Candy Shop War (20 page)

“Love the threat,” Denny laughed. “Fine, go fly away to play with the magical geek squad. You don’t scare me. I have my eye on you guys.”

Summer did not look back. She kept her pace quick and found the others waiting on the path above the Nest. Trevor and Nate wore hooded ponchos. Pigeon had on a thick winter coat and carried a black umbrella.

Summer bit her lip. Part of her wanted to report what Denny had seen, but she felt too embarrassed that she had been so careless. They already knew Denny was suspicious of them because of the trick candy. She decided there was no need to humiliate herself by sharing what else he had witnessed. “Do you have the telescope?” Summer asked.

“Of course,” Trevor said.

They started down the path together. Summer checked periodically over her shoulder to make sure Denny wasn’t tailing them. It would be easy enough for him to deduce that their candy was coming from Mrs. White without their actually showing him. By the time they reached Greenway, she felt confident that Denny was not on their trail.

The Sweet Tooth Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe was not as busy as it had been during their previous visit. But considering the rainstorm, there was still a respectable crowd. The guy with the wine-colored birthmark was helping customers, but the dwarf was not behind the counter today. Instead there was a big, round guy. He had thick, shiny lips, and his cheeks and jowls were bloated with fat. His black eyebrows almost met above his knoblike nose. Pockets of blubber bulged from the backs of his huge hands.

The guy with the birthmark ducked through the batwing doors into the back of the store and returned with Mrs. White, who waved the kids over. She raised the countertop and led them into the back.

Today the rear of the store was immaculate. Everything looked freshly scrubbed, the shelves appeared orderly, and no ingredients cluttered the worktables. “I’m very excited to see what you discovered,” Mrs. White said, taking a seat at the table with the purple covering.

Trevor opened his backpack and placed the ivory box on the table. Mrs. White undid the latch. They had rewrapped the spyglass in the silky material, trying to make it look exactly as they had found it. Mrs. White unfolded the fabric and held up the spyglass, peering into it. “Excellent,” she said, twisting the end of the spyglass. “Well done.”

“What is it?” Nate inquired.

Mrs. White lowered the spyglass. “This is a teleidoscope, undoubtedly fashioned by Hanaver Mills. I expect it will prove useful locating the treasure.”

“Teleidoscope?” Pigeon asked.

“You mean you don’t know?” Nate asked, enjoying the moment.

Pigeon rolled his eyes.

“A teleidoscope is a hybrid between a telescope and a kaleidoscope,” Mrs. White elaborated. “A normal kaleidoscope uses optical trickery to create patterns out of bits of material built into the device. A teleidoscope uses similar optics to reconfigure whatever you point it at. Teleidoscopes work best when aimed at vivid backgrounds—for example, a bright floral arrangement.”

“Is it a clue?” Trevor asked.

“I suspect it is a tool for unlocking a clue,” Mrs. White said, setting the teleidoscope aside.

“Do we get some reward candy?” Nate asked.

“You get a new magical edible to use in completing a new assignment. While I strive to unravel the secret of the teleidoscope, I have a new mission of some urgency for the four of you.”

“Do we have to do it at night?” Pigeon sighed.

“Nighttime would probably be best, but you can wait until the weekend.” Mrs. White held up a grainy gray cube. “As you know, most of my confections work best on children. But a few function equally well on adults, like the white fudge. Interestingly, adults tend to remain most susceptible to magic that dulls their senses and reduces their vision. This masterful creation exploits that weakness, wiping out the memory of anyone who ingests it.”

“Like amnesia?” Nate asked.

“Total amnesia,” Mrs. White said. “Those who consume it retain their language abilities, but lose all the specifics of their identity. They start again with a clean slate, which is where the substance derives its name. Since the effects are permanent, and each Clean Slate is indescribably difficult to produce, I do not administer it lightly.”

“You want us to erase somebody’s memory?” Summer verified.

