A Strange Case of Magic Read online

  A Strange Case of MAGIC

  Kenneth Oppel

  Dedication

  for Philippa

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1 Allergic to Books

  Chapter 2 Magic Books

  Chapter 3 A Ghost in the Library?

  Chapter 4 In the Workshop

  Chapter 5 The Disappearing Act

  Chapter 6 The Energy Ray

  Chapter 7 Being Invisible

  Chapter 8 Magic Tricks

  Chapter 9 A New Spell

  Chapter 10 The Plan

  Chapter 11 The Great Kapoor

  Have you read all of the Barnes & the Brains adventures?

  Also by Kenneth Oppel

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Chapter 1

  Allergic to Books

  Giles Barnes looked at his watch.

  Tina and Kevin were late. They were almost never late, especially not for the library. Giles liked the old library. He liked the big, bright reading room with its tall, arched windows and varnished floors. He liked the sounds of the library, too: paper softly rustling, people mumbling, and Miss Hibbins snoring at her desk.

  “Miss Hibbins,” Giles whispered, gently touching her arm.

  “Oh, hello!” she said, snapping upright. “Was I asleep?”

  Giles nodded.

  “I try my best, Giles, I really do, but this place is just so totally boring…”

  “Miss Hibbins, you’re the librarian.”

  “I know. There’s no escape for me. But what’s your excuse?”

  “I’m waiting for Tina and Kevin.”

  Miss Hibbins looked impressed. “Oh, you mean the Quark geniuses!”

  “That’s right,” said Giles.

  “You’re keeping good company, I’ve got to hand it to you. But I thought they only spoke to fellow geniuses. Are you a genius, Giles?”

  “Well, they made me an honorary member,” Giles replied awkwardly. “But I don’t think I’m really genius material.”

  “Well, so few are,” said Miss Hibbins sympathetically. “Tina fixed my television once, you know. Charged me an arm and a leg for it, but it hasn’t given me any trouble since. She’s got a mind like a photocopier.”

  “She’s very smart,” said Giles, a little enviously.

  It wasn’t easy having friends who were geniuses. Tina and Kevin Quark were always inventing things, amazing gadgets which beeped and hummed and shot out smoke and sparks. Tina could multiply faster than a calculator, and she could figure out the exact number of jawbreakers in a big glass jar, just by glancing at it. She could even understand the instructions for do-it-yourself furniture. She was definitely a genius.

  Just then the library doors swung open and Tina Quark strode in. She was very tiny, with two precise blond braids hanging on either side of her head. In one small hand, she held a paperback. Behind her staggered Kevin, loaded down with a stack of books so high he could barely see where he was going. Only a few strands of his curly red hair could be seen, poking up above the tower of textbooks. Several paperbacks were jammed under his armpits as well. He teetered into the reading room after his sister.

  “Um, Tina—” he began to say.

  “We’re almost there, Kevin.”

  Kevin staggered to the right, then to the left, the stack of books swaying crazily from side to side.

  “I think I’m going to—”

  But it was too late. Kevin gave a mighty sneeze and the huge tower of books came crashing to the ground.

  “Oh, excellent work, Kevin!” said Tina in exasperation.

  “I told you, I’m allergic to books!” Kevin exclaimed.

  “You are not allergic to books,” his sister said sternly.

  “Well, I don’t see why I had to carry them all in the first place!”

  Giles walked over to help Kevin pick up the books.

  “Hello, Barnes,” Tina said. “Sorry we’re late. As you can see, Kevin had some trouble with the relatively simple task of walking.”

  “You try carrying twenty books at the same time!” Kevin muttered indignantly.

  “It’s a question of balance and momentum,” said Tina wisely. “You didn’t take that into account, did you?”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  “Well, you’ll know next time. Hello, Miss Hibbins. We’d like to return a few books.”

  “They were pretty boring,” Kevin whispered to Giles as they lugged the books over to the counter. “Hardly any pictures.”

