“Ouch!” she screamed as she felt a sting on the back of her leg. She looked down to see where she’d been bitten, and noticed that there were three horseflies crawling up her thigh.
“Get off!” she shrieked, trying to swat them away.
But they wouldn’t leave. In fact, it seemed that as she fought to get rid of them, more of the horrible green-eyed bugs appeared.
“This can’t be happening!” Kelsey cried, reaching up to touch her magic amulet. But the amulet was coated with buzzing horseflies. Horseflies that started stinging her hands the moment she touched the charm.
Kelsey began to feel tiny pinpricks all over her body. Hundreds of horseflies flew at her. Hundreds. Stinging her. Over and over again.
She kicked her legs. Waved her arms.
She ran in circles, trying to dodge the ugly insects. But they followed her. They dived at her.
If she didn’t get rid of them, every inch of her body would be bitten and bloody.
Their bulging eyes burned brightly as they buzzed around her head. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
The black cloud of insects circled her face. Closer and closer.
She couldn’t breathe.
“I’m going to choke!” Kelsey screamed. “I’m going to choke!”
11
She swung her head wildly. Her sweat-drenched body heaved in terror.
The flies still surrounded her. Biting deeper and deeper. Burning her flesh.
She tried to shake off the flies, but there were too many of them now. And she fell to the ground, exhausted.
She gasped for breath. She inhaled deeply. Inhaled a mouthful of sand.
Sputtering, gagging, she headed for the ocean. “I’ll drown them! I’ll drown them!” she screamed.
She raced to the shore, blinded by the horseflies smothering her face.
“Hey! Watch it!” some little kids yelled as she stumbled over their pails and shovels.
Finally she felt the ocean splash beneath her feet. She was about to dive in. Dive under the cool water to soothe her raw, stinging skin.
But someone grabbed her.
“Let go!” she screamed, squirming to break free.
“Where are you going?” Drew asked, holding fast.
“Into the water,” she shrieked. “I have to get these horseflies off me.”
Drew didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. His expression told Kelsey everything she needed to know.
There were no horseflies on her.
Not a single one.
Kelsey collapsed into the sand.
The burning and stinging stopped.
“This stupid amulet didn’t work,” she uttered hopelessly. “Now what am I going to do?”
“Let’s go back to the sand castle. We’ll think of something,” Drew suggested.
He helped her up, and they headed back to their spot on the beach.
“Oh, no!” Kelsey gasped as their sand castle came into view. She pointed a shaky finger at the top of one of its towers.
Drew followed her gaze. And moaned.
“How could this be?” she wailed.
Sticking out of the very top, fluttering in the breeze, was the Fool card—with a bright red X drawn on its face.
12
“The curse isn’t broken!” Kelsey screamed. “It’s driving me crazy!” Then she snatched up the card and stomped off.
“Hey! Wait up!” Drew yelled. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the Amazing Zandra,” she hollered.
Kelsey broke into a run. Drew chased after her. But she didn’t stop until she burst through the door of the Amazing Zandra’s shack.
Zandra was sitting behind the table with her feet propped up, nipping through a fashion magazine.
She wore a gypsy dress. But it was hiked up so high that Kelsey could see her cutoff jeans underneath it.
And she didn’t have long, dark hair anymore. It was short and blond. The long, dark hair was a wig—and without it, Zandra looked even younger. She didn’t look much older than Kelsey.
“You’re a fake!” Kelsey shouted at her.
“We’ve got the card to prove it,” Drew added.
Kelsey flung the card down in front of the Amazing Zandra. “Look,” she said. “It even has the red X you drew on it. How do you explain that?”
Zandra stared at the card. “Where did you get this?” she asked suspiciously.
“It just appeared,” Kelsey told her. “Right after I was attacked by a swarm of horseflies.”
“What kind of trick are you two trying to pull on me?” she asked.
