maid?”

“That's me,” said Charity, with a hint of pride.

“They can't hear you, Charity,” said Tansy. “I'm the only one you can speak to.” She turned to Matt and asked, “What does she look like?”

“She's very pretty,” said Matt shakily. “At least, as far as I can make out. She's there, but she's not there, if you know what I mean. I can see right through her. She's wearing a nightgown—an old-fashioned one. And she has a ribbon around her neck.”

“That's how I was dressed when it happened,” said Charity significantly.

“She has curly hair. I think it's blond, but I'm not certain. Now she's smiling at me.” Matt found himself smiling back, in spite of himself. “She's got a very pretty smile.”

“Thank you,” said Charity.

“Don't you think you should let the rest of us in on this?” snapped Travis.

“Haven't you figured it out yet?” asked Tansy. “The game is coming true!”

“The game is coming true,” repeated Travis, as if the words had no meaning.

“Either that,” said Denise, “or we're all losing our minds … or sharing the same nightmare.” Tansy could hear a touch of hysteria in her voice. “I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else.”

Now it was out in the open. There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Well, the
first
thing,” said Matt at last, “is to find out what's happened to Derek and Jenny.”

“We're all right,” said Derek, stepping through the door. Jenny was clinging to his arm. They looked nervous: “But we've got a little … surprise for you.” He looked around the table where his four friends were sitting. “What's going on here, anyway? You four look as though you'd just seen a ghost.”

“Just one of us has,” said Matt.

“Maybe they won't be as shocked as we thought,” said Jenny.

“Shocked at what?” asked Denise. Suddenly she realized what Derek was holding. “You've got the sword!”

Derek smiled. “We sure do. It's a beaut, isn't it?”

Travis's face had gone dead white. “Where did you get that?” he asked softly.

“From the cellar,” said Derek. “Where you put it.”

“But it's not the one I put there. I never saw it before.”

“Figures,” snorted Derek. “Look, you guys, there is something very weird going on here.”

“We know,” said Matt.

“Well, even so, you'd better brace yourselves for this one.” Derek drew Jenny to his side.

The others stared in their direction. Suddenly Travis leaped to his feet, bumping the table so hard the candles almost fell over. Denise let out a gasp. Charity began to scream.

Looming in the doorway was the Guardian of the Sword. Tentacles dripping, it slithered into the room. It turned its baleful glare from face to face, then said, “We have to talk.”

11

TRAPPED!

The room exploded in a hurricane of movement and shouting. Then, just as suddenly, there was silence. Matt, Denise, Travis, and Tansy stood pressed against the walls, as far from the monster as they could get. Gasping for breath, they looked desperately at the door, which was blocked by the creature's bulk.

“Are you through panicking?” asked Derek, a hint of smugness in his voice.

Travis swallowed hard. “Derek, what is that thing?”

The creature lifted itself on its tentacles, which brought its head close to the ceiling. Looking down at the players, it said in a strangely dignified voice, “I am not a
thing.
I am the Guardian of the Sword. And while I do not know who you are, either, I do know this much: You are in big trouble. If you are lucky, I may be able to help you.”

“Help us?” asked Matt. “How do we know you won't just kill us?”

The creature extended a tentacle and laid it across Matt's shoulder. Matt shuddered, but held his ground.

Its voice soft and oily, the creature said, “I could have killed Derek and Jenny in the cellar, had I wanted. I could have killed them, then come after the rest of you, silently strangling you one by one.…”

As it spoke it extended the tentacle, wrapping it around Matt's neck like some huge, glistening earthworm. All at once it pulled tight. Matt's eyes bulged. He clawed at his throat.

“You see?” said the creature, ignoring Matt's fingers. “It would have been simple. But I chose not to, because I think we can help one another.”

It retracted its tentacle, leaving Matt rubbing his neck in disgust.

The confusion broke out anew. It was Travis, suddenly resuming his position as leader of the group, who quieted things by the simple expedient of bellowing, “STOP IT!”

The room fell silent. He looked at his friends one by one, then said, “I think we should listen to him.”

“Wait a minute,” said Tansy. “Matt, where's Charity? I haven't heard her since … since …” She gestured at the creature, uncertain how to finish her sentence.