Phyllis Wong and the Waking of the Wizard (The Phyllis Wong Mysteries, Book 3) by Geoffrey McSkimming

Release date: September 1, 2018

Subgenre: Children's mystery, Paranormal mystery

About Phyllis Wong and the Waking of the Wizard: 

 

Phyllis Wong, that brilliant young magician and clever sleuth, is faced with a quest which began in the time of her great-grandfather, Wallace Wong, Conjuror of Wonder! He wanted to track down one of history’s greatest magicians … but does the person even exist? To find the answer, Phyllis will have to Transit across thousands of miles and hundreds of years.

While she follows the trail of the master prestidigitator, a sinister figure haunts her every step. What is the Great Whimpering, and who is the dastardly man intent on bringing it about? Can Phyllis find one of the most mysterious figures from history? Can she complete her mission in time to prevent the greatest calamity ever to befall mankind?

Another astonishing mystery starring Phyllis Wong, from the ever-scrawling pen nib of Geoffrey McSkimming.

The third Phyllis Wong: Time Detective Mystery.

 

Excerpt:

 

The basement felt quiet … calm … almost timeless … and so absorbed was Phyllis in her thoughts, and Daisy in her paw licking, that they didn’t notice the sudden glow of bright green light emanating from a place near the top of the stairs.

The light grew more intense, and it swelled, wider and higher, until it formed the shape of a giant, shimmering almond. The edges of this bright, hazy shape wafted tremblingly on the air.

And then, from the midst of a swirling green vapour, a man stepped out, treading lightly onto the stairs.

He was a youngish man, about the same age as Phyllis’s dad, and he stood tall and slender. He was dressed in a sleek tail coat of midnight-blue silk with matching trousers, a low-cut white silk waistcoat, a white wing-collared shirt and white bow tie.

His glossy black hair was in disarray, and was sticking up at strange angles all over his head, like dark crests on the top of a hairy meringue cake. He had a long, fine nose; a pencil-thin, neat moustache; high, angular cheekbones and ears that were small and a little pointed at the tops.

He stayed on the stairs for a few moments, blinking, accustomising himself to the place he had just stepped into. His eyes glowed strangely, pulsatingly, a vibrant sharp green—not just his irises, but the whites of his eyes as well.

Then he opened those eyes wide and surveyed the cavernous basement. His gaze fell upon Phyllis and Daisy on the sofa, and he smiled.

‘Great-granddaughter,’ the man said, his voice deep and smooth.

Phyllis jumped, and Daisy sprang to her paws, off the sofa, and raced across to the stairs. She bounded up them like a miniature steamtrain, yapping loudly and excitedly.

The man scooped her up. Holding her under his arm, he bounded down the steps and over to Phyllis, who was on her feet and beaming.

‘W.W.!’ she exclaimed, rushing to give him a hug. ‘I was wondering when you’d be back!’

Phyllis’s thoughts about her mum were instantly washed away as she embraced Wallace Wong, Conjuror of Wonder!

‘Why,’ he said, tousling her hair, ‘it’s been hardly any Time at all since we last Transited. How long?’

‘Oh,’ she answered, ‘only a couple of months. By here Time, that is.’

‘Ah, yes, you were brilliant in your investigation of those foul papers.’ *

( * See Phyllis Wong and the Return of the Conjuror to find out more about this incident ... )

He squeezed her and then Daisy yapped even louder—it was getting a little airless where she was, trapped between Wallace Wong’s waistcoat and Phyllis’s shoulder. Wallace quickly stepped back and deposited Daisy on the floor.

‘Let me look at you,’ he said to Phyllis. ‘Ah, you are appearing well, my dear girl. But—’ he squinted slightly, his eyes throbbing green and curious—‘I detect the merest hint of something sad? Tell me, Phyllis, are you troubled by things?’

Phyllis managed a smile, which wasn’t difficult, so happy was she to be with Wallace Wong again. ‘Not really. Not by anything I can’t do something about.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yep.’ She beamed at him, then rushed into another hug.

‘For troubles can be like the bent coin that has been dropped into the donut batter,’ he added in his muddled manner.

She looked up at him, strangely.

‘Oh, I know what I am meaning,’ he said quickly. ‘Are you really all right?’

‘I’m swell. Hey, W.W., I’m tickled pink to see you again!’

Wallace laughed—he was always delighted that Phyllis had picked up so many of the sayings from the old movies he’d appeared in. ‘I, too, am tickled pink to be reunited with my dauntless girl,’ he said, grinning. ‘Come, let us sit, and I shall tell you why I have returned.’

They settled themselves on the sofa and Daisy sprang up to wedge herself between them in the I’m going to take up the most space here way that small dogs often do.

Before Wallace could begin, Phyllis asked, ‘Where have you been Transiting to lately, then?’

(For Wallace Wong was a Transiter—one who was able to move from place to place and Time to Time—and he had passed on the knowledge of this secret to Phyllis, who he had been thrilled to discover also had the gift for being able to see beyond the here-and-now.)

