Page 4 of Switched

Students dive out of the way as the pirates fan out, slashing their way through the library, poking their swords at bookshelves, and knocking books to the floor. One book flutters open, and a horse pops out. Another book opens, and a flock of birds flies toward the atrium dome.

Rapunzel races toward a pirate who is trying to steal a gold Princess Snow statue off its pedestal. “Someone stop the vagrants!”

“Avast! Stop! Follow the pirate code!” Blackbeard is shouting, but the pirates don’t listen. Soon, one is hanging from a chandelier, another is climbing floor to floor, and the others are terrifying students and fairy library workers.

Fiddlesticks. This is all my fault.

I look around for something to stop the first pirate from hitting Flora or Maxine, but Ollie is way ahead of me. He has his sword out in seconds.

“If it’s a fight ye want, it’s a fight ye will get!” Ollie races after the pirate heading up the nearest staircase, breaking through the velvet rope that sections it off. The two clash swords, the pirate attempting to push Ollie back down the way he came.

There is a crash behind us. Harlow, Wolfington, and Blackbeard are trying to stop a pirate from pulling a cannon from the pages of a book.

Flora covers her mouth with her hands. “They’ll blow the library to bits before our librarian even gets here!” She runs off to help them, leaving Ollie on his own.

“We have to help Ollie,” I say to Jax.

“On it!” Jax says. He whistles for Blue, our favorite magic carpet.

The rug zooms over, and I use one of his tassels to pull myself up.

Jax hops on behind me. “Blue, get to Ollie!”

“Don’t forget the book!” yells Maxine, tossing it up to me before we fly away.

Kayla flutters alongside us. “Jocelyn and I will corral the other pirates while you get them back in the book and help Ollie.”

“Reform school teamwork,” Jax says. “I like it!”

“Hey, pirate? Where are you running?” Jocelyn conjures up a fireball for a pirate threatening a group of kids, sending the pirate running right toward Jax’s open book. I hop off Blue and block the pirate’s escape route. He’s stuck between me, Jocelyn, and Jax. I give him a little kick, and he falls headfirst into Jax’s open pages, which suck him back inside.

“Six, seven, eight more to go!” Maxine counts.

“Gillian!” Harlow yells from the floor below. She’s whisking several students out of the way of an approaching pirate. “The pirates cannot leave the library! If they get loose…”

Her expression is so dark that I know I don’t want to know the end of that sentence.

“Got it!” I shout.

Hearing this, the pirate heads toward the library exit. Jax and I swoop down on him, with Jocelyn aiming another fireball, but this pirate is too quick. Before the fire can singe his trousers, he jumps to a floor below us.

“I could use some help up here!” Ollie shouts.

I look up and spot him sword fighting on a ledge.

“He could fall!” Kayla shrieks. “I’ll go spot him!” She flutters up to help him.

“They’re going after the princesses!” I hear someone cry.

There are too many of them. Books are falling, kids are crying, and the sound of swords clanging grows louder. Rapunzel is kicking and spinning into pirates, knocking them away from Ella. She’s holding her own, but the pirates don’t stop. I hear Kayla cry and look up in time to see Ollie almost fall off the ledge.

“We have to get these pirates back in the book now,” Jax shouts.

“You don’t think I know that?” I ask. I whistle loudly. The closest scallywag turns and looks at me. I hold the book out in front of me. “Time to go home!”

The pirate laughs. “We’re never going home!”

I narrow my eyes at him. “That’s what you think!” I jump off the rug and throw the open book at him, hoping it will grab the pirate and suck him back inside. Instead, the pirate catches the book in one of his filthy hands.