Jack and Annie were too stunned to speak. Staringat the bizarre creature, Jack remembered the story ofthe Raven King-how the king had wanted to be abird, how he had stolen a spell from the Wizard ofWinter, how the spell had worked only halfway andleft him half bird and half human.
The Raven King jumped from the window to thefloor. One by one, his raven bodyguards swooshedinto the room afterhim. At least twenty ravens came through thewindow. Soon78Jack and Annie were surrounded by dark wings,harp beaks, and bright eyes.
Once his guards were in place, the Raven Kingtwisted his head from side to side, looking from Jackto Annie. "Where are the two ravens who stole mydiamond?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"What diamond?" asked Annie.
79"What ... what ravens?" asked Jack, his voicetrembling. He wished desperately that he still had theDiamond of Destiny to give him strength andcourage.
"The ravens that came to this castle after raidingmy treasure room," said the Raven King. "Where arethey hiding?"Jack tried to imagine that hewasstill holding the diamond. "We don't know anythingabout them," he said in a low, steady voice.
Pretending to hold the diamond actually made himfeel brave.
"You don't know anything about them?" said theRaven King.
"No, 11 said Jack. "You must have the wrongcastle.""Ah, the wrong castle," said the Raven King. "Yes, ,said Jack.
"Perhaps you're right," said the Raven King. "Butare you certain you haven't seen them? They lookvery much like this little one here."80"JAH, AWK-NEE!" the raven croaked. "Teddy!"cried Annie.
"His name is Teddy?" said the Raven King. "Howcharming. I've caught a Teddy. I think he'll make awonderful pet, don't you?"Jack was horrified to see Teddy trapped in theRaven King's cage. "It's not charming," he said. "It'scruel. You better let him go, or else!""Yeah, let him go," said Annie. "Or else.""Or else?" said the Raven King. "Or else what?"With backward jerks of his head, he laughed a raspylaugh.
As the king laughed, Jack glanced at the floor underthe window. He saw the hazel twig.
He moved toward it.
The Raven King caught sight of him. His laughstopped abruptly. "CREE! CAW!" he croaked to one ofhis bodyguards.
Jack dashed for the twig. But before he could grabit, the king's bodyguard had swooped across the floorand picked up the twig in his beak. As81the raven carried it to the top of the window, Jacknoticed that one of his tail feathers was bent.
"Jack, look, it's Rok!" said Annie. She called up tothe bird. "Rok! Rok!"From his perch above the window, the raven lookeddown at Annie.
"Rok, it's me, Annie, " she said. "I helped you whenthe people in the village threw stones at you.
Remember?""What nonsense, " croaked the Raven King. "Bringme the stick, bird."Rok didn't move. Gripping the hazel twig in hisbeak, he stared down at Annie.
"Give the twig to Jack, Rok," she said. "So he canturn Teddy back into a boy.""So that ugly little stick is a magic wand, is it?" saidthe Raven King. "Bring it to me, bird. Now!" "Don't doit, Rok," said Annie. "Don't let him boss you aroundanymore."The raven stared at Annie for a moment82with his dark brown eyes. He looked at the RavenKing. He looked back at Annie. Then he swoopeddown to Jack and dropped the hazel twig at his feet.
Jack grabbed it.
"Traitor!" the Raven King shrieked at Rok.
"You'll pay for this!" He lunged toward the raven.
Rok tried to escape, but the king grabbed him by thethroat.
Jack had to save Rok! He pointed the twig at theRaven King's back and shouted:
"0 hazeltwig from hazel tree! Make him what he wanted tobe!"A deafening wind roared through the room. Ablinding light flashed. Then all was clear.
The Raven King had vanished. His cape lay on thefloor. Rok hopped away, unharmed.
From under the feathered cape came a hoarse cry.
Awk.
Annie lifted the cape and uncovered a tiny raven.
"Ohh!" she said softly.
83The bird stretched out his scrawny neck.
Awk,he croaked again.
"Hello yourself," Annie said, smiling. She strokedthe downy feathers on the creature's head. Then shelooked up at Jack. "How did you come up with thatrhyme?""It just came to me," said Jack.
"I knew I had to save Rok. But I didn't want to hurtthe Raven King. I think I actually felt sorry for him.""So you helped him finally get what he wanted, "said Annie. "You turned him into a baby raven.""Yeah," Jack said. "Now he can live his whole life asa bird."Rok flew up to the window ledge. He lookedaround at the other ravens. It was clear he hadbecome their new leader.
"GRO! GRO!" Rok croaked.
He stepped aside. The raven troops began to leavethe nursery, one by one. |