Theatre Illuminata, book 2 : Perchance to DreamLisa Mantchev2010

Act Two, Scene One

Growing up in the enchanted Thèâtre Illuminata, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith learned everything about every play ever written. She knew the players and their parts, but she didn't know that she, too, had magic. Now, she is the Mistress of Revels, the Teller of Tales. She is ready for the outside world.

Enter BERTIE AND COMPANY

And it is nothing like the one she has come to expect. Bertie can make things happen by writing them, but outside the protective walls of the Thèâtre, they don't go as planned. And her magic cannot help her make a decision between -

Nate: Her suave and swashbuckling pirate. Is now in mortal peril.

Ariel: A brooding, yet seductive, air spirit. Loves Bertie enough to die for her.

When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Witch, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre's locomotive caravan, using Bertie's word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet a bird that might be Bertie's father - and the maker of the magical Scrimshaw. Bertie's dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it's Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Witch's lair?

Once again, LISA MANTCHEV has spun a tale like no other - full of romance, magic, adventure, and fairies, too - that readers won't want to put down, even after the curtain has closed.