Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve

calmly walked out of the Raven King’s nest back into the night.
    More sentries had been alerted. They were flying toward the mountaintop, cawing madly in alarm.
    â€œKRAK! KRAK! KRAK!”
    Jack saw Annie perched on the ledge.
Hurry, Jack! Hurry!
she croaked.
    Annie flew off the mountain. Holding the diamond in his beak, Jack gracefully flapped his wings and lifted into the air after her.
    As he and Annie sailed down from the mountaintop, a chorus of
KRAKs
split the night. Thousands of roosting ravens rose into the sky like a giant black cloud. Their beating wings rumbled like thunder.
    The cloud of ravens covered the light of the moon. The night was completely black.
    â€œSPREE! SPREE!” Annie croaked.
Fly! Fly!
    She and Jack glided down through the darksky toward the duke’s castle. The wing beats of the raven army still thundered above the mountaintop. But none of the ravens were chasing them.
    They don’t know what to do without their king
, Jack thought. He wondered where their king was. But with the Diamond of Destiny in his beak, he felt no fear.
    The farther Jack and Annie flew from the mountain, the more distant became the sound of the raven soldiers’ wings.
    The duke’s castle came into sight. Jack saw the light of Teddy’s lantern in the nursery. But he didn’t want to stop flying just yet. Instead, he swooped over the castle keep, over the courtyard, the gatehouse, and the bridge, over the candlelit cottages and oak forest. Annie flew with him.
    Finally they both glided smoothly back to the castle and landed on the window ledge of the nursery. The Diamond of Destiny was safe!

J ack and Annie perched on the ledge and peered into the nursery. Teddy’s lantern and hazel twig were still on the floor. But there was no sign of Teddy.
    Teddy’s not here yet
, croaked Annie.
Let’s go ahead and put the diamond back in its place.
    Jack didn’t move. He didn’t want to give up the diamond quite yet. It still made him feel incredibly brave.
    Jack?
croaked Annie.
Let’s put it back in its hiding place. I’ll move the tapestry.
    Annie flapped to the long tapestry hanging on the wall. Fluttering in the air, she took its edge in her beak. She tried to pull it aside, but it was too heavy. She let go.
    I can’t move it
, she croaked,
not as long as I’m a raven. I guess we’ll have to wait for Teddy to change us back into ourselves.
    She flapped to the window ledge and landed beside Jack. Jack was relieved. The longer he could hold on to the diamond, the better.
    Hey!
croaked Annie.
Maybe we could use Teddy’s magic hazel twig ourselves! I can come up with better rhymes than him anyway. It won’t hurt to try.
    Jack shook his head. But Annie didn’t notice. She hopped down to the hazel twig under the window. She carefully picked it up with her beak.
    She fluttered back up to the ledge beside Jack. Then she moved her head from side to side, passing the twig over Jack’s featheredhead, his body, his wings, and his claws. The twig passed over her feathery body and wings as well.
    With the twig still in her beak, she made a deep croaking sound.
    â€œHA-HA-REE-REE!
    JAH-JAH-AWK-NEE!”
    O hazel twig from hazel tree!
    Make him Jack, and make me, me!
    There was a mighty roar and a flash of light and a blast of heat!
    Then Jack heard Annie giggle. “Yippee! I made the magic work for us. Look.”
    Jack looked down at his arms and legs and feet. “Ohh, man,” he breathed.
    Awk-nee and Jah were gone. Annie and Jack were back.
    Jack wiggled his fingers and toes. He felt his face: his mouth, his nose, his ears. He loved having his own body back!
    â€œTeddy’s going to be so surprised,” said Annie.
    â€œHe acts like he’s the only kid who can do magic.” She looked around the nursery. “Hi! We’re back!” she called to the invisible children. “Guess what? We’ve got the diamond!”
    â€œThe diamond! Where is it?” said Jack. “I must’ve dropped it when you changed us!”
    Suddenly they heard a swoosh and a flapping at the window.
    â€œTeddy!” cried Annie. She and Jack whirled around.
    But Teddy wasn’t there.
    Instead, perched on the ledge of the nursery window was a horrifying creature. He was part human and part raven. He had silky feathers for hair, a beak for a nose, sharp claws, and a billowing feathered cape that glistened in the moonlight like