Bella stepped into the doorway. The wind made her long dress swirl around her. She appeared to fade in the gray light.
“Remember this warning,” she said. “Screem has many powers. But his most impressive power is his ability to lie.”
The swirling wind made it hard to hear her. “Did you say lie?” I shouted.
She nodded. “Screem is the best liar on earth. He’s so good, it’s almost impossible not to believe him.”
She pointed her finger at us. “Do not forget this,” she said. “Whatever you do, do not believe what he tells you. Do not fall for his lies.”
The door closed with a hard thud. Peter and I stood in the sudden darkness. I felt as if I’d been swallowed by the night.
I gasped as the blowing winds suddenly stopped. The silence startled me. Here we were, my brother and I. Alone on this dark, cold Halloween night.
Really alone. More alone than we’d ever been.
And about to do battle with a powerful, evil, lying wizard.
Peter pulled the list of masks from his pocket. It trembled in his hand.
“Where do we go?” he asked, staring into the darkness. “Where do we start?”
I shook my head. I didn’t have a clue. I couldn’t even begin to think straight.
Peter and I began to jog down the long driveway. At the street, the hedges rose up like dark ocean waves frozen in place.
A tall streetlamp cast a triangle of dim light over the hedges.
“Peter — look.” I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. I pointed to the bottom of the hedge. “See that?”
He squinted hard. “Yes,” he answered in a whisper. “Something is tucked in the hedge.”
My heart started to pound. “Is it a mask? Is it possible?”
We carefully made our way down the driveway to the hedge.
I dropped to my knees and lowered my head nearly to the ground. Yes. It was a mask.
“The insect mask,” Peter whispered.
In the light from above, it looked olive green. It was shaped like a long face, kind of like a grasshopper’s. I saw wiry antennae on top of the smooth green head. Tiny black eyes. The mouth hung open, revealing a stringy black forked tongue.
“Wow, that’s ugly,” Peter said.
I reached out with a trembling hand and touched it. I ran my hand along the top of the head. “I think it’s rubber,” I whispered. “But … it feels … warm.”
“Screem tried to hide it in the hedge,” Peter said. “But he didn’t hide all of them. This hunt isn’t so tough.”
I stared at it. Just the sight of the ugly mask sent chill after chill down my back.
“Go ahead. Pick it up,” Peter said.
I reached down again — then stopped. “Peter,” I whispered, “did he deliberately leave it showing? Is it a trap?”
Peter gazed up and down the street. “I don’t see anyone, Monica. Grab the mask. Quick. Put it on before Screem comes back for it.”
I bent down and reached for the mask. The insect’s buggy little eyes gazed up at me. The antennae quivered in a gust of wind.
I picked it up in two hands. I started to pull the mask to my face.
But I stopped with a sharp cry.
“Peter — it … it moved!” I gasped. “I felt it move! It’s … ALIVE!”