Hola! OMG it's Halloween! I'm not going trick-or-treating :(...but I'm handing out candy. Ooh! And I'm going to be the Charlie Brown-potato-ghost thing...you know, on the TV special, when he cuts too many holes in his ghost sheet, and then goes trick-or-treating, only to get a bunch of rocks? Yeah...that's gonna be me...minus the rocks part...

Anyway, I think I've kept y'all in suspense long enough about Alina's whereabouts...so here's another chapter in the Spiderwick Chronicles!

Enjoy...and Happy Halloween!

-

Chapter Twenty-Five

The ton of red bricks came back to Jared at that moment. He remembered what the page in the Field Guide had said about Field Faeries: once their magic was drained, they'd disappear, leaving no trace whatsoever behind.

And they'd never reappear again.

He felt his heart break in two as he stared at the empty box.

Alina was really gone.

Gone forever.

"You're too late, you foolish human," Mulgarath said, laughing evilly. "In a few seconds, I will gain the Field Faerie magic and become the most powerful creature the world has ever known!"

"Go ahead," Jared said. "Kill me."

"Jared, what in God's name are you doing?!" Helen cried.

"He's lost his mind," Simon said.

Jared felt a sob become lodged in his throat. "Go ahead and kill me. Take the book and kill everyone. It doesn't matter to me." He gave a shuddering sigh. "Nothing matters anymore!!" he shouted.

Everyone stopped and stared. Even Mulgarath was quiet for a moment.

"I wasn't able to save Alina from that horrible box! It's my fault that she ended up like this. The only day she ever knew me, she was nothing but kind and generous to me and my siblings. And I repay her by letting her magic be drained."

He started to cry. "The whole day, all she did was tell me how she loved me. And I could never find the courage to do the same. I could never tell her to her face that I felt the same way she did about me. I could never tell her I was in love with her as well. And now she's gone!"

Mulgarath saw his chance to pounce, and began to advance on Jared. "Now it's time for you and all of your kind to die!"

Suddenly, a bright light appeared, glowing brighter and brighter. And the light was coming from…

"Alina!"

Alina glared at Mulgarath, who had shrunk back in fear. "Did I just hear you say you were gonna kill Jared and all of his kind?"

Mulgarath shook his head.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Alina reached out her hands and sent a powerful blast Mulgarath's way. He was knocked off the roof, but was able to grab onto the edge right before completely tumbling off.

"Give me the book!" Mulgarath said.

Jared knew that no matter how hard Alina tried, Mulgarath would not give up. He suddenly glanced to the tree Hogsqueal was still in. Then he had an idea.

"You want the book? Go get it!" Jared tossed the book toward the tree.

Mulgarath was quick on impulse, transforming into a raven and catching the book in his talons. However, he was so close to the tree that he flew straight into the grasps of Hogsqueal--who gulped him down in two seconds!

"That was good!" the hobgoblin said.

Suddenly, the rope holding Jared up snapped and he began to fall. "AGH!!!"

"JARED!!!!"

Alina appeared and caught him in midair, but he was a bit heavy for her, so they both fell to the ground in a tumbled heap.

Simon, Mallory and Helen ran to them. "Are you guys okay?"

"I think we're fine," Jared said.

"You did it!" Mallory said.

Hogsqueal burped rather loudly. "Death to the ogre!" he cried. "We did it! You sent him right to me! And I ate him! That's teamwork! The taste of vengeance is sweet! I can still taste a little! Oh, is it good! I did it! I knew I could do it! They said I couldn't, but I did!"

As Hogsqueal continued his babbling, pages of the Field Guide began to drift to the ground. "We'd better pick those up," Alina said. "We wouldn't want them falling into the wrong hands again."

She went to pick up the pages, Mallory and Simon following her. Jared was about to when his mother pulled him back.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she said. "I mean…"

"No," Jared said. "I'm sorry…"

"No, listen, I…"

"For what I said…I didn't mean…"

"Jared. It's not your fault. It's mine. I was trying to protect you, but I guess I should have just told you the truth. Your dad loves you, and if you want to stay with him, that's--"

"I don't wanna live with Dad," Jared cut in. "Is it okay if I stay here with you?"

Helen began to cry as she hugged her son. "Who else is gonna protect us?"

She sighed as she let go. "I think it's time I began some cleaning…this house is never gonna be the same…" She went in just as Mallory and Simon approached him.

"Listen, Jared…" Mallory began.

"I know, I know," Jared said. "Alina's a freak and I shouldn't see her ever again. I get it."

"Actually, we wanted to tell you that you should go talk to her," Simon said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Mallory said. "I mean, after you tried to save her from the goblins…and after that speech you gave…it made the both of us realize that she means the world to you…and we could never keep you from that."

Simon patted his twin on the back. "Let us know how it goes. We want to know all the excruciating details."

Jared laughed as his siblings went in the house. But it was quickly replaced by butterflies in his stomach as he found Alina sitting on the porch steps.

"Um…hi," he said awkwardly, sitting next to her. "Thanks for that."

"Your welcome. But…it would have never happened without you."

"What?"

Alina giggled. "Well, the goblins guarding me had to help Redcap and the others get the book, and after I heard the explosion in the house, I realized that you guys had killed them all. I was able to get out of the box with the little energy I had left…and then about ten minutes later, you came out on the roof with Mulgarath. I was barely alive then…and I knew I wasn't gonna live much longer. But…then you started talking about…things…and I started gaining energy back. Just like human tears have healing powers, so do words, I guess. And then I was able to beat down on Mulgarath! Yeah!"

Jared laughed. "That's…great!"

"So…you wanted to…tell me something?" Alina asked, looking at him expectantly.

Jared gulped and felt his cheeks burn. This was it.

"Yeah…I wanted to tell you that…well…I…feel the same way you feel about me."

Alina's face became scarlet red. "Really?"

"Yeah. And not just because of…well…"

"I know," she said.

"And…I'm not going to stay with my dad."

Alina became a bit concerned. "But…wasn't that what you wanted more than anything?"

"Yes. But…after today…I realized that I couldn't leave my mom…or Mallory…or Simon…or you."

Jared found himself leaning in all of a sudden. What was he doing? It was as if his mind had taken a vacation and had left his heart in charge.

And his heart was telling him to kiss Alina.

And that's what he did.

He could have been dreaming--after the day he had had, he couldn't be sure about anything anymore.

But after a few seconds he knew he wasn't.

And that belief was confirmed when he realized that Alina was kissing him back.