Christmas in Camelot - Mary Pope Osborne [7]
The stag finally came to a halt on the ledge of a steep cliff. In a windy swirl of fog and cloud, he knelt to the ground, and Jack and Annie slid off his back.
The stag stood up. He stared down at them with his glowing amber eyes.
“Thank you!” said Annie. “Do you have to leave now?”
The stag lowered his head and raised it again. He blew out a frosty puff of air, then leaped away, vanishing into the mist.
“Bye,” Annie said wistfully. She stared into the mist for a moment, then turned to Jack. “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know,” said Jack. “Let’s read the three rhymes again.”
He reached under the red cloak and pulled off his pack. He took out his notebook and started to read the first rhyme:
“Beyond the iron gate—”
“Jack!” interrupted Annie. “Look!”
Jack looked up. The wind had blown away some of the fog. Beyond the cliff rose another mountain. A huge gate was built into its side. A pale light shone between the gate’s thick iron bars. Two knights in gold armor stood guard under flaming torches.
“Oh, man,” whispered Jack.
“That’s it—the iron gate!” said Annie. “If we pass through that gate, we’ll be in the Otherworld!”
As the wind blew away more fog, Jack and Annie saw a bridge. It was made of thick wooden planks held together with iron bands. It stretched all the way from the edge of the cliff where they were standing to the iron gate.
“Come on, let’s go!” said Annie.
“Wait!” said Jack. “What about the guards?”
The two guards in gold armor stood perfectly still. Their huge spears gleamed in the torchlight.
“I don’t know,” said Annie. “Read the second rhyme.”
Jack looked in his notebook and read aloud.
“Four gifts you will need—
The first from me.
Then a cup, a compass,
And, finally, a key.”
“The first gift is the Christmas Knight’s cloak,” said Annie.
“Yeah, I guess it’s supposed to help us somehow,” said Jack.
He unbuttoned the cloak from around his neck. Then he held it out to get a good look at it.
“Maybe it can make us invisible,” said Annie.
“That’s nuts,” said Jack.
“Seriously,” she said, “cloaks sometimes do that in stories.”
“Well, it didn’t make me invisible, did it?” said Jack.
“Maybe you were wearing it wrong,” said Annie. “Give it to me.”
“Oh, brother,” said Jack. But he handed the cloak to Annie. It flapped in the wind as she pulled it around her shoulders.
“Can you see me?” she said.
“Yes, Annie,” said Jack, rolling his eyes. “I can see you.”
Jack looked back at the gate. Even if we get past the guards, what then? he wondered. The Otherworld swallowed up Camelot’s best knights. King Arthur said it was filled with magic and monsters.
“Jack! Look at me now.”
Jack turned to Annie. She wasn’t there.
“Where are you?” he said, staring at the darkness.
“Cool, it works!”
“Where are you?” Jack said again, turning around.
“Here.”
Jack felt a hand touch his face.
“Ahh!” he said, jumping back.
“It’s me! I’m invisible! I pulled the hood over my head. That’s the trick.”
Jack felt a chill run down his spine.
“Oh, man,” he whispered.
“Watch. I’m going to take the hood off.”
In a flash, Annie was back.
“It feels creepy to be invisible,” she said.
Jack was speechless.
“The magic only happens when you wear the hood,” said Annie. “Good trick, huh?”
“Uh—yeah,” said Jack. He shook his head. “This is just too weird.”
“Don’t worry about it being weird. It’s a great way to get past the guards,” said Annie. “Plus it’s a way to hide in the Otherworld. We don’t know what we’ll find there, right?”
“Yeah, right,” said Jack. “Okay.”
“Good,” said Annie. “Now, stand beside me and don’t move.”
Jack put away his notebook. Annie threw the velvet cloak over his shoulders and backpack.
“Great. It’s big enough for both of us,” she said. She carefully arranged the folds around them. Then she pulled the huge hood over both their heads.
Jack looked down. He couldn’t see his body at all! He felt like he couldn’t breathe.