Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (6 page)

Amid all the treasure was a blue-white crystal. It was no bigger than a marble. But it shone with a light all its own, like a piece of a star.

Jack knew at once the stone was the Diamond of Destiny. His raven heart thumping, he walked to the diamond and nudged it with his beak. As the diamond tilted, it shot forth beams of brilliant light.

“JAH! JAH!” Annie was calling to him from outside. “CREE-GRO!”
They're coming!

Jack carefully picked up the diamond with his beak. He felt a surge of strength and courage.

Annie called another warning. But Jack wasn't afraid at all. He calmly walked out of the Raven King's nest back into the night.

More sentries had been alerted. They were flying toward the mountaintop, cawing madly in alarm.

“KRAK! KRAK! KRAK!”

Jack saw Annie perched on the ledge.
Hurry, Jack! Hurry!
she croaked.

Annie flew off the mountain. Holding the diamond in his beak, Jack gracefully flapped his wings and lifted into the air after her.

As he and Annie sailed down from the mountaintop, a chorus of
KRAKs
split the night. Thousands of roosting ravens rose into the sky like a giant black cloud. Their beating wings rumbled like thunder.

The cloud of ravens covered the light of the moon. The night was completely black.

“SPREE! SPREE!” Annie croaked.
Fly! Fly!

She and Jack glided down through the dark
sky toward the duke's castle. The wing beats of the raven army still thundered above the mountaintop. But none of the ravens were chasing them.

They don't know what to do without their king
, Jack thought. He wondered where their king was. But with the Diamond of Destiny in his beak, he felt no fear.

The farther Jack and Annie flew from the mountain, the more distant became the sound of the raven soldiers' wings.

The duke's castle came into sight. Jack saw the light of Teddy's lantern in the nursery. But he didn't want to stop flying just yet. Instead, he swooped over the castle keep, over the courtyard, the gatehouse, and the bridge, over the candlelit cottages and oak forest. Annie flew with him.

Finally they both glided smoothly back to the castle and landed on the window ledge of the nursery. The Diamond of Destiny was safe!

J
ack and Annie perched on the ledge and peered into the nursery. Teddy's lantern and hazel twig were still on the floor. But there was no sign of Teddy.

Teddy's not here yet
, croaked Annie.
Let's go ahead and put the diamond back in its place.

Jack didn't move. He didn't want to give up the diamond quite yet. It still made him feel incredibly brave.

Jack?
croaked Annie.
Let's put it back in its hiding place. I'll move the tapestry.

Annie flapped to the long tapestry hanging on the wall. Fluttering in the air, she took its edge in her beak. She tried to pull it aside, but it was too heavy. She let go.

I can't move it
, she croaked,
not as long as I'm a raven. I guess we'll have to wait for Teddy to change us back into ourselves.

She flapped to the window ledge and landed beside Jack. Jack was relieved. The longer he could hold on to the diamond, the better.

Hey!
croaked Annie.
Maybe we could use Teddy's magic hazel twig ourselves! I can come up with better rhymes than him anyway. It won't hurt to try.

Jack shook his head. But Annie didn't notice. She hopped down to the hazel twig under the window. She carefully picked it up with her beak.

She fluttered back up to the ledge beside Jack. Then she moved her head from side to side, passing the twig over Jack's feathered
head, his body, his wings, and his claws. The twig passed over her feathery body and wings as well.

With the twig still in her beak, she made a deep croaking sound.

“HA-HA-REE-REE!

JAH-JAH-AWK-NEE!”

O hazel twig from hazel tree!

Make him Jack, and make me, me!

There was a mighty roar and a flash of light and a blast of heat!

Then Jack heard Annie giggle. “Yippee! I made the magic work for us. Look.”

Jack looked down at his arms and legs and feet. “Ohh, man,” he breathed.

Awk-nee and Jah were gone. Annie and Jack were back.

Jack wiggled his fingers and toes. He felt his face: his mouth, his nose, his ears. He loved having his own body back!

“Teddy's going to be so surprised,” said Annie.

“He acts like he's the only kid who can do magic.” She looked around the nursery. “Hi! We're back!” she called to the invisible children. “Guess what? We've got the diamond!”

“The diamond! Where is it?” said Jack. “I must've dropped it when you changed us!”

Suddenly they heard a swoosh and a flapping at the window.

“Teddy!” cried Annie. She and Jack whirled around.

But Teddy wasn't there.