  “Kevin,” said Tina, “please don’t forget, even for one second, that you have a very tiny brain.”

  “You see,” Kevin said to Giles long-sufferingly, “you see what I have to put up with?”

  “What are we looking for today, Tina?” Giles asked.

  “I need a few more books for my latest invention,” she said.

  “What exactly is the latest invention?” Giles inquired.

  “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that just now.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s not finished yet.”

  Giles rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t worry,” Kevin told him. “She doesn’t even tell me, and I’m her brother—and a fellow genius as well.” He sneaked a wary glance at Tina to see if she would object.

  “Well then,” she said briskly, “let’s not waste another second. To the book stacks!”

  Chapter 2

  Magic Books

  Tina led them downstairs to a part of the library that was completely deserted. Giles shook his head. Trust Tina to want the books which no one else in the world would ever read. They were probably filled with huge words and impossible math equations. Normal people didn’t take out books like that.

  They split up. Giles walked amongst the tall shelves, trying to match the numbers on the book spines with the numbers Tina had scribbled out for him on a slip of paper. Giles felt secret and mysterious, like an archaeologist exploring an underground tomb. In the distance he could hear Tina reminding Kevin about the size of his brain.

  After a few minutes he found one of Tina’s books, high on a shelf. He pulled over a small step ladder, climbed up, and yanked out the book. From his high vantage point, he could see over the tops of the stacks in front of him.

  Something caught his eye. He squinted. A book had slid out from one of the shelves and was floating in thin air. Giles gaped. He scrubbed his eyes with his fists to make sure he was seeing right. The book opened by itself, and all the pages fluttered, as if some ghostly hand were riffling through them.

  Giles took a deep breath. Another book glided out from the shelf and stacked itself on top of the first. Slowly, Giles stepped down from the ladder. He tiptoed around the stacks, and soon found Tina and Kevin.

  “There’s something I think you should see,” he whispered.

  “I don’t think so, Barnes. I’m quite occupied right now.”

  “No. Really. You’ll want to see this.”

  “Why?”

  “You’d better take a look for yourself,” Giles said. He held a finger to his lips, and led them stealthily back to where he’d seen the floating books. All three poked their heads carefully around the corner.

  Kevin’s eyes widened in amazement, but Tina looked very calm.

  A tower of six or seven books swayed in mid-air.

  “Fascinating,” Tina mumbled to herself.

  “Um, Tina—” Kevin said in a whisper.

  “Not now,” Tina said.

  “Na-na-na-chooo!”

  Giles jumped, Tina jumped, even the floating books seemed to give a jump, and then they all started moving through the air, down the corridor. G
iles thought he heard the sound of footsteps, but they quickly faded away.

  Tina gave her brother a withering look. “You picked an interesting moment to sneeze.”

  “It’s all these books,” Kevin said sheepishly. “What can I do?”

  “I only wish I’d had longer to make observations,” said his sister.

  Giles cautiously moved closer to the large gap in the shelf.

  “They were all books on magic tricks,” said Tina simply.

  Giles glanced over at her in surprise. “How’d you know?”

  “Barnes,” Tina began, “I don’t think it would be an exaggeration for me to say I’ve read most of the books in this library.” She waved her hand at the gap on the shelf. “This section here, for instance, is where the books on magic are kept. I recognize the shelf numbers.”

  “And now they’re all gone,” mumbled Kevin, shaking his head.

  “It was like the books were being pulled out and stacked up by someone,” Giles said. “Or something!”

  “Ghosts!” said Kevin.

  “Most possibly,” said Tina. “I think we should have a chat with Miss Hibbins.”

  Chapter 3

  A Ghost in the Library?

  “I just saw a tower of books float out the main doors,” said Miss Hibbins, mopping her forehead with a piece of newspaper. The newsprint smudged off on her moist forehead, so that Giles could read the day’s headlines.

  He patted her reassuringly on the arm. “We saw the same thing,” he said.

