so much an Elf that it’s the initials of my name.”
“Oh? What’s your name?”
Elliot looked around. Suddenly he didn’t want to say his full name. Not with Harold listening anyway. He leaned in close to the Elf female and whispered, “Elliot Louise Penster.”
Dear Reader, clever as you are, you no doubt picked up on Elliot’s middle name: Louise. And, yes, it is a girl’s name. Here’s how it happened. When Elliot was born, his middle name was supposed to be Louis. He would be named after his grandfather, Louis Penster, who was a war hero, a fighter pilot, and, lately, the slowest driver in the fast lane of the highway. The nurse who wrote down Elliot’s name was very smart at nursing, but she was a terrible speller. This is because as a child, she played nurse on her dolls when she was supposed to be studying her spelling words. So when she wrote the birth certificate, she put an e on the end of Elliot’s middle name, thus making him Elliot Louise Penster for life. His parents were saving up the money to get his birth certificate changed, but the money always seemed to go to other needs, like dinner.
“Elliot Louise Penster?” the Elf said. “Your initials spell ELP.” (Apparently, the Elf was better at spelling than Elliot’s nurse.) “And it sounds like a human name.”
Elliot laughed. “Human name, yes, my parents—who are Elves, of course—are big fans of humans. In fact, that’s the rest of my name. Elliot Louise Penster Human. E-L-P-H. That spells Elph.”
Elliot was very good at spelling. And you have to agree, Dear Reader, that sometimes he is a very good thinker.
“Elph,” the Elf said. “Let me see your ears.”
Elliot turned his head so that she could inspect his ears. She tugged on them and twisted them until he said, “Ouch.” That was the second time today someone had pulled on his ears.
“Very well,” the Elf said. “You may proceed through Demon Territory. I advise you to be careful and stay on the path.”
“Of course,” Harold said.
They walked past the sign, then Elliot turned back and asked the Elf, “By the way, can you tell me where Kovol is? We’ll have an easier time avoiding him if we know where he is.”
“When the air around you is so black that you cannot see your hand in front of your face, then you have found Kovol,” she said.
“So stay away from the pitch black. Good advice.” Elliot thanked her and then ran to catch up to Harold. “Thanks for coming with me. I feel a lot better not being here alone.”
“You are alone, because I’m leaving,” Harold said. “But I must admit, I feel a little bad about helping you get killed. That doesn’t seem right somehow. If you do die in here, I’ll never be able to look at my face in the mirror again, which, of course, will be your face. Listen, I hate to do this, because I really love Cami, but I’m going to help you.”
“You’re coming with me to find Kovol?” Elliot asked.
“No way. I feel bad, but I’m not stupid.” Harold withdrew a small bottle from his pocket. “This is some of that invisibility potion from my—I mean you and Cami’s science fair project. I snuck it away because I wanted to test it when nobody else was around. You can rub this on you. It’ll make you invisible while you pass through Demon Territory. You could move right past a Shadow Man, and he wouldn’t even know it.”
Elliot took the bottle. “How long does it last?”
“I don’t know, but I tried some on myself and I stayed invisible until I shapeshifted again.”
“Are you sure it works? Maybe you just shapeshifted yourself invisible.”
Harold laughed. “I think I’d know if I were making myself invisible. Just use the potion, and if you hurry, you might get all the way to Kovol and out of Demon Territory before it wears off.”
Elliot started to thank Harold, but he disappeared before Elliot got the words out. Elliot stared at the bottle, then put it in his back pocket. He decided to wait
“Oh? What’s your name?”
Elliot looked around. Suddenly he didn’t want to say his full name. Not with Harold listening anyway. He leaned in close to the Elf female and whispered, “Elliot Louise Penster.”
Dear Reader, clever as you are, you no doubt picked up on Elliot’s middle name: Louise. And, yes, it is a girl’s name. Here’s how it happened. When Elliot was born, his middle name was supposed to be Louis. He would be named after his grandfather, Louis Penster, who was a war hero, a fighter pilot, and, lately, the slowest driver in the fast lane of the highway. The nurse who wrote down Elliot’s name was very smart at nursing, but she was a terrible speller. This is because as a child, she played nurse on her dolls when she was supposed to be studying her spelling words. So when she wrote the birth certificate, she put an e on the end of Elliot’s middle name, thus making him Elliot Louise Penster for life. His parents were saving up the money to get his birth certificate changed, but the money always seemed to go to other needs, like dinner.
“Elliot Louise Penster?” the Elf said. “Your initials spell ELP.” (Apparently, the Elf was better at spelling than Elliot’s nurse.) “And it sounds like a human name.”
Elliot laughed. “Human name, yes, my parents—who are Elves, of course—are big fans of humans. In fact, that’s the rest of my name. Elliot Louise Penster Human. E-L-P-H. That spells Elph.”
Elliot was very good at spelling. And you have to agree, Dear Reader, that sometimes he is a very good thinker.
“Elph,” the Elf said. “Let me see your ears.”
Elliot turned his head so that she could inspect his ears. She tugged on them and twisted them until he said, “Ouch.” That was the second time today someone had pulled on his ears.
“Very well,” the Elf said. “You may proceed through Demon Territory. I advise you to be careful and stay on the path.”
“Of course,” Harold said.
They walked past the sign, then Elliot turned back and asked the Elf, “By the way, can you tell me where Kovol is? We’ll have an easier time avoiding him if we know where he is.”
“When the air around you is so black that you cannot see your hand in front of your face, then you have found Kovol,” she said.
“So stay away from the pitch black. Good advice.” Elliot thanked her and then ran to catch up to Harold. “Thanks for coming with me. I feel a lot better not being here alone.”
“You are alone, because I’m leaving,” Harold said. “But I must admit, I feel a little bad about helping you get killed. That doesn’t seem right somehow. If you do die in here, I’ll never be able to look at my face in the mirror again, which, of course, will be your face. Listen, I hate to do this, because I really love Cami, but I’m going to help you.”
“You’re coming with me to find Kovol?” Elliot asked.
“No way. I feel bad, but I’m not stupid.” Harold withdrew a small bottle from his pocket. “This is some of that invisibility potion from my—I mean you and Cami’s science fair project. I snuck it away because I wanted to test it when nobody else was around. You can rub this on you. It’ll make you invisible while you pass through Demon Territory. You could move right past a Shadow Man, and he wouldn’t even know it.”
Elliot took the bottle. “How long does it last?”
“I don’t know, but I tried some on myself and I stayed invisible until I shapeshifted again.”
“Are you sure it works? Maybe you just shapeshifted yourself invisible.”
Harold laughed. “I think I’d know if I were making myself invisible. Just use the potion, and if you hurry, you might get all the way to Kovol and out of Demon Territory before it wears off.”
Elliot started to thank Harold, but he disappeared before Elliot got the words out. Elliot stared at the bottle, then put it in his back pocket. He decided to wait
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