His mom let out a confused laugh. “Well, of course you haven’t slept on it before. You just got here!”
“Erm.” His dad clearly didn’t want to contradict her, but as far as he was concerned, this was his house, and she was a guest here. But instead of barking something about it, as Marcus would have expected, he simply smiled and said, “Where’s Ann-Marie?”
“She said she was going to the gym.”
“Oh, that’s right.” He thought for a second, as if trying to remember something. “How do you know her again?”
“She’s my daughter.”
“That can’t be right,” his dad said, frowning.
“And how do you know my son Marcus?” his mom asked.
“He’s my son. Wait, did you just say…”
The two of them stared at each other in confusion for a second and then laughed and started talking about the weather, their conversation from a second ago completely forgotten thanks to the weird spell they were under.
“See? They’re getting along,” Connie said. “Way better than they were a couple of days ago.”
Marcus shook his head. “So you really did zap them.” He’d been hoping for some other explanation, but nothing else made sense. The only good thing about the situation was that the house had been a lot calmer. Ann-Marie had mostly locked herself in her room, clearly in “weird stuff overload,” and Marcus’s parents were being superpolite to each other, like houseguests who didn’t want to wear out their welcome.
“Well, duh,” Connie said. “Of course I zapped them. They were a mess! When I left your house the other day, they were arguing about mulch. I mean, really? Mulch? So I figured I’d do them a favor.” She shrugged. “How was I supposed to know it would backfire?”
Marcus practically banged his forehead against the wall. “Because you didn’t listen to me! I told you that going around zapping everyone would cause trouble. My parents were already matched. Matching them again made the sparks between them go crazy and made them forget each other!”
His parents were now sitting in polite silence, obviously too afraid to say anything to each other. Marcus couldn’t stand to see them this way.
“Ugh, come on,” he said, waving Connie down the hall to his room.
“I think you’re missing the point,” Connie said as she flopped into a chair in front of Marcus’s worktable. “The fact that they don’t remember each other is good news.”
“How exactly is that good news?”
“Because there was still a spark between them!” Connie said. “Even though they were arguing all the time and stuff, they were still into each other. That means there’s still hope that they won’t split up like my parents did.”
Marcus opened his mouth and shut it again. Maybe Connie did have a point. Honestly, he’d been starting to doubt his parents had any sparks left between them at all. He certainly hadn’t noticed any, but then again, his parents were just his parents. He’d never looked at their auras that closely before.
“But what if they never remember each other?” Marcus asked. “What if you wiped their memories of one another forever?”
Connie shrugged, picking up one of the robot models displayed above the table. “Then you just have to reintroduce them.” Her face lit up. “In fact, I have an idea—”
“No!” Marcus cried, snatching the model away from her. “No more of your ideas! I’m done listening to what you have to say and following your crazy schemes and standing by and letting you match up everyone you want. I mean, Caspar and Hayleigh? Really? Are you crazy?”
Connie puffed out her cheeks. “If you don’t want my help anymore then—”
“I never asked for your help! You just bulldozed your way into my life and started telling me—and everyone else—what to do. But I’m not going to let you do that anymore, not when it ends like this!”
“Fine!” Connie said, jumping to her feet. “Then you’re on your own. And don’t bother coming to the dance tomorrow, because you’re not welcome anymore!” She started for the door and then slowed down, as if waiting for Marcus to stop her and apologize. But he only stood by, his arms in front of his chest, and waited for her to leave.
She huffed again and this time stormed out of his bedroom for real. Marcus stood in his doorway, watching her go. A second later, she slammed the front door behind her.
“Wow, everyone seems to be slamming doors these days,” Marcus heard his dad say, obviously trying to hide his annoyance. “Between that and the smell coming from the basement…” He laughed. “Not to mention the torn-up bathroom. It’s not exactly the best place to relax.”
“Maybe we should go for a walk,” he heard his mom say. “Get some fresh air.”
A walk? Marcus couldn’t remember the last time his parents had gone on a walk by themselves, let alone together. He crept down the hallway and watched as they left side by side, his dad holding the door open for his mom like a gentleman.
On their way out, they passed Ann-Marie, who was lugging her gym bag around, as usual.
“Ann-Marie, there you are,” his mom said, stopping on the porch. “Have you met Bruce?”
Ann-Marie stared at her.
“Oh, Claudia,” Marcus’s dad said. “Have you met my daughter?”
Marcus expected his sister to roll her eyes and tell their parents to stop being freaks, but she only stood there, totally still.
“We’re going for a walk. Be back in a little while,” his dad said, giving Ann-Marie a little wave. Then their parents brushed past her and went down the walkway.
Marcus glanced back at his sister, whose face had gone stony. “No way,” she said. “This is not happening.” Then she stomped over to Marcus, her eyes full of venom. “What did you do?” she demanded, dropping her gym bag on the floor.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything!”
“First the weird dance thing and now this? Are you drugging me or something? Is that why I’m seeing things?”