“Us?” Kelsey shot back. “You’re the one who ripped me off. You said you removed the curse. But you didn’t. I was nearly eaten alive by those horseflies! You didn’t remove that stupid curse—and this card proves it!”
“That,” Zandra declared, “is a different card. The one you brought to me is safely locked inside this box.” Then she reached for the metal box and placed it on the table.
“Really?” Kelsey smirked. “Then show it to me.”
“No problem,” Zandra replied. “I will.” She dipped her hand into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the key. She slipped it into the lock and turned it.
Zandra hesitated only for a moment before she lifted the lid.
“Oh, no!” She gasped, staring down into the box. “How can this be?”
Kelsey’s eyes were glued to the box. She knew exactly what they would find inside.
Nothing.
Zandra tilted it so that Kelsey and Drew could take a look.
But the box wasn’t empty.
And Kelsey shrieked when she spotted what was inside.
13
“Oh, no!” Kelsey cried. “I don’t believe this!”
Inside the box was a picture of Kelsey. And there, scrawled across the front, was a big, red X. A big red X right through Kelsey’s face.
The Amazing Zandra studied the Fool card that Kelsey had returned. Then she peered into the box at Kelsey’s picture. Then back at the card.
“How did you do this?” Zandra demanded.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Kelsey shouted. “I didn’t do anything. The card keeps coming back all by itself. Because I’m under a curse! That’s why I paid you ten dollars in the first place. Remember? To take the curse off!”
“Whoa! This is totally freaky,” Zandra said. “It sounds to me like you really are under a curse.”
“That’s what we’ve been telling you all along!” Drew yelled. “Now, can you do anything to help, or not?”
“I don’t know,” Zandra shrugged. “I think you probably ought to talk to the gypsy who put the curse on you and ask her to remove it.”
“But—but,” Kelsey sputtered, “I tried that already. The only time I ever saw her was in here. And you told me that was impossible—that there was no other gypsy!”
“I am the only gypsy here,” Zandra stated. “What was this other gypsy’s name? Did she tell you?”
“Yes,” Kelsey answered. “But I don’t remember what it was. It was something weird.”
“Madame something,” Drew reminded her. “Madame… Madame…”
“Valda!” Kelsey blurted out.
“That’s it!” Drew agreed. “Madame Valda!”
Zandra’s jaw dropped.
“What’s wrong?” Kelsey asked.
“That can’t be,” Zandra said, shaking her head. “Madame Valda. Here? No,” she answered her own question. “That just can’t be.”
“You know who Madame Valda is?” Drew asked.
“Of course,” Zandra answered. “Every gypsy in the world knows who Madame Valda is.”
“Well, who is she?” Kelsey asked, planting her hands on her hips.
Zandra took a deep breath. “Madame Valda is the most powerful gypsy who ever lived. And the most evil. But you could not possibly have seen Madame Valda,” Zandra assured them.
“Why not?” Kelsey wanted to know.
“Because,” Zandra said, staring d
irectly into her eyes, “Madame Valda has been dead for more than a hundred years.”
14
“Madame Valda can’t be dead!” Kelsey shouted. “She was sitting right here! Tell her, Drew!”
“She was,” Drew insisted.
“Maybe you’re thinking of a different Madame Valda,” Kelsey told Zandra.
But Zandra shook her head no. “There is only one Madame Valda,” she insisted. “And I’m telling you that she has been dead for a really long time.”
“But we saw her!” Drew exclaimed. “So that’s impossible!”
“Well,” Zandra hesitated for a moment. “Not according to some of the old gypsies, it isn’t. But I never believed them.”
“What do you mean?” Kelsey asked.
“Well, some of the older gypsies believe that Madame Valda can still appear—even after death.”
“Yeah, well, you better believe it now,” Kelsey declared. “Because I’m telling you—she was here!”
“Oh, man.” Zandra cringed. “This is tooooo creepy.”
“Tell me about it!” Kelsey shot back. “I’m the one who’s been cursed by a dead gypsy!”
