Ravenspell Book 1: Of Mice and Magic Read Online Free

Maybe he could hide the mouse under his bed and pretend that he’d fed the lizard.
    No, he decided, that would be too dangerous. The lizard might get hungry and die.
    He opened his bedroom door.
    The beautiful Nile monitor stood regally in his cage, front paws on his sunning log. Imhotep flicked his dark tongue and eyed Ben expectantly. It was as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
    Maybe I could give him some candy, Ben thought. He still had some marshmallow chicks in his drawer, leftover from Easter. But that wouldn’t do, Ben knew. The lizard ate mice. Candy might make it sick.
    Amber huddled in Ben’s palm, fast asleep. “I’m sorry,” Ben told her. “I’m so sorry.”
    Amber half woke. The mouse sniffed the air.
    Ben couldn’t think of anything else to do. He carried Amber to the lizard’s cage and slid the screen lid partway open. He took Amber by the tail and lifted her gently.
    “Good-bye, Amber,” Ben said with quavering lips.
    Amber woke. Her dark eyes peered at the lizard. She began squeaking fearfully and wiggled from side to side, swaying as she tried to escape.
    The mouse’s terror riveted the lizard.
    Imhotep flicked his forked tongue, tasting the air, and he stood eagerly with head raised, ready to pounce.
    Then something strange happened.
    The mouse shrieked louder and louder, until the whole room echoed with its cries.
    Ben heard a rumbling sound, like thunder. A blinding blue light flashed.
    In an instant, everything changed. Ben shrank out of his clothes, or else his shirt suddenly grew as large as a circus tent. At the same time, something yanked his nose and ears and pinched the skin at the top of his bottom—stretching him in impossible directions. His thumbs shrank to nothing, and his front teeth grew enormous.
    Tears of pain blinded Ben.
    The mouse was screaming. Screaming.
    Ben let out a high shriek.
    Amber’s tail grew huge. One second, Ben held it between two fingers. The next, he could hardly hold it at all.
    He fell with Amber, headfirst, and landed—splat!—right into the deep sand by the lizard’s water dish.
    Ben blinked. He was no larger than Amber, who sprawled next to him. The glass walls of the cage rose like cliffs around them.
    The lizard towered above him too. Ben suddenly knew what it would be like to stare into the face of a hungry dinosaur.
    “Allah be praised,” the lizard said, flicking his tongue. “Now, if only I had some fava beans and a nice Hawaiian Punch. I love having friends for dinner.”

Chapter 3
    THE GREAT ESCAPE
    No matter how fast you run,
you can’t escape your own fear.
The only way to beat it is to face it.
—BUSHMASTER

“I’ll name it Amber,” Ben said in the car.
    AMBER BACKED AWAY from the gigantic lizard. Its black tongue snapped like a whip over her head. She stared at Ben in shock. He was absolutely, heartbreakingly, the most handsome mouse she had ever seen!
    His onyx eyes mirrored the sparkling light from the lizard lamp. His lustrous pelt had grown a striking reddish gold, darkening until it was nearly black on top. His lithe tail was elegant, dashing. His perfect whiskers made Amber’s stomach flip.
    “What going on?” Ben asked, blinking. “Who took my thumbs? Where’d I get the mink coat?” He whirled, and his long tail scrambled away behind him. Ben spun, trying to get a good look at it. Suddenly, Amber saw, the truth dawned on him.
    “Mom!” Ben screamed, whirling about in a blind panic. “Mom, I’ve got a problem! I . . . I think I’m a vermin !”
    The huge lizard, Imhotep, stepped forward. His black tongue stabbed the air above Ben’s head. “More than just vermin,” Imhotep said in a thick accent. “You’re a succulent, full-flavored jumping mouse, if my tongue doesn’t deceive me. Firm muscles, well marbled. Just do me a favor: don’t squeak on your way down. Hearing my food shriek in my throat really ruins my meal.”
    “But, but, how did I get this way?” Ben pleaded.
    “A curse, of