“I should have known you were all talk,” she countered, her voice slightly shaking. “You probably don’t know how to grant a wish, anyway.”
“Of course I do.”
“Yeah, right,” she said. Gabi was taking a move straight from my playbook. Reverse psychology. He couldn’t stand it when anyone doubted his abilities. “If you knew how, you would do it, instead of just talking about it.”
“Fine,” he said. “Make your stupid wish. What do you want?”
“First, tell me how this whole thing works again.”
Tears were welling up in my eyes. Gabi was trying to stall Lou to give me a few extra minutes. If he figured out what she was up to, it’d be seriously dangerous for her. Worse than signing over her soul. Lou’d be out to get her.
I watched Gabi scrutinize the contract Lou handed her. There was only so long she could keep the devil waiting. I needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere I couldn’t be affected by Lou’s spell. I closed my eyes and focused. Take me somewhere safe. Where I won’t be in danger. Where I can still help!
When I opened my eyes I was standing outside the backstage area where Lance and his mother were.
No!!!! What was I doing there? I needed to be somewhere safe, not the other side of the mall. And definitely not anywhere near Harmony Gold. The woman wanted nothing to do with me, and after the way she treated me, I wanted nothing to do with her, either. She wasn’t going to help. It was just a waste of time. Time that I didn’t have. Because while Gabi could talk more than anyone I knew, even she couldn’t keep the devil distracted forever.
I jogged toward the exit of the mall. Take me somewhere safe, take me somewhere safe, take me somewhere safe, I commanded my powers. The next thing I knew I was being dragged back to the backstage door. It was like a magnet pulling me. I tried to fight it, but the force was too much.
“I said somewhere safe!” I took a few steps forward, but my body was thrust back against the door.
I tried again, but the same thing happened. My body kept smacking the entrance.
The thuds drew the attention of one of the guards. “Get away from there,” he yelled.
Like I wasn’t trying?!? Getting whacked against a piece of plywood was not exactly fun. I was sure to have a bunch of black-and-blues.
Somewhere safe, somewhere safe, somewhere safe! I kept thinking. But it didn’t change my surroundings. I was still stuck there. Which wasn’t only irritating me, but the guard, too.
He marched right over to me and tried to pull me away. Only he couldn’t. The magnetic force was too strong. But that didn’t stop him from trying. He yanked at my arms. I moved forward a few inches just to be whipped right back.
I felt like a yo-yo or a boomerang because no matter where I tried to go, I went ricocheting back to where I started from.
“How are you doing this?” he asked me as he continued to tug.
“I don’t know.” It was the truth. I wanted to get away from there as much as he did.
“Somewhere safe, somewhere safe,” I said, not even caring that the guard heard. He was already completely confused. “Somewhere where Lou’s spell won’t affect me.” But no matter how many times I said it, I wasn’t budging.
The guard kept pulling at me with all his might. I actually got about ten feet away from the door. For three whole seconds. It was as if there were a magnetic pull between me (and now the guard) and the door.
The guard rubbed his head. He looked scared. “I don’t know what you’re up to or how you’re pulling this off,” he mumbled. “But I’m out of here.” Then he just left me.
“Wait,” I yelled after him. “You’re supposed to be security. You need to help me.” He didn’t stop. I tried to follow him, but I just got sucked backward.
“Come on, powers,” I muttered. “I need to be somewhere safe.”
Not hanging outside of somewhere safe. Harmony Gold’s protection shield would have been just the ticket. But, as we all know, it was created especially to keep me away. So there was no way I could get past the doors. I needed to find another safe haven. I turned my body around and tried to push myself away from the door. Bad move! I ended up getting thrust forward—headfirst.
I let out a huge grunt and tried again. Same result. I pounded at the door. “Stupid, stupid, stupid powers.” But I wasn’t about to give up. If I couldn’t move forward and I couldn’t move backward, I’d try moving to the side. With my body smashed against the wall, I shimmied to the right. I made it all the way to the corner, but the second I tried to step away from the wall, I was thrown back.
