Sword Play

by Linda Joy Singleton

  “Yeah, and they fit perfectly,” I added with a sigh. “Now they’re ruined.”

  “Bad luck is following you around. All those rumors at school about your having freaky powers that caused that football player’s car to crash and then getting expelled. Of course I knew it wasn’t true, but everything happens for a reason, and it seemed like fate was trying to tell you something.”

  There was an odd note in her tone, and I stiffened. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know … ”

  “What are you trying hard not to say?”

  “Well … maybe you shouldn’t have moved back.” She shrugged. “I mean, I think it’s great you’re here and I’d love to have you in Foils again. But is it worth it if bad things happen? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

  “I hope so.” Pushing her bangs from her solemn eyes, she frowned at my leg. “Be careful and watch your back.” Turning abruptly, she left the room.

  Following her, I watched her cross the floor to join the new girl Annika. They whispered intently, Annika glancing over at me.

  I turned away so I wouldn’t be caught staring, and started for the beginner’s area. Class was taking a break, and I noticed Kevin sitting by himself in a folding chair. His shoulders drooped unhappily as he stared down at the floor. I was about to go over and talk to him, when Mr. Landreth called me into his office.

  “Sabine,” he said in a grave tone. His brows creased as he stared at the saber in his hands. “I can’t begin to express how terribly sorry I am about this. I take full responsibility.”

  “I’m okay. Really,” I assured.

  “See this mark?”Turning the saber over, he pointed to an X–slash of red paint on the hilt. “This saber was put away in a cabinet with other unsafe equipment. I never would have offered it to students.”

  “How did Kevin get it?”

  “Beats me. When I asked him, he said it wasn’t his usual saber. He seemed to think someone took his while he was on break, but it’s more likely he grabbed the wrong one by mistake.” He gave a grim shake of his head. “Only how did this saber get out of the cabinet?”

  “Someone must have taken it by mistake.”

  “Mistakes aren’t acceptable. I’ll ask around and get to the bottom of this,” Mr. Landreth decided with a creased brow. Then he told me to go on home for the night, promising to pay me for the full time. I argued that I could stay until class ended, but he said he wanted to insure I made it home safely.

  “Safely?” I rolled my eyes. “It’s just a cut. No big deal.”

  “It’s a big deal to me. Humor me and allow your friends to escort you home.”

  “Friends?” For a confused moment I thought of Penny-Love, Josh, Thorn, and Dominic. But they were as far away as a past life.

  Mr. Landreth opened the door, ushering Vin and Alphonso inside. They had suited down into their regular clothes; Vin in a striped silky shirt over a blue tee with black denim jeans and Alphonso in baggy jeans with a black T-shirt boasting a fiery dragon design.

  “Must you work so hard to be the center of attention?” Vin half-joked, wagging his finger at me.

  “This wasn’t my idea.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Not really. And it’s not bleeding anymore, so you guys don’t have to baby-sit me. Go back to fencing.”

  “We’ve practiced enough,” Vin said. “We’ll be back every night this week getting ready for Saturday’s gig at the Renaissance Fair. Gonna come watch us?”

  “Can’t. I’ve already made some plans with my boyfriend.” I was glad to have an honest reason to refuse. Watching Foils instead of performing with them would feel weird.

  Alphonso shifted in his giant-sized sneakers. “Br—bring him.”

  “Maybe some other time,” I said evasively. No way did I want Josh around my old friends.

  Vin swooped down and picked up my equipment bag. “Let’s roll.”

  “I can carry my own bag. Do my arms look broken? Would you stop fussing over me already.”

  “Not a chance,” Vin joked. “I’ve missed giving you a bad time.”

  I should have been annoyed, but Vin’s heart was in the right place. And Alphonso’s kindness came through in his actions rather than words. I wouldn’t admit it to them, but their concern meant a lot to me. It was almost like the six months apart had never happened and I was still part of the group.

  “Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Vin said in his typical bossy-Vin attitude. “I’ll drive you in your car and Alphonso will follow in his car and pick me up after I make sure you’re okay.”

