Read Online Mixed Magics: Four Tales of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Diana Wynne Jones
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realized it was their fault. He was slightly surprised to feel more tense than frightened and quite businesslike. It was a great help to have Tonino opposite him, looking calm and sturdy. “They got out,” he said.
“They started to grow,” Tonino said. “They were beans, you know, and beans grow. Why are you upset, sir? Were you meaning to swallow them?”
“Of course I was!” Master Spiderman more or less howled. “I have been intercepting the souls of dead Chrestomancis for more than two hundred years , you stupid little boy! When there were nine, and I swallowed them, I would be the strongest enchanter there has ever been! And you let them get out!”
“But there were only eight,” Tonino pointed out.
Master Spiderman hugged the canister to himself and spread his mouth into a wide smile. “No,” he said. “Nine. One of you boys has my ninth soul, and the other eight have no way to get out of this room.” And he shouted, loudly and suddenly, “Where have they gone?”
Cat and Tonino both jumped and tried to look as if they had no idea. But the shout obviously terrified the dead souls lurking under the table. One of the middle-size ones, the one like a fig leaf, made a dash for freedom, between the broken rungs of Cat’s chair and out toward the stairs and the open door at the top. The others all followed an instant later, as if they could not bear to be left behind, streaming after it in a luminous line.
“Aha!” shouted Master Spiderman. He dropped the canister and ran at an incredible speed through the room and up the first three stairs, where he was just in time to block the path of the escaping souls. Above him the door banged shut. The line of leaf shapes swirled to a stop almost level with the lowest stair, where they dithered in the air a little and then darted away sideways with the big new soul in the lead and the smallest, oldest one fluttering rather desperately in the rear.
At this, Master Spiderman leaped down the steps and snatched up a butterfly net from the heap of rubbish. “Lively, are you?” he muttered. “Soon put a stop to that!” Two more butterfly nets left the heap and planted themselves, one in Cat’s hand and one in Tonino’s. “You let them out,” he said. “You get them caught again.” And with that, he went leaping after the streaming line of souls with his butterfly net held sideways to scoop them up.
Cat and Tonino jumped up and began pretending to chase the fleeing souls, too, getting in Master Spiderman’s way whenever they could. Tonino galumphed backward and forward, waving his net and shouting, “Got you!” and “Oh, bother, I missed !” in all the wrong places and particularly when he was nowhere near the streaming line of souls. Cat sprinted beside Master Spiderman, and whenever Master Spiderman lunged to scoop up the souls, Cat made sure to lunge, too, and either to jog Master Spiderman’s elbow or to cross Master Spiderman’s butterfly net with his own so that he missed.
Master Spiderman howled and snarled at him, but he was too intent on catching the souls to do anything to Cat. Around the basement they sped, like people in a mad game of lacrosse, with Tonino galloping in the middle, upsetting broken furniture into their path, while the line of shining, desperately frightened souls sped around the room at waist level, swerved outward to miss the draped cobwebs, and rushed along the wall with the window in it, slightly higher up.
Window! Cat thought at them as he chased beside Master Spiderman. Window’s open! But they were too frightened to notice the window and streamed on toward the steps again. There the ivy leaf soul must have had the idea that the door was still open and tried to dart up the steps. The others all stopped and swirled around to follow it.
Seeing this, Master Spiderman shouted, “Aha!” again and rushed toward them with his net ready. Cat and Tonino had to do some fast and artistic jumping about on the stairs, or the
“They started to grow,” Tonino said. “They were beans, you know, and beans grow. Why are you upset, sir? Were you meaning to swallow them?”
“Of course I was!” Master Spiderman more or less howled. “I have been intercepting the souls of dead Chrestomancis for more than two hundred years , you stupid little boy! When there were nine, and I swallowed them, I would be the strongest enchanter there has ever been! And you let them get out!”
“But there were only eight,” Tonino pointed out.
Master Spiderman hugged the canister to himself and spread his mouth into a wide smile. “No,” he said. “Nine. One of you boys has my ninth soul, and the other eight have no way to get out of this room.” And he shouted, loudly and suddenly, “Where have they gone?”
Cat and Tonino both jumped and tried to look as if they had no idea. But the shout obviously terrified the dead souls lurking under the table. One of the middle-size ones, the one like a fig leaf, made a dash for freedom, between the broken rungs of Cat’s chair and out toward the stairs and the open door at the top. The others all followed an instant later, as if they could not bear to be left behind, streaming after it in a luminous line.
“Aha!” shouted Master Spiderman. He dropped the canister and ran at an incredible speed through the room and up the first three stairs, where he was just in time to block the path of the escaping souls. Above him the door banged shut. The line of leaf shapes swirled to a stop almost level with the lowest stair, where they dithered in the air a little and then darted away sideways with the big new soul in the lead and the smallest, oldest one fluttering rather desperately in the rear.
At this, Master Spiderman leaped down the steps and snatched up a butterfly net from the heap of rubbish. “Lively, are you?” he muttered. “Soon put a stop to that!” Two more butterfly nets left the heap and planted themselves, one in Cat’s hand and one in Tonino’s. “You let them out,” he said. “You get them caught again.” And with that, he went leaping after the streaming line of souls with his butterfly net held sideways to scoop them up.
Cat and Tonino jumped up and began pretending to chase the fleeing souls, too, getting in Master Spiderman’s way whenever they could. Tonino galumphed backward and forward, waving his net and shouting, “Got you!” and “Oh, bother, I missed !” in all the wrong places and particularly when he was nowhere near the streaming line of souls. Cat sprinted beside Master Spiderman, and whenever Master Spiderman lunged to scoop up the souls, Cat made sure to lunge, too, and either to jog Master Spiderman’s elbow or to cross Master Spiderman’s butterfly net with his own so that he missed.
Master Spiderman howled and snarled at him, but he was too intent on catching the souls to do anything to Cat. Around the basement they sped, like people in a mad game of lacrosse, with Tonino galloping in the middle, upsetting broken furniture into their path, while the line of shining, desperately frightened souls sped around the room at waist level, swerved outward to miss the draped cobwebs, and rushed along the wall with the window in it, slightly higher up.
Window! Cat thought at them as he chased beside Master Spiderman. Window’s open! But they were too frightened to notice the window and streamed on toward the steps again. There the ivy leaf soul must have had the idea that the door was still open and tried to dart up the steps. The others all stopped and swirled around to follow it.
Seeing this, Master Spiderman shouted, “Aha!” again and rushed toward them with his net ready. Cat and Tonino had to do some fast and artistic jumping about on the stairs, or the
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