The Cursed Cloak of the Wretched Wraith #3 (The Horrible Bag Series)

The Cursed Cloak of the Wretched Wraith #3 (The Horrible Bag Series)

From the creator of My Life as a Teenage Robot comes the epic finale to the middle-grade horror series about a horrible bag, the spine-chilling world hidden within it, and a terrifying adventure into the world of GrahBhag. Perfect for fans of Coraline , the Spiderwick Chronicles, and Small Spaces . They entered the horrible bag… They survived the twisted tower… But can they escape the cursed cloak? Zenith Maelstrom is running out of time. It’s only been a month on Earth since he was ejected from the macabre world of GrahBhag, with his sister Apogee and best friend Kevin still trapped inside, but in GrahBhag, years are passing. And with the horrible bag out of reach, Zenith has no way to get back to save them. That is, until a new portal opens up and provides him passage back to GrahBhag. Once there, he learns that things are more dire than he thought, as the literal fabric of the terrifying world has begun to rip at the seams. If Zenith has any chance to save his sister—and maybe even GrahBhag in the process—he’ll have to dive deeper into the secrets of this terrible world than he ever has before. For the Wraith is haunting, and time is not on his side… With a combination of dry, absurdist humor and no-holds-barred horror, Rob Renzetti has crafted a delightfully imaginative fantasy world that will hook readers as surely as it will send chills down their spines. "The heart of the story is Renzetti’s immersive world, populated by otherworldly characters like the quippy Schrödinger’s Cat and Zenith’s likable, trusty, and quirky gargoyle sidekick, Kreeble. What stands out most among the fantastical elements is the fierce love between Zenith and Apogee and their deep appreciation for the many creatures in GrahBhag… A rewarding ending to an imaginative, wholly original series."— Kirkus Reviews Rob Renzetti is a veteran of TV animation whose work on Cartoon Network’s Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends earned him an Emmy. He created the Nickelodeon show My Life as a Teenage Robot , acted as the supervising producer for Disney’s Gravity Falls , and served as executive producer on the first two seasons of Disney’s Big City Greens , among other projects. Recently, he has published four books for Disney Publishing, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Gravity Falls: Journal 3 and Onward: Quests of Yore . Pursuit The bag screamed. When he looked down at the bag in his arms, he could have sworn that it screamed. He dropped it and ran faster up the slope on the edge of Whichway Woods. His pursuers gained on him. Long-­legged Raggedy Albert and well-­conditioned Musclehead led the pack. But Loose Lips, Stickyfingers, and the rest of the rebels were close behind. Zenith Maelstrom trained his eyes on the hill ahead, lest he slip on the dark green moss. But something darker appeared—­the shadow of a gigantic raven. Zenith looked up as Hugh dove at him and grazed his head with the tip of one powerful wing. As the bird soared away, giggles escaped from the small child perched upon his wide neck. His sister, Apogee, laughing at the plight of her big brother. Zenith reached the top of the hill and saw the three foul mouths cackling at him. In front of these portals sat the horrible bag. Impossible. He’d dropped it halfway down the hill. A change of color, an obscene blush, rippled across its haphazardly stitched surface. The bag’s mouth opened wide into a grin, and a terrible thing arose from within. A blood-­red cloak, covered in cryptic symbols. The phantom’s cowl was drawn tightly around one of Four Eyes’s eyeballs, now a milky gray, corrupted by the spectral presence floating before him. The awful, unfathomable Wraith. Observation "Interesting,” Dr. Venneller said as he slid his eyeglasses back up his nose and jotted in his notebook. “In prior dreams, this ‘horrible bag’ is the gateway to the world of monsters. But now the bag itself has made an appearance in—­” He flipped back to the previous page. “GrahBhag.” Zenith slumped in his chair, cracks in the leather irritating his neck. “Yeah, well, it is a dream.” The psychologist looked up. “I wouldn’t be so dismissive. Understanding these dreams could be the key to unlocking your memory and finding your sister.” Zenith nodded his head but allowed his mind to wander as Venneller launched into his usual lecture about repressed memories. There was no reason to listen. Zenith’s memories weren’t repressed. He recalled every painful moment of his two adventures in GrahBhag, although he’d fabricated the chase he’d related today. He’d improvised the story to get through the “recount your latest dream” portion of his twice-weekly therapy session as quickly as possible. What a change from a month ago, when Venneller had discovered the journal, containing the actual details of Zenith’s time in GrahBhag, protruding from his backpack. Zenith was horrified when the therapist insisted he read it aloud, but Venneller assumed Zenith was recounting a d