“Noooooooooooooo!”
But my scream was met by laughter. Lots of it. Harmony Gold was practically convulsing with giggles.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to peel myself away once again. The sight just made her laugh harder.
“I heard all the commotion and popped out to see what was going on.” By popped she must have meant teleported. Because she definitely didn’t use the door. That, I would have seen.
“What is going on,” I said, “is that I’m trying to get somewhere safe before Lou makes me and everyone else in the world worship him.” I leaped forward, but mid-jump, I was pulled back. Now not only was I stuck to the door, but I was stuck to the door a foot off the ground. “Just great,” I said, trying to kick my way down.
Harmony didn’t even try to stifle her guffaws. “I haven’t laughed this hard in ages.”
“Glad I could help,” I said, with as much sarcasm as I could. “Not that you would know anything about helping!” I tried to move again, but I was stuck like glue.
“All right, Angel,” she said, taking my hand. “You win.” The next thing I knew we were in the backstage area. She had teleported me!
“You wore me down,” she said with a smile. “And the sight of you fighting with your powers . . .” She laughed again. “Well, let’s just say I’d be a discredit to my angel race if I had ignored you.”
Understatement.
“Wh-what is going on here?” Lance asked. I hadn’t seen him standing there. Neither had his mom.
“I thought I told you to stay in the office!” she told him.
He was looking at us like we had appeared out of thin air—which we basically had. “This is crazy. How did you guys pop in here? And what is this about powers?” He rubbed his temples.
I had forgotten he didn’t know the truth about himself. And Harmony had risked her secret for me. The least I could do was try and cover for her. “It was a magic trick. Pretty awesome, huh? I’d tell you how I did it, but we magicians take an oath. I’d get beheaded or something.”
Harmony shook her head. “It’s okay, Angel. There’s no keeping the truth from him now. He’s seen and heard too much today. It’s time for him to know.”
“Know what?” Lance asked.
“I’ll explain it all in a minute,” Harmony said to her son. “Let me just talk to her for a second. Angel and I have some unfinished business.”
“But—,” he objected.
“Trust me,” she said.
I didn’t blame him for wanting to know what was going on. I would have been demanding an answer if I were him. Lance didn’t say anything, he also didn’t move. He wanted to hear what his mom had to tell me. And she didn’t make him leave.
“I guess maybe you don’t have to be an adult to be ready for powers,” she said. “Even though yours have obviously been acting up on you—you have been trying to take responsibility,” she said. “And I respect that. I was trying to bind Lance’s powers. To keep him a regular human being for as long as possible. But I may have been wrong. You showed me that.”
“Have you all lost your minds?” Lance asked.
His mother reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. “No, you’ll understand everything soon.” Lance looked like he was on a practical-joke show. Or like he thought his mom had accidentally sniffed some paint fumes.
“I promise,” she said, “it will all make sense.”
Then she turned her attention back to me. “Now you have to get back out there. Clean up the mess you made.”
“Don’t make me go. You finally admitted I needed help. So help me. I can’t go back out there. Lou’s using a spell to make everyone adore him.”
“I sensed that,” Harmony said. “He sent the power across the globe. I can feel a surge like that. But it’s over now. You can walk out there—you won’t be affected.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Lance asked. He looked like he needed a seat. Or maybe even a padded room.
“Angel,” Harmony said. “It’s time for you to go. I need to talk to my son.”
“But what am I supposed to do? I tried to stop Lou, but I couldn’t. I don’t know how to fix this.”
“Yes, you do,” she said. “The way you got into this mess is the way you’ll get out.”
She didn’t say anything else. And I didn’t have a chance to. Before I could open my mouth, Harmony blinked her eyes, and I was back outside.
chapter 33
What was with that message? Talk about vague. I could get out of this mess the same way I got into it—what was that supposed to mean?