  “I’ve never known anything like it,” the librarian continued. Her eyes had an unusual shine to them. “Just straight out the door, whoosh.”

  “Miss Hibbins,” Tina began solemnly, “are you aware of any ghostly disturbances in this library?”

  Miss Hibbins’s eyes widened, and her mouth wobbled around a bit, searching for words.

  “Well…I…no! I mean, there was Roger, years ago, but he wasn’t a ghost, though people thought he was fairly odd. I mean, he was awfully pale, but—”

  “Miss Hibbins,” interrupted Giles gently, “you might have a ghost in your library.”

  The librarian looked nervously around the room, making sure no one was listening.

  “Here?” she said in a whisper.

  “Someone, or something, just took out all the books on magic,” Giles told her.

  “And they weren’t even signed out,” said Miss Hibbins, sounding genuinely annoyed. “Completely against the rules.”

  “Ghosts get away with an awful lot,” said Kevin, nodding wisely.

  “You really think there’s a ghost in the library?” Miss Hibbins asked again.

  “Nothing has been proven,” Tina said firmly. “But we’d like to carry out some tests. We’ll need the ghostometer.”

  “The ghostometer?” said Miss Hibbins.

  “A personal invention of mine,” Tina told her briskly. “It measures ghost activity. It’s been highly successful in the past.”

  “I see,” said Miss Hibbins. “Well, I think that’s a good idea. I mean, nobody wants some inconsiderate ghoul roaming around the stacks.”

  “He’d scare the heck out of everyone.” Giles agreed.

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that!” Miss Hibbins exclaimed. “I’m worried about the books! I don’t want some greedy ghost gobbling up all my books!”

  “Um, we’ll do our best,” said Giles.

  “Still,” said the librarian, getting into the spirit of things, “it does liven the place up a bit, doesn’t it?”

  “I think,” said Tina, looking at Miss Hibbins,” it would be best not to mention this to anyone until we’ve investigated further.”

  “Oh, of course!” whispered Miss Hibbins with the utmost secrecy. “Whatever you say!”

  Chapter 4

  In the Workshop

  “Well,” said Mr Barnes, “it’s just as well your mother’s not home to hear any of this.”

  “I know,” said Giles. “She’s not a big fan of ghosts.” Giles’s mother was a professor of mathematics at the university, and fortunately, she was away at a conference for several days. Mrs Barnes believed in long numbers and decimal points. She believed in fractions and equals signs. She did not believe in ghosts. But a few months ago, she had enjoyed the mind-opening experience of having her house haunted by ghost birds. After that she’d grudgingly had to change her mind. Luckily, Giles, with Tina and Kevin’s help, had managed to get rid of the ghost birds before Mrs Barnes went insane.

  “It’s amazing where they pop up, isn’t it,” said Mr Barnes, shaking his head in wonderment. “The library of all places! And magic books! What would a ghost want with magic books. Could you pass me that saw, please?”

  Mr Barnes was building a set of bookshelves in the garage, and Giles watched with admiration as his father sawed a thick piece of wood in a perfect straight line. Whenever Giles tried, the line went all wobbly, or the saw blade got stuck half way through. He was good at building models and gluing things together, especially airplanes, but when it came to woodworking, he felt clumsy.

  “Tina wants to do some tests tomorrow with the ghostometer,” Giles said.

  “Ah yes, the great ghostometer,” said Mr Barnes, smiling. “She’s very good at those inventions of hers.”

  Giles nodded ruefully, wondering what he was very good at.

  “Dad,” he asked, “do you think Tina’s really a genius?”

  Mr Barnes looked at his son curiously. “Well, she’s certainly very confident, isn’t she? But if you want my real opinion, Giles, I think she’s a little too confident. Don’t forget about all those disasters of hers.”

  Giles nodded gratefully. He hadn’t forgotten. Mr and Mrs Quark were often shutting down Tina and Kevin’s genius business when things got out of hand—when strange and alarming smells wafted up from their basement workshop, or when too many kitchen appliances mysteriously vanished, or when potted plants suddenly started growing out of control.

