Jack, Annie, and Teddy crunched through fallen leaves until they came to Merlin’s oak. They found the hidden door near the rope ladder. Teddy pushed on the bark.

The door opened. One by one, they slipped into the candlelit hollow of the tree trunk. Merlin was sitting in his tall wooden chair.

“So you restored order to the castle?” he said calmly.

“Yes, sir,” said Teddy. “Had to use a bit of magic, but now all is well.”

“Your rhyming must have improved,” Merlin said to Teddy.

Teddy grinned sheepishly. “Well, to be truthful, the real magic was not in my rhymes. ’Twas the magic of Jack and Annie’s courage and kindness that saved the day—and saved me, too.”

“Indeed?” said Merlin.

“Aye,” said Teddy. “They have a magic as powerful as any sorcerer’s rhymes or enchanted hazel twig.”

Merlin raised a bushy eyebrow. “Enchanted hazel twig?” he said.

“’Tis only a figure of speech,” Teddy said quickly.

Merlin turned to Jack and Annie. “I thank you for your help,” he said. “All the realm of Camelot thanks you.”

“You’re welcome,” they said.

Merlin stood up. “Come along, my boy,” he said to Teddy. “I will help speed you back to Morgan now. My research is done. We must return these rare books to her library.”

He reached down and picked up a stack of ancient-looking books from the floor. He piled them into Teddy’s arms.

Teddy turned awkwardly with his books. Then he and Jack and Annie followed Merlin out of the heart of the oak.

The sun had risen higher in the sky. The woods were still.

Teddy peered over the tops of the books. “I suppose we must say good-bye now,” he said to Jack and Annie.

“When will we see you again?” asked Annie.

“When duty calls, I suppose,” said Teddy. He looked at Merlin.

The magician smiled.

“Will you be able to find your way home all right?” Teddy asked them.

“Oh, sure,” said Jack. “The tree house will take us back.”

He and Annie looked up at the magic tree house at the top of the oak. A sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves.

Jack and Annie turned back to Merlin and Teddy. But they were gone. Bright yellow leaves swirled and danced in the spot where they’d been standing.

“Wow …,” said Annie.

“Yeah …,” said Jack.

“Well,” said Annie, sighing. “Onward?”

“Homeward!” said Jack.

Annie started up the rope ladder. Jack followed. When they climbed inside the tree house, Merlin’s leaf invitation was fluttering off the floor. Before it could blow out the window, Annie grabbed it. She pointed to the words Frog Creek.

“I wish we could go there!” she said.

The wind started to blow.

The tree house started to spin.

It spun faster and faster!

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

* * *

Jack opened his eyes. He and Annie sat quietly on the floor of the tree house for a moment. Jack looked out the window. High overhead, a bird was soaring through the dusky sky.

Jack could hardly believe that just a little while ago, he had been a bird himself.

“Ready to go home?” said Annie.

Jack nodded. There was no way to explain what had just happened to them, he thought. There was no way to even talk about it.

Annie carefully placed Merlin’s autumn leaf in the corner of the tree house, next to their Royal Christmas Invitation. Then she and Jack climbed down the ladder and started through the woods.

In the gathering dark of Halloween night, nothing seemed very spooky. Jack knew all the trees. He knew the familiar path out to their street.

As he and Annie headed toward home, three creatures stepped onto the sidewalk in front of them—a hideous witch, a grinning skeleton, and a huge, hairy eyeball.

The creatures cackled and rattled and hissed.

Jack and Annie laughed.

“Oh, brother,” said Jack.

“Good costumes,” said Annie.

Jack and Annie crossed their yard and climbed their front steps. “Are you ready for trick-or-treating?” said Annie.

Jack pushed his glasses into place. “You know, I think maybe I’ll stay home this year,” he said, “and help Mom and Dad give out the treats.”

“Yeah, maybe I will, too,” said Annie. “But I think I’ll wear my vampire-princess costume anyway.”

Jack smiled. “Cool,” he said.

Then he and Annie slipped inside their warm, cozy house—and closed the door against the dark of All Hallows Eve.