Candy Shop War (33 page)

He turned back to the chalkboard, erased his name, and wrote in imposing letters: DON’T TAKE CANDY FROM STRANGERS!

Nate squirmed.

“Now, that may not seem like news to anyone,” Mr. Dart said. “This message, in various forms, has been drilled into children across many cultures for centuries. Why do you suppose this message gets repeated?”

April Flynn raised her hand. Mr. Dart nodded at her.

“Because strangers might lure you into their car to kidnap you,” April said.

“A common response, and a real threat,” Mr. Dart said. “Or maybe the stranger tampered with the candy and made it unsafe. I want to propose a lesser known reason. There are magicians in the world who are capable of creating powerful spells that work only on children. They blend these enchantments with candy to entice youngsters. These magicians consider children a disposable resource. They put kids in danger, get what they can from them, and then cast them aside when their usefulness has passed. None of these magicians can be trusted. They are not a new phenomenon. Some of the oldest children’s tales contain warnings about them. Who knows the story of Hansel and Gretel?”

Several hands went up.

John Dart continued as if he had not asked the question. “Two children get lost in the woods and stumble upon a delicious house made of candy. Attracted by the sweets, the kids are captured by a witch, who continues feeding them treats. Why? The witch is fattening them up so she can eat them.”

Mr. Dart paused, staring at Nate, who dropped his gaze to his hands.

“Moral of the story? Don’t take candy from strangers. You can find similar warnings in other tales. My message today is: Do not trust magicians who exploit children for gain.”

Walt Gunther timidly raised his hand. Mr. Dart nodded at him.

“Are you sort of making up a fairy tale?” he asked, sounding concerned that Mr. Dart might be insane.

Mr. Dart smiled. “Something like that. I’m trying to prove a point to anyone who might be feeling confused about the issue. If any of you want to talk with me more on the subject, I’ll be at my desk. Otherwise, find a task to perform quietly.”

Mr. Dart returned to the desk and sat down. He took out a pen and began writing in a notebook.

Nate tapped his desk nervously with his pen. Whatever Mr. Dart was doing here, it was clear that he knew about the magicians and the candy. There was no point in trying to act naive. The man was on to them. It would be better to confront him directly. Mustering his courage, Nate got up and walked to the front of the room.

Mr. Dart looked up from his notebook. “Pull up a chair.”

Nate grabbed a chair, glancing over at Summer and Pigeon. Summer pointed at herself and then at Mr. Dart. Nate shook his head. He did not want Summer or Pigeon to reveal themselves until he learned more about the unexpected substitute.

Nate sat down by Mr. Dart. “Do you know me?” Nate asked quietly.

“I do,” Mr. Dart said in a deep, hard voice. “I don’t know all the details, but I know you’re in way over your head. If you’ll fill me in, I can help.”

“How do I know you’re different from any of the other magicians?”

Mr. Dart almost smiled. “First of all, I’m no magician. Second, I’m not after what they’re after. I’m only here to stop them. Third, unlike them, I’ll tell you everything I know once I’m convinced you’re on my side.”

Nate rubbed his knees. “If that’s all true, I may talk to you. But first you need to prove yourself.”

Mr. Dart leaned back in his chair, thick fingers brushing the brim of his hat. “Look, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have a hunch you were basically a good kid. Belinda can be sly. She could cajole an honest kid into serving her. It seems clear you caught on to what she really is and that you were trying to fight back. Without help, it’s a fight you’ll lose. My guess is you’re involved with Sebastian as well.”

“He seems like a pretty good guy,” Nate said.

Mr. Dart exhaled sharply, not quite a chuckle. “Compared to Belinda, yes, he is the lesser of two evils. But I expect he is keeping secrets, just as she did. Has he even told you what he is after?”

“An ancient treasure,” Nate said.

“What ancient treasure?”

Nate shrugged.

“Do you understand that most of the treats these magicians prepare for you would not work on themselves? They’re too old. It’s the catch-22 of magic.”

