Magic Mountain (9780545536295) Read online

  Title Page

  Dedication

  A Nighttime Adventure

  Magic Mountain

  Everwarm Embers

  Summer’s Idea

  A Race Against Time

  Snowboarding Sprites

  Snowy Fun!

  Teaser

  Also Available

  Character Profile: Trixibelle

  Friendship Quiz

  Copyright

  “I’m Queen Malice!” cried the girl in black. She shook her long, dark hair back from her face. “Get them, Storm Sprites!” Two small creatures with black wings ran into the room and cackled nastily.

  Summer Hammond and Ellie Macdonald squealed and dived over the playroom sofa. The girl in black was only their friend Jasmine Smith, dressed in an old sheet and waving a thunderbolt made from a painted stick. But her acting was so good that it almost seemed like nasty Queen Malice was in the room!

  The Storm Sprites were Summer’s little brothers, Finn and Connor, dressed up to look like Queen Malice’s horrible gray-skinned, spiky-fingered helpers. Ellie had tucked old towels into their T-shirts and folded them in the shape of the Storm Sprites’ batlike wings.

  The boys shrieked with excitement and ran across the room to grab Summer’s legs as she tried to scrunch herself up behind the sofa.

  “Got you!” Connor giggled.

  “That’s what you think,” laughed Summer, jumping up and tickling him. Ellie did the same to Finn.

  “Foolish sprites!” scolded Jasmine in a dramatic voice. “Do I have to do everything myself?” She poked Summer playfully with the thunderbolt stick.

  “Connor, Finn!” Summer’s stepdad called from the kitchen. “Bath time!”

  Summer let Connor go and went to the door. “They’re coming!” she called back. “Sorry, guys,” she told her little brothers. “We have to stop playing now.”

  “But I want to be a Storm Sprite,” said three-year-old Finn, sticking out his bottom lip.

  “Storm Sprites aren’t real, silly,” five-year-old Connor told him scornfully.

  Summer grinned at Jasmine and Ellie over her brothers’ heads. Little did the boys know that Storm Sprites were real, and that they lived in a magical land called the Secret Kingdom!

  The Secret Kingdom was a wonderful place full of pixies, unicorns, mermaids, and all kinds of magical creatures, but it was in trouble — and only Ellie, Summer, and Jasmine could help.

  One day not very long ago, the girls had found a magical box at a school rummage sale that had transported King Merry, the ruler of the Secret Kingdom, and his royal pixie, Trixi, to the human world. King Merry and Trixi had asked the girls for their help in stopping Queen Malice, the king’s evil sister, from causing trouble in the kingdom.

  Queen Malice had been so angry when King Merry had been chosen to rule the Secret Kingdom instead of her that she had hidden six horrible thunderbolts around the land. She had cast spells on each of the thunderbolts so they would cause chaos and ruin all the fun in the kingdom.

  Jasmine, Ellie, and Summer had already found four of the thunderbolts and broken their nasty spells. But until the Magic Box called them into the kingdom again, all they could do was play at fighting Queen Malice and the Storm Sprites!

  Summer, Ellie, and Jasmine helped Finn and Connor take off their costumes, then sent them off to take a bath.

  The girls headed up to Summer’s room to watch a DVD. As they passed the big window in the hall, they saw it was dark and snowy outside.

  “Maybe it will snow again tonight,” said Jasmine hopefully.

  “Brrrr,” said Ellie, pushing her wiry red curls back from her face as she looked into the gloomy garden. “Perfect weather for a sleepover!” she said.

  They went into Summer’s room, which was painted a soft yellow and had lots of animal posters all over the walls. Summer put on her comfy, old, yellow-flowered pajamas. Ellie got into her green-and-purple pair, and then they both admired Jasmine’s shorts and tank set, which were brand-new and covered with big pink polka dots.

  “What should we watch?” asked Summer, looking through her pile of DVDs.

  But Jasmine and Ellie weren’t paying attention. They had taken the Magic Box down from among the rows of books and piles of stuffed toys on Summer’s tall bookcase and put it on top of Ellie’s sleeping bag.