“Wait. Did you know this was going to happen to Mom and Dad? Did you have another—”
“A vision?” she cried. “Of course not. That’s insane. People don’t see the future. They don’t!” She kicked the corner of the couch, looking ready to tear it apart.
“Okay, calm down,” he said firmly. “Tell me what happened.” To his surprise, it worked.
“This morning,” Ann-Marie said through her teeth, “I was in the shower, and all of a sudden, I was in another one of those dreams again. I saw Mom and Dad introducing themselves to each other like total strangers. I told myself it was nothing, but now I come home and find this.” She shook her head. “What’s happening to me, Marcus? What is this?”
“I…” How could he explain so that his sister would actually believe him?
“Please, Marcus,” Ann-Marie said, and he was shocked to see tears in her eyes. “Help me.”
Chapter 22
Lena didn’t say a word to her mom the whole way to the theater. She was afraid that one more wrong word from her would make her mom quit being a soul hunter on the spot or go driving into the sunset again without a glance back at the people she was leaving behind.
When they got to the theater, Lena didn’t even object when her mom walked her into the building. Anything to keep the peace for a little while longer.
But the instant they set foot inside the empty lobby, Lena spotted Pearl zipping past the chandelier. Oh no. Had her mom seen?
Thankfully, no. “I can’t wait for the show tomorrow,” her mom was saying. “I always hoped you’d get the acting bug from me. Who knows? Maybe once I have a little more free time, I’ll go back to doing theater too. If I can work up the courage to get back onstage again, that is.”
“Mom, are you sure about quitting soul hunting? Maybe you should—”
Just then, Pearl whizzed by again, and this time,
Lena’s powers clicked on like a lamp. A blue, blinding, potentially lethal lamp. Lena tried to shove her hands behind her back, but it was too late.
“Lena!” Her mom gasped, her gaze locked on Lena’s glowing fingers. “What are you…how did you…”
“Watch out!” Lena called as Pearl came around for another pass. “Pearl, what are you doing? Leave us alone!”
Pearl’s humming echoed through the lobby. “You’re no fun,” she said. “Myrna liked to play games with me. She was the only one who did.”
Lena’s hands were still glowing, but the light was fading now as Pearl went higher and higher. Then, after a second, she disappeared into the ceiling, and the lobby was empty again.
“Lena,” her mom breathed beside her. “What just happened? Were your fingers…”
There was no point in hiding it now. No point in lying about this or about anything. As her energy faded and her hands went back to normal, Lena nodded and said, “Yeah, I guess I have your powers now.”
“But-but how? Since when?”
“It’s been a few days. They showed up the day after I got here. Somehow you passed them on to me, I guess. Eddie said it’s been happening all over the world.”
Her mom shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Then she glanced up at the gold-painted ceiling. “And the soul?”
“Her name’s Pearl. She’s the one who’s haunting Miss Fine, although I can’t figure out why. And instead of getting rid of her, your powers only made her stronger.”
“Wait, you used my powers on her?”
“I tried, but I guess I did it wrong—”
“Of course you did it wrong! You haven’t been trained!” Her mom grabbed at her temples as if she had a sudden headache. “I can’t believe this. Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you hide all this from me?”
“Because…” But how could she explain? I didn’t want you to get overwhelmed and run again?
Her mom couldn’t seem to stop shaking her head. “You had no right to keep this from me! They’re my powers, and you’ve been using them. Do you have any idea how much danger you’ve put yourself in?”
“Me? I didn’t do anything! They just came to me. And for your information, besides the Pearl thing, I’ve been doing just fine with your powers. How do you think the souls at the yoga place and at the grocery store moved on?”
Her mom’s eyes went even wider. “That was you?”
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened, but if it wasn’t for me, those souls would probably still be wandering around. I helped you!”
“By lying to me?” her mom practically roared. “And hiding things from me? And running around God knows where, using my powers behind my back?” All of a sudden, she stopped moving, her body growing very still. “No. No. That’s it. We’re done.”
“Done with what?”
“With everything!” her mom cried. “This class. Letting you out of my sight. It was all a mistake. I should have protected you more from the minute we got off that plane.”
Lena couldn’t believe it. “How could you have protected me more? By chaining me up? You’ve already made life here almost unbearable! If it wasn’t for this class, I’d be going totally insane.”
“Come on,” her mom announced. “We’re going home.”
“Now? But we’re doing one last run-through before the show tomorrow.”
“We’ll tell Miss Fine that you have to pull out of it.”
Lena was so shocked, all she could do for a second was laugh. Then she managed to whisper, “Are you really going to punish me by taking me out of the show?”
“I’m not punishing you. I’m trying to protect you. I can’t lose you again. Don’t you understand that? I can’t!”
“Lose me?” Lena asked in disbelief. “You’re the one who left! You didn’t lose me. I lost you!”
At that moment, Miss Fine came out of the employee entrance. “Is everything all right?” she asked. She must have heard them yelling.
“I’m sorry,” her mom said, “but Lena is going to have to withdraw from the show.”