“A villainous man,” Mrs. White affirmed. “An enemy to me and to all humanity. Letting him start again with a clean slate will be a service to him and to the world.”

“What makes him evil?” Summer asked. “Is he after your treasure?”

“He is after the treasure, and would do terrible things with the power it would grant,” Mrs. White said. “Whether or not I succeed in finding the treasure, he must be stopped. We need to get him to voluntarily consume the Clean Slate. If we try to force it upon him, the magic will fail. The Clean Slate dissolves almost instantly into any liquid, so I will need you to sneak into his house and taint a drink in his refrigerator.”

“That sounds really dangerous,” Summer said. “Who is he?”

“I’ll tell you once you agree to the assignment,” Mrs. White said.

“Can you prove that he’s evil?” Summer challenged.

Mrs. White pressed her lips together for a moment before regaining a look of calm. “This relationship requires trust,” Mrs. White said. “I trust you with candy so powerful that most grown, responsible adults would misuse it. You trust me that the assignments I select are in our best interest. Otherwise we should end the relationship.”

“You can’t just expect us to blindly do whatever you say,” Summer said. “You have to earn trust. How do we know you won’t misuse the treasure as much as this other guy? We earn your trust by fulfilling the tasks you give us. Can’t you give us some proof to earn ours?”

All eyes were on Mrs. White. “If I had evidence, I would share it. All I have is knowledge and experience. I could tell you stories about this man, but I have no tangible proof to show you.”

“Can we see the note on the back of the watch face?” Summer asked.

“Now you doubt that?” Mrs. White asked. “You found the teleidoscope right where the note described!”

“Can we see the note?” Summer repeated.

“If there is no trust in this relationship, perhaps you should turn in your candy,” Mrs. White said.

“My dad says people who insist that you trust them usually don’t deserve it,” Summer said. “You don’t need to give me more candy, but I earned the candy that I have. Everything you’ve had us do so far has seemed shady, and this new assignment is the shadiest yet. I just don’t trust you.” Summer looked at her three friends. “Any of you guys coming with me?”

“I am,” Pigeon said. “You probably have good intentions, Mrs. White, and your candy is amazing and fun, but I’m not cut out for this sort of stuff. I don’t have all my candy with me, but I can bring it back if you want.”

“Summer has a point, you earned the candy that you have,” Mrs. White conceded. “You can keep your share, as long as you use it in secret, and stay out of the treasure hunt. How about you, Nate? Trevor?”

Nate cleared his throat. “I’ll keep working for you,” he said.

“Me too,” Trevor agreed. “Sorry, Summer.”

“It’s okay, you guys can do whatever you want.” She felt tears welling up in her eyes. “I better go. Come on, Pidge.” They started walking away.

“Are you certain?” Mrs. White asked. Summer and Pigeon paused, listening. “There is no coming back if you walk away now. You’ll miss many of my most amazing candies. You haven’t even seen Creature Crackers!”

“We’re sure,” Pigeon said. He and Summer passed through the batwing doors to the front of the store. She continued holding back the tears.

“You were really brave in there,” Pigeon said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Was I?” she said, her voice catching. “Or was I a chicken?”

They stepped out into the rain.

“It’s hard to stand up to somebody like Mrs. White,” Pigeon said. “I wanted to before the graveyard mission, but I didn’t have the guts. I wanted to again this time, but who knows if I would have without you.”

“Well, the adventure is over for us,” she said. “No more treasure hunt, no more candy.”

“I think I’ve had enough treasure hunting,” Pigeon said. “We can still have some fun with the candy we have left.”

They hurried across the rain-glossed asphalt of Greenway.

“I hope Nate and Trevor know what they’re doing,” Summer said.

“I sort of doubt it,” Pigeon sighed.

*****

Nate felt bad as he watched Summer go. She had looked truly hurt when he and Trevor chose not to side with her. He wished he could explain. What Summer had asked of Mrs. White had sounded really reasonable to him. Mrs. White’s evasive responses had made him even more suspicious of her. Which meant it was even more important to keep working for her until he figured out what she was really doing.

