PARENTAL PERSUASION
Brownie took off, and Trevor dug his fingers into the thick fur as they rushed over the open field. When they reached the yard, Trevor rolled off and lay in the grass. He felt tingling all over, and when he sat up he was back to normal size.
As he entered the house, the door banged shut.
“Trevor!” his father said. “Where have you been? Do you know how late it is?”
His mother cried out and rushed over. She pulled him into a tight hug. “Do you know how worried we were?” her voice was muffled against his shoulder and her fingers dug into his back. Then her grip relaxed and she pulled back. “It’s okay. He was just out looking at stars, weren’t you dear?”
“What are you talking about?” his father said. He gripped Trevor’s shoulder and turned him around. A smile spread over his face and his fingers relaxed their grip. “Stars, huh?” He patted him on the shoulder. “How many constellations were you able to pick out?”
Trevor stared. What was wrong with them? “Constellations?”
“Now dear,” his mother said. “He hasn’t eaten yet. Come into the kitchen, Trevor. I’ve been keeping your dinner hot for you. You have to keep your strength up to look at stars.”
His father trailed behind them. “The rings of Saturn are fascinating. You’ll be able to see them through our telescope. We’ll also check out the moons of Jupiter. And did you know that Venus has phases just like the moon?”
Trevor didn’t notice what he was eating. His father chatted on happily about astronomy while his mother fussed and kept urging him to eat more. He was glad when he was finally able to slip off to his room.
He closed his bedroom door and took off his jacket. Silver and gold sparkles drifted off the back and hung in the air before settling to the floor. He jumped back out of the way and stared at the sparkles. What was it the skinny sprite had called it? Thought dust, that was it. Something about influencing thoughts.
He felt a wave of relief. That explained his parents’ reaction. Electrum must have put the dust on his jacket when he helped him get on Brownie’s back.
The pookah was clever, but Trevor wasn’t sure he trusted him. The whole idea of sneaking into Mrs. Hayworth’s garden was scary. She was already suspicious of him and didn’t like Brownie. He didn’t want to give her any reason to complain.
Too tired to try to figure it out, he climbed into bed and pulled the covers up around his ears. The blankets made a snug cave, shutting out the night and the magic in the woods. He stretched out his toes until they touched the end of the bed. Still normal size he thought with satisfaction. He quickly fell asleep, but dreamed about yellow cats and small, vicious dogs.
A Sprinkling of Thought Dust Page 25