Under the Magician's Spell

  Turn to PAGE 121.

  When you round the back corner of the factory, you spot an old wooden door. But before you can test it, you hear music.

  Hip-hop playing loudly.

  “It’s them,” you whisper. “Quick! Let’s hide.” The three of you duck behind a pile of old tires.

  Just in time! Larry, D. J., and Buddy stroll around the corner of the broken-down building. D. J. takes a long swig from a soda can. Then he crushes the can and pitches it into an old, rusty Dumpster near the canal.

  A big gray rat pokes his head over the top of the Dumpster and then leaps out. The enormous rodent is followed by another. Then another and another and another. Gross!

  You hold your breath to keep from screaming. But Larry and his friends laugh. Figures. They’re rats themselves!

  “Let’s go,” Larry orders. You watch D. J. toss something gold toward the Dumpster. Then they go in the old door. Once the creeps are inside the factory, you sneak out from behind the tires.

  “I think D. J. threw the Magic Book in the Dumpster,” Joanie says.

  “No, he didn’t,” Sid says. “They took the book inside with them. Let’s follow them.”

  To search the Dumpster, turn to PAGE 120.

  To sneak into the old building, turn to PAGE 12.

  You hope the Cabinet of Swords won’t be as deadly as it sounds.

  “Let’s get to work,” the Masked Man commands, clapping his hands. “Now you stand there.” He yanks Sid to one side of the wooden cabinet. “And you stand right there,” he instructs Joanie, pulling her to the other side of the cabinet. Then he passes a hand over her face and mutters a few strange words.

  Her expression goes completely blank.

  He does the same thing to Sid. Sid stares into space — unmoving, unblinking.

  “Wh-what did you do to them?” you stammer.

  “It’s for the trick!” the Masked Man informs you. “They’re under my spell, of course!”

  Of course.

  “What kind of trick is this?” you ask.

  “You’ll see right now!” The Masked Man waves his hands over his head. Sid and Joanie open the doors of the tall cabinet. Inside you see the blades of ten swords running from one side of the cabinet to the other.

  Somehow you don’t think you’re going to like being this guy’s assistant.

  Turn to PAGE 124.

  “Meet Mr. Lucky Luck,” Ms. Cardsharp announces.

  A short man with bright red hair enters the room. He sits down at the table. He is wearing a shirt covered with four-leaf clovers. Rabbits’ feet hang from his belt. There’s a horseshoe around his neck.

  “Meet Ms. Nine Lives,” Ms. Cardsharp shouts.

  “Meow,” says a tall woman. She is dressed like a black cat. Two cat ears stick up on either side of her head.

  “Meet Mr. Rambler Gambler!”

  A tall man in a sparkling gold suit walks into the room and takes his seat. Diamonds sparkle on his fingers.

  “Well, that’s our little group,” Ms. Cardsharp says. “Take a seat, and let the games begin.” With that, all the other players sit down at the table.

  You glance over at Sid and Joanie. They each give you a thumbs-up sign. That makes you feel a little better. You pull out a chair and sit down.

  “What shall we play?” Mr. Lucky Luck asks. “How about Kaboobie? I’m lucky at Kaboobie.”

  Uh-oh. You’ve never heard of Kaboobie. What if they only play games you don’t know?

  Turn to PAGE 45.

  You wait for Joanie’s answer. “I don’t have the book anymore,” she finally says, her voice trembling. “I brought it back to the Magic Shop in the mall. I didn’t want to disappear.”

  Your heart sinks into your toes. Great, you think, now I have to get to the mall and convince the Magician to help me. And I’ll terrify everyone I see on the way there.

  But you don’t know what else you can do. You hurry to the mall.

  “AAAAAAAhhhhhh!!!!” A woman inside a house shrieks. She yanks down the window shade. You’d better hurry. With this kind of reaction, you might be run out of town!

  You stick to the alleyways, hoping to avoid terrifying too many people or animals on your way to the mall.

  Finally you reach the mall. You rush to the Magic Shop.

