Pan's Realm (4 page)

7

P
an led them to an
incredibly huge pine tree that stood by itself in a meadow in the woods. The pine was surrounded by grass but nothing else, not a bush, not another small tree. The circular meadow was two hundred feet across. It almost looked as if it were regularly attended to. The lawn was manicured. Maybe the leprechauns mowed it every week—that was Sally's opinion, even though Pan did not confirm it. The king of the elementals gestured to the area as they walked up to the tree.

“Are you familiar with interdimensional portals?” he asked.

“Oh yeah,” Adam said. “There's one in our town ­cemetery. We've been to a couple of different dimensions.”

“Neither of which was very pleasant,” Sally added.

“This portal opens only into the realm of the elementals,” Pan explained. “It's a beautiful place, or at least it was when I was king. But now that Klandor is in charge I have no idea how things have changed. Anyway, we enter my old kingdom by starting at the edge of the circular meadow and walking backward around the tree seven times. With each revolution, we move a few feet closer to the tree. The last circle will be the shortest. Do you understand?”

Sally waved her hand. “Piece of cake.” She turned to Cindy. “I suppose you'll have some excuse to stay behind. A sudden attack of the flu perhaps? Or else a nose bleed coming on?”

Cindy scowled. “I feel fine, thank you, and I'm looking forward to seeing this other dimension. But if you want to stay behind and keep looking for your
baby blanket,
I won't judge you.”

“Do leprechauns ever fight like this?” Watch asked Pan.

“Only when their treasures are stolen,” Pan replied.

Together, with Pan leading, they began to walk backward around the tree. Despite having four legs, which he had to use in reverse, Pan was a smooth mover. But Adam found it hard to keep his legs moving backward. Seven revolutions around the tree were a lot. By
the time they neared the tree, he was feeling tired and sore. He wasn't even sure which was the seventh turn. For that reason the switch into the other dimension caught him completely by surprise.

They were in the meadow and then they were in deep space.

There were burning stars, shimmering nebulas, spinning planets. All these seemed to be turning on some giant invisible axis. In black outline he could see his friends and Pan nearby. It was almost as if they stood, for a moment, at the center of the universe. Then there was a flash of white light and Adam found himself falling.

But he didn't fall far and landed on a soft carpet of grass in a new dimension lit by a soft blue light. As Adam rolled he realized that Pan's realm did not mirror the forest outside Spooksville as the other dimensions he had entered had mirrored Spooksville.

Pan's kingdom was much grander. They were still in a meadow, true, but the surrounding trees were ten times taller than ordinary trees. Not far away were thundering waterfalls and mountain peaks that seemed to reach the sky. Even the flowers in the bushes were more spectacular, large and radiant with colors squeezed from rainbows. Yet over all a soft blue glow shone. The light seemed to come out of the matter itself, from the blades
of grass, even from the dirt. Pan smiled as he looked around, perhaps it was good to be home. He gestured with a wide sweep of his arm.

“All this was mine,” he said.

“Those were expensive coin tosses,” Sally said, obviously impressed by the splendor of the dimension. She pointed to a distant mountain peak that rose straight up like an arrow aimed at the stars. “Have you ever climbed to the top of that, Pan?”

“When I was a young man,” he said proudly. “I am the only person in this entire realm to scale it. It's called the Point. It reaches all the way into outer space.”

“Cool,” Watch said.

Adam was concerned. “This is a nice place but it's so big. Is your castle far from here? We want to help you defeat the evil wizard, but we'd also like to be home in time for dinner.”

“I have to cook tonight,” Cindy added.

“It is not far,” Pan reassured them. “We should be able to walk there in less than two hours. It was along the road between here and there that I threw away the crystal necklace.”

“Then let's hit the road,” Sally said “The sooner we get rid of Klandor—and those nasty leprechauns—the happier I'll be.”

“Leprechauns are not so bad once you get to know them,” Pan said as they stepped onto a wide dirt road that led through the trees. “They're just boisterous.”

“There are many kids in the prisons across our country who would say the same thing,” Sally said.

“There are a few people on death row who would also say the same thing,” Watch added.

They had gone about a mile when they were attacked.

Arrows flew out of the trees. One struck Watch in the calf before they knew what was happening. Letting out a painful cry, Watch crumpled to his knees and grabbed his leg. Adam knelt down beside him.

“Can you walk?” Adam asked.

Watch shook his head, trying to pull the arrow out. Already the blood was staining his pants leg. “No. Take cover, save yourselves.”

The arrows continued to fly from the woods.

One struck Sally in her hair, where it got caught, and almost caused her to faint. Cindy hurried to Watch's side and tried to help him up.

“We have to get him off the road!” she cried.