Was she telling me I needed to help Gabi? It had all started when I tried to get Lance to like her. But I had a feeling Harmony wouldn’t be encouraging me to try to fix her son up. Maybe I just needed to get Gabi’s soul back. But Harmony didn’t even know that Gabi’s soul was traded. I guess it was nice that she—and Gabi—believed I could fix everything, but I was having serious doubts. I was more clueless than ever.
I made my way back to Lou. There was a lot of noise coming from that direction. But the sound was nothing compared to the sight.
Lou had erected two huge chairs that he and my mother were perched on. It put them about ten feet higher than the crowd. My parents looked like the king and queen of the mall sitting there on their thrones. Especially since people were shouting about how they’d do anything for Lou and waving pieces of paper at him.
I nudged my way to Gabi and Cole. They didn’t even notice me. Not until I grabbed the piece of paper from Cole’s hand.
“Hey, I need that,” he said. “I’m supposed to sign it and give it back.”
“Do you even know who it’s for? Who’s asking you to do this?”
Cole looked at me like I had just asked him if he knew who Mara’s Daughters were. “Yeah, only the greatest guy in the whole world. I hope he lets me be a part of his group. He’s so cool. I want to work for him.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Angel,” Gabi interrupted. “It’s okay. I felt just like you, but I came to my senses. Lou is amazing. I wish he was my dad.” Gabi seemed to know all about Lou. All except that he was evil.
“Dad?” Cole asked. “He’s practically our age.”
“Umm, yeah, right,” Gabi sputtered.
I didn’t need to hear them talk about Lou anymore. Or sing his praises. It was too much. I tore up Cole’s contract.
“Whatcha do that for?” He immediately knelt down on the ground and tried to collect all of the tiny pieces.
“You’ll thank me later.”
He didn’t even answer me, which was probably for the best. Cole did not look pleased at all. If he had opened his mouth, it probably would have been to dump me for ripping up his precious piece of paper.
I elbowed my way to the front of the crowd. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I hoped something would come to me.
“Lou,” I yelled out.
“You’re back,” he said. “Come to tell me how much you adore me?”
“Not quite,” I said. “Your little spell didn’t work on me. I’m here to stop you.”
“You’re becoming quite the little pest.” With a wave of his arm, Lou sent his admirers away from him. They crashed backward against the wall. But instead of being spooked, they were grateful. Grateful that the man they adored had touched them with his powers. He then jumped off his chair and stood right in front of me. He glared down at me, making me feel super-short. But I stared right back up at him.
“You know the best way to handle pests?” he asked me. “You squash them.”
“And you know the best way to handle a power-obsessed devil?” I countered, channeling the fear and anger I felt into confidence. “You make everyone revolt against him.”
“How about we start with her?” I said, pointing to my mom, who was staring at Lou like he was chocolate chip French toast with caramel syrup.
Stand up to Lou, don’t do what he says, run from him and his evil ideas!
I concentrated on those thoughts until I saw Mom leap down from her chair.
Then she started sprinting. She darted down the hall, then back up, like she was doing laps. I hadn’t meant to make her literally run! Was I ever going to get this power thing down?
Lou snapped his fingers and Mom was by his side.
“Maggie,” he said.
But as he spoke, she covered her ears and started running again. It wasn’t exactly what I was going for, but it worked. Mom wanted to get far away from Lou. So much so, that she ran to the end of the hall, rounded the corner, and took off out of sight.
I thought Lou would use his powers to stop her. To bring her back again.
But he didn’t. He turned his focus to me. “You think you’re clever? Well, you’re not. I don’t like being messed with. And I’m going to make you pay.”
chapter 34
“Lou, calm down,” I said. He meant business. His eyebrows furrowed. And his hands clenched into fists. Electric currents began to appear above them and took the form of energy balls. They hissed and sizzled and completely freaked me out.
