I made it to the entrance of the tent just as a woman came running out, looking frantic. She was wearing a fluffy white bathrobe, and when it flapped open, I could see that she had on a fancy one-piece bathing suit covered with sparkly buttons, like it was a costume of some kind.

She spotted me and grabbed me by the shoulders.

“Stop him!” she screamed at me. “He’ll kill him!”

She let me go and ran off, hopefully to get help.

“That’s the high-dive lady,” Derby said, stunned. “Daring Donna.”

Without thinking, I blew past Derby and ran straight into the tent.

The place was empty except for two men standing on the stage. One I recognized as Baz. He looked exactly as he did in the posters except he wore a regular white shirt and dark pants instead of his purple robe and red turban. The other guy had on denim coveralls. He held one of Baz’s swords with both hands, pointing the blade directly at Baz’s throat. Baz looked pretty calm, considering a sword was waving in his face. Though he did back off as the guy stalked toward him.

“You are making a grave mistake, my friend,” Baz said calmly.

“I ain’t your friend, and this ain’t no mistake,” the guy snarled.

“If I were you,” Baz said coolly, “I’d worry more about avoiding runaway trucks than concerning yourself with who the young lady wishes to spend her free time with.”

This only made the denim guy angrier.

“Runaway trucks? You can’t flimflam me, and you ain’t never gonna see my girl again.”

“Perhaps you should ask her how she feels about that,” Baz said with a smirk.

That was the wrong thing to say. I thought the other guy’s head was going to explode. He reared back with the sword and let out a guttural yell, ready to strike.

“Hey!” I screamed.

The guy with the sword froze.

Baz didn’t even look my way. He was totally focused on the sword, ready to defend himself.

Theo and Derby ran in behind me.

“What’s goin’ on?” Derby yelled.

The guy with the sword hesitated, not sure of what to do. He looked at us, then at Baz, who gave him an innocent shrug. The guy stumbled back a few steps and dropped the sword to the stage, as if realizing how close he had come to murdering somebody. He then stood straight and pointed a threatening finger at Baz.

“Stay away from my Donna, hear me?” he said through clenched teeth.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Baz said. “And do be careful.”

The guy jumped off the stage and ran past us for the exit.

Baz watched him run off and spotted us. I expected him to say, Thank you for saving my life, young lads! Or something like that.

He didn’t.

“The next performance isn’t for another hour,” he announced snottily.

Derby hadn’t been kidding. This guy wasn’t exactly friendly. And he had enemies. If we hadn’t come in, Baz might have been skewered.

He picked up the sword from the stage floor.

I nodded to Derby to talk to the guy. Or the oracle. Or the fortune-teller. Or whatever the heck he was.

“Hey, Baz,” Derby called out. “These fellas wanted to talk to you.”

Baz didn’t even look our way. He sat on his throne, took out a white handkerchief, and began cleaning the sword, as if to wipe away any annoying fingerprints the guy may have left behind.

“Of course they do,” Baz said, bored.

I walked slowly toward the stage. “You okay, Mr. Baz?” I asked. “That guy wasn’t kidding around.”

“Poor fool,” Baz said. “Apparently, he feels as though I’ve been spending too much private time with the graceful young high-diving lass.”

“Are you?” I asked.

Baz gazed at the shiny blade. I couldn’t tell if he was admiring the sword or his own reflection.

“Indeed,” he said. “Far too much time, I’m afraid. I’ve grown bored with the Daring Donna.”

I looked at Theo. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Baz was more than just unfriendly; he was a total jerk. No wonder he had enemies.

“So, uh, Mr. Baz,” I said, “could you do us a favor and—”

“Baz!” the guy barked. “No mister. I don’t ascribe to such pedestrian convention.”

“Oh, okay, whatever, Baz. I don’t know how the whole fortune-telling thing works, but we were hoping you might take a look into that crystal ball of yours and—”

“Why would I do that?” he asked.

“Well, uh, that’s a long story, but we have a couple of problems coming up and—”

“Go away!” he snapped.

