Elliot and the Last Underworld War by Jennifer A. Nielsen Page A

its branches fell straight to the ground. If Kovol’s armpits had smelled good, like a fresh-baked apple pie or something, Elliot still would have wanted to live. But to have that disgusting stench be the last thing he ever smelled—he could not accept that!
    So he closed his eyes and made the decision just to poof out of the rope, where Kovol was aiming his curse. He wasn’t sure where he’d go next, but all he cared about was getting away from that smell.
    While Elliot was thinking, Kovol began building his magic. The skin on Elliot’s arms prickled with static as the magic gathered between Kovol’s beefy palms. It felt like a ball of invisible lightning, and when it was all gathered, Elliot knew it was coming straight for him. This was exactly what Fudd had warned him about earlier that day.
    “Poof!” he ordered whatever part of his body controlled the magic. But he felt nervous about what Kovol was doing, and it was hard to concentrate, even to drop out of the rope. Elliot realized he didn’t know for sure that he could poof away. Maybe his trick to have Kovol release all the prisoners had worked. And maybe not.
    “Poof!” he said aloud. He closed his eyes and pictured himself falling onto a soft mattress pad right below him.
    But the magic failed again, and whatever Kovol held between his palms was beginning to spark.
    “This is the end!” Kovol said. “Now I destroy you.”



Despite what Kovol had threatened, it wasn’t the end, or at least not the end of Elliot. Because with a very loud yelp, Kovol was suddenly thrown into the air as the ground beneath him exploded. Kovol was many things—all of them bad—and this included how bad he was at flying. Kovol shot high into the air, his arms flailing and his roar echoing higher and higher into the air.
    “Poof!” Elliot said again. And this time the magic worked and Elliot fell onto the ground. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to include the soft mattress this time, so his fall kind of hurt. But not as much as a ball of lightning would have, so he didn’t complain.
    He sat up but remained on the ground for a moment while all the blood in his body went back to where it was supposed to go. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to figure out what might have caused that explosion. He knew only one creature who could do something like that.
    “We’re even now,” a voice behind Elliot said.
    Elliot turned, surprised to find that he was actually pleased to see Grissel standing there. Grissel had hated Elliot from the moment he heard about him on a Halloween night more than three years ago. He had tried to destroy Elliot ever since Elliot became king of the Brownies, and had refused to stop trying, even if it meant suffering the cruelest ever punishment of nothing to eat but chocolate cake…without frosting! And yet Elliot had saved his life. Now Grissel had come to repay the favor.
    “How did you get here?” Elliot asked. “I thought the Shadow Men turned everyone into stone or put them in cold comas.”
    Grissel shrugged. “Agatha found the orange rock that was your Shapeshifter. She helped him change back, and then he explained what had happened. When the Hag transforms, she isn’t nearly as pretty to a Goblin’s eyes, but her light is very warm. With that light, she can heal the curse of the cold comas. She healed me first and is still healing the others.”
    “What about those who were turned to stone?”
    Grissel shook his head. “They cannot be healed as long as the Shadow Men fly.”
    “Then I need you to go back and protect them,” Elliot said. “Until I find a way to stop the Shadow Men, I don’t want anything else to happen to our friends.”
    Grissel blinked at Elliot. The corners of his mouth began to splinter as if he was trying to make an expression that his face was not used to. After some serious cracks, his mouth formed something that almost looked like a smile. Then he bowed and said, “King Elliot, many of those