The Prisoners of the Thirteenth Floor, page 4
“It was no accident when you stole that statue of Aphrodite,” said Annie.
“You kids are nuts,” said Dragonstone. He quickly turned to exit the room, but the door was locked. He rattled the knob, but it still wouldn’t open.
“How do you like our magic trick?” said Ty.
Dragonstone turned to face them. His eyes gleamed angrily. “What are you doing in here, anyway?” he demanded.
“What are you doing here?” asked Annie.
“He’s looking for that clue I supposedly remembered that would point to his guilt,” said Ty. “But there is no clue, Dragonstone. We just made that up.”
“It’s a trap,” said Charlie.
A feeling of relief hit him like sunshine through an open door. He was glad his first hunch was right. Cozette was innocent. But then, what had she been close to confessing before Dragonstone arrived?
Dragonstone laughed. “A trap? Don’t be stupid. I just came in here to take a look at these incredible sculptures.”
“But you’ve seen them before,” said Charlie. “Plenty of times. Probably in old photographs that belonged to your grandfather. Or was it your uncle?”
Dragonstone was silent.
“I looked him up on the computer,” said Charlie. “Ernesto Endriago. Endriago means ‘dragon’ in Spanish. And that’s where you’re from. Spain.”
“Anyone could have known about these statues,” said the magician.
“Only Brack and Ernesto knew about them,” said Charlie. “They got delivered to the wrong floor and ended up locked in this room for years. Only those two men knew about them. Or whoever they told. And I thought it was weird that in all this time, after fifty years, that now is the time when someone actually tried to steal them. The first time you ever performed here.”
“Pure coincidence,” said Dragonstone, folding his arms. “I have nothing to do with this.”
“You just said it was an accident that you hit Tyler!” Annie pointed out.
“Did I?” said Dragonstone. “I must have been shocked by the flashlights. I didn’t know what I was saying. Besides,” he added, “it’s my word against yours. You have no proof.”
“We got plenty of proof, you creep,” said Ty.
Charlie noticed a bead of sweat forming on Dragonstone’s pale forehead.
“We have a videotape,” Charlie said. “It shows a man carrying a statue into an SUV.”
“Does it really?” said Dragonstone. “Does it show me? Can you see my face?”
“You know we can’t,” said Charlie. “Because you were wearing a mask. But we did see something. We saw the SUV. And we saw the license plate. We can give that number to the police and find out who owns it.”
Suddenly, the door swung open. “We already have,” said Brack. Behind him stood three police officers.
The men crowded into the room. “We also found a pair of keys belonging to the SUV in your room, Mr. Dragonstone,” said one of the officers. “Right now we’re examining the SUV. We found it parked a few blocks away from the hotel.”
“This is ridiculous,” said Dragonstone. “First of all, how could I possibly have been in this room, when your friend here got injured, when I was outside all the time?”
Charlie smiled. “Because you weren’t outside. You were inside all the time!” Then he explained how the magician had managed his trick.
Dragonstone had stolen the statue of Aphrodite, loading it off the dock and into his SUV. That was around 12:15.
Then he returned to the hotel. He planned to steal a second statue. Dragonstone was inside Room 1308 when Charlie, Ty, and Cozette entered. It was too late to find a hiding place, so Dragonstone stood off in a corner, frozen still. In the dim light of a flashlight, and wearing his trademark white suit, he would blend in with the statues.
Charlie had seen him out of the corner of his eyes, but mistook the magician for a statue. That’s why Charlie had thought all twelve of the statues were in the room at that time. Then, after Ty pushed Cozette and Charlie into the hall and locked the door, Dragonstone tried to find a better hiding place. But he was afraid Ty might see him. So he knocked him out.
“I would never be so brutal,” cried Dragonstone.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” came a voice from the doorway.
“Theopolis!” cried Charlie.
The evil magician, wearing his dark cape, looked angry and sad at the same time. He starred at his young partner. “You and I had coffee with Brack in his home the other night,” he said. “I was in disguise, because I know how Brack feels about me.”
Brack was silent.
“And then when he unmasked me,” continued Theopolis, “I left and returned to my room. But you stayed behind.”
He pointed to Dragonstone. “I found out that Brack had vanished the next day. I decided to use it to my advantage and finally take over this hotel. But I did not realize who had kidnapped Brack, until I saw this room today. Then I knew. You are the grandson of the famous Ernesto Endriago, and I knew he had sent the statues here. Brack had told me about them, many years ago. But I had forgotten all about them. Until today.”
Theopolis turned to Brack.
“I am sorry about all this,” Theopolis said in a low voice. “I had no idea to what depths Ernesto’s grandson would sink!”
“That still doesn’t explain how we saw Mr. Dragonstone come in from the hall after Tyler was attacked,” said Cozette. “How could he get out of the room?”
“He never did!” said Charlie. “After hitting Ty, he hid beside the door, in the dark. He used the black cape that he covered up the statues with, to hide himself. To melt into the shadows. Then when Rocky broke down the door, everyone started crowding into the room. Dragonstone just joined the crowd. No one noticed how he got there. We were all too busy looking at Ty.”
“Look!” shouted Annie. She aimed her flashlight at a dark corner of the room near the door. “There’s the cape! It’s proof!”
Then the room burst into chaos.
Dragonstone waved his hand and an explosion lit up the room like a firework.