  “I am okay, how many times do I have to tell you? I can drive myself home.”

  “I know, but we promised Mr. L,” Vin insisted. “Now no arguments.”

  Alphonso’s ’80s Toyota Corolla was parked beside my mother’s car. I glanced through the grimy windows and saw what looked like a fast-food disaster. Soda cans, candy wrappers, food containers, and papers were scattered everywhere. He had to push aside some graphic novels and a Dungeons and Dragons handbook to sit down in the front seat.

  Vin followed me to my car and seemed to think he was going to drive until I set him straight. Once he was fastened in the passenger seat, I hit the gas and cranked up my radio.

  A short while later I pulled into the driveway and thanked the guys for watching out for me. Then I ducked through the garage entrance, wanting to avoid any awkward questions about my bandaged leg and bloody pants. I heard the TV on in the living room and the murmur of voices as I headed upstairs. Climbing the stairs loosened my bandage and I felt the wet trickle of blood dripping down.

  In the bathroom, I sorted through the medicine cabinet for antiseptic, cringing at the stinging pain as I put on a new bandage.

  The jagged cut wasn’t deep, but was swollen and red. Even after it healed, it would probably leave a scar. How had a damaged saber ended up with the rental equipment anyway? According to Kevin someone had switched his saber. But why would anyone do that? There was no way of being sure who Kevin would pair off with since we randomly changed partners.

  Maybe not so random tonight, I realized with a sickening feeling.

  Kevin had shouted that he wanted me for his next partner. Then he’d set down his equipment and went on break. No one was watching his saber and anyone could have picked it up.

  I didn’t like where these thoughts were headed, but facts added up to an ugly suspicion.

  Had my accident been accidental?

  Or a deliberate attempt to hurt me?

  I dreamed about swords and faceless fencers.

  A menacing figure in a helmet, his or her face hidden, juggled sabers, tossing them higher and higher into the air, until they started spinning by themselves. A cyclone of swords swirled around me, their tips sharpening with each twirl like a pencil spinning in a pencil sharpener. They grew large and blended into one giant sword, its tip dripping with blood, and with evil eyes glaring from the silvery hilt. The eyes targeted me and the giant blade zoomed closer and closer.

  Gasping for air, I sat up in bed, relieved to be in one piece and safe underneath warm blankets. For a moment the dream lingered, and I felt vulnerable, peering around nervously. My dream wasn’t a premonition, but rather a warning.

  Someone was out to get me.

  I hugged my knees to my chest under my covers and stared around my room as if enemies lurked in shadowed corners. My sun-shaped night-light gave my room soft yellow illumination, but my thoughts drifted in darkness.

  It was hard to believe someone there last night had maliciously targeted me. Maybe it wasn’t personal, but a dumb prank. Yeah, that made more sense. Although who could be dumb enough to switch a safe saber with a sharp one? It could have resulted in serious injury. I was just glad Kevin hadn’t stabbed himself. He may be an annoying pain-in-the-butt, but I didn’t want to see him hurt.

  So back to the big question: Who switched the sabers? It had to have been some
one who could handle the equipment without attracting attention; someone who knew where Mr. Landreth kept defective equipment; and someone with a grudge against me.

  A name popped into my mind, but I pushed it away.

  Impossible.

  But who else?

  Brianne clearly didn’t want me around and acted like she hated me. Maybe she hoped to scare me away. Only why do something so risky instead of just asking me to leave? Nothing made sense. Brianne had her faults; she could be impulsive and irresponsible, but she’d never been cruel. And once upon our friendship, I would have trusted her with my life.

  Now all trust was gone.

  Still it couldn’t be Brianne. So I ran through a mental list of everyone at the fencing center last night, starting with the most unlikely candidate—Mr. Landreth. To be impartial, he did have ample opportunity. The damaged saber was kept in his office, so it would be easy for him to make the switch. But the last thing he’d want would be an injury during his class. If someone had been seriously hurt he could have had to shut down. So he was definitely not a suspect.