“But—”

“I am not a servant for people who are too insecure to weather the natural trials that come with life.”

“Uh,” I muttered, “I don’t really know what that means, but my friend already had his fortune told, and it wasn’t very clear, so—”

“Clear?” Baz said. “Life isn’t supposed to be clear. It’s messy. It’s surprising. It’s unpredictable!”

“Except that you predict things,” Theo said.

Baz glared at Theo. He didn’t like being challenged.

“Could you just tell us one thing?” I asked. “Can the future you see be changed?”

“The future is what it is,” Baz said. He punctuated the comment by grabbing the sword’s handle and stabbing it into the stage at his feet.

“Well, we did kind of just save your life,” I said. “So I thought maybe you’d make an exception and take a peek into—”

“Stop!” Baz shouted angrily.

He stood up quickly, as if he’d had enough of us and was building to an anger explosion. The guy was pretty tall, and being up on that stage made him seem like a giant.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Theo whispered.

“I will not stoop to your level,” Baz said through clenched teeth. He stalked toward the edge of the stage and leapt to the dirt floor.

I don’t scare easily, by bullies or anybody else, but this guy was seriously intense. He continued walking toward us like a cat stalking its prey. I had to back off.

“I get it,” I said, trying not to let my voice crack with tension. “But this is pretty important—”

“You continue to hound me,” Baz said. “Apparently, my warnings have not sunk into that minuscule brain of yours.”

I bumped into Theo, pushing him backward. Theo bumped into Derby, and we all backed away while Baz kept walking slowly toward us.

“Jeez, we just got here,” I said. “It’s not like we’ve been bugging you.”

“Perhaps this will convince you,” Baz said.

From out of nowhere, a golden dagger appeared in his hand.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed. “Let’s not get crazy here.”

“My gift is not for sale,” Baz exclaimed, his voice rising higher. “Nor am I!”

Baz reared back with the dagger, ready to throw it.

“What’re you doing, Baz?” Derby yelled.

Baz whipped the dagger our way.

I turned and tackled Theo and Derby, knocking all three of us to the ground as the dagger spun through the air over our heads.

“Are you nuts?” somebody yelled out.

I looked up from where we were sprawled on the ground to where the voice had come from.

A man stood next to one of the wide wooden poles that held up the tent. He looked pretty slick in a suit and tie, but his eyes were wide with shock.

The dagger was embedded in the pole, right next to his head.

“Get out,” Baz yelled to him venomously.

The oracle hadn’t thrown the knife at us. It was meant for the guy in the suit. Baz had either missed him or meant it only as a warning.

The guy pulled out a handkerchief, took off his hat, and nervously wiped his forehead.

“You’re making a big mistake, Baz,” the guy yelled back. “You want to be stuck playing two-bit carnivals and sideshows the rest of your life? Your choice.”

“Indeed it is,” Baz replied.

“Then you’re a fool. Good luck to you, loser. You’re gonna need it.”

The guy was ticked. I didn’t blame him. I’d feel the same way if somebody chucked a knife at me. Because somebody just did. The guy spun and hurried for the exit, all the while glancing back over his shoulder in case Baz decided to wing another dagger at him.

“Who is that?” Theo whispered to Derby.

“Mr. Hensley. The park manager.”

“And another Baz-hater,” I added.

I pushed off the other two and jumped to my feet. “Look, chief,” I called to Baz. “All we want is—”

The stage was empty. Baz was gone.

“Let’s go after him,” I said, and started for the stage, but Theo jumped up and held me back.

“I don’t think that will get us anywhere, Marcus,” Theo said. “Not if he’s throwing knives at people who ask for his help.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

“What’s Baz got against that Hensley guy?” I asked Derby.

“From what I hear, Hensley wants to be partners with him,” Derby said. “He brought Baz to Playland because he was already kind of famous. But Baz wants nothing to do with Hensley. Says he’s a solo act.”

“Who’d want to be partners with such a creep?” Theo asked.