  The Magic Box was about the size of a jewelery box. Its wooden sides were carved with pictures of magical creatures, and it had a mirror set into its curved lid, which was surrounded by six beautiful green gemstones.

  “I know what I’d like to watch,” said Ellie. “The Magic Box shining!”

  “Oh, yes!” agreed Jasmine, tracing the carvings with her finger. “And a riddle appearing to tell us where the next thunderbolt is!”

  Jasmine lay on her front and stared at the box, willing a message to appear, until her eyes watered. “It’s no good!” she said finally. “Let’s just turn a movie on.”

  Summer put a DVD on, and the girls ended up laughing so much that Mrs. Hammond had to come in and tell them it was bedtime. After that they talked in whispers for a while, then one by one they drifted off to sleep.

  In the middle of the night, Summer suddenly woke up. Blinking sleepily, she looked around to find out what had disturbed her.

  Ellie and Jasmine were curled up in their sleeping bags on the floor, and everything else looked normal. Then Summer realized what was strange — the fact that she could see at all! Instead of being dark, her room was lit by a dim glow.

  But it can’t be morning already, she thought. Then she glanced up at her shelves and her heart jumped with excitement — the light was coming from the Magic Box!

  Suddenly feeling wide-awake, she slipped out of bed and crept between the two sleeping bags that were taking up most of her floor. With trembling hands, she nudged Ellie and Jasmine.

  “The Magic Box,” she whispered, reaching up to get it. “It’s glowing!”

  Ellie and Jasmine woke up and quickly scrambled out of their sleeping bags.

  As the girls gathered around the box, light flickered across their faces and words began to form in the mirror on its lid:

  “Where the brownies slide, not run,

  Where they ride on boards for fun,

  Where cheeks are red and breath is white,

  That’s where you must go tonight!”

  “Surfing brownies?” whispered Summer uncertainly. “That would explain the boards. But not the red cheeks and white breath.”

  “I know!” Ellie gasped. “Surfing isn’t the only sport that uses a board. My uncle went snowboarding last month.”

  “And when it’s cold and snowy, you can see your breath and your cheeks go red!” Jasmine cried loudly.

  “Shhh!” Summer told her, giggling. “You’ll wake up my mom!”

  “Sorry,” Jasmine whispered as quietly as she could. “We must be going where there are snowboarding brownies!”

  “Look, the Magic Box is opening,” said Ellie.

  The girls watched as the curved lid of the box lifted to reveal six little compartments inside. Four of them were already filled with the amazing gifts that they’d been given for helping the Secret Kingdom. There was a magical moving map that showed what was happening in the whole kingdom, a tiny silver unicorn horn that let them talk to animals, a beautiful crystal that could control the weather, and a pearl that made anyone who held it temporarily invisible.

  Ellie reached carefully inside and took out the map King Merry had given them on their first visit. She spread it out on her sleeping bag so that it was lit by the glow from the Magic Box.

  Summer and Jasmine leaned forward eagerly.

  “What about here?” Ellie pointed. A
t the very bottom of the crescent moon-shaped island was a huge mountain, capped with sparkly pink snow! As the girls watched, the map showed pink snowflakes falling thickly around it. At the bottom of the mountain they could just make out a little town.

  “There’s a place name, but what does it say?” Summer murmured. “It’s so dark I can’t see.”

  Jasmine leaned right over the map and peered at it.

  “Got it!” she shouted out. “It’s called Magic Mountain.”

  “Shhh!” whispered Summer, frowning at Jasmine.

  Jasmine sat back and slapped one hand over her mouth. The girls listened, but there was no sound from the rest of the house.

  “Whew,” whispered Ellie.

  The girls put their palms on the beautiful green stones. Jasmine leaned down to whisper the answer to the riddle.

  “Magic Mountain,” she said, so quietly the others could barely hear her.

  Everything was silent for a moment, but then the girls heard a strange rustling noise. It seemed to be coming from behind Summer’s curtains….