  What about his fencing students? I’d never met any of them before this class and only knew their first names. So there was no motive—unless there was an unknown connection that made one of them my enemy. The students had plenty of opportunity to switch sabers. But they had no business going into Mr. Landreth’s office, so that would be risky. Besides, how would a new student know about old equipment stowed away in a cabinet?

  That left the Foils: old friends, new members—and Brianne.

  Why did my thoughts keep circling back to her?

  Well, I refused to suspect her. Years of friendship and trust might not matter to her, but they did to me. Screw the unanswered questions. As far as I was concerned, my accident was just that.

  No one was to blame.

  I glanced out the window at the gray, dreary morning. I couldn’t decide whether it was too early to get up or too late to go back to sleep. Damp autumn chilled the air, making the idea of crawling back under my covers all the more tempting.

  Yawning, I leaned my head against my pillow, then jumped with a start at a loud THUMP from the next room.

  Had Amy fallen out of her bed?

  Tossing off my blankets, I grabbed a long flannel robe and rushed to Amy’s room.

  I didn’t waste time with polite knocking, especially when I heard a muffled groan. Yanking open the door, I saw two skinny legs poking up from underneath the bed.

  “Amy? What are you doing?”

  “Ouch!” My sister wiggled out on her stomach, then swiveled around to look up at me, rubbing her head.

  “You’re supposed to sleep in your bed, not under it,” I said, kneeling beside her on the carpet.

  “I wasn’t sleeping, I was looking.” She pulled on her green T-shirt nightie and pushed her tangled dark brown hair from her face. “You made me hit my head.”

  “Excuse me for being worried when I hear weird noises coming from here. What were you doing under the bed?”

  “I told you—looking.” She pushed herself up to her feet. “For my book.”

  “Only one book?” I gestured around to the crowded shelves overflowing books.

  “My science book. I fell asleep reading and it slipped behind my bed.”

  “I’ll help you find it,” I offered. Then we both got on each side of the queen-sized bed and shoved it away from the wall. She reached down easily and plucked up the heavy textbook.

  “Thanks,” she said, sounding less grumpy now.

  “No problem.” I sat on a chair and asked her about last night. “How’d it go at Leanna’s house? Learn anything?”

  “Boy, did I!” She leaned forward on the edge of her bed. “I solved everything.”

  “Everything, huh?” I didn’t quite believe this, but she had my curiosity now.

  “Wait till you hear.” Her blue eyes sparkled as she launched into her story.

  “Ashley was wrong about the house being messy or smelling bad. It’s just a normal house, really big, with fancy artwork and lots of fake flowers. While the adults talked, Ashley and Leanna whispered and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. So I asked Leanna if we could go to her room so I could tutor her. But she weirded out and said no one was allowed in her room.”

  “Did she say why?”

  My sister shook her head. “Her mom acted funny, too, the way grown-ups do when they don’t want to answer questions. She told us to study in the game room. Only Leanna didn’t want to study, and she and Ashley played computer games. They were really into the newest Sim City and forgot about me. So I said I was going to the bathroom, but really I snooped around.”

  “Good job, Sherlock.” I high-fived her. “What did you find?”

  “Leanna’s room. She had this cutesy plaque with her name on the door, so I knew I had the right place. It wasn’t even locked. When I looked inside, I found her secret.”

  “What?” I asked eagerly.

  “Her room is all about her brother. The walls are covered with pictures, letters, birthday cards and even his report cards—mostly C’s if you want to know. There’s this round table, too, in the center with candles around Kip’s framed photo.”

  “A shrine?”

  “Yeah, that’s what you call it.”

  “So that’s why her mother said she was suffering,” I said with a sympathetic shake of my head. “She can’t get over Kip’s death.”

  “It’s more than that—she’s obsessed. I read one of the letters and it was from Leanna to Kip. Dated after he died. She wrote the same line over and over, ‘I’m sorry I was bad.’ But Leanna never does anything bad. All the teachers love her and she’s super good at everything.”

