Crown Quest: A Beatles Adventure

Chapter Nine

They waited at Rory's house on pins and needles. Paul couldn't help but pace back and forth. Sure, he thought George was really annoying, but George was his friend.

As they waited restlessly, John was flipping through a book with a dragon on the cover. Paul briefly wondered what it was and where John had gotten it, but he was too worried about George and Rory to be nosy about it. He glanced at the grandfather clock. They should be back by now.

"Hey," Linda said, gently pulling his pacing to a halt by resting her hand on his shoulder. "They'll be okay."

Paul nodded and forced a weak smile. He looked around himself and saw that none of the others were any more relaxed. Stu was releasing his anxiety by making all the princesses in a coloring book wear dark clothing and look vampire-like. Paul looked at Stu's goth princesses for only a few seconds before pacing again.

The door of the house slammed open, ricocheting off the wall, vibrating violently. Everyone was to their feet as soon as the noise erupted through the quiet house. The three people that came through the door sported worried looks. Paul's heart fell when he saw that it was just Rory and George's parents.
"Where's George?" Olivia asked in a tone that said she really didn't want to know.

Rory shook his head. "Mark captured him. We were attacked by some of his monsters before we could get away." Paul took in their bloody appearance and shuddered.

"We need to get him," Louise said firmly.

"I think . . . " John's force trailed off, looking down at the book in his lap with a troubled gaze.

"What?" Cynthia asked, moving closer to him. "Have you found something, John?"

"Well, it's complicated, but I think it's possible for us to go to George in a dream," John said slowly. "I don't understand the methods all that well. Here." He handed the book over to Louise and Harold. They held the book together and read through the passage John had left open for them.

"Where did you get this?" Harold asked, looking up at him.

"My mum," John said, hanging his head as if in shame.

"This can work," Louise said, tapping the page with a fingernail. "Using the dream spell and a light spell on this other page can allow us to help George."

Paul's heart leapt into his throat. He didn't trust himself to speak in fear that his heart would end up on the carpet at his feet.

"It's been ages since we've used magic, though," Harold said with a shake of his head. "That light spell is what we used to defeat Mark so long ago."

"May I see it?" Maureen asked, stepping forward. They handed the book to her and she skimmed the page. "I studied at a university, so I'm familiar with this dream method. We've used it some, mostly just for fun or pranks on our classmates."

"Well, get to work, magic lady!" Stu cried, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Maureen set the book down on the coffee table as she readied herself. Paul watched her carefully, not understanding most of the things she set about doing.

She finally straightened and looked at Louise and Harold, "All right. Are you ready?"

They exchanged a glance before nodding. Maureen handed them the spell book and raised her hands, preparing to send them to George.

"Wait," Olivia said. "Can I . . . Do you think I could go as well?"
Maureen shrugged. "I don't see why not. Three isn't too many people to transport."

Louise beamed at Olivia and pulled her closer to the two of them. They waited as Maureen began to chant in some sort of language that Paul had never heard before, throwing her arms out for reasons Paul didn't understand.

Paul watched the three closely. They slowly began to fade from his sight, and he blinked rapidly, trying to see them until they were no longer in the room.