Pan 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 emotions 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.”