  “Maybe she’s trying hard to be good because she feels guilty,” I said with sudden insight. It was one of those moments where I had a feeling Opal was putting thoughts into my head. Kip must have gotten mad at Leanna and told her she was “bad.” Then he died before they could work things out and her last memory of him was anger. So she compensated by being Miss Perfect.

  “I told you Leanna was the right girl and now I proved it,” Amy said, folding her arms across her chest.

  “She needs professional counseling. I don’t know how to help her.”

  “But I do.”

  I groaned. “I don’t want to hear this.”

  “It’ll be really cool. But you’ll need to get some things while I’m at school.”

  I was tempted to point out that I was technically in school too, even if I didn’t leave the house. Still, I was curious. “What things?”

  “Snakeroot, chicory, dandelion, seven orange candles, and a black bowl.”

  “What for?”

  “A forgiveness ceremony.”

  “Huh? I never heard of that.”

  “You should read more. I found it in this book called Mysteries of Ancient Herbs that I bought to give to Nona. I was skimming it when I got my idea.”

  “What idea?” I asked uneasily.

  “Elementary, my dear sister.” She flashed a mischievous grin. “Leanna already thinks you’re a witch. So you’re gonna hex her—with black magic.”

  My little sister was crazy.

  Certifiably, irrevocably, absolutely crazy.

  I knew better than to mess with dark powers. Nona and most of her friends believed in magic spells and potions, and took it very seriously. Nona warned never to make light of anyone else’s beliefs because believing creates truth. She taught me to invoke white light and ask for a protection against dark spirits when connecting with the other side. I hadn’t experienced dark entities until a few weeks ago when I’d brought home an antique witch ball. I’d survived a scary encounter with a deranged ghost and was lucky to be alive.

  But I couldn’t always count on being lucky.

  Amy was grinning like she was buckling up for a super thrilling carnival ride. “It’ll be fun!” she exclaimed.

  “Be serious, Amy. Leanna will never fall for this.”
>
  “Yes, she will. When she found out I’d seen her room, she was mad at first but then we got to talking and she told me about this argument she had with Kip before he died. She borrowed his football jersey and spilled a soda on it, and he blew up and yelled that she was a bad girl and he’d never forgive her.”

  “Then he died,” I finished sadly. “No wonder Leanna is messed up.”

  “You can help with a forgiveness spell.”

  “There is no such thing. Besides, isn’t she afraid of me?”

  “Yes—that’s why this will work. She really believes you can hex people.”

  “And why would I want to encourage that delusional thinking?”

  “Because it’s a good plan.”

  “Where am I supposed to get snakeroot and chicory?”

  “We’re not really casting a spell. Any weeds or leaves will fool Leanna.”

  There were a million arguments against this, but I’d already hurt Amy’s feelings once by not taking her seriously and didn’t want to do it again. So I said maybe. Somehow this translated to yes. And she hugged me so hard that she bumped against my injured leg and I had to grit my teeth so she wouldn’t know I was hurt.

  After breakfast, I sat down at my computer and did a search on chicory and snakeroot. I checked herbal stores and located one only a few blocks away. I also read my email and found nine messages from Penny-Love, one from Jill, a raunchy joke from Kaitlyn, and Thorn passed on a chain letter about an anti-environmental senator.

  As I was reading Penny-Love’s third email (another chatty news flash about the wonders of Jacques), my computer made a buzzing sound then flickered on and off.

  I swore and muttered, “Power surge.” Then I powered down as a precaution, and waited for the screen to go dark.

  Only it continued to glow, an eerie crimson-gold.

  I gripped the edge of my chair and leaned forward, my heart pumping fast. This wasn’t like any power surge I’d ever seen. The buzzing grew louder and the screen flamed with heat like a blazing sunset. Black lines slashed across the golden screen, racing and curving, connecting to form a foggy, yet eerily familiar face.

  Turn away, I told myself. Run out of the room.

  But I sat, mesmerized by this computer freak show. Dark brows over skull-like eyes and a bony nose with thin lips stretched to whisper, “Help her.”