The Jewel Fairies Collection Page 6

  Kirsty whirled around to see that the goblin in armor had crept up on her while she wasn’t looking. Cackling gleefully, he leaped forward and snatched the turban with the topaz right off Kirsty’s head!

  “I have the topaz!” the goblin shouted. He staggered through the store with the turban and its precious, glowing jewel.

  “After him!” Kirsty cried. The goblin charged toward the entrance door, his metal armor clanking.

  Rachel and Chloe raced after him.

  “Come on!” the goblin in the red hat shouted, running up the steps toward the door. But the armor wasn’t easy for his friend to run in. The visor fell down over his eyes again, and he couldn’t see anything! He bumped clumsily into the pile of Halloween buckets, sending them bouncing and rolling across the floor.

  The goblin tripped over one of the buckets and lost his balance. “Whaaaa!” he cried, tumbling to the floor. As he fell, the turban slipped from his hands and flew through the air.

  “You klutz!” the other goblin sputtered. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I can’t see,” the armored goblin whined, trying to pull his visor up. “And now I’ve hurt myself!”

  “Catch that turban, Rachel!” Kirsty exclaimed as the turban flew through the air.

  Rachel reached for it, but missed. As the turban hit the ground, the topaz was jolted out of its setting. The golden gem bounced across the floor and rolled in among the scattered buckets.

  There was a loud pop and a shimmer of golden light. In the blink of an eye, all the pumpkins had changed into pineapples!

  “Where’s the topaz?” Kirsty cried, running over.

  “I can see it!” Chloe gasped, swooping toward the pineapples and pointing with her wand.

  Kirsty spotted the topaz glowing among the fruit, too. But as Chloe zoomed down to grab it, the goblin by the door also spotted it. He slid through the pineapples as if he was on ice and scooped the topaz up with one hand just before Chloe reached it.

  “Ow!” he wailed as the heat of the magic jewel burned his icy goblin skin.

  For a moment, Kirsty felt a glimmer of hope. She remembered that goblins couldn’t touch the magic jewels with their bare hands. The jewels’ magic burned them! She waited for the goblin to drop the topaz.

  But instead, there was another loud pop. The goblin’s costume and hat changed into a teddy-bear costume, complete with furry gloves that looked like paws!

  “I have the topaz!” the teddy-bear goblin shouted triumphantly to his friend, who was scrambling out of his metal armor. “Let’s go!” Clutching the jewel in his furry paws, he charged toward the door.

  Chloe swooped at the teddy-bear goblin’s head. “Give me back my jewel!” she cried.

  “No!” the goblin shouted. “The topaz isn’t yours anymore. It’s ours, and you’re never going to get it back!”

  “Come on, Kirsty!” Rachel cried. “We have to stop them!”

  She and Kirsty began to run through the pineapples, trying not to trip. The goblins had reached the steps. They were going to get away with the topaz! But then, suddenly, Rachel had an idea. She picked up a pineapple as if it was a bowling ball. With a thrust of her arm, she sent it rolling across the floor — right at the two goblins.

  The pineapple hit the feet of the goblin who had been dressed in armor. He yelped in surprise and grabbed the arm of the teddy-bear goblin, who was halfway up the steps. For a moment, both goblins teetered on the steps, arms flailing. Then they toppled down the stairs and landed in a heap.

  The topaz flew out of the goblin’s furry paw and went spinning through the air. As it sailed past the lights, there was another pop. The air shimmered with an amber glow, and suddenly all the store lights became tiny disco balls that sparkled with magic.

  Chloe raced after the jewel, and caught it in both hands. But it was too heavy for her to fly with. “Whoa!” she cried in alarm, her wings fluttering frantically. She and the jewel sank quickly toward the ground. “Help!”

  Kirsty scrambled to her feet and dived for the fairy with her hands outstretched. Chloe and the Topaz both landed safely in her palms.

  Kirsty pulled her hands to her chest, her heart beating fast.

  Was Chloe OK? “Phew!” Chloe said, poking her head out of Kirsty’s cupped hands and grinning. “That was close. Thanks for catching me, Kirsty!”