Miss Fine stepped back in surprise. “But it’s tomorrow.”
“It’s a family matter,” her mom said. “I apologize for the timing, but—”
“No,” Lena said. She was done letting her mom tell her what to do. “I’m performing in the show.”
Her mom’s jaw tightened. “Lena—”
“You can’t do this, Mom. You’re not protecting me. You’re hurting me. And I won’t let you do it anymore.”
Miss Fine looked back and forth between them. “Obviously, you two have a lot to talk about—”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m staying here,” Lena announced. Then she walked past Miss Fine and into the theater. She didn’t know if her mom was watching her walk away or if she’d marched out of the theater too, but Lena didn’t let herself look back.
Chapter 23
“Okay, spill it,” Ann-Marie said, sinking down on Marcus’s bed. “What’s happening to me?”
Marcus leaned back in his desk chair. Where to start? “I’m a matchmaker,” he said, deciding to just dive in. “Like Cupid but without the diaper. And Lena’s a soul collector. Like a grim reaper but without the—”
His sister shot to her feet. “Forget it. If you’re just going to tell me fairy tales, then—”
“Ann-Marie, I’m serious!” Marcus cried. “You don’t have to know about our powers, I guess, but you have to understand that there’s a whole web of them. There’s a network of magical stuff happening all around us, and I’m part of it. And now, you’re part of it too. That’s what the visions are.”
He expected her to throw open the door and stomp out, but she stood with her hand resting on the doorknob. “A network?”
“Yeah. Except the network’s down. Or it’s malfunctioning. Which means that you got someone else’s powers, and now you can see glimpses of the future.”
She sighed, rubbing her chin. “Okay…so say that I believe you—and I’m not saying I do—does that mean I’m stuck with these weird visions now?”
“No, your powers should fade,” Marcus said. “And eventually, Natalie will get them back. Or, at least, I hope she will.”
“Natalie? The girl who was here the other day?”
“Yeah, you must have swapped powers when you crashed into her.”
Ann-Marie let out a strange laugh. “What if I pushed her into a potted plant again? Would that make things go back to normal?”
Marcus chuckled. If only things were so easy. “This power outage thing is a lot bigger than just us. That’s why Mom and Dad are acting so weird. It’s because of my powers.”
Ann-Marie’s eyes widened. “You did this to them? Why? Because of you, they’re acting like they’ve never met!”
“No! No way! I would never zap people who were already matched. But this girl got my powers, and even though I told her not to use them, she—” He could tell he was losing Ann-Marie again. “It doesn’t matter how it happened. And honestly, I don’t know how to undo it, but usually in this kind of situation, we just have to wait things out, and it’ll all right itself.”
“In this kind of situation?” Ann-Marie repeated. “You mean you’ve dealt with this kind of stuff before? And you were able to fix it?”
“Um, yeah. Sort of…” Had he actually fixed anything in the past? He and Lena had managed to get things back to normal together, but he couldn’t take credit for that. In fact, if Lena hadn’t been there pushing him along, he wondered if he would have simply sat by and waited for their past problems to go away.
“Then you can figure it out again. Can’t you?” Ann-Marie asked. “Because I have enough going on right now. I can’t deal with all of this…whatever it is.”
Her voice was gruff as usual, but there was an odd plea
ding look in her eyes. It was clear that she wanted Marcus to tell her that he had the answer, that he knew a way to make everything all right again.
Marcus realized that this must have been how Grandpa Joe felt all those times Marcus had asked him for advice, for reassurance, for hope. Grandpa had always seemed so sure of himself, so certain that things would be okay. But maybe that had all been an act because he’d realized Marcus had needed to hear it.
“Marcus?” Ann-Marie said. “You can fix things, right?”
And even though Lena wasn’t there to help him and he didn’t have anything close to a plan, he nodded and said, “Absolutely.”
• • •
“Thanks for meeting us,” Marcus said, waving Natalie over to a seat in a deserted corner of the public library. “You remember my sister?”
“Sorry again about crashing into you,” Ann-Marie said. “And about taking your powers or…or whatever the right thing is to say in this kind of situation.”
Natalie shrugged. “At least I know my powers are still around. I was afraid I might have lost them forever.” She turned to Marcus. “You said you needed my help?”
“We need to figure out how to undo this power outage.”
Natalie laughed. “Don’t you think everyone is already trying to do that?”
“Yeah, but they’re looking at big stuff that caused it. I think it was something else, something small.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it always is, isn’t it? A chain reaction starts with something tiny and gets bigger and bigger.” That’s exactly what had happened with Connie. He’d let her get away with a few tiny matches, and now she’d practically zapped the entire town. Just on his way to the library, he’d passed half a dozen couples who were disgustingly gaga for each other.
“Okay, so what do we do?” Natalie asked.
“Your visions let you know about important stuff that’s about to happen, right? Well, Ann-Marie’s had two visions so far. Maybe you can help us figure out what they mean.” He turned to his sister. “Go ahead and tell her what you saw.”
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