“I don’t know,” Derby said. “Maybe somebody who wants to see the future.”

“We’re spinning our wheels here,” I said, and stormed for the exit.

When I stepped out of the tent, the first thing I saw was a woman standing about twenty yards away, leaning on a tree, staring at me. Or maybe she was staring at the tent. Either way, it was totally eerie because she looked horrible. She hugged herself like it was cold outside, though it was steaming hot. Her eyes were red and set in dark sockets, probably because she’d been crying. Her hair was a stringy mess, like she hadn’t combed it in a week. This was definitely not somebody who came to the amusement park for an afternoon of thrills and popcorn. She leaned against the tree for support, looking so fragile a stiff breeze might knock her over.

I couldn’t move. The sight of this strange, haunted woman was, well, strange and haunting. For a second I thought she might be a ghost. Why not? It’s not like I hadn’t seen any before. And she sure as heck looked spooky enough.

Theo and Derby joined me and both stopped to stare.

“Well, that certainly is unsettling,” Theo said under his breath.

“You see her, right?” I asked.

“Of course I do,” Theo replied, like it was the dumbest question ever asked.

“Poor lady,” Derby said.

“You know her?” I asked.

“It’s Mrs. Simmons,” Derby said. “Her husband was killed on opening day.”

“The pirate boat guy?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Derby replied. “Baz predicted something would happen to him. She’s been coming to the park every day since. She just kind of wanders around like she’s dreaming. Nobody bothers her. They feel so bad for her. I think she blames Baz for what happened.”

Mrs. Simmons backed away from the tree and walked off just like Derby had said, as if she was floating through a dream. Or she really was a ghost. Which she wasn’t. I think.

“And there we have it,” I said.

“What?” Theo asked.

“Another enemy of the Oracle Baz. It’s getting to be a long list.”

“You guys want to know where the clowns are?” Derby asked.

“No, I think we should go home,” I said. “Maybe another time, okay?”

“Sure,” Derby said. “Just don’t ask me to go with you to see Baz again. It’s getting dangerous to be around him. See ya!”

Derby jogged off, headed back toward the midway.

“It’s getting dangerous, all right,” Theo said. “Especially for Baz. Maybe one of those people he’s having problems with will set fire to the Magic Castle.”

“If that’s true, and we find out who it is, it might finish the story,” I said.

“Baz’s story,” Theo said. “Not mine. Or Lu’s cousin’s.”

“Let’s get outta here,” I said, and started for the carousel.

We’d only gone a short way when we passed the park manager, Hensley, headed back toward Baz’s tent. Whatever he wanted from Baz, he wasn’t going to give up easily. Fool.

A little farther on we saw the guy in the coveralls arguing with his girlfriend in front of a concession stand. It was the high-dive lady. Daring Donna. Or was she Baz’s girlfriend? She was crying as the guy stood over her, screaming. Can’t say that I blame him. I wouldn’t want my girlfriend hanging out with that sleaze.

“Look out!” somebody screamed.

A truck came careening onto the midway, out of control. People shouted in fear and scattered to get away. The denim guy was directly in its path. He turned to face the truck but didn’t move, as if he was so surprised at the sight that his brain locked. Donna grabbed him and pulled him out of the way a split second before the truck flew past. It barely missed him, sped on, and finally smashed into a tree.

Nobody was behind the wheel.

A park worker came running up, yelling, “Sorry! Sorry! It got away from me!”

Nobody was hurt, but it had been close.

“Baz predicted that!” Theo exclaimed. “He warned the guy about runaway trucks. He really can predict the future.”

I was quickly becoming a believer.

We walked on toward the carousel, passing poor Mrs. Simmons, who sat alone on a bench, clutching something that looked like a pirate hat. She was crying.

The mystery of the Oracle Baz was only getting deeper. We were no closer to figuring out what was going to happen to Theo on his birthday, or where Lu’s cousin was, for that matter. But after what I’d seen, I didn’t need any more convincing that Baz really did have a direct link into the future.

We had to figure out how it worked. And fast.