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on his face he could barely blink.
    The wolf opened
its massive jaws and Erik could see its throat. He had nothing to fight with.
His waster was back in Master Lepkin’s study, and he had left the spear in the
hall, but he knew he had to try something –anything! Finally, he broke the
spell and lunged forward at the wolf with his fists. He let out a feral yell
and swung at the wolf, but his fist never connected.
    The wolf was
gone, just as suddenly as it had come. Erik took a moment to catch his breath.
His heart was pounding like a hammer in his chest. He leaned back in the chair
and wiped his brow.
    “I better find
that book and get out of here,” Erik told himself.
    “I don’t think
so,” someone said.
    Erik stiffened
and looked around. A purple light, no bigger than a candle’s flame hovered just
above where the wolf’s head had been. The light expanded slowly at first and
then it exploded. Erik threw up his arms to shield himself as the whole room
was washed in violet. Then, it collapsed inward on itself. An instant after the
light vanished all of the furniture in the room disappeared.
    Erik landed hard
and hit his rump on the bare stone floor. Everything was gone. The books, the
beakers, the birdcage, and every single piece of paper had vanished.
     “What is
this?” Erik asked.
    “It’s magic,”
the voice answered condescendingly.
    Erik looked up
and saw a woman standing over him. “Lady Dimwater,” Erik said breathlessly. He scrambled
for something to say, but Lady Dimwater was first to speak.
    “I know why
you’re here,” she said. “You have come to learn for yourself the truth about my
past. Is this not so?”
    Erik wanted to
explain that his curiosity was just too strong. He had so many questions that
he hoped her diary would answer for him, but he was too shaken up to form an
explanation. Everything had happened so fast that he couldn’t collect his
thoughts.
    “You don’t have
to speak,” Dimwater said. She waved her hand and a rectangular, wooden table
appeared off to the side. She snapped her fingers and Erik watched two chairs
materialize on opposite ends of the table. A red, silk table runner appeared
and unfolded itself along the length of the table. Next, two plates, a teapot, and
a large clear bottle filled with green liquid appeared.
    “Come and have a
seat,” Dimwater instructed. She took a seat with her back to the wall.
    “Yes, ma’am,”
Erik replied. He got up and walked over to the empty seat. He reached out and
grabbed the chair, just to make sure it wasn’t an illusion.
    Dimwater
chuckled and motioned for Erik to sit. “The chair won’t disappear, I promise.”
    Erik nodded, but
he kept his hand on the chair until he was completely seated. “Can I ask a
question?” Erik asked.
    “ May I
ask a question,” Dimwater corrected. “Of course you have the physical ability
to speak and arrange words into question form, but since you are asking for
permission the correct way is to say May I .”
    “Yes, ma’am, I
meant may I ask a question?”
    “You may.”
    “What were those
things that attacked me?” The ghost and the wolf I mean.”
    “Again you ask
questions to which you already know the answers,” Lady Dimwater tapped her
fingernails on the table and looked at Erik intently. “Surely Master Lepkin’s
chosen apprentice is not as stupid as he presents himself. I think you meant to
ask why they attacked you, as you have already correctly deduced what they are, but the answer to that should be obvious as well. They are guardians
of my study. They keep intruders out.”
    Erik sighed and
looked to the window high up on the wall. He was used to being teased by
others, but for some reason Lady Dimwater’s insults hurt more than most.
    “What kind of
tea would you like?” Dimwater asked. She pointed to the teapot.
    “I like mint
tea, may I have that?”
    “Very well,”
Dimwater said. She muttered something that Erik couldn’t understand and seconds
later the