Read Blizzard of the Blue Moon: A Merlin Mission for Free Online

of the storm had died away. When they caught sight of Dianthus, with his horn shining in the windless air, they brokeinto joyful smiles. Church bells started ringing through the white silence.
    Finally Dianthus came to a stone wall bordering Central Park. He jumped over the wall and landed knee-deep in a heap of snow. The unicorn leapt effortlessly out of the drift and cantered over a field and down a slope.
    Slowly the clouds parted, and light from the setting sun poured down.
    “Hot corn!” a peddler shouted, plowing his pushcart through the snow.
    “Roasted chestnuts!” shouted another.
    The good smells of the corn and nuts filled thecrisp golden air of the park. The unicorn trotted past Belvedere Castle. Bill Perkins stood outside, staring up at the clear blue sky.

    “Hey, Mr. Perkins, the monster storm’s not coming!” shouted Annie.
    The weatherman saw Jack and Annie on the back of the white unicorn. His jaw dropped. Then he smiled and waved.
    Jack and Annie rode on. When they passed the statue of the winged angel, Jack thought he saw her move her great wings. “Did you see that?” he cried.
    “Yes!” said Annie.
    When they passed the statue of Balto, Jack heard the sled dog bark.
    When they rode past the merry-go-round, Jack heard a chorus of neighs and whinnies accompanied by lively carousel music.
    Dianthus pranced down a shimmering pathway. He leapt over a stone wall and cantered over another field.
    The unicorn’s horn glistened, and the snowy field reflected gold and copper light. Not until the unicorn came to the tree that held the tree house did he stop.
    Annie hugged the unicorn’s long, graceful neck. “Thank you, thank you!” she whispered, and kissed him.
    “Yeah, wow,” breathed Jack.
    Annie looked at Jack over her shoulder. “What now?” she asked.
    “I guess we climb off,” said Jack.
    “But then what?” Annie asked sadly. “Where does he go?”
    “That’s a good question,” said Jack.
    “He comes with us, of course,”
someone said.
    Jack and Annie gasped.
    Balor and Grinda slunk out from behind the tree. Balor carried the black rope.
    Jack was stunned. “How—how did you get here so fast?” he asked.
    “We took the A train,” said Balor. “’Tis actuallya bit faster than riding a unicorn.” The boy laughed meanly.
    “Shut up, Balor,” said Grinda. Then she turned to Jack and Annie. “I am glad you had a happy little ride. But you can say good-bye to Dianthus now. We will take him from here.”
    “No, you won’t!” said Annie.
    “Stay away from us!” said Jack.
    “Come on, Dianthus, let’s go!” said Annie.
    Before Dianthus could move, Grinda rushed forward and grabbed his collar with both hands. The unicorn snorted and shook his head. Grinda clung fiercely to the collar. “Get the rope over his head, Balor!” she yelled. “Now!”
    Balor looped the black rope into a noose again. The unicorn twisted and turned his head.
    Jack kicked at Balor. “Stop!” he yelled. “Get away from us!” Jack felt stupid just yelling and kicking, but he didn’t know what else to do.
    As Balor and Grinda struggled to get the noose over the unicorn’s head, Annie pointed at them. In a loud voice, she shouted:
    Fowl of air, appear now here!
    Aka-aka-aka-mere!
    The black rope fell to the snow. Balor and Grinda started to spin around. They spun like two spinning tops. As they spun, they grew smaller and smaller. Jack saw a blur of colors: gray and brown, green and white, a dash of orange, a dash of yellow.
    The spinning slowly came to a stop. The two scary teenagers were gone. In their place were two small mallard ducks.

O ne duck was gray with black and white markings. The other had a glossy green head and a rust-colored chest. Both had orange webbed feet and long yellow bills.
Quack, quack
, they said.
    Annie looked over her shoulder at Jack. “I memorized the duck rhyme a while ago,” she said with a grin. “I knew it would come in handy someday.”
    Jack laughed.