  And have the scare of your life!

  Turn to PAGE 131.

  Your whole body grows warm. You begin to sweat. You have the strangest feeling — as if you were glowing. And then suddenly you feel okay. Normal.

  But for some reason, Joanie and Sid are staring at you in horror.

  “What is it?” you cry. “Has something terrible happened? Am I green or something?”

  But they don’t answer you. Instead they leap out of the box and run away from you as fast as they can. They disappear behind another stack of boxes.

  “Joanie? Sid?” you call after them. You wonder what scared them.

  You’ll have to find them later. Right now, you have a score to settle with Larry and his pals. You just hope the spell worked!

  Turn to PAGE 91.

  “Oops,” D. J. says, dumping Joanie’s stuff out of her backpack. The Magic Book falls to the ground.

  “You’d better put everything back!” Joanie yells.

  “Sure,” Buddy replies sarcastically. Then he grabs one of her notebooks and boots it into the air like a football. D. J. spots the gold-covered Magic Book on the ground. He leans down and picks it up.

  “Give that back!” you yell. You try to snatch the book out of D. J.’s hand.

  “Want it?” D. J. taunts. “Catch.” He throws the book to Larry. The book sails over your head.

  “What’s this?” Larry asks as he catches it.

  Larry may be the dumbest person in school, but even Larry can tell this book is special.

  “I’ll just take this book with me,” Larry says. “If you want it back, it will cost you fifty dollars.” D. J. and Buddy start laughing.

  Without thinking, you run at Larry. You slam into him. The impact knocks you both to the ground. The book flies out of Larry’s hand onto the pavement. You grab for it, stretching out your fingers as far as they can reach. You’ve got it!

  Then D. J.’s big foot comes down on your hand.

  Ouch! Turn to PAGE 48.

  “Wake up!” Someone is shouting into your ear.

  You open your eyes. Sid is standing over you.

  “What happened?” you ask. “Where are we?”

  “I don’t know,” Sid answers. “Underground somewhere?”

  You rise unsteadily to your feet. You notice Joanie sitting on the floor. She looks as if she just woke up.

  You glance around. The walls of the room are painted black. A wooden coffin sits on a low table. Behind it is a black velvet curtain.

  “Do you think there’s another brick wall behind there, like there was back at the Magic Shop?” you joke.

  “Only one way to find out,” Sid says.

  You walk up to the curtain, unsure of what may happen next. Before you can part the thick fabric, three men dressed in red tights somersault into the room.

  They reach the center of the room and begin to juggle. Balls fly through the air, faster and faster. Then, to your amazement, the balls turn into balls of fire. One of the jugglers turns your way — and throws a glowing fireball right at you!

  Oh, no! Do you know how to juggle?

  If you can juggle, turn to PAGE 17.

  If you can’t juggle, turn to PAGE 28.

  You move closer to the door and listen.

  “It’s just the sound of the locks on the door being opened,” you whisper.

  “That’s a lot of locks,” Sid says. “Why so many?”

  Before you can answer, the door opens a crack. A watery blue eye stares out at you. The door swings open wider. An orange-haired old woman steps out. She wears blue socks with high-top sneakers. She has a yellow apron over her flower-print dress.

  “Hello,” she says in a raspy v
oice. She gazes at Joanie. “What a cute little girl,” she comments, patting Joanie’s curls. Joanie gives the old woman one of her big smiles. The one where she shows off her dimples and flutters her eyelashes.

  “What can I do for you children?” the old woman asks.

  “We’re friends of Larry’s,” you speak up. “He sent us to get Pat the Rat. He has to take Pat to the vet.”

  The woman’s eyes squint into tiny pea holes. Her mouth pinches together tightly.

  What’s going on? The woman’s face wrinkles up as if it is about to explode.

  Go to PAGE 92.

  You, Sid, and Joanie all have your eyes glued on the cup on the left. You hold your breath as Mr. Knowledge slowly, so slowly, lifts up the left cup.

