Sorcerer's Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

creature of doom into a bent old man pushing a cart of fish.
    â€œHello, young people,” he said brightly, a strong Yiddish accent coloring his words. “Who wants a little pickled herring to last you till supper? I got deals here like you wouldn’t believe!”
    Nicholas relaxed, shaking his head with a smile.
    â€œYou scared the daylights out of us, Mr. Russ,” he said.
    â€œIf it isn’t young Mr. Stuyvesant,” Mr. Russ said, smiling. “And you troublemakers are his Rattle Watch! I’ve heard such stories about you. How could I scare you? I’m just an old man with a barrel of fish to sell. How could I scare anyone?”
    â€œIt is a rough neighborhood,” Alexa pointed out.
    â€œThis was my neighborhood,” Mr. Russ said proudly. “I made my fortune here. What is there to be afraid of?”
    â€œYou tell me,” Simon said, nodding toward the blue mist. “This looks like a horror film.”
    Mr. Russ wasn’t listening. Instead, his eyes had widened as he noticed Rory standing between Soka and Bridget.
    â€œYou,” he said, pointing a bony finger at the boy. “I know you.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, you know him?” Alexa asked as the others gathered around Rory protectively. Rory felt a little irritated—he could handle himself against an old man, at least.
    â€œIt’s in my head,” the old man said. “She put it there.”
    â€œShe? Who is she?” Nicholas looked alarmed.
    â€œThe Fortune Teller.”
    â€œYou spoke to her?” Fritz asked intently. “Did you know her door was here?”
    â€œPlease, little fellow, this is my neighborhood,” Mr. Russ said, waving his hand dismissively at the roach. “The day something happens here I don’t know about? That’s the day I hand over my cart and get into the button business with my brother in-law. But this was more dumb luck than anything. I was just doing my rounds when I happened upon . . . well, I guess I should show you. Now, how did she say to do it? Oh yes.” Mr. Russ began to mutter as he twirled his hand in the air. Air began to move around them, blowing through their hair as the mist began to move. The bluish fog sent tendrils up into the air, rising up like smoky fingers reaching for the sky. Those fingers expanded, gradually forming into ghostly figures right before their eyes. Tucket began to bark, leaning forward to snap at the images in the fog, forcing Rory to hold him back. More mist floated up, re-creating a foggy version of the now destroyed wall. A ghostly door formed in the center of the wall, and the bluish figures solidified, their color becoming closer to green as they advanced on the mist wall. Rory could still see right through them as they moved, but they became solid enough to be recognizable. And with a start, Rory realized that he did, in fact, recognize them.
    â€œThose are Brokers of Tobias!” Bridget whispered at his side. Indeed, a familiar round figure waddled at their head, advancing with purpose on the ghostly door. T. R. Tobias, the God of Banking, stopped before the door and gestured for one of his Brokers to bang on it.
    â€œLady, I request your presence!” Tobias called out, and Rory jumped to hear his voice so clear. “I have come to collect on what you owe!”
    At first nothing happened, and the Broker continued to bang steadily like a clockwork soldier wound all the way up. At last, a voice drifted through the door, female and scathing.
    â€œI owe you nothing, Tobias,” it said. “Now get out of here!”
    â€œWhat I paid you was more than sufficient,” Tobias insisted. “You are the one who refused to give service once I had paid. If your debt is not satisfied, I will be forced to have my employees do everything in their power to collect.”
    At last, the door creaked open to reveal a huge, hulking woman with an evil, glowing cigar hanging out of the