  “Are you all right?” Rachel asked, scrambling over and looking down at the fairy in concern.

  “I’m fine,” Chloe replied. Her hair was standing on end, but her brown eyes were sparkling. “In fact, I’m better than fine,” she said, looking at the groaning goblins. “I have my topaz back!”

  Just then, there was a noise from the stockroom. “I found the scepter!” Maggie called cheerfully. “I’ll be out in a minute, once I put these boxes away.”

  “Oh, no!” Rachel gasped. “I forgot about Maggie.” She looked around the store. There were pineapples all over the floor, glittering disco balls instead of lights, and pieces of armor scattered everywhere. Plus, the window display was ruined because its two mannequins were tangled in a heap by the door!

  “Maggie will be really upset about this mess!” Kirsty said.

  “Don’t worry,” Chloe replied cheerfully. “Now that I have the topaz back, I can work some changing magic.” She touched her golden wand to the topaz in Kirsty’s hand.

  The tip of the wand began to gleam like a sparkling ray of sunshine. The little fairy lifted it high in the air and waved it expertly.

  There was a quick series of pops, and everything started to change again. The air glimmered orange, then red, and finally gold. Then pineapples changed back to pumpkin buckets, the disco balls changed to normal lights, and two normal mannequins appeared in the window. Everything was magically back to how it had been in the first place! With a final pop, all the pieces of armor jumped neatly onto a shelf.

  “Phew!” Rachel said in relief.

  Chloe smiled at her. “It’s all back to normal.”

  “Except for one thing,” Kirsty said slowly. “What’s Maggie going to say when she sees those goblins?”

  The goblins were picking themselves up off the floor, groaning and arguing. Their costumes had disappeared and they were back to their ordinary green goblin selves.

  “Why did you trip me like that?” the first goblin demanded.

  “Why did you let go of the topaz?” sputtered the other. “This is all your fault!”

  “My fault? It’s your fault!” the first goblin shouted.

  “Oh, no. How are we going to explain those two to Maggie?” Rachel asked.

  “Leave it to me!” Chloe flew over to the goblins.

  “Pesky fairy!” snarled the first goblin, making a swipe at Chloe, who darted easily out of his way. “Give us back that topaz!”

  “No,” Chloe replied coolly. “And my wand is charged with changing magic now, so I can turn you into anything I want!” She smiled. “If you don’t leave the store this minute, I’m going to turn you both into fluffy pink bunny rabbits!”

  The goblins’ mouths dropped open in horror.

  “Bunny rabbits!” the first one exclaimed. “Yuck!”

  “You wouldn’t!” said the second.

  Chloe grinned. “Oh, yes I would.” She gave Rachel and Kirsty a mischievous look. “What do you two think?”

  Rachel grinned back. “I think they’d make cute bunny rabbits,” she said.

  “Especially fluffy pink ones,” Kirsty added.

  Chloe lifted her wand.

  “Noooooo!” both goblins cried in alarm. They turned and ran up the steps. Pushing and shoving, they yanked the door open and disappeared down the street as fast as they could run.

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Chloe all burst out laughing.

  “You girls seem to be having a good time,” Maggie said, stepping out of the stockroom with a scepter in her hand.

  Chloe darted into Rachel’s pocket just in time.

  “I’m sorry I took so long,” Maggie adde
d. She looked at the door, which was just swinging shut. “Have I missed a customer?”

  “It’s OK,” said Kirsty, quickly putting the topaz back in her pocket. “It was just, er …”

  “Someone looking for pineapples,” Rachel finished quickly.

  Kirsty hid a grin while Maggie looked at Rachel in surprise. “Pineapples?” she asked.

  Rachel nodded. “When they realized you didn’t sell any, they left,” she added.

  “Oh, how strange.” Maggie blinked. “Well, never mind. Here’s the scepter,” she said, handing it to Kirsty. She turned to Rachel. “Have you decided on your costume yet?”

  “I think I’d liked to dress up as a fairy,” Rachel replied. “You have some beautiful fairy wings and wands.”