  Suddenly the material twitched aside, and a tiny pixie flew into Summer’s bedroom, riding on a leaf! Her messy blond hair was tucked under a flower hat, and her dress was made out of little green leaves, neatly stitched together. She wore a pretty fur-lined cape, and a ring twinkled on her finger like a star in the night.

  “It’s Trixibelle!” Summer whispered delightedly.

  “Oh my,” the pixie whispered. “I must be back in the Other Realm. But it’s so dark! Are you there, girls?”

  Trixi tapped her ring and the string of lights that hung at the top of Summer’s curtains suddenly lit up the room with a pretty pink glow.

  “I thought they were called fairy lights!” Ellie giggled.

  “These ones are pixie lights!” Trixi grinned as she swooped over to kiss the girls on their noses.

  “We’ve worked out where the next thunderbolt is, Trixi,” Summer told their tiny pixie friend excitedly. “It’s at Magic Mountain!”

  “Horrid Queen Malice,” murmured the little pixie crossly. “We must go at once.” She went to touch her ring, then hesitated, looking at the girls. “Oh, but you can’t go dressed like that! Stand still for a moment.”

  There was a brief flash and a twinkling sound. The girls looked down to find themselves wearing coats, boots, scarves, gloves, and earmuffs, all the same colors as their pajamas! On their heads were the sparkly tiaras that magically appeared every time they visited the Secret Kingdom, showing everyone who saw them that they were Very Important Friends of King Merry.

  “Perfect,” Trixi said approvingly. “Now we’re ready for snow!”

  Trixi tapped her ring to summon the magical whirlwind that would transport them all to the Secret Kingdom, and chanted:

  “The evil queen has trouble planned.

  Brave helpers fly to save our land!”

  Ellie held on to Jasmine and tried not to worry as she felt herself tumbling through the air. If tonight was anything like their other visits to the kingdom, they would be sure to arrive high up in the air, and she was afraid of heights!

  But as the wind died down, Ellie felt something solid beneath her feet. “Thank goodness!” she exclaimed as she opened her eyes. Right away she wished she hadn’t!

  The whirlwind had put them down at the top of the snow-covered mountain they’d seen on the map. Ellie could see a town far off in the distance at the base of the mountain, but it looked tiny from so high up.

  It was already dawn in the Secret Kingdom, and the sun was starting to rise gently above the mountaintops, making the pink snowflakes twinkle in the air.

  “It’s so beautiful!” Jasmine gasped.

  “Are we going all the way down there?” Summer asked, pointing toward the town.

  “Yes,” said Trixi with a smile. “But don’t worry — it won’t take long at all!” She tapped her ring and suddenly each of the girls had a pair of skis strapped to her feet. Summer’s were yellow, Jasmine’s were pink, and Ellie’s were purple.

  “Wheeee!” cried Jasmine, pushing off with her ski poles and sliding down the hill.

  “Jasmine, come back!” shouted Ellie in alarm. “I can’t ski!”

  “I don’t think Jasmine can, either,” said Summer. “But she’s doing it anyway!”

  Jasmine turned around and waved happily at her friends, but she couldn’t ski back uphill to join them.

  “Don’t worry,” said Trixi. “I’ll put a spell on your skis to make sure they carry you safely down the slope.” She pointed her ring toward the girls’ feet, and a burst of glittery dust shot out and settled over their skis. “There now,” she said. “Try them out.”

  “All right,” Ellie said to Summer. “Give me a push!”

  Summer gave Ellie a gentle shove and then set off down the hill behind her. It was a bit scary, but the magic skis worked wonderfully. Ellie’s and Summer’s feet stayed safely on the snow, and soon they drew level with Jasmine.

  As the girls skied along next to one another, they looked around in wonder.

  “I want to try those!” said Jasmine, pointing to a set of long ice slides that looped and curled all the way down the mountain.

  Summer didn’t answer. She was busy watching a herd of reindeer that were galloping through the sky toward a distant wood. Their hooves gave off sparks of magic as they flew through the air!

  “I never thought I’d actually get to see flying reindeer!” Ellie grinned.