“It hurts too much!” Watch moaned. “Leave me.

“We won't leave you,” Pan said, reaching down with a strong arm. “Help him onto my back before another of their arrows hits us.”

Adam and Cindy lifted Watch under his arms and managed to get him onto Pan's back. Without another word they all dashed into the woods on the opposite side of the road from the flying arrows. The trees were so dense—they were able to hide quickly. They helped Watch off Pan's back and set him down on the moist earth. Crouching behind thick bushes, they peered back the way they had come. The arrows had stopped, and for the moment the attack seemed over. Pan bent over and studied Watch's wound. The arrow was still stuck in Watch's leg, but the bleeding was not too bad. Pan shook his head sadly.

“We were attacked by elves,” he said. “This is an elf arrow.”

“But I thought you said all the elementals followed you into Spooksville's forest?” Adam asked.

Pan was grim. “Most of them did. But a few didn't want to leave their lands and were allowed to stay by swearing allegiance to Klandor. The evil wizard probably set them to guard the road beside the portal just in case I did return.”

“We have to get this arrow out,” Cindy cried, sitting beside Watch and holding his hand. “It's hurting him.”

“It will hurt worse to pull it out,” Pan warned. “And then the wound will bleed more.” He studied Watch. “But it will
have to come out soon if it's not to cause any permanent damage. Do you trust me to operate on you, Watch?”

Watch grimaced. “I trust you more than I trust Sally and Adam.”

“I have no plans to be a doctor when I grow up,” Sally joked, although it was clear she was shaken by the sudden attack, and by the injury to her good friend.

“Even with the arrow out,” Pan said, “Watch won't be able to walk for some time.”

“Then we have to go back,” Cindy said. “We tried and it didn't work out. What can we do?”

Pan raised his head and looked back in the direction they had come from. “I had resigned myself to never reclaiming my kingdom. That is until I met you four and you gave me hope. It is hard to let go of that hope, now that I have finally found it.” But then he sighed and lowered his head. “But you are not my subjects. I have no right to lead you into deeper danger.”

“It does seem that we have to go back,” Adam said.

“I agree,” Sally said. “We have no idea how many more of those nasty elves are patrolling these woods.”

But Watch suddenly spoke up. “No. You can't abandon the quest this easily. Pan, take the arrow out and give me something to bandage the wound. I'll rest here until you return.”

Pan was grave. “The elves who shot at us might find you and kill you. Klandor has obviously twisted their minds. You would be helpless lying here.”

“I'll stay with him,” Cindy said. “I'll guard him.”

Sally was impressed. “That's very brave of you.” She added, “Or else it's very stupid.” She reached in her back pocket and took out her Bic lighter and gave it to Cindy. “Keep this in case we're gone a long time. If it gets dark, and cold, you can always build a fire.”

“If Klandor has ordered elves to shoot on sight,” Pan said, “then the road ahead will be equally dangerous. Perhaps I should go on alone.”

“No,” Adam said, coming to a fresh decision. “Sally and I will stay with you. You'll need our help with the wizard. Cindy will stay with Watch. Things will work out for the best. They always do.”

Sally looked down at the wound in Watch's leg. “In all our adventures,” she said anxiously, “this is the first time any of us has gotten seriously hurt. That worries me, it worries me a lot.”

8

P
an found the crystal necklace
without difficulty. As he had remembered, it was lying not far from the road that led to his castle. Yet getting to the necklace was hard and took more than two hours. Because now they were afraid to walk openly on the road. As a result they had to fight their way through the trees, which took a lot of energy, even for Pan. By the time Pan lifted the necklace out of the bushes, they were all sweating and panting.

“It's not that impressive a piece,” Sally said.

Pan brushed off the dirt. “Klandor had shined it up that evening. I took a fancy to it.”

“Let me see it,” Adam said, stretching out his hand.

Pan gave it to him to hold. The gold chain was ­simple, thin links that could be found in any jeweler's shop. The crystals themselves were curious. There were three of them: two clear, like quartz crystals, and the other a deep blue, like a very large sapphire. What made them odd was that the clear ones were not set around the blue one. The blue stone was on the bottom, which threw off the color balance of the piece. Adam wondered if that was part of the reason it distorted one's mind. He was anxious to experiment with it and pulled the chain over his head, causing Sally to jump slightly.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” she asked. “Maybe the effect is permanent.”

“Are you saying that my mind has been permanently distorted?” Pan asked, not pleased.

Sally spoke carefully. “I didn't know you before you used the crystal necklace,” she said. “So I can't comment on that. But I do know that Adam has an extremely sensitive mind that is easily swayed. Why, the day he met Cindy Makey, he . . .”

“If we can't prove our theory,” Adam interrupted, “then we may as well go home.”