“Pretty,” someone in the crowd said. They didn’t get it. He wasn’t putting on a show. He was going to put a stop to me and my plan to save their souls.
“I warned you not to get in my way.” Every step Lou took toward me, I took one back until I was up against the wall.
“Don’t, Lou. We’re related, remember? And I’m a lot more fun when I’m not barbecued.”
The energy ball got bigger. My words weren’t helping.
“You’d really do this?” I asked. “Here? In front of everyone?”
Lou shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t care. Not about what anyone saw or what happened to his very own daughter. “I’m not going to cook you, I’m going to move you. Somewhere far, far away.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know,” he said, studying the balls. “Maybe the desert, or an igloo in the middle of Alaska, or maybe I’ll just make you the star of my very own fish tank.”
He was really going to do it. He was really going to send me away. My breathing got extra fast. I couldn’t help it. My whole body was heaving. I was terrified. Instead of feeling sorry for me, Lou laughed. “Don’t feel so powerful now, do you?”
He tossed an energy ball higher in the air and caught it. It didn’t hurt him, but I was pretty positive I wouldn’t be so lucky. He tossed it up again. Then he sent it toward me, just inches above my head. It hit a lighting fixture. The thing disappeared. Was I next?!
I screamed, which was exactly the reaction Lou wanted. He laughed even harder. “Next one hits you.”
There was nowhere to run. That teleporting trick sure would have come in handy. But it wasn’t working. I couldn’t make myself leave. I was stuck. About to be destroyed by my very own father. How could he do this? How could he not remember me? He said he loved me.
And then it hit me.
Love!
That’s what Harmony was talking about when she told me to get out of this mess the same way I got in. Love was the answer. It got me into this mess, and it was going to get me out.
I could bet my soul on it.
chapter 35
“Say good-bye, Angel,” Lou said, sending the energy ball into the air.
“Wait,” I said. “If you get rid of me, you can’t get my soul. I never signed a waiver or made a deal or anything. Give me one wish,
and then you can do what you want.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I want a final wish,” I told him. “I deserve it.”
Lou put the energy ball out. He rubbed his chin and didn’t speak for a minute. “I won’t allow a wish that will affect me. I’ll deny it.”
“Fine,” I said.
“And you can’t wish yourself out of this mess, either.”
“All right.” I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. Lou wasn’t stupid. He was just evil. “You can have final wish approval.”
“I still don’t get why you would want to sign your soul over to me. What’s really going on?” He didn’t trust me.
“I messed up some things and I want to fix my mistakes while I still can.”
Lou snorted. “Trying to be all noble, are we, before you’re banished from life as you know it?”
I wasn’t trying to be noble at all. I was fighting for my life.
“What’s the wish?” he asked.
“I used my powers a lot today, like when I made Mo—Maggie run away from you. I feel really badly about that. I know how much she liked you.” I hoped Lou’s feelings for my mom would cloud his judgment—make him grant my wish without realizing what I was really up to. “Look.” I pointed as I saw her run past us again. Mom was still doing laps around the mall. “I can’t leave her like that. Running for eternity. I want to undo it all. Any magic I used today, I want it gone. My soul for everything going back to the way it was before. Okay? Deal?”
He didn’t say anything. Then a smirk crossed his face. “Deal.” Lou snapped his fingers and a piece of paper and a red pen appeared in his hand. “Sign here.”
This was where faith came in. Faith that old Lou meant it when he said he loved me. Because I was about to sign over my soul to him. If he meant it, I’d get my soul back when this was all over. If not, there wouldn’t be anything I could do. My destiny was in Hades.
chapter 36
As I crossed the last T in Garrett, a plume of smoke appeared and engulfed my parents. Right in front of my eyes, I watched them turn from teens to adults in a matter of seconds. Their faces thinned out and little creases formed. The gray in their hair returned and that cocky, defiant stance Mom had was replaced by a more rigid, in-control one. When it was all done, they looked old.
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