Instead, perched on the ledge of the nursery window was a horrifying creature. He was part human and part raven. He had silky feathers for hair, a beak for a nose, sharp claws, and a billowing feathered cape that glistened in the moonlight like shiny black armor.

“Good evening,” said the Raven King.

J
ack and Annie were too stunned to speak.

Staring at the bizarre creature, Jack remembered the story of the Raven King—how the king had wanted to be a bird, how he had stolen a spell from the Wizard of Winter, how the spell had worked only halfway and left him half bird and half human.

The Raven King jumped from the window to the floor. One by one, his raven bodyguards swooshed into the room after him. At least twenty ravens came through the window. Soon
Jack and Annie were surrounded by dark wings, sharp beaks, and bright eyes.

Once his guards were in place, the Raven King twisted his head from side to side, looking from Jack to Annie. “Where are the two ravens who stole my diamond?” he asked in a raspy voice.

“What diamond?” asked Annie.

“What … what ravens?” asked Jack, his voice trembling. He wished desperately that he still had the Diamond of Destiny to give him strength and courage.

“The ravens that came to this castle after raiding my treasure room,” said the Raven King. “Where are they hiding?”

Jack tried to imagine that he
was
still holding the diamond. “We don't know anything about them,” he said in a low, steady voice. Pretending to hold the diamond actually made him feel brave.

“You don't know anything about them?” said the Raven King.

“No,” said Jack. “You must have the wrong castle.”

“Ah, the wrong castle,” said the Raven King.

“Yes,” said Jack.

“Perhaps you're right,” said the Raven King. “But are you certain you haven't seen them? They look very much like this little one here.”

The Raven King threw his cape over his shoulder and held up an iron birdcage. A raven was held captive inside.

“JAH, AWK-NEE!” the raven croaked.

“Teddy!” cried Annie.

“His name is Teddy?” said the Raven King. “How charming. I've caught a Teddy. I think he'll make a wonderful pet, don't you?”

Jack was horrified to see Teddy trapped in the Raven King's cage. “It's not charming,” he said. “It's cruel. You better let him go, or else!”

“Yeah, let him go,” said Annie. “Or else.”

“Or else?” said the Raven King. “Or else what?” With backward jerks of his head, he laughed a raspy laugh.

As the king laughed, Jack glanced at the floor under the window. He saw the hazel twig. He moved toward it.

The Raven King caught sight of him. His laugh stopped abruptly. “CREE! CAW!” he croaked to one of his bodyguards.

Jack dashed for the twig. But before he could grab it, the king's bodyguard had swooped across the floor and picked up the twig in his beak. As
the raven carried it to the top of the window, Jack noticed that one of his tail feathers was bent.

“Jack, look, it's Rok!” said Annie. She called up to the bird. “Rok! Rok!”

From his perch above the window, the raven looked down at Annie.

“Rok, it's me, Annie,” she said. “I helped you when the people in the village threw stones at you. Remember?”

“What nonsense,” croaked the Raven King. “Bring me the stick, bird.”

Rok didn't move. Gripping the hazel twig in his beak, he stared down at Annie.

“Give the twig to Jack, Rok,” she said. “So he can turn Teddy back into a boy.”

“So that ugly little stick is a magic wand, is it?” said the Raven King. “Bring it to me, bird. Now!”

“Don't do it, Rok,” said Annie. “Don't let him boss you around anymore.”

The raven stared at Annie for a moment
with his dark brown eyes. He looked at the Raven King. He looked back at Annie. Then he swooped down to Jack and dropped the hazel twig at his feet.

Jack grabbed it.

“Traitor!” the Raven King shrieked at Rok. “You'll pay for this!” He lunged toward the raven. Rok tried to escape, but the king grabbed him by the throat.

Jack had to save Rok! He pointed the twig at the Raven King's back and shouted:

“O hazel twig from hazel tree!

Make him what he wanted to be!”

A deafening wind roared through the room. A blinding light flashed. Then all was clear.

The Raven King had vanished. His cape lay on the floor. Rok hopped away, unharmed.

From under the feathered cape came a hoarse cry.
Awk.

Annie lifted the cape and uncovered a tiny raven. “Ohh!” she said softly.

The bird stretched out his scrawny neck.
Awk
, he croaked again.

“Hello yourself,” Annie said, smiling. She stroked the downy feathers on the creature's head. Then she looked up at Jack. “How did you come up with that rhyme?”

“It just came to me,” said Jack.