06 - Eye of the Fortuneteller by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)

circle around the crackling flames.
    Their colorful clothing and golden jewelry glowed in the fire’s light.
    Inside the circle stood Gregor. His face flushed from the heat of the flames.
    “So, you are here,” he said as Kelsey and Drew approached. “Just in time.”
    All the gypsies rose and turned to stare at Kelsey and Drew. Kelsey didn’t like the feeling of all those eyes on her.
    “Did you bring everything I commanded?” Gregor asked.
    “Yes,” Kelsey told him. “I’ve got them right here.”
    “Good,” Gregor said. “Very good. Come then.” He extended his hand. The
gypsies parted, allowing Kelsey and Drew to step inside the circle.
    Then Gregor clapped his hands together twice—and all the gypsies began to
dance.
    They danced around the fire, singing an eerie tune—in a language that Kelsey
did not understand.
    Kelsey didn’t know what she was supposed to do. So she stood there and
watched. Watched the gypsies whirl around her.
    Kelsey recognized Zandra. She was dressed in her gypsy costume, wearing her
long, dark wig. And as she danced with the others in the circle, she looked
every bit as serious as the rest of them.
    When Gregor clapped his hands again, the dancing and singing came to an
abrupt stop. And everyone sat.
    Gregor reached for an old leather-bound book lying close to the edge of the
fire. “May I have all the items, please,” he addressed Kelsey.
    Kelsey reached into her backpack. First she pulled out the jar with the
horseflies. She handed it to Gregor.
    He took it without saying a word.
    Then she gave him the jar that held the sand crab. He took that, too.
    Kelsey had put the jellyfish in a plastic bag. But she still hated touching
it. She tossed it over to Gregor quickly.
    The last thing Kelsey pulled out of her backpack was the map.
    Gregor spread all the items before him.
    He turned the tattered pages of his book, searching for the proper chant.
    Then he began, chanting in the same strange language Kelsey had heard before.
And he rocked back and forth—in a deep, deep trance.
    Kelsey wondered what Gregor was saying. But she didn’t dare interrupt him.
    “Is it over?” she whispered hopefully when Gregor finally stopped his strange
song.
    “Not yet,” he answered. “For the curse to be broken, you must swallow your
fears.”
    “What do you mean?” Kelsey asked.
    Gregor nodded at the items on the ground in front of him. “You must swallow
your fears,” he repeated.
    “Are you telling me that I have to eat those things?” Kelsey shrieked.
    “Yes,” Gregor told her. “It is the only way to break the curse.”

 
 
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    “No way!” Kelsey said.
    Touching sand crabs and jellyfish was disgusting enough. Eating them was out
of the question!
    “We do not have to go on,” Gregor declared.
    “Yes, yes, we do,” Kelsey moaned.
    Gregor smiled. “Very well.” Then he reached for the jar with the horsefly.
    “You’re going to do it?” Drew cried.
    “I—I have to do it,” Kelsey stammered. “I’m not letting that witch beat me .”
    “Are you ready to begin?” Gregor asked.
    A hush fell over the bonfire.
    Kelsey could hear the sounds of crashing waves in the distance. The crackling of the flames before her. And the pounding of her
heart.
    “Yes,” Kelsey forced herself to reply. “Only—couldn’t we maybe start with
the map first?”
    Gregor nodded as he placed the jar down and picked up the map.
    He tore a piece out of the map, right where Kelsey had circled her street.
“Open your mouth.”
    Kelsey did, and Gregor placed the tiny piece of paper on her tongue. Then he
began to chant.
    Swallowing the map was really easy. It clung to the back of her throat for a
only second. Then she managed to choke it down.
    But as Gregor reached for the jar of horseflies, Kelsey’s stomach heaved.
    When he opened the jar, two of the horseflies escaped. Gregor plucked one of
the wings from the horsefly lying in the bottom of the jar and held it out