  The red ball rolls out.

  “We win!” you cheer. You, Sid, and Joanie slap high fives. “Now, Mr. Knowledge, how do we get out of here?”

  “The answer is in the red ball.” He hands the small ball to you. “Throw it against the wall, and the answer will be revealed.”

  You hurl the ball against the wall. On impact, the ball splatters into red paint. The paint runs in all directions until it makes a doorway.

  You glance down at the hourglass. Oh, no! There are just a few grains of sand left!

  “Run for the door!” you shout, pushing Sid and Joanie forward. “We’re almost out of time.”

  The three of you jump through the red doorway and find yourselves back inside the Magic Shop.

  “We did it!” Sid cheers. “We’re back in the mall!”

  Then you hear it.

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

  Turn to PAGE 11.

  You lost. Your card doesn’t beat the king of spades.

  “It’s only a card game,” you say, rising from the table. “We’ll find our way out of here on our own.”

  “Not so fast,” Mr. Rambler Gambler says sharply. “You have to do what I tell you. That was the rule. That’s why we allowed you into the game.”

  You sit down. You won’t go back on a promise.

  Mr. Rambler Gambler leaves the room. When he comes back in, he is carrying a rhinestone suit and a paper bag.

  “This is my favorite suit,” Mr. Rambler Gambler tells you. “Each and every one of these little rhinestones here needs to be polished. But don’t worry,” he adds. “Your pals can help you.” He empties the paper bag on the floor. Three baby-sized toothbrushes and a bottle of pink liquid roll out.

  “I suggest you get started,” Mr. Rambler Gambler says, handing you the suit.

  You gaze down at the suit in your hands. There must be 4,000 rhinestones sewn onto it.

  The grains of sand in the hourglass are going to run out long before you are finished cleaning the suit. You start cleaning. You almost wish the Magician would hurry up and find you. At least that way you’ll come to a less boring

  END.

  “Before we end up on the dinner menu,” Sid interrupts the jugglers, “can you take off these cuffs?”

  The first juggler somersaults over to Sid. He jiggles with the cuffs. They clatter to the floor.

  “How did you do that?” you ask. When you and Sid tried to unlock the handcuffs it seemed impossible.

  “It’s a trick,” the juggler answers. “Everything is a trick here.”

  Suddenly all three jugglers freeze.

  “The Magician,” they cry together. “He’s coming!”

  All three disappear in a puff of smoke.

  Turn to PAGE 34.

  The giant reaches out for the bird in Sid’s hand. The guy’s hand is as big as Sid’s head.

  “Is my little bittle birdie okay?” The giant makes kissing sounds at the bird. “I’m a vanilla guest,” he explains. “I was practicing throwing my voice.”

  “You mean you’re a ventriloquist,” Joanie corrects the man.

  Good move, Joanie, you think. Get the giant mad.

  The huge man peers down at Joanie.

  Uh-oh, you think. Here it comes.

  “You’re cute,” the giant tells Joanie.

  “I know,” she replies. They smile at each other. You don’t believe it! Joanie’s cute act is working on this gross guy.

  “Can you show us how to get out of here?” Joanie asks, flashing her dimples.

  “Come with me,” the giant says, taking Joanie’s hand.

  “Joanie, wait,” you call. You’re not sure you can trust this guy.

  “Do you want to just sit here and wait for the Magician?” Joanie asks you.

  “She’s got a point,” Sid adds.

  What do you think?

  Should you go with the ugly giant? If so, turn to PAGE 110.

  If you think it would be better to wait, go to PAGE 67.

  You glance down and see that your feet are no longer touching the floor. You float higher and higher.

  The Magician snaps his fingers. You are turned upside down, suspended in midair. Then you start shaking like a saltshaker.

  Everything from your pants pockets falls to the ground. When the Magician is satisfied that you don’t have the book, he does the same thing to Sid and Joanie. Gum wrappers, markers, rubber bands, even a sandwich fall onto the floor.