People shouted and screamed and ran toward the door. And after all the pushing and shoving and jostling, a police officer cried, “Dragonstone! He’s gone!”
The officers split up and ran down several hallways, searching for the magician.
“It was flashpowder,” said Theopolis grimly. “An old trick.”
“The old tricks are the best,” said Brack.
Annie turned to her friend. “Cozy,” she said. “Remember earlier, when you said you had something to confess?”
Cozette blushed. “I couldn’t take being in the room any longer. I had to tell you guys that I’m afraid of the dark!”
“Just like brainiac here,” said Tyler, nodding toward Charlie.
Theopolis cleared his throat loudly and then said, “I shall go and tell our audience there’s been a change of plans.”
“Wait!” said Brack, holding up a hand. “A change, yes. But not a cancellation.”
Theopolis stared at his former partner and frowned. “You mean —?”
“We’ll go on instead,” said Brack. “You and I. I’m sure we can improvise a show. A good show, too.”
“But what about Dragonstone?” asked Charlie.
“Oh, I doubt if the police will find him this time,” said Brack. “He’s far too clever. But at least you and your friends foiled his plans. And saved the hotel from losing millions of dollars worth of art!”
“What do we do now?” asked Tyler.
Brack bowed to him over his cane. “You run downstairs and grab the best seat in the house, young man. For the show must go on!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MICHAEL DAHL grew up reading everything he could find about his hero Harry Houdini, and worked as a magician’s assistant when he was a teenager. Even though he cannot disappear, he is very good at escaping things. Dahl has written the popular Library of Doom series, the Dragonblood books, and the Finnegan Zwake series. He currently lives in the Midwest in a haunted house.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
LISA K. WEBER is an illustrator currently living in Oakland, California. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2000 and then began freelancing. Since then, she has completed many print, animation, and design projects, including graphic novelizations of classic literature, character and background designs for children’s cartoons, and textiles for dog clothing.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Explain how the Hocus Pocus Hotel could be in danger if Brack is not found quickly.
Have you been in a performance? Talk about what kind of show you were in.
Would you try to rescue your friends (like Annie and Cozette) if you were at risk of getting stuck too? Why or why not?
WRITING PROMPTS
Try writing a chapter from Theopolis’s point of view. How does the story change? What does Theopolis see, hear, think, and feel?
Charlie likes solving mysteries, even though it can be a little bit scary. Write about something you enjoy doing that can be scary sometimes.
Charlie and his friends use maps and blueprints to try to find their way out of the trap. Write about a time when you were lost. How did you find your way back?
GLOSSARY
acute (uh-KYOOT) — sharp
coincidence (koh-IN-si-duhns) — a surprising or remarkable event that seems to happen by chance
concussion (kun-KUSH-uhn) — an injury to the brain caused by a heavy blow to the head
evidence (EV-i-duhns) — information that helps prove something is true or not true
grimace (GRIM-is) — a facial expression that usually expresses a negative reaction
hotheaded (hot-HED-id) — easily angered
mythology (mi-THAH-luh-jee) — a group of myths, especially ones that belong to a particular culture or religion
protrude (proh-TROOD) — to extend beyond
silhouette (sil-oo-ET) — a dark outline of someone or something, visible against a light background
skeptical (SKEP-ti-kuhl) — doubting that something is really true
unearthly (uhn-URTH-lee) — unnaturally strange and frightening
MULTIPLYING MONEY
Everybody likes having plenty of money. Magic with money really grabs people’s attention. This trick will make the audience wish their money could multiply this fast!
You Need:
Six coins
Two popsicle sticks
Tape
A table and chair
A magic wand
Preparation and Performance:
First, create a secret pocket by taping the popsicle sticks to the bottom of the table as shown. The space between them should be a little smaller than the coins are wide. Be sure the pocket is near the side of the table you’ll be sitting at.
Next, slide one or two coins into the secret pocket made by the popsicle sticks. The gap between the sticks should allow you to easily get at the coins.
Start the performance by laying out the rest of the coins on the table. Tell your audience, “Making money is easy. I can make these coins multiply.” Ask a volunteer to count the coins on the table.
Now slide the coins off the edge of the table with one hand so they drop into your other hand.
At the same time, use your second hand to slide a coin out of the secret pocket as shown.
Close your hand around the coins, then wave your magic wand over your hand in a mystical way and say a few magic words. Finally, open your hand and have the volunteer recount the coins. The audience will be stunned when they see that the coins have multiplied!
Like this trick? Learn more in the book Amazing Magic Tricks: Apprentice Level by Norm Barnhart! All images and text © 2009 Capstone Press. Used by permission.
WAIT! DON'T FORGET!
Find More: Games, Puzzles, Heroes, Villains, Authors, Illustrators at www.capstonekids.com
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Hocus Pocus Hotel is published by Stone Arch Books
1710 Roe Crest Dr .
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.capstonepub.com
Copyright © 2014 by Stone Arch Books. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available at the Library of Congress website.
ISBN: 978-1-4342-6508-1 (library binding)
ISBN: 978-1-4965-3887-1 (e-book)
Summary: Charlie finds himself on the hidden 13th floor of the Abracadabra Hotel. He discovers both Tyler and the magician Brack. Brack was trapped there by a mysterious figure he could not identify.
Designer: Kristi Carlson
Photo credits: Shutterstock
Abracadabra Hotel illustration: Brann Garvey
Michael Dahl, The Prisoners of the Thirteenth Floor
