Free Spell of the Screaming Jokers by R.L. Stine

and picked them up.
    â€œThis is good card manners,” she said. “This is the way you open your hand—quickly, like this.”
    She rapidly fanned her cards.
    â€œWhat?” she shrieked. “No! This is impossible!”
    â€œWhat?” Louisa cried.
    Mrs. Davidson’s eyes grew wild. The veins in her neck bulged out. She screamed, “Noooooo!”
    I shrank back in my chair.
    Mrs. Davidson’s face turned red with fury. She glared at me with her crazed eyes. Then she stood up from the table—and threw her whole hand up in the air.
    I watched with a dry mouth as her ten cards floated down.
    A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek as they fluttered to the table.
    I forced myself to look at them as they landed.
    I gasped.
    On the table lay ten hideous jokers.

26

    N o one moved. We all stared at the jokers.
    The room turned silent—until the hissing started. Faint at first. Then growing louder—quickly.
    And louder still—as a band of jokers burst through the door—screaming.
    We jumped up from our chairs and huddled in a corner of the room. But that wasn’t really necessary.
    The jokers were after only one card player.
    Mrs. Davidson.
    They circled around her, shaking their skulls.
    â€œGet away!” Mrs. Davidson cried. “Obey me at once!”
    But the jokers only laughed and screamed more loudly.
    â€œObey your queen!” she cried. “Stand back!”
    A joker with a toothy grin swatted at her with the skull on his stick.
    As the jokers danced around her, I tried to study each one’s face.
    Which one was Frankie? I thought he might be the one with the twisted grin—the joker card he’d drawn. But there was nothing of Frankie in that awful face.
    â€œLook, Brit,” Louisa whispered. “They’re picking her up!”
    â€œPut me down, you idiots!” Mrs. Davidson cried as the jokers lifted her up over their heads. “I made you what you are!” she shrieked. “You are nothing without me. Nothing!”
    Her words didn’t frighten the jokers at all. They shook their skulls and hooted with laughter as they carried their queen from the room.
    And they were gone.
    For a moment no one spoke.
    Then all four of us cried out with relief.
    We were safe! We weren’t going to turn into jokers!
    â€œWhat amazing luck!” Jeff exclaimed as we let goof each other. “I can’t believe Mrs. Davidson got all ten jokers.”
    â€œWell, luck had a little help,” I told him.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Jeff asked.
    â€œWhen I dropped the cards, I stacked the deck,” I explained.
    Louisa looked confused. “You did what?”
    â€œStacked the deck,” I repeated. “That’s when you put the cards in a special order. It’s an old card trick. I asked Jimmy to show me how to do it last night. But I was pretty scared. I wasn’t sure I got it right.”
    â€œWow,” Jeff said. “Nice work, Brittany.”
    â€œExcellent!” Louisa agreed, slapping me a high-five.
    â€œIf it weren’t for you,” Max added, “I’d be a joker now.”
    â€œLet’s get out of here,” I said, shivering. “I don’t know what’s happening with Mrs. Davidson and the jokers. But I don’t think we should stick around to find out.”
    We ran out of Max’s room and down the stairs to the front door.
    I reached out for the doorknob.
    I twisted it. It turned easily in my hand.
    But before I could pull the door open, a horrible hissing filled the room.
    I turned.
    The jokers! They were back!
    They lunged at us. Circled us, cutting us off from the door.
    They grinned their evil grins.
    They rattled their hideous skull-sticks.
    Then they closed in around us. The joker with the toothy grin stepped toward me.
    â€œThe—the game’s over!” I stammered.
    But the joker didn’t care.
    He kept coming toward me, rattling his