  “You must have hidden the book,” the Magician realizes.

  THUD! You, Sid, and Joanie drop onto the floor.

  “Hey!” Joanie complains. “That hurt.” She rubs her backside.

  “That was nothing,” the Magician growls. You have a terrible feeling he is telling the truth.

  The Magician claps his hands, and a tiny hourglass is suddenly hanging from a rope around your neck. “The sand will run out in exactly one hour,” he explains. “If you fail to return the book in perfect condition you will join my collection.”

  “W-W-What collection?” you ask.

  Out of nowhere, a gust of wind blows aside the velvet curtain behind the coffin. What you see makes all three of you scream in terror!

  What is behind the curtain? Find out on PAGE 113.

  You don’t trust this guy. “No offense, but I think we should stay here,” you say. You hold your breath, wondering what the giant’s reaction will be.

  He lets go of Joanie’s hand and stalks toward you. Your eyes travel up, up, up to his gross face.

  You don’t believe it! There is a tear starting to trickle down his slimy cheek.

  “You don’t want to go with me?” the giant asks in a trembling voice. “You don’t like me?” He flings himself onto the floor. His shoulders shake as he wails and moans.

  “Boo hoo hoo hoo,” he weeps.

  You, Sid, and Joanie exchange puzzled looks. “No, no, we like you a lot,” you say. “Really we do.”

  But it’s no use. The giant is crying so hard he can’t even hear you. Huge tears roll onto the floor. You are soon knee-deep in tears.

  Then chest-deep.

  Now you can taste the giant’s salty tears.

  You’re going under. Under.

  You start crying yourself when you realize this is

  THE END.

  You decide to confront the Magician. You point to the remains of the book.

  The Magician stares down at the torn pages. He lets out a deafening scream. His head spins completely around and sparks fly off his body.

  You are frozen in terror.

  He moves toward you, staggering, lurching forward. His stiff hands reach out for yours.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he says, shaking your hand. “By tearing up the Magic Book of Spells, you have released me from an evil curse.”

  “I did?” you say.

  “Yes, you did,” the Magician continues. “Now I will do something for you. What do you want?”

  “I want to go home!” you tell the Magician. “With Sid and Joanie.” Then you think of something else. You whisper your request in the Magician’s ear.

  “No problem,” the Magician assures you.

  He taps you with his magic wand. A flash of green light almost blinds you. You blink a few ti
mes to clear your vision.

  You’re home! Sid and Joanie wave to you from your front lawn. Then Larry, D. J., and Buddy hurry down the street.

  “We were so worried about you,” Larry says. “You know you are our three favorite people in the whole world.”

  THE END

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  The air suddenly turns icy cold.

  A noise blasts through the warehouse. It is so loud it knocks you down. You feel all squished together, like someone put you in a blender and pushed the mix button.

  When you stand up, you realize that you’re no longer inside the warehouse. In fact, there is no warehouse!

  There’s no empty lot. There’s no Dumpster. There’s not even any ground in front of you. There are only two narrow stone paths that arch over the nothingness.

  What did I do? you wonder. You glance down at the page in the Magic Book. You read the title of the spell.

  “The Spell for Two Paths — One to Safety — One to Doom.”

  You explain what happened to Sid and Joanie. You don’t see Larry and his buddies anywhere.

  “So which path do we take?” asks Sid. “Which is the Path to Safety?”

  “I don’t know,” you answer. “The rest of the page is torn off.”

  Go to PAGE 107.

  “The boxes!” you cry. “We can hide in the boxes.”

  You quickly open one of the huge boxes you’ve been hiding behind. All three of you scramble inside.

  You hear Larry and his friends still chasing rabbits. They sound awfully close. Minutes pass.

  “This is soooo boring.” Joanie lets out a long sigh. “I guess I’ll write in my diary.”

  Joanie unzips her backpack. She shifts around the books and papers until she finds her diary.

  “How can you write at a time like this?” asks Sid. “You can hardly see in here it’s so dark.”