  “Yes,” Kirsty agreed, handing the scepter back to Maggie. “Thank you for letting me try on the costumes, but I think I’d like to dress up as a fairy, too.” She saw Chloe’s head pop out of Rachel’s pocket. The fairy grinned and gave her a thumbs-up sign before quickly ducking back down.

  Kirsty changed out of the queen costume and the girls each chose a pair of wings and a wand. Just as they finished paying for them, the phone rang. “Enjoy your Halloween party, girls!” Maggie said as she hurried off to answer the call.

  The moment she disappeared, Chloe flew out of Rachel’s pocket in a cloud of fairy dust. “I wish I could stay for your party. I bet you’ll look great in your fairy costumes! But I’d better get back to Fairyland now. Thank you for helping me find the topaz.”

  Kirsty took the stone out of her pocket. “Here it is,” she said holding it out to the fairy.

  Chloe touched her wand to the golden jewel. It disappeared safely back to Fairyland in a fountain of orange sparkles.

  Rachel and Kirsty picked up their shopping bags and headed out of the shop.

  “See you soon!” Chloe said as Rachel pulled the door open.

  “Bye!” the girls called. The little fairy spun around in a swirl of golden light, and then zoomed away.

  “I’m so glad we were able to help her,” Rachel said happily.

  “Me, too,” Kirsty agreed. A sparkle near the ceiling caught her eye, and she looked up. A single tiny disco ball was still hanging there, glittering and shining with fairy magic. “Look!” she exclaimed. “Chloe left one little disco ball behind.”

  Rachel laughed. “There will always be magic in the store now,” she said. Then she spotted the bus turning onto Main Street. “Come on!” she gasped, pulling the door closed behind them. “We have to catch the bus, Kirsty!”

  They began to run down the street. “It’s been an amazing day, hasn’t it?” Kirsty panted. “What do you think will happen tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know,” Rachel said, as they reached the bus stop just in time and jumped on board the bus. She grinned at Kirsty. “But I bet it will be magical!”

  Ready for Adventure

  Now You See It, Now You Don’t!

  Amethyst Alert!

  Kirsty Swings Into Action

  Trapped!

  Tangled Goblins

  “Kirsty, we’re here!” Rachel Walker announced, looking out of the car window. She pointed at a large sign on the wall that read WELCOME TO TIPPINGTON MANOR.

  Kirsty Tate, Rachel’s best friend, was peering up at the cloudy sky. “I hope it doesn’t rain,” she said. Then the house caught her eye. “Oh, look, Rachel, there’s the house! Isn’t it beautiful?”

  At the bottom of the long gravel driveway stood Tippington Manor. It was a huge Victorian house with an enormous wooden door, rows of tall windows, and old red bricks covered with ivy. The house was surrounded by gardens full of flowers and trees, their autumn leaves glowing in shades of red and gold.

  “Look over there, Kirsty,” Rachel said as Mr. Walker turned the car into the parking lot. “A playground!”

  Kirsty looked where Rachel was pointing and spotted the playground on a hill behind the house. She could see some tire swings, a silver slide, and what looked like a big wooden tree house in the middle, built around a tall oak tree.

  “Isn’t it great?” Kirsty whispered to Rachel as they climbed out of the car. “The fairies would love that tree house!”

  Rachel grinned and nodded. She and Kirsty knew just what the fairies would like, because they were friends with them! Whenever there was trouble in Fairyland, the two girls tried to help.

  The fairies’ biggest problem was Jack Frost. He had recently stolen the seven magic jewels from the Queen of Fairyland’s crown. Because the gems controlled much of the magic in Fairyland, greedy Jack Frost had wanted them for himself. But when the glowing heat and light of the jewels had started to melt his ice castle, Jack Frost had angrily tossed them out into the human world.

  The fairies had asked Rachel and Kirsty to help them find the jewels and return them to the queen’s crown. But Jack Frost had sent his mean goblins to guard the gems, which made getting them back a whole lot harder.

  “I know where you two want to go first!” Mrs. Walker laughed as Kirsty and Rachel stared eagerly at the tree house. “Let’s all go in together. Then you can explore the playground while your dad and I look at the flowers. They have a famous orchid collection here.”