“But how are you going to tell if the necklace makes you see things opposite from the way you want them to be?” Sally asked. “When Pan used the necklace his emo
tions were involved. His very kingdom was at stake. You can't just pretend to get excited about wanting something to be a certain way. I doubt if it works that way.”

Adam nodded. “I've been thinking about that. Yet there's something I want that I know I
really
want. I'm going to take a peek out on the road. And, Pan, don't tell me what I'm supposed to see. We'll just see if I see the opposite of what I really want and what is actually there. Do you understand?”

“No,” Sally said. “Just hurry up and don't get shot.”

Adam crept toward the open road. Searching up and down, he couldn't see any elves with bows and arrows. But his view was still shaded by the trees. He needed to get in the center of the road to have a good look around, to see what was up ahead. Taking a deep breath, he jumped out onto the wide path, the crystal necklace dangling around his neck.

Adam could not see Pan's castle.

There were just trees up ahead, endless trees.

But he did see a bunch of elves.

They leapt out of the woods, bows in hand.

Adam dashed back into the woods, back to his friends.

When he found them, he shook with fear.

“Did you see them?” he gasped. “They're coming.”

“Who?” Sally asked.

“The elves. They're coming this way. We have to get out of here.”

Pan peered through the trees. “I don't see anything.”

Adam continued to tremble. “Are you sure?”

“I don't see anything either,” Sally said, standing beside Pan.

Adam relaxed. “The elves weren't part of my test, but I was definitely right about this necklace. It makes you see the opposite of what you want to see.”

“How can you be sure?” Sally asked.

“I'll answer that question in a second,” Adam said. “But first, Pan, tell me how far we are from your castle right now?”

“Less than half a mile,” Pan said.

“And when I stood in the middle of the road, should I have been able to see it?” Adam asked.

“Yes. It's a big castle. You should have seen it plainly.”

Adam smiled. “But I didn't, and I really wanted to see it. I didn't have to fake that desire. We're all anxious to get there and confront Klandor and get Pan's kingdom back. But all I saw were trees as far as I looked. Also, I saw the elves with their bows and arrows, and you guys say the elves were not there.”

“But maybe we were wrong,” Sally said. “Maybe we just missed them.”

“I don't think so,” Adam said. “The crystal worked on either my mind or my eyes or both together to make me see something that wasn't there, and to take away something that was.” He paused and looked up at Pan. “That night, at your party, you won many of the coin tosses. You just thought you lost every one because you were afraid to lose each time, and because you were wearing this necklace.”

Pan's face darkened. “I thank you for your insight, Adam, and I admire your bravery to test that insight. I see now that what you say is true and I have to tell you that the truth has set my blood boiling. All this time I blamed myself for my foolishness. Now I see that even though I was foolish, I was cheated as well.” His nostrils flared as he glanced in the direction of his castle. “I am going to race to my palace with this necklace and throw it in Klandor's face. I will demand that he return my kingdom immediately.”

“No,” Adam said quickly. “We must come with you. The wizard might trick you again.”

Pan shook his head. “I cannot wait any longer now that I know the truth. My temper has been stirred, and it has been ages since that happened. Go back to Watch, to Cindy, and care for them. Return to your own world. I will take care of Klandor.”

“Much as I would like to go home right now,” Sally said, “I think Adam is right. You might need our help. You have to wait for us.”

“You don't want to go out on the open road anyway,” Adam said. “There might be elves there.”

But Pan would not be talked into patience. He drew out his pipes and sucked in a deep breath. As he placed his lips to the pipes, earth-shaking notes pierced the woods. They went on for over a minute and both Adam and Sally had to cover their ears to keep from going deaf. But it was a song of some kind, primitive and haunting, and it stirred deep feelings inside each of them. When he was finished, Pan put aside the pipes and smiled proudly.

“Now all who hide in these woods will know that Pan has returned to reclaim his kingdom,” he said. “No more will I crawl to my castle through the sheltering trees. I will go openly, and if you insist on accompanying me, then you must do the same. You must ride on my back.”

Adam swallowed, stunned by the transformation in Pan. No longer was he the defeated creature hiding in the woods with his head bent low. Now he was like a fabled creature of old, filled with power and determination.

“Can you support both of us?” Adam asked.

In response Pan reached down and lifted them onto his back with one strong sweep of his arm. “I could carry you to the top of the highest peak,” he said. “Now hold on tight. From here to the castle we fly with the wind. Nothing will stop us.”

“Except for maybe a couple of arrows in the heart,” Sally muttered as they leapt onto the road and thundered toward the castle, which stood less than a half mile in front of them. Sally added, “Now the wizard definitely knows we're coming.”