Lost Places by Carla Jablonski Read Free Book Online Page A

oversized infant, with that chubby belly and bald head, Molly thought. But his voice sounded ancient, and there was no innocence in those wide-set round eyes.
    â€œWho’s that?” Molly whispered. Crimple clambered to the window, but he was too small to see over the sill. Molly lifted him up, but the blue creature had moved out of sight.
    â€œNow let’s leave this miserable plane of existence,” the blue creature ordered.
    â€œYes, Barbatos,” a pink dinosaur replied.
    Molly could see that the absurd pink dinosaurs stood on each side of the house. She and Crimple slid against the wall as the dinosaurs lifted the house from the ground.
    â€œReady?” the blue creature called Barbatos said.
    â€œOh, yessy-yessy,” replied the dinosaurs.
    â€œGood.” Barbatos snapped his fingers, and the woods, the clearing, the lot, and the Laceys all vanished.

Chapter Four
    F EAR HIT TIM LIKE a cold slap of water as he heard Molly scream for help. “Molly’s in trouble,” he said to Tanger. “She’d never call for help if she didn’t mean it.”
    He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Molly! Molly!” he shouted. He paused, waiting to hear her reply. Nothing. “I wish she’d scream again.”
    Tanger gasped. “You shouldn’t say things like that, Opener. Not you, of all people. Not here . There’s no telling who or what might hear you and oblige by granting your wish.”
    â€œOh, sure,” Tim scoffed, “like anyone ever listens to me.”
    â€œBotheration!” Tanger snapped. “You’re the Opener , lad. Everything here owes its shape to you. So don’t go wishing for screams unless you really want to hear some—and you don’t care howor why they come about!”
    â€œHey—I’m sorry, all right?” Tim said. “It’s just that I’m worried. Really, really worried. Molly shouting for help—that’s just not the kind of thing she does. That means she’s truly in trouble.”
    â€œWe will do our very best to find her, then,” Tanger declared.
    Tim flung his hands up in exasperation. “In the movies a person can always tell where the ‘helps’ are coming from.” He kicked a root. “But here it’s hopeless.”
    Tanger shook his head, removed his tiny spectacles, and rubbed his face. “Oh, please don’t say that,” he said, letting out a weary sigh. “Say instead, ‘It seems hopeless’ or ‘I feel hopeless,’ but not ‘It is hopeless.’ Don’t make it a reality unless you are quite, quite certain and ready for the consequences.”
    Tim’s shoulders slumped. This place also has its rules, he realized. Rules for me, just as there are rules for Tanger and Crimple . What was most disconcerting was that the rules indicated that being the Opener in a place like this carried a lot of responsibility. Which meant that unless he learned those rules—and fast—everyone around him could be in danger.
    Just when I was starting to feel as if I was finally belonging to magic—that the world of magic wasactually my world—I’m hit once again by its complications. Not half an hour ago he had been feeling like he could share his magic life with Molly, that he knew the lay of the land a bit, and now he was as lost in confusion as ever. He had brought Molly here, and now she was in danger. It was because of him. And I don’t know how to fix it.
    Then an idea occurred to him. “Wait!” he exclaimed. “We could…uhm…” He shook his head uncertainly. “No, that’s silly.” Then he bit his lip, his brown eyes narrowing. “Still…so what if it is silly. It could still work.”
    â€œHave you an idea, Opener?” Tanger asked.
    â€œI do. It might—no,” Tim corrected himself, remembering that in this place his beliefs had potential to