  “Orchids are Dad’s favorite flowers,” Rachel told Kirsty, rolling her eyes. “He’s crazy about them!”

  Mr. Walker laughed. “They’re very beautiful and unusual,” he explained. “But a lot of them are tropical, so they need to be kept in greenhouses.”

  A wooden sign pointed toward the orchid houses. The girls followed Mr. and Mrs. Walker down the twisting path around the beautiful gardens.

  The path took them to the bottom of a hill. There they found three large glass greenhouses filled with orchids, and a little gift shop selling plants.

  “You girls have fun on the playground,” Mr. Walker said with a smile. “We’ll meet you back here in an hour.”

  Rachel and Kirsty waved and headed toward the playground.

  “I wonder when we’ll find the next magic jewel,” Kirsty said thoughtfully. “We only have a few more days before I have to go home.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll find them all,” Rachel said in a determined voice. “I know we will.”

  At that moment, the sun broke through the gray clouds. The cold, crisp air immediately seemed a little warmer. “That’s better!” Rachel said, smiling in the sunshine.

  Just then, the girls reached the playground. “There’s no one else here,” Kirsty said happily, looking around.

  “That’s great!” Rachel laughed. “It’s like our very own playground!”

  Aside from the swings, there was a big slide, a sandbox, and a maze made of tires and rope ladders. But right in the middle of the playground was the biggest and best tree house the girls had ever seen!

  It was built around the trunk of a huge old oak, and was painted green with little round windows.

  There were four other trees around the oak, each with wooden bridges attached to them. The bridges made a circle around the central tree trunk, while two more bridges led from outer trees directly to the tree house itself. There were safety nets between the bridges to make sure nobody would get hurt if they fell.

  “Look at the tree house!” Kirsty gasped. “It’s amazing! Let’s climb up to it!”

  Rachel followed Kirsty over to the tree house. “Look, there’s only one way to get up there,” she said, pointing to a ladder attached to one of the outer trees. “You go first, Kirsty.” Kirsty began to climb the ladder, with Rachel close behind. When they reached the top, they were near one of the two bridges that led right to the tree house itself. “This is great,” Kirsty said as they walked across the bridge, holding on to the rope railings. “And we have it all to ourselves!”

  When they reached the tree house, Rachel suddenly felt a sharp tug at the back of her head. It was almost like somebody had pulled her hair. She stopped and turned around to see that the pink ribbon from her ponytail was dangling from a branch overhead
.

  “Hang on, Kirsty!” she called to her friend, who was already inside the tree house. “The ribbon from my ponytail just came out. It got caught on a branch as we were crossing the bridge.”

  Kirsty turned to look. “Quick, go grab it before the breeze blows it away,” she said.

  Rachel was just about to step back onto the bridge when something strange happened. The bridge began to shimmer and flicker, and for a moment parts of it seemed to disappear! Rachel and Kirsty blinked in surprise. But when they looked again, the bridge had reappeared, looking just as normal as ever.

  “Did you see that, Kirsty?” Rachel gasped.

  “Yes, I did!” replied Kirsty, unable to believe her eyes. “Do you think — ?”

  But before she could say anything else, the bridge began to flicker out of sight again. The girls rubbed their eyes in disbelief, but this time the bridge didn’t come back. It had completely vanished!

  “It’s gone!” Rachel said in amazement. She peered out across the safety net, but there was no sign of the bridge they had just crossed. “Do you think it could be fairy magic?”

  Kirsty smiled. “Maybe one of the magic jewels is nearby,” she suggested.

  “Doesn’t one of them control appearing and disappearing magic?”

  “Yes,” Rachel agreed excitedly. “Amy’s amethyst! Maybe it’s somewhere in the tree house.”

  “If it is, we’ll have to be on the lookout for goblins,” Kirsty reminded her.

  Rachel nodded. “I don’t know how I’m going to get my hair ribbon back,” she sighed. Her ribbon was still dangling from the tree branch. “I can’t reach it without the bridge.” Suddenly, her eyes widened.