Free Spirits and Spells by Bruce Coville Page A

shivered.
    The desperation in Matt’s eyes was growing. Suddenly he picked up a chair. With a cry of rage he swung it against a window.
    The chair flew into a hundred little pieces.
    The glass was unbroken.
    Matt slumped to the floor, staring at his hands as if they had been burned. Denise rushed to his side. “Did you hurt yourself?” she cried.
    He shook his head, mute and hopeless. Suddenly tears began to stream down his face.
    Denise put her arm around him, held his face against her shoulder. “Travis,” she said. “ Do something.”
    â€œMe?” Travis looked around the room, bewildered. The others were all staring at him, even the creature.
    â€œI can’t … I’m not …”
    He trailed off into a long moment of silence. Watching his face, Tansy could sense the struggle going on inside him. She knew he was terrified. But she also knew that if any of them could find an answer, it was Travis. She laid her hand on his, squeezed it reassuringly.
    And once again, though the game had gone beyond his control, he was the leader. He gave her a gentle smile. “The answer is obvious. We have to win the game! Find the objects, complete the spell, and we’re out of the house. Come on! We don’t have much time.”
    It was as if they had been given an extension on a death warrant. Lifted by his energy, the others collected around the table.
    â€œWe’ve already got the sword and the stave,” said Travis.
    â€œRight,” said Derek. He placed the objects on the table where everyone could see them. There was a murmur of appreciation for the sword, which sparkled in the candlelight. Next to it lay the stave that Matt had managed to save from the two warriors. The wood was dark and polished, with an intricate grain.
    Tansy reached out and placed a tentative finger against it, then drew her hand back in shock. “It feels … alive,” she said. “Like there’s electricity going through it or something.”
    One by one the others touched the stave and muttered their agreement.
    â€œAll right,” said Travis. “The first thing we have to do is find the rod and the ring. Tansy, it was your job to seek the ring.”
    She nodded. “I was looking for it in the attic.”
    Travis smiled. “You were on the right track. At least, you were before all this started. Assuming it’s still where I left it—or that whatever has replaced it is there—you can just go back up and get it. You’ll find it—”
    Suddenly Travis looked oddly uncomfortable. He put his hands to his throat, as if he was choking. His eyes bulged, and though he moved his mouth, no sound came out.

12
    DOUBLE DISCOVERY
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” asked Tansy. “Travis, are you all right?”
    â€œIt’s the spell!” said Denise. “Remember? One of the rules of the game was that he couldn’t tell us where anything is.”
    â€œAre you all right?” cried Tansy again.
    Travis nodded. His eyes had begun to water, and he wiped at them. “I think so,” he gasped. He cleared his throat two or three times.
    â€œYou’re sure not going to be much help,” said Derek in disgust.
    â€œI may not be much,” snapped Travis, “but I’m all you’ve got. You’re just going to have to use your new powers a little more efficiently. Your brains, too.”
    â€œDo you suppose you can still answer questions?” asked Jenny timidly.
    â€œIt would make sense,” said Travis, “since that’s my function in the game. Ask me something.”
    â€œWhere’s the ring?” asked Tansy.
    He shook his head. “That won’t do any good. Even if you ask me directly, I can’t tell you flat-out. You’ve got to go for clues.”
    â€œIt seemed worth a try,” said Tansy defensively. She sat back and waited for someone else to ask a question.
    â€œYou’d better