Read Online Jinx On The Divide by Elizabeth Kay - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elizabeth Kay
Tags: Fiction, Humorous stories, Children's Books, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Children: Grades 4-6
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spun around in a fury. It didn't matter that the cell wasn't his in the first place -- having the tables turned on him didn't please him one bit. The japegrin responsible for
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the snatch pressed a few buttons and accidentally called up Rhino's ring tone, which was a bloodcurdling scream he had downloaded from the Internet. The japegrin went very pale and nearly dropped the phone. "What lives inside it?" he asked.
"Give it back and I'll tell you," said Rhino.
The japegrin shook his head. "Squill needs to hear about this."
"Yeah, right," said Rhino, and he lashed out with his foot, catching the japegrin on the shin, and followed up with a swift right to the stomach.
Despite the fact that the japegrin was taller than Rhino, he doubled over, making a satisfying oomph sound -- but much to Rhino's surprise, he didn't give up the phone. What he did was to pull out a sort of dull black stick and wave it in a figure eight. Rhino felt the coldness arrive like a sudden and violent dose of flu. It was as though his body were changing seasons, from summer to autumn to winter. The frost seeped through his veins, settling around his bones and chilling his flesh from the inside. His eyes fixed in one position so that he no longer had any peripheral vision, and everything grew blurred and foggy. He couldn't swallow anymore, and the moment he stopped breathing was the scariest of all.
When Rhino regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a couch. The japegrin who'd taken his phone was nowhere to be seen, but there were several others sitting at little tables and going through paperwork.
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"Hey," said one of them, glancing in Rhino's direction. "The human's awake."
Rhino sat up, trying to remember what had happened just before he passed out. Everything was a bit confused. He could remember someone waving a stick at him, but that was about it.
"So," said a different voice, "we have another human being in our midst. You look far more like a japegrin than the last one."
Something clicked in Rhino's mind. "What do you mean, the last one?"
"Felix Sanders. Felix had brown hair and blue eyes. You, on the other hand, have hair the color of congealing blood, and eyes of the finest mud. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Squill, and I'm the Thane of Yergud."
"Stephen Rheinhart," said Rhino, trying to take in the fact that Felix had been to this place before and undoubtedly knew a lot more about it. Why hadn't he made his fortune, then? He was good enough at science to be able to explain the internal-combustion engine and probably quite a few other things. Felix wasn't streetwise, though -- perhaps that was it. He simply had no business sense.
"Now, then," said Squill. "The Divide spell. You have it?"
Rhino looked blank.
"How did you get here?"
"In a magic lamp," said Rhino faintly.
"So someone else recited the spell. Pity." Squill took
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Rhino's cell phone out of his pocket. "You have imprisoned some creature in here. Is it dangerous?"
"It's a machine for talking to people," said Rhino. "The other person has to have one as well. There's nothing actually in there."
"So someone was screaming at you through it?"
"No, it was a recording -- a copy -- of someone pretending to scream."
"Why?"
Rhino couldn't think of any reply that would be worth making.
"It's scientific?"
"Yeah."
"And you are a scientist?"
Pretending to be a scientist might be a good move. "What if I am?" he said, although he realized that he might be required to prove it before too long. Mind you, these pixie folk would be seriously impressed by even the most mundane of inventions. A flashlight, for instance. Which needed a lightbulb. And to make a lightbulb, you'd need to make glass. And to make glass you needed ... what?
"If you are a scientist, then you are more than welcome," said Squill. "There are various things we're working on. Gold mining, cake design, world domination. Take your pick. Top salary, naturally."
"What exactly are you
79
the snatch pressed a few buttons and accidentally called up Rhino's ring tone, which was a bloodcurdling scream he had downloaded from the Internet. The japegrin went very pale and nearly dropped the phone. "What lives inside it?" he asked.
"Give it back and I'll tell you," said Rhino.
The japegrin shook his head. "Squill needs to hear about this."
"Yeah, right," said Rhino, and he lashed out with his foot, catching the japegrin on the shin, and followed up with a swift right to the stomach.
Despite the fact that the japegrin was taller than Rhino, he doubled over, making a satisfying oomph sound -- but much to Rhino's surprise, he didn't give up the phone. What he did was to pull out a sort of dull black stick and wave it in a figure eight. Rhino felt the coldness arrive like a sudden and violent dose of flu. It was as though his body were changing seasons, from summer to autumn to winter. The frost seeped through his veins, settling around his bones and chilling his flesh from the inside. His eyes fixed in one position so that he no longer had any peripheral vision, and everything grew blurred and foggy. He couldn't swallow anymore, and the moment he stopped breathing was the scariest of all.
When Rhino regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a couch. The japegrin who'd taken his phone was nowhere to be seen, but there were several others sitting at little tables and going through paperwork.
80
"Hey," said one of them, glancing in Rhino's direction. "The human's awake."
Rhino sat up, trying to remember what had happened just before he passed out. Everything was a bit confused. He could remember someone waving a stick at him, but that was about it.
"So," said a different voice, "we have another human being in our midst. You look far more like a japegrin than the last one."
Something clicked in Rhino's mind. "What do you mean, the last one?"
"Felix Sanders. Felix had brown hair and blue eyes. You, on the other hand, have hair the color of congealing blood, and eyes of the finest mud. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Squill, and I'm the Thane of Yergud."
"Stephen Rheinhart," said Rhino, trying to take in the fact that Felix had been to this place before and undoubtedly knew a lot more about it. Why hadn't he made his fortune, then? He was good enough at science to be able to explain the internal-combustion engine and probably quite a few other things. Felix wasn't streetwise, though -- perhaps that was it. He simply had no business sense.
"Now, then," said Squill. "The Divide spell. You have it?"
Rhino looked blank.
"How did you get here?"
"In a magic lamp," said Rhino faintly.
"So someone else recited the spell. Pity." Squill took
81
Rhino's cell phone out of his pocket. "You have imprisoned some creature in here. Is it dangerous?"
"It's a machine for talking to people," said Rhino. "The other person has to have one as well. There's nothing actually in there."
"So someone was screaming at you through it?"
"No, it was a recording -- a copy -- of someone pretending to scream."
"Why?"
Rhino couldn't think of any reply that would be worth making.
"It's scientific?"
"Yeah."
"And you are a scientist?"
Pretending to be a scientist might be a good move. "What if I am?" he said, although he realized that he might be required to prove it before too long. Mind you, these pixie folk would be seriously impressed by even the most mundane of inventions. A flashlight, for instance. Which needed a lightbulb. And to make a lightbulb, you'd need to make glass. And to make glass you needed ... what?
"If you are a scientist, then you are more than welcome," said Squill. "There are various things we're working on. Gold mining, cake design, world domination. Take your pick. Top salary, naturally."
"What exactly are you
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