“So what do we do now?” Drew asked Zandra.
Zandra shrugged. “You’ve got me.”
“Oh, that’s just great!” Kelsey huffed. “Just great!”
“Look, don’t panic,” Zandra told Kelsey. “I have an uncle. He knows all about the old ways. He’s the one who told me about Madame Valda. I bet he can help you.”
“Where is he?” Drew asked.
“How soon can we see him?” Kelsey added.
“You can see him right now,” Zandra answered as she stood up. “Just wait here. I’ll go wake him up.”
Kelsey and Drew watched Zandra disappear through a curtain of beads that led into a back room.
Kelsey started to pace nervously.
“Do you believe this!” Kelsey was talking more to herself than to Drew. “A dead gypsy put a curse on me! I hope Zandra’s uncle is like Super-gypsy or something. Otherwise, I’m doomed.”
“You’re not doomed,” Drew muttered. He didn’t sound very convincing.
Just then the beads parted and Zandra headed toward Kelsey and Drew. An old man followed behind.
The man appeared to be as old as Madame Valda herself. Kelsey thought that was a very good sign.
He wore all black. Black pants, black jacket. A worn black leather vest. On a chain around his neck hung a large blue bead.
When Kelsey peered closer, she realized the bead was really a glass eye!
“This is my uncle, Gregor,” Zandra said as she approached them.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Gregor,” Kelsey said as politely as she could. There was no way in the world she was going to insult another gypsy.
Gregor’s wrinkled old face showed no expression. He stood as still as a statue and stared at Kelsey. “Zandra tells me that you think you have been cursed by Madame Valda,” he finally said.
Gregor spoke in an accent much like Madame Valda’s. And Kelsey thought that was an even better sign.
“I don’t think I’ve been cursed,” Kelsey told Gregor. “I know I’ve been cursed.”
Kelsey told Gregor about the Fool card and Madame Valda. She told him all about getting lost, and about the sand crabs. The jellyfish. The horseflies.
Gregor listened without moving. Without even blinking. When she was finished, he said, “I must tell you, this is most unusual.”
“No kidding,” Drew blurted out. “Especially since Madame Valda is dead!”
“Death is only a bend in the path for someone as powerful as Madame Valda,” Gregor told him.
“A what?” Kelsey’s eyes opened wide.
“A bend in the path,” Zandra repeated. “It means that death can’t stop Madame Valda. It just slows her down for a while.”
Kelsey turned to Drew in time to see his jaw drop.
“I told you Madame Valda was the most powerful gypsy who ever lived,” Zandra said, as if Kelsey needed to be reminded.
“Yes,” Gregor agreed. “She was the most powerful gypsy who ever lived. Only she was evil to the bone. And she used her powers in ways that were unthinkable.”
“Like how unthinkable?” Kelsey asked, not really wanting to know.
Gregor just shook his head. He didn’t answer Kelsey’s question. But he continued with his story.
“Madame Valda was so evil that the other gypsies feared her. They feared her for her power. But they also feared that her evil would cause terrible misfortune for all the other gypsies.
“So, secretly, the other gypsies—her own people—decided to kill her. They selected a young boy and a young girl to sneak into her tent and poison her wine.”
“Oh, wow!” Zandra exclaimed. Then she sat down and began fanning herself with her fashion magazine.
Gregor went on.
“How the boy and girl managed to trick her—no one knows. But Valda died. Her dead body was thrown into the sea.
“But Valda did not stay in the sea. She has been seen many times and in many places for over one hundred years. And each time she comes back, it is with evil in her heart.”
Neither Kelsey nor Drew could speak after Gregor finished his story. But finally Kelsey managed to break the thick silence. “What happened to the boy and girl who poisoned her?”
“Madame Valda cursed them and eventually they went crazy.”
“So do you know how to break Madame Valda’s curse?” Zandra asked.
Kelsey held her breath, waiting for the answer.