  The girls skied all the way down the mountain into the town below. It was a perfect winter scene, with beautiful snow-covered houses and cafes all laid out in a square. There were even pretty little igloos, which were a glittering pink color just like the snow they were made from.

  “Even the cafes look like snowballs!” said Ellie.

  But as Summer looked around the pretty town, she got a funny feeling. “Where is everyone?” she asked warily.

  The snowball cafes were shut, and several snowboards, sleds, and skis had been left lying outside as if they’d been abandoned in a hurry. Wind whistled eerily all around the mountainside.

  “That’s strange,” said Trixi, who was flying along beside the girls on her leaf. “Magic Mountain is usually a lot busier than this.”

  “It must have something to do with Queen Malice’s thunderbolt,” Jasmine said. “We’d better see if we can find it.”

  They carried on, skiing down a slope that was lined with realistic-looking ice sculptures. There were reindeer and penguins and seals, and even a big polar bear.

  “Hey!” said Jasmine. She pointed at one of the ice statues and frowned. “I’m sure that penguin just waved its wing at me!”

  “I expect it did.” Trixi smiled. “Those statues are magical. The snow brownies make them. It’s because of the brownies that Magic Mountain is such a fun place to visit.”

  The girls hurried over to take a closer look at the statues.

  “Hello!” said Ellie, shaking the polar bear’s frozen paw.

  The bear moved his head from side to side. He seemed to be looking for something.

  “Are you wondering where all the brownies have gone?” asked Jasmine.

  The statue nodded slowly in reply.

  “Don’t worry,” Summer told him. “We’ll find out what’s going on.”

  As the girls skied onward, Trixi flew back and forth across the street, peering in through the shuttered windows of the snug-looking igloos that lined it.

  “Brrr,” Summer said, her teeth chattering. Even with her cozy ski jacket and earmuffs on, she was still very cold. “Maybe the snow brownies are off somewhere keeping warm.”

  “But shouldn’t snow brownies like the cold?” Jasmine asked.

  “They do,” Trixi told them. “But when it gets too cold the snow turns to ice, and so do the snow brownies,” she continued sadly. “They wear everwarm ember necklaces to keep them warm enough while they’re playing outside. They even use ember coals to heat the igloos and cafes. The embers
are magical — they keep everyone warm, but don’t make the snow melt.”

  “That sounds nice,” said Jasmine, shivering. “I think we need to find some everwarm ember necklaces of our own to warm ourselves up!”

  Trixi looked around at all the empty igloos. “Normally there’d be lots of brownies here, but I don’t know where they’ve all gone.”

  She sighed, and then brightened up. “I know! Let’s go and see King Merry at his winter palace. He might know what’s happened. Every winter he goes skiing at Magic Mountain, even though he’s not very good at it.” She winked at the girls.

  “Last year he fell over so much he caused an avalanche!” she added with a giggle.

  Ellie, Summer, and Jasmine smiled, even though their teeth were chattering. They were always glad to see the friendly king — and they would be very pleased indeed to get out of the freezing cold!

  On their way to the palace, they skied past a big lake covered with very clear ice.

  “Something’s definitely wrong,” said Trixi. “That’s Ice-Skate Lake. There are always brownies playing on it. I’ve never seen it empty before.”

  “Well, there’s no one here now,” said Summer sadly.

  “And I know the reason why,” Ellie said grimly. “Look!” She pointed at a snowdrift beside the lake.

  Trixi, Summer, and Jasmine all turned to look where Ellie was pointing. There, sticking out of the snowdrift, was Queen Malice’s horrible black thunderbolt!

  “Come on,” said Jasmine as they looked at the jagged black shape. “Let’s find King Merry and figure out a way to break this nasty thunderbolt.”

  “We’re nearly at the winter palace,” Trixi told them reassuringly. Sure enough, as they skied past the lake they could see the royal building ahead.

  Even though Ellie was worried about the thunderbolt, she couldn’t help admiring the palace. It had one big central tower surrounded by six smaller ones that were connected to it by delicate walkways of sparkling frost. Dozens of snowflake-shaped windows dotted the walls, each with a dusting of snow on the windowsill.