I couldn’t hold it in. I opened my mouth in a shrill scream.
Peter and I staggered back. I wanted to get as far away from those howling masks as I could.
We started for the door — and tripped over each other.
Peter sailed to the floor and landed hard on his side. I caught my balance and reached down to help him up.
The masks’ howls faded. The ugly mouths closed again. But I could still hear the frightening sound in my mind.
Peter fixed the belt on his karate uniform. We both edged toward the library door.
“I’m sorry,” Bella said softly. “But you do have reason to be afraid.”
“I don’t want to hear any more,” I said. “Just let us go home.”
“I need to explain,” Bella said, tossing back her long hair. “You must know everything if you are to help me.”
“No. Really —” I started. “Peter and I —”
“I have been guarding these evil masks for one hundred years,” Bella said.
“Yeah. Sure,” Peter muttered. “You look younger than our mother.”
“Just let us go,” I insisted.
She had to be a lunatic.
“There is magic involved,” Bella said. “I am one hundred and thirty years old.”
“And I’m SpongeBob SquarePants,” Peter said.
Bella’s pale face darkened in anger. She stared hard at Peter. “I am not insane,” she said. “If you want to get home safely, you need to listen to me — and believe. At least give me a chance.”
IF we want to get home?
Was that a threat?
Bella’s words sent a chill down my back.
I crossed my arms tightly in front of me. “Go ahead,” I said. “We won’t interrupt.”
Bella motioned to the masks hanging limply in the shelf. “These masks were made one hundred years ago,” she said. “They were created by a powerful sorcerer. His name was Hallows.”
“He wrote that book?” Peter asked, pointing to the book on the table.
Bella nodded. “Hallows was born on a Halloween night,” she continued. “Many years later, he died on a Halloween night. After he made these masks, he gave them strong magic. Magic that comes to life only one night a year — tonight.”
I stared at the masks. “Tonight …” I murmured.
“Hallows gave the masks to the evil Dr. Screem,” Bella said. “That’s why they are called the Masks of Screem. But I cannot let him keep the masks. His evil is too great.”
I took a deep breath to work up my courage. “I’ve heard enough,” I said. “Peter and I are leaving.”
“It’s a good scary story,” Peter told Bella. “Maybe you should make a movie of it or something.”
Bella stared at us both. She didn’t reply. She raised her hands to the sides of her face.
Peter and I started to back away from her. I took a final glance at the ugly masks. They hung limply on their hooks and didn’t move.
We turned and took two hurried steps toward the library door.
Then we both gasped in horror.