Gregor nodded yes. “But I must warn you, it will not be easy. It will not be easy at all.”
Gregor inched closer to Kelsey. She stared at the blue eye dangling from his neck as he spoke in a deep whisper.
“I can remove the curse,” he stated. “But removing it will be terrifying—so terrifying that you may think it is worse than the curse itself!”
15
Kelsey shivered. She tried to speak in a normal tone, but her voice came out in a squeak. “I have no choice. I want to break the curse.”
“Then you must do exactly as I tell you,” Gregor said.
“Fine,” Kelsey agreed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Gregor’s wrinkly old face finally cracked into a smile. In fact, he started to laugh. “But you are not ready yet,” he told her.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she insisted.
“No,” Gregor said. “You are not. There are many things you must do before we can begin. And we can not begin until midnight.”
“How come we can’t begin right away?” Kelsey asked.
“You must not ask any questions,” Gregor told her. “To remove the curse, I must have your trust.”
Trust? I don’t trust you at all, Kelsey thought. But she knew there was no point in arguing. “Okay,” she said. “No questions.”
“Good,” Gregor declared. “Now listen to me carefully. The first thing you must do is gather up your fears.”
“Ask him what that’s supposed to mean,” Kelsey whispered to Drew—so she wouldn’t break Gregor’s rules.
“What exactly does that mean?” Drew asked.
Gregor ignored him. “You will bring me a map,” he told Kelsey. “And on it you will circle the street where your beach house is located. Understand?”
Kelsey nodded. At least she really did understand that part, even though she had no idea why Gregor needed a map.
“And you will bring me a sand crab,” Gregor continued. “One that is still alive.”
“Ewwww, gross,” Zandra chimed in.
“Hush, Zandra,” Gregor scolded. “You must also bring me a big, buzzing horsefly,” he continued. “And a lumpy, fat jellyfish. The boy may assist you in finding these things. But you alone must be the one to catch them.”
Thinking about touching the crabs and the jellyfish made Kelsey itch all over.
“When you have everything you need, you will come to the
gypsy camp. It is under the boardwalk. You must be there by the stroke of midnight,” Gregor instructed.
“Don’t worry,” Kelsey assured him. “We’ll be there.”
“Good,” Gregor said, standing up. “Oh, yes,” he added, “there is just one more thing you will need to bring.”
“What?” Drew asked.
This time Gregor didn’t seem to mind answering Drew’s question. “Twenty dollars,” he told Drew. “The cost of removing the curse.”
And with that, Gregor and Zandra disappeared behind the beads.
Later that afternoon Kelsey started step one of removing the curse: gathering her fears.
The map was easy. She found it in the glove compartment of her mother’s car.
Finding a sand crab. That was no problem, either. There were dozens of them crawling around the beach.
But Kelsey couldn’t stand to actually touch them. The thought of those creepy, pinchy legs made her skin crawl. So she found a jar in the kitchen and used it to scoop up the icky creature.
Next came the horsefly. She got a second jar for that. Catching that was harder. It wasn’t that she couldn’t find one. The problem was that there were too many! They swarmed the beach.
Kelsey took a deep breath and ran right into a horde of them.
They landed on her skin. They buzzed in her ears. And they stung her.
When she finally clamped the lid on her jar, she had managed to trap three horseflies.
That left only one more fear.
A jellyfish.
Yuck.
Kelsey swam in the ocean searching for a jellyfish until her lips turned purple and her skin shriveled like a raisin.
But she still didn’t have one when her parents called her in for dinner.
By the time she and Drew finished eating and headed back out, the sun was going down. And the beach was totally deserted.
“It’s pretty weird being out here all alone,” Kelsey commented. Then she thought about how weird it would be going out at midnight—when it was totally black outside. And a shiver ran down her spine.
“Yeah, it is creepy,” Drew agreed. “Let’s just hope our parents don’t catch us down here. If they do, Madame Valda’s curse is going to be the last thing we have to worry about.”