“Mr. Stott explained that.”

“Do you understand that the unattainable miracle all magicians pursue is the ability to reduce their age? They can prolong their years, but they can’t make themselves a second younger. If these wise old magicians could only turn back the clock, their power would increase exponentially.”

“I sort of knew that, I guess.”

Mr. Dart leaned closer and lowered his voice a little more. “Then it might interest you to know that the prize Belinda White and Sebastian Stott are seeking is a draught from the Fountain of Youth. Funny how neither of them mentioned it. Chew on that for a minute, and see if Sebastian still strikes you as such a nice guy.”

Nate nodded thoughtfully. “Why do you care?”

By the look on his face, Nate sensed that Mr. Dart approved of the question. “I’m no magician, but magicians know me. I help keep them in line. I’ve fulfilled some important assignments, but nothing tops this. If either Belinda or Sebastian drinks that water and reverts to a younger state, it will be a really big problem. I’m not just talking about a problem for magicians, I’m talking about a problem for all humankind.”

“How do I know this isn’t a setup? You could be working for Mrs. White.”

“Before we were formally introduced, I broke my leg helping you escape Mrs. White. I shot the dwarf.”

“That was you in the car!”

“The dwarf was an Energizer. A Kinetic. He can store and release mechanical energy inside his body—jump with the force of fifty jumps, that sort of thing. He was storing up to follow you onto the roof of that antique store, so I simultaneously shot him with a rubber bullet and a crossbow. The quarrel from the crossbow struck him in the leg.” Mr. Dart smiled. “Sort of knocked him off-kilter, and he leapt into the wall. Little guy busted himself up pretty good.”

“How’d you break your leg?”

Mr. Dart studied him. He reached into a pocket of his coat and put a toothpick in his mouth. “I’ve been around long enough, my weakness is no big secret, although I’m never anxious to draw attention to it. I receive any injury that I directly inflict upon another. I punch you in the face, my nose bleeds. I break your leg, mine breaks too. I kill you . . . I die.”

“Whoa,” Nate said. “So you broke the dwarf’s leg with the crossbow, and your leg broke! What about when the dwarf jumped into the wall?”

“That didn’t count. He stored up and released the energy himself.”

“Were you born like that?”

“I used to be an enforcer for the mob,” Mr. Dart said. “We’re talking back in the twenties. One time, we leaned on a guy who happened to be a magician. Not just any magician—pretty much the cream of the crop. We had no idea. He got the upper hand and killed the two guys I was working with. I was next. But he held off. He looks at me strangely and says, ‘You’ve never killed a man.’ I say, ‘That’s right.’ He says, ‘You’ve been using your gifts for unworthy purposes.’ I say, ‘Maybe.’ He says, ‘I killed the killers, but I’ll offer you a way out. Not an easy way out, but a chance to live, a new life.’ I ended up agreeing to his terms.”

“What were they?” Nate asked, fascinated.

“He cursed me so that I would suffer whatever physical harm I inflicted on others. The curse slowed down my aging process—I age more gradually than most magicians, even. And the curse sped up how fast my body heals. This leg will be perfectly mended in a couple of days, even though the dwarf will be lame for months. After placing the curse, the spell caster introduced me to a person in charge of policing magicians, and I have done this job ever since.”

“You went from criminal to policeman,” Nate said.

“Something like that. I’m not proud of my unlawful background. True, I never killed a man, but certain memories make me cringe. I may have been raised wrong, but I should have known better. The curse was just. I try to make up for my past errors by doing this job right.”

“Why did you chase us the night we broke into the museum?” Nate asked.

“As far as I knew, you were in league with Belinda. I was just trying to gather information. You’ll notice, I didn’t hurt any of you. I could have.”

Nate stared at him. “I’ll admit, you’re starting to convince me.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Mr. Dart said. “I can tell you more, but you need to meet me halfway. I need to know we’re on the same side. I can’t have the info I share with you leaking back to my enemies.”