  Mr Barnes smiled at his son. “You be careful tomorrow with this ghostometer business,” he said.

  “Of course,” said Giles, but he knew that even though ghosts might be frightening, they couldn’t harm anyone in the real world.

  “You know something,” said Giles. “I don’t think it’s a ghost at all.”

  “Really?” said Mr Barnes, surprised. “Why’s that?”

  Giles knew he couldn’t explain. It was just a feeling he had. For one thing, would ghosts make footsteps? Maybe, or maybe not. Or maybe he hadn’t really heard footsteps at all—it was just his imagination.

  “It just didn’t feel like a ghost,” Giles told his father, and that was all he could say.

  Chapter 5

  The Disappearing Act

  Next morning, Giles met Tina and Kevin at the library. It was a Saturday and there was hardly anyone inside. Kevin had tissues jutting out of all his pockets and occasionally would yank one out and give his nose a big blast. Tina carried the ghostometer around her neck on a thick strap. It looked like a large toaster with various switches and buttons added on.

  Miss Hibbins eyed the gadget in wonder. “You invented that all by yourself?” she asked Tina.

  “That’s correct, yes.”

  “Incredible! You must be the youngest, most brilliant inventor of all time!”

  “You may very well be right,” said Tina, smiling faintly.

  “Please. Don’t encourage her,” Giles whispered to the librarian. “You’ll only make her worse.”

  “Shall we proceed?” Tina said in her most professional voice. “Miss Hibbins, it would be most helpful if you would remain behind, and discourage people from going downstairs until we’re finished.”

  “Sure,” said Miss Hibbins, beaming, obviously pleased to have a role, no matter how small, in the goings-on.

  Down in the book stacks, Tina pulled a large set of headphones over her ears and twiddled with the ghostometer.

  “The ghost should have left strong traces,” Tina said. “I
am now going to take some readings.”

  Giles waited impatiently as Tina walked up and down the rows of shelves, concentrating intently. He couldn’t shake the feeling that what they’d seen yesterday wasn’t a ghost at all. But he couldn’t tell Tina that. She would just shake her head and say he was unscientific. That’s what happened when you had friends who were geniuses.

  “This is extremely odd,” Tina whispered after a few moments. “I’m not picking up anything at all. Not even a single beep.”

  “What about a blerp?” Kevin asked. “Any blerps?”

  Tina sighed. “No Kevin. No blerps either.”

  “That’s bad,” said Kevin. “When there aren’t any blerps—”

  “Shhh!” said Giles.

  Through a gap in the shelves, he could see a tower of books floating down the corridor towards them. He dived out of sight behind a nearby trolley, and the Quarks hurried after him.

  “Now remember, Kevin,” whispered Tina, “you sneeze again, and I’m asking Mom and Dad to put you up for adoption.”

  The ghostly stack of books glided around the corner and hovered for a moment. Then, one by one, the books began to slide back into their proper place on the shelf.

  If it was a ghost doing this, Giles thought to himself, at least it was a very considerate one. Miss Hibbins would approve.

  He glanced at Tina. She was pressing the headphones tight against her head, frowning in confusion. Giles couldn’t bear the wait any longer. He yanked the headphones off Tina’s ears and clamped them over his own.

  There was nothing to be heard. Not a beep, not a blerp, not so much as a ghostly whimper!

  “There must be something wrong with the ghostometer,” Tina said, mouthing the words to Giles.

  “Or else it’s not a ghost at all,” Giles said, mouthing the words back.

  The last book had mysteriously glided back into place on the shelf and Giles’s eyes roved intently through the air, searching for some kind of ghostly shimmer. But he saw nothing.

  “It’s hopeless,” said a man’s quiet voice, “absolutely hopeless.”

  Giles could feel the hair on his forearms tingle with electricity.