Wallace gave her an inscrutable smile, and answered her question with a question of his own: ‘Do you remember, my dear, when you once asked me why I Transited so much? Why I never stayed in the one spot for very long?’

‘Yes,’ Phyllis replied.

‘And do you remember what I answered?’

‘I sure do. You said you were searching for something.’

‘Yes.’

‘And that you’d been searching for this “something” for nearly a century, and that it’d become a way of life for you that you loved. And when I asked you what it was, this “something”, you wouldn’t tell me. I remember your words—I wrote them down in my journal. You said that it wasn’t the nowness to tell me, and that you’d tell me what you were searching for when the nowness was ready.’

‘Ah, you are very thorough. Well, Phyllis, I am pleased to tell you that the nowness is ripe.’

Phyllis bounced on the sofa. ‘You’re going to tell me?’

‘I am. First, however, I want you to recap something.’

‘Okay, what?’

‘Tell me once more about the Pockets. I want to make sure that you still remember their types and what they are capable of. And I am keen to know whether you have made any new discoveries about them which perhaps I am not aware of … ’

The Pockets. Phyllis smiled. ‘No, no new discoveries. Not since the last time I saw you.’

‘Have you been Transiting since then?’

‘No. I almost did, but … well, I guess the foul papers trip sort of left me with a lot to think about.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Wallace Wong placed his hand on Phyllis’s. ‘It is good, I have found, not to pile on the Transits. It is a wise idea to leave some Time between trips, in order to dwell on where you have been and what has occurred during the Transiting. Not to mention, you need to get over the Transitaciousness. Me, I should listen to my own advice and leave more Time between my Transits … maybe then my eyes would settle down again more quickly.’

His eyes were still bright and green and throbbing, Phyllis observed.

‘Yes,’ Wallace went on, ‘that is the major mistake most Transiters make; they are no sooner back in one place and one Time than they run up some stairs again and are off, all willy-nilly, faster than a slippery pickle in the hands of a bricklayer.’

‘Huh?’

‘Oh, I know what I am meaning. Now, clearly, concisely, tell me what you remember of the TimePockets.’

Quickly, Phyllis recapped what Wallace Wong had taught her: that as far as they knew, there were four different types of TimePockets—Anamygduleons, Andruseons, Anvugheons and Anaumbryons. These were all different in size and power, and they were always to be found on stairs.

She stopped and smiled at her youthful great-grandfather. He smiled back. Their smiles were nearly identical.

‘Very good,’ he said. ‘I knew you would retain the knowledge.’

‘Best things I’ve ever learnt,’ she said. ‘Now it’s your turn. Tell me: what is it that you’ve been searching for all this Time?’

Wallace Wong, Conjuror of Wonder!, stood. He walked to the centre of the rehearsal space and, as though he were back on stage in an enormous theatre, he turned and faced Phyllis and Daisy.

‘Here is the next part of my story, Phyllis my dear,’ he began, his voice so powerful it sent ripples of anticipation through Phyllis. Without realising it, she brought her hands together and interlocked the little finger on her right hand with the thumb on her left hand, and curled the rest of her fingers gently around the backs of her hands. She always did this whenever she wished to focus deeply.

‘I am seeking something so wonderful,’ Wallace announced, ‘that it defies the imaginations of many. Something that I hope still exists somewhere in the wide world of the past and, perhaps, the present. A secret, Phyllis. The most profound and wonderful secret ever created!’

Phyllis felt goosebumps popping up along her arms and shoulders. Daisy, sensing the power in Wallace’s voice, remained still, watching him.

‘It is the secret of the Pockets I am looking for, my dear girl,’ Wallace said. ‘It is the reason for the Transiting, the whole method behind these extraordinary places where people like you and I are able to step through the boundaries of what is normal, what is logical, what is real!

‘And to find this secret, to find the reason why all of this is possible, I must find the one who created it. The one person who, long ago, discovered the first Pocket and developed it and created all the rules of Transiting … Phyllis, I am searching for the greatest magician the world has ever seen!’

 

Amazon

 

About Geoffrey McSkimming:

Geoffrey McSkimming is the author of the bestselling 19 volume Cairo Jim chronicles (published worldwide from 1991 -- 2008) and now the new Phyllis Wong mysteries, featuring the brilliant young magician and clever sleuth, Phyllis Wong. Phyllis Wong and the Forgotten Secrets of Mr Okyto, Phyllis Wong and the Return of the Conjuror, Phyllis Wong and the Waking of the Wizard and Phyllis Wong and the Girl who Danced with Lightning have appeared to widespread acclaim and much enjoyment. The sixth Phyllis Wong mystery will be published in 2018.

All of the Cairo Jim chronicles are now being e-published by 9 Diamonds Press, available through Amazon's Kindle platform. A brand new Cairo Jim story will appear in 2018.

When he is not writing stories of magic, mystery and adventure, Geoffrey appears at Phyllis Wong author shows with his wife, world-renowned magician Sue-Anne Webster. Together they bring the magic of story and the story of magic to life before their audiences' very eyes!

Author Website | Series Website | 9 Diamonds Press | Facebook | YouTube