“Okay, we’re getting close to the treasure,” Nate said. “A guy named Hanaver Mills left clues.”

“Hanaver is how my organization knows about the treasure,” Mr. Dart said. “We believe he found it, but chose to help keep it hidden. He did not share exactly where it was located, although he told us what it was. Since my organization is run by magicians, we left the treasure alone. To claim it, even to hide it, would have been a conflict of interest. But somehow word finally leaked out. Now I have to plug the leak.”

“You better hurry,” Nate said. “Mrs. White stole the map to the treasure from me last night.”

“You had a map!” Mr. Dart said, losing his composure for the first time. “Do you know the location of the treasure room?”

“The map was supposedly hidden inside a model ship built by Hanaver,” Nate explained. “We stole the ship from the town library, but before we could investigate it, Mrs. White used a wooden Indian to steal the ship from my house.”

Mr. Dart scrawled something in his notebook. “She may already know the position of the treasure. Are other kids still working for her?”

“The four of us who you chased that night at the museum quit working for her and started helping Mr. Stott,” Nate said. “But she recruited three bullies from our school who are now helping her.”

“Who are they?” Mr. Dart asked.

“Denny Clegg, Eric Andrews, and Kyle Knowles.”

“Could you point them out to me?”

“Sure.”

“What about the others working for Stott? How loyal are they?”

Nate glanced over at Summer. “We should bring them in on this. One is trapped as a reflection. The others are in this room, and, like me, they just want all of this to be over. If we help you, we need you to help us get our friend out of the mirror realm.”

“I’ll try my best,” Mr. Dart said. “I had no idea anybody still knew how to access the space where reflections dwell.”

“I’ve been there,” Nate said.

“Well, yes, I’ll do everything in my power to rescue your friend, and I’ll not be claiming the water from the Fountain of Youth, or any of the other treasure. You would be welcome to destroy it. If there is gold, you would be welcome to keep it. I’m just here to stop the magicians from acquiring it.”

“Hold on a second,” Nate said.

He walked to Summer’s desk and waved Pigeon over. “What’s his story?” Summer asked.

Nate took a deep breath. “First off, I have something to confess. I lost the
Stargazer.
The wooden Indian from the candy shop broke into my house and stole it. I tried to stop him, but he was too strong.”

“Then Mrs. White has the map,” Pigeon said.

“I’m sorry,” Nate said.

“That must have been scary,” Summer said.

“It was the worst,” Nate said. “My dad was watching and didn’t even get what was happening. He thought I was roughhousing with friends. He just wanted me to quiet down.”

“I’m sure you tried your best,” Pigeon said. “I’m just glad the Indian wasn’t in my house.”

“I think this guy is for real,” Nate said, tilting his head toward Mr. Dart. He recapped all the information John Dart had told him. “I know it’s hard, but I don’t see that we have any options except to trust him.”

“Wow,” Summer said. “I’d say we’re lucky he found us. He may be our only hope.”

“That’s what I think,” Nate said. “If it’s a trick, it’s the best one yet. He might actually be able to get us out of this.”

“You really think Mr. Stott is a bad guy?” Pigeon asked.

“Mr. Dart said that Mr. Stott isn’t bad like Mrs. White, but that he could become dangerous if he drinks from the Fountain of Youth. Considering that Mr. Stott didn’t tell us what the treasure was, my guess is he plans to drink it. I think Mr. Dart is our safest bet.”

“I’m in,” Pigeon said. “Let’s talk to him.”

“Is that Denny?” Summer said, staring at a window near the door.

Nate turned and made brief eye contact with the bully. Nate, Summer, and Pigeon hurried to the window in time to see Denny running off. They shared a worried look.

“What was he up to?” Pigeon asked.

“I don’t know,” Nate muttered.

The three kids approached John Dart’s desk.

“What was that about?” Mr. Dart asked.

“One of the bullies working for Mrs. White was peeking in the window,” Nate reported. “Denny. Do you think he could have heard us?”