Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (7 page)

“I knew I had to save Rok. But I didn't want to hurt the Raven King. I think I actually felt sorry for him.”

“So you helped him finally get what he wanted,” said Annie. “You turned him into a baby raven.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Now he can live his whole life as a bird.”

Rok flew up to the window ledge. He looked around at the other ravens. It was clear he had become their new leader.

“GRO! GRO!” Rok croaked.

He stepped aside. The raven troops began to leave the nursery, one by one. Two of them
escorted the new member of their flock as he timidly flapped his small wings.

Rok was the last to leave. He stared at Annie and Jack with a long gaze. Then he lifted off the window ledge and flew away into the light of the silver dawn.

Q
ueek.

A little croak came from the cage on the floor.

“Teddy!” cried Annie.

“We almost forgot you!” said Jack.

Queek
, Teddy croaked again.

“Let
me
change him back,” Annie said to Jack.

“Okay, but let me get out of the way first,” said Jack. He handed Annie the hazel twig. Then he quickly stepped over to the window.

Annie moved closer to Teddy's cage. She
closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then she waved the wand over the cage and said:

“O hazel twig from hazel tree!
Make him Teddy! Set him free!”

There was a mighty roar, a blast of heat, and a blaze of light! Then the cage was gone, and Teddy was a boy again, sitting on the floor.

“Yay!” said Annie.

“Nicely done,” said Teddy. “Thanks.”

“Welcome back!” said Jack. He and Annie helped Teddy stand up.

Teddy shook his arms and legs. “Ahhh! 'Tis good to be human again!” he said. “And now we must help the duke's family. Where's the diamond?”

“We lost it!” said Annie.

“Yeah, I had it in my beak,” said Jack. “But I must have dropped it when Annie changed us back into ourselves.”

“Don't worry,” said Teddy, “it must be here somewhere.”

The three of them got on their hands and knees and started crawling around the floor of the nursery. There was no sign of the diamond. Suddenly Jack heard Teddy gasp.

“Oh, my,” Teddy whispered. “Look.” He was staring at the corner.

The Diamond of Destiny was rising from the basket of wool by the spinning wheel.

“The ghost girl must have hidden it when the Raven King came!” whispered Annie.

The diamond moved slowly toward Jack and stopped in front of him. Jack held out his hand, and the diamond settled into his palm.

“Thank you,” Jack said to the ghost girl. “I'll put it back in its place now.”

Carefully holding the diamond, Jack crossed the room. Annie pulled the tapestry aside, and Jack opened the golden door of the cabinet.

He looked one last time at the shining stone. “I really felt brave when I was carrying this diamond,” he said softly.

“Jack,” said Annie, “you were pretty brave just now without it.”

“Indeed you were,” said Teddy.

Jack smiled. He carefully put the Diamond of Destiny back in its place and closed the golden door. Then Annie covered the cabinet once more with the tapestry.

The air in the nursery grew warmer. A girl
began to take shape beside Teddy. She wore a white nightgown. She had dark curly hair. She was about Teddy's age.

At the chess table, two boys took shape, too. They looked just alike. They were twins about Annie's age.

At first the children were a bit pale and cloudy. Slowly they grew more and more visible, until they were solid and rosy-cheeked.

At the same time, a large brown dog became visible by the door. He barked and ran to the girl.

“Oliver!” she cried. She hugged him. Then she looked at Jack, Annie, and Teddy. She gave them a big smile. “Hello,” she said.

“Hi!” said Annie. “Are the three of you the only people in this castle?”

“Oh, no, everyone else is here, too,” the girl said, “but they were all asleep when the Raven King stole the diamond. We were supposed to be asleep, too. But sometimes we like to sneak out
of bed and play. We were playing hide-and-seek when I found the secret door behind the tapestry. I wanted to see the diamond better, so I put it on the window ledge to catch the moonlight. Then Tom and Henry started to play chess—” She pointed to the boys.

“Gwendolyn started spinning,” said Tom. “And
Oliver went down to the great hall to look for scraps.”

“That's when the Raven King swooped down
to the window and stole the diamond,” said Gwendolyn. “Before we could even go tell our mother and father, we began to fade away.”

“Mother! Father!” said Tom, as if he'd just remembered their parents. “We must wake them, Gwendolyn!”

“I know,” she said. “We shall go upstairs and wake them at once. Since they were sleeping, I suspect they never even knew they were invisible!”

Gwendolyn took her brothers' hands, and the three of them started out of the nursery. At the door, she looked back at Jack, Annie, and Teddy. “Thank you for helping us,” she said, “whoever you are.”

The duke's children then slipped out of the nursery. Oliver grabbed his bone and bounded after them.

Jack handed the hazel twig to Teddy.

“Listen,” Jack said. “I don't think this is something that kids should play with—even sor
cerer kids. You'd better give it back to your cousin.”

“Aye, perhaps that is a good plan,” said Teddy. He grinned impishly as he slipped the twig back into his pocket. Then he gestured toward the door. “Shall we?”

Jack and Annie nodded.

Teddy picked up his lantern and blew out the candle. Then he led them all out of the castle nursery into the hallway. As they started down the stairs, servants rushed by.

“Ring the bells!” one said.

“Bring water for the duke and duchess!” said another.

“We're getting a late start today!” said a third.

Jack, Annie, and Teddy kept winding down the stairs, past the great hall, past the armor room, down to the entrance of the keep.

As they stepped into the courtyard, bright sunlight shone on the castle towers. The
bells began to ring. Roosters crowed. Horses neighed.

Servants were making a big cooking fire. A blacksmith was pounding his anvil. A milkmaid was hauling her pails.

In the bright daylight, Jack, Annie, and,
Teddy walked through the busy courtyard. They passed through the gatehouse and crossed the wooden bridge. When they got to the other side, they looked back.

Archers now stood guard on top of the castle walls.

Teddy waved to them. Then he looked at Jack and Annie. “Order has returned to the castle!” he said. “Our mission is done!”

Laughing, they ran through the patch of trees toward the small village. As they hurried along the dirt path past the cottages, they saw villagers in their doorways. They were all staring in the direction of the ringing castle bells.

Maggie, the old woman, grinned toothlessly at the three of them. “The bells are ringing again,” she said in a creaky voice.

“Yes!” said Jack. “The boys and the girl and the hound are all back! There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. The whole castle is alive and well!”

Jack, Annie, and Teddy left the village and
headed for the woods. As they walked through the fallen leaves, sunlight filtered down through the tree branches.

Merlin's words echoed in Jack's mind:
You are about to enter a tunnel of fear. Proceed onward with courage, and you will come out into the light.

Jack looked around. The forest was bright with the most beautiful golden light he had ever seen.