The air inside the palace was even colder than theair outside. Moonlight flooded through tall arches inthe walls. The floor shined like a skating rink. Thickcolumns of sparkling ice held up a domed ceiling.
"WELCOME, JACK AND ANNIE," boomed a voicefrom beyond the columns.
Jack gasped. "Is that Merlin?" he whispered.
"It does not sound like Merlin," whispered Teddy.
32"But how does he know our names?" whisperedAnnie.
"COME, JACK AND ANNIE. I HAVE BEENWAITING FOR YOU," bellowed the voice.
"Maybe it is Merlin!" said Annie. "Maybe he's justusing a different voice! Come on!""Annie, wait!" Jack called. But Annie had alreadydisappeared into the sparkly room. "We have tofollow her," he said to Teddy and Kathleen.
The three of them hurried after Annie. Beyond thecolumns, steps made of carved ice led up to aplatform. Sitting on a throne on the platform was ahuge bearded man.
The man on the throne was definitely not Merlin.
He was dressed in a worn robe trimmed with dirtyfur. He had a rugged, weather-beaten face, a bushybeard, and a black eye patch. He leaned forward andglared down at Annie with his one good eye.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "I was expecting Jackand Annie of Frog Creek."33Annie stepped toward the throne. "I am Annie andhe's Jack," she said. "And these are our friends Teddyand Kathleen. We come in peace.""Annie? Jack?" the man snorted. "You are not Annieand Jack! You are far too small!""We're not so small," said Annie. "I'm nine. Jack'sten.""But you are children" the man said with scorn.
"Jack and Annie are heroes!""Well, I don't know if I'd call us heroes," said Annie.
"But we sometimes help Merlin and Morgan le Fay.""Annie, shhh!" said Jack. He didn't trust the man onthe throne and worried that Annie was saying toomuch.
But Annie went on. "In fact, Merlin told us to cometo the Land-Behind-the-Clouds today," she said. "Hesent us a message written on a stone.""Ah...," said the man on the throne. "Perhaps youreally are Jack and Annie." He leaned forward andspoke in a low voice:
34To Jack and Annie of Frog Creek:
My Staff of Strength has been stolen. On the wintersolstice, journey to the Land-Behind-the-Clouds.
Travel toward the setting sun and retrieve my staff-orall will be lost.
Jack didn't understand. "How...?""How do I know what was in Merlin's message?"the man said. "I know because I wrote it[ILLUSTRATION: The Wizard pointing at thechildren.]
35myself! I hoped it would find its way to yousomehow."Jack stepped back. So Merlin hadn't sent them onthis mission at all. The weird man on the throne hadtricked them!
"Who are you?" demanded Teddy.
"I am the Ice Wizard," said the man. "The Wizard ofWinter."[ILLUSTRATION: Jack, Teddy, Annie, and Kathleenstanding in a line in front of the Wizard.]
36Teddy gulped.
Oh, no! thought Jack. They had heard about thiswizard on their past Merlin missions. It was theWizard of Winter who had put a spell on the RavenKing and who had stolen the Sword of Light!
The wizard glanced coldly from Teddy to Kathleen.
"And who are the two of you?""I am Teddy of Camelot," said Teddy. "I am anapprentice to Morgan le Fay, in training to be asorcerer myself.""A sorcerer?" said the wizard.
"Yes," said Teddy. "My father was a sorcerer. Mymother was a wood sprite.""And I am a selkie," said Kathleen, "one of theancient seal people.""So you are both from my world," said the IceWizard. "You are of no use to me." He looked back atJack and Annie. "I am interested only in the twomortals, Jack and Annie of Frog Creek."37"Why are you interested in us?" said Jack.
"Because of what you have done for Merlin!"bellowed the Ice Wizard. "For Merlin, you found theWater of Memory and Imagination! For Merlin, youfound the Diamond of Destiny! For Merlin, you foundthe Sword of Light! Now I want you to findsomething for me.""What do you want us to find?" asked Annie.
The Ice Wizard grabbed the black patch coveringhis left eye. He yanked it off, revealing a dark, emptysocket underneath.
"Yikes," Annie said softly.
"I want you to find my eye," the Ice Wizard said.
"Oh, man," said Jack. He was horrified.
"Are--are you quite serious?" said Teddy.
"You want them to find your eye?"The wizard covered his empty eye socket with thepatch again. "Yes," he said. "I want Jack and Annie tofind my eye--and bring it back to me."38"But--why?" said Jack. "Even if we found it, wecouldn't make it work. We're not medical experts oranything.""And anyway, why can't you get your eyeyourself?" said Annie. "You're a wizard!""DO NOT QUESTION MY ORDERS!" the wizardroared at her.
"Hey, don't yell at my sister!" said Jack.
The wizard raised a bushy eyebrow. "You arebrother and sister?" he said.
"Yes," said Jack.
The wizard nodded slowly. His voice grew softer.
"And you protect your sister," he said.
"We protect each other," said Jack.
"I see," whispered the wizard. Then his voice turnedgruff again. "Long ago, I traded my eye for somethingI wanted very much. But I never got what I wanted.
So now I want my eye back.""Who did you trade with?" asked Annie.
"The Fates!" said the wizard. "I traded with theFates! But they cheated me! And that is39why I sent for you and Jack. You must go to theFates and find my eye, and you must go alone.""Why alone?" asked Jack.
"Because only mortals can undo a bargain with theFates," said the Ice Wizard, "not wizards like me--norseal girls, nor the sons of sorcerers, like your twofriends.""But Jack and I succeeded in our other missionsbecause Teddy and Kathleen or Morgan and Merlinhelped us," said Annie.
"What kind of help did they give you?" said thewizard.
"Well, mostly magic rhymes and riddles," saidAnnie.
"Ah. Then I shall do the same," said the wizard. Hethought for a moment, then leaned forward on histhrone. In a growly voice, he said:
Take my sleighAnd find your wayTo the House of the NornsIn the curve of the bay.
Pay them whateverThey tell you to pay.
And bring back my eyeBy break of day.
The wizard reached into the folds of his ragged robeand pulled out a thick string with a row of knots.
"This wind-string will speed you on your journey," hesaid. He tossed the string to Jack.
What's a wind-string? Jack wondered. And who arethe Norns?
Before Jack could ask any questions, the Ice Wizardpointed at him. "Now listen carefully to thiswarning," he said. "Beware the white wolves of thenight. They may follow you on your quest. Never letthem catch up with you. If they catch you, they willeat you!"Jack felt a chill run down his spine.
The Ice Wizard picked up a carved wooden stickfrom the floor beside his throne. Its smooth, polishedwood glowed in the moonlight.
Teddy gasped. "'Tis Merlin's Staff of Strength!" hesaid.
"Indeed," said the wizard. He turned to Jack andAnnie. "Go now and find my eye," he said. "Or youwill never see Merlin and Morgan le Fay again.""What have you done with them?" cried Annie.
The wizard stared at her coldly. "I will not tell you,"he said. "You will see them again only if you returnmy eye before the break of day.""But--" said Annie.
"No more questions!" said the wizard. "Be on yourway!" Before any of them could speak, the Ice Wizardslashed the air with Merlin's Staff of Strength andshouted a spell--"OW-NIGH!"A flash of blue fire shot from the end of the staff. Inan instant, Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Kathleen foundthemselves outside the palace in the freezing night. |