“Shame they didn’t want to trust us,” Mrs. White said, shaking her head. “You boys sure you don’t want to follow them out?”

“I’m sure,” Nate said.

Trevor nodded.

Mrs. White narrowed her eyes. “I could tell you two were made of tougher stuff than those others. As we close in on our goal, things will be heating up. I need to know I can rely on you boys to the bitter end.”

“You can,” Trevor promised.

“Very well,” Mrs. White said. “The man whose mind we must erase is a magician like me, but has lived here in town a bit longer. His name is Sebastian Stott.”

“Mr. Stott, the ice cream man?” Trevor blurted.

“The very same,” Mrs. White said. “You may have noticed him out on his route again. He would do anything to lay his hands on the treasure we are seeking.”

“But he’s so nice!” Trevor exclaimed.

Mrs. White shook her head knowingly. “Believe me, he’ll be a lot nicer if we let him start over with a new memory.”

Trevor looked to Nate. Using the table to shield the action, Nate nudged Trevor with his foot. Whatever they ended up actually doing, they had to play along for now.

“Will the Clean Slate work on a magician?” Nate asked.

“It will work on anyone unless forced upon them,” Mrs. White said.

“So, what’s the plan?” Nate asked.

“Sneaking into his home will require some ingenuity,” Mrs. White said. “We magicians lay down protective spells to guard our abodes. But I know a way to bypass his defenses, an arcane technique that he would never expect. Mirror walking.”

“What’s that?” Trevor asked.

“Most of those who still know of this secret believe it has been lost over the passage of time.” Mrs. White held up a tiny blue mint. “Put this in your mouth, bite down hard, and for a moment you will be able to step through a looking glass into the space inhabited by reflections.”

“Like
Alice in Wonderland?
” Nate asked.

“Not like Alice,” Mrs. White said. “You will become a living reflection capable of dwelling in the darkness that unites all reflected space. No walls exist in the void between mirrors, no substance except floors. The feat of magic that either discovered or created this space is nothing I can take credit for. But I do know how to access it. You can pass through the blackness from one mirror to another, and gain entry to forbidden places.”

“Weird,” Trevor said. “That’s how you want us to get into Mr. Stott’s house?”

“I have done some investigating, and I know he has a mirror large enough. None suspect that this secret art endures. You’ll need only take a mirror near his house, climb inside, pass through his walls in the darkness, enter his bathroom through the mirror, deposit the Clean Slate in his milk or his juice, and then exit through the mirror.”

“Once we’re in, can’t we just go out the door?” Nate asked.

“Open no window or door,” Mrs. White warned. “Do not explore his home. Go from the bathroom to the kitchen and back.”

“What if he finds us?” Trevor asked.

“Don’t let him find you,” Mrs. White said. “If he does, run away. If you’re caught, play dumb. But be careful and you won’t get caught. Strike late Friday or Saturday. Be sure the house is dark. Or I suppose you could sneak in during the day if you’re sure he’s off driving his route. I’ll leave the timing up to you. Each Mirror Mint gets one person through one mirror. You’ll pass through a mirror to get into the darkness of the reflected world, and through another to get out. Should you get stuck in the reflected world without a mint, you could become trapped for all eternity.”

“Eventually we’d die,” Nate said.

Mrs. White shook her head. “Not true. You would stop aging, no longer require food or air, and persist as a living reflection until the last mirror in the universe was destroyed.”

“So be careful with the mints,” Trevor said.

“Most careful,” Mrs. White agreed, handing each of them four. “Two for each of you to get into his house, and two to get out. I imagine you’ll want to stay together, although it might be wiser to enter solo, leaving the other guarding the mirror outside.”

“Together is better,” Trevor said. “It would be too freaky alone. We’ll hide the outside mirror.”