Return to the Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz Page 0,65
world.
“Magic created all this?” asked Evie. “Buildings and everything? That’s pretty crazy.”
Mal knocked on a brick wall. “Yeah, and it’s real too.”
Jay turned around in a circle, looking up at the tall buildings. “Interesting.”
“All right, enough sightseeing. We’ve got to keep going,” said Mal. “What does the map say?”
“It says Cruella’s talisman is in the House of Horrors,” said Carlos, checking the map.
“I thought your house was called Hell Hall?” said Evie.
“Yeah, and it sure was a house of horrors,” said Carlos. “I think we go that way.” He headed east.
“What does the ring look like?” asked Mal.
“It’s the big green one Cruella used to wear,” said Evie. “It’s pretty, actually. You think Carlos might give it to me instead?”
They walked past houses and buildings, but all of the doors were closed, curtains drawn. The entrance they’d used to enter this world was still open behind them. Through it Carlos could see just a little bit of the sandy desert, and he considered running back there. Retrieving his mother’s tallisman wasn’t exactly high on his list of favorite things to do.
The four of them walked down the center of the road. Just like the other two worlds, this one was empty. There were no people here; the entire place was quiet, a mere facade. Not a real city at all but a place held together by magic—a home for the talisman. He led them right, then left, then two rights, and he stopped, confused.
“Wait, that’s the door to the desert again,” Carlos said. “We’re walking in circles.”
“No, we’re not,” said Jay. “If we had walked in circles we would have only made right turns. I definitely recall a left.”
They set off again, this time turning left, left, then right, then left, then right again. But once more, they came to the same doorway.
“Think we’re in some kind of magic maze?” Mal asked. “Let me guess: the map can’t help us.”
Carlos checked, looking at the map from different angles. “Actually, according to the map, the house should be right here, where we’re standing. I’m not sure what’s going on, if the landscape is shifting so it doesn’t match the map, or I’m reading it wrong.”
“At least we have the door to the desert,” said Jay. We can always go back the way we came….Why are you looking at me like that?”
Carlos pointed. The door wasn’t there anymore.
“We’re trapped!” yelped Evie.
“And it doesn’t seem to want us to find what we’re looking for, and it doesn’t look like there’s a way out of here,” said Mal.
“Maybe it’ll appear. I don’t know how magic works. Let’s keep walking,” said Carlos.
“In circles?” asked Jay.
“You have a better idea?” asked Mal.
“I guess not,” Jay admitted. “Okay, carry on, circles are fine.”
“Maybe if we keep walking we’ll see something else,” said Carlos.
They kept going, looking for the house, and once again they ended up where they began. “Hold on,” said Carlos. “I think the map is right. The House of Horrors is right here.”
“But these are all regular buildings, not mansions,” said Evie. “I don’t see Hell Hall anywhere.”
“The talisman isn’t in Hell Hall, I made a mistake,” said Carlos, pointing to a dusty window that had been right in front of them all along. He hadn’t noticed it because he had assumed that the “House of Horrors” was his mother’s house. This was a fur shop, and in the corner was a sign that read HOUSE OF HORRORS. SALE TODAY!
“I think I’m supposed to do some shopping,” said Carlos.
“Well, go on, then,” said Jay.
“I’m going! Give me a sec,” said Carlos.
But he didn’t move. He couldn’t.
“Come on, man, just do it. You know you can. Go!” said Jay, giving him a little push.
Finally, Carlos opened the door and looked over his shoulder. “You guys probably can’t come in, can you?” he asked hopefully. But sure enough, when Mal, Evie, and Jay tried to follow, they were barred from entering.
“We’ll wait here,” said Evie.
“Good luck,” said Mal. “You’ll need it.”
“Bring back that ring soon. I’m getting hungry,” said Jay.
Carlos swallowed his fear, squared his shoulders, and walked inside.
The House of Horrors didn’t live up to its name at all, for when Carlos stepped inside, he found it was an elegant fur shop. The room was decorated in the manner of a fabulous salon, with racks and racks of elegant fur coats everywhere. There were fox chubbies, sable throws, mink stoles, floor-length trenches, and fur-trimmed opera capes. White Mongolian vests, black goat-hair ponchos, cozy raccoon cocoon coats,