“I hid them in the trunk of our car, back by the spare tire so Mom wouldn’t see them and freak out.”
“You’re really excited about this idea, aren’t you?” I asked him.
“Maybe. Why? Does it matter?”
“Your body is being taken over by a – a ghost,” said Candy. “Doesn’t that worry you at all?”
“I’m starting to remember things,” admitted Johnny. “Like sitting with those hot girls on the bus and playing the trumpet really good.” He reached out and picked up the trumpet, perusing it.
“Yeah, that trumpet part is hard to let go of,” I agreed, really loving the way Blue played, but hating when my brother attempted it. “Still, it’s not right, Johnny. It’s not you.”
“It’s the new me,” he said with a smile. “All the girls are going to like me now.” He lifted the trumpet to his mouth and blew a sour note.
Candy and I both groaned.
I ripped the trumpet out of his hand. “Go get the stupid hair spray out of Mom’s car,” I told him. “But it’s only going to be until we figure out how to handle this and how to get rid of Blue.”
“Are you sure Blue has to go?” asked Candy after my little brother left the room.
“I’m sure,” I said, tempted to want to keep Blue around as well since, right now, he was looking like the good version of my little brother. But I knew more than anyone that things weren’t always what they seemed. I was sure it wouldn’t be long before the situation took a turn and things were only going to get worse . . . much worse.
Chapter 5
“Raven, wake up,” someone whispered in my ear, dragging me right out of a dream I was having about walking hand in hand along the beach with Dex.
“Leave me alone, Candy. I’m trying to sleep.” I rolled over the other way, thinking it was only my friend bothering me. But when I heard the voice again, my eyes popped open.
“This is Aunt Bestla. Now don’t ignore me again. It is important.”
In the dark room, the moon shone in the bedroom window. My eyes focused on Candy asleep in her bed, and her eyes weren’t open and there was no way she was throwing her voice.
“Crap,” I mumbled to myself, slowly turning my head to see the wispy vision of my eccentric, dead aunt standing at the foot of my bed. Her short, plump body was clothed in some kind of a white gown and she had a stern look on her face. I hadn’t seen her in months now, since that day I encountered her in the secret garden. “Hi,” I mumbled, wiping my eyes and sitting up in bed, hoping beyond hope that this was just a dream. I blinked twice, but she was still there. “Yeah, I thought so,” I mumbled, realizing I was once again talking to a ghost. “What do you want, Aunt Bestla?” I whispered, hoping Candy wouldn’t wake up, because if she did she’d either be scared out of her mind or think I was crazy.
“It’s about Little Boy Blue,” she said with urgency in her voice.
“Jonathon Wolsey?” I yawned, not seeing the danger here. “Yeah, he’s not a bad guy. For a ghost, I mean. Candy and I kind of think he’s a better version of my brother.”
“Stop it!” she scolded. “You, out of anyone, should know the dangers that lie in the other realm. Don’t trust him, Raven. I warn you.”
“What is there not to trust?” I asked. “Blue is polite, handsome . . . for being my brother that is . . . and he eats everything without complaining. The best part is, he knows how to play the horn.”
“Don’t let appearances fool you, Raven. You are too bright for that.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Aunt Bestla.”
“You need to get rid of Little Boy Blue and you need to do it now.”
“Can’t it wait a little while?” I asked, not in a hurry to get rid of him. After all, my ears needed a break from my little brother’s trumpet playing.
“The longer you wait . . . the more it’ll change your brother’s life forever. And I’m warning you . . . it might not be in a good way.”
I was about to ask her what she meant when Candy stirred in bed. “Raven? Who are you talking to?”
“I’m just talking to –” I looked back to the foot of the bed but Aunt Bestla was gone. “Never mind,” I told her. “Go back to sleep and I’ll tell you in the morning.”
I was about to go back to sleep as well, but something told me to look out the window. Padding over the cold floor in my bare feet, I glanced out at the backyard. A new layer of fresh snow covered the ground. Nothing seemed out of place, but then I spotted something . . . or someone . . . moving in the graveyard. Squinting my eyes, I tried to see who it was, but it was just a blur since I wasn’t wearing my contacts.
“Raven,” I heard a spooky whisper in my ears, making me shiver. I grabbed hold of my crystal for comfort, feeling the heat emanating in my palm. “Raven,” I heard again, but this time the voice was louder. My head dizzied and I heard that clanging sound in my brain. I realized I must have activated something and was being transported into the other realm. I tried to quickly let go of the crystal, but someone’s hand clamped over mine, keeping me from letting go.
I screamed, and looked up to see Cardinal Wolsey’s beefy hand over mine. His dark, beady eyes were staring right at me. Without a doubt, I figured I was in the cemetery in the other realm again. But to my surprise, I could see moonlight spilling in a window and Candy lying asleep on her bed across the room.
What was happening here? I’d always been transported into the other realm and woke up in the graveyard. But now, ghosts were starting to appear right here in my bedroom? First Aunt Bestla, and now . . . now this scary man. I didn’t know what to do.
“Let go of me,” I warned him.
“You’ve got to find my son and stop him,” warned the man.
“I have no idea what you mean.” I struggled against his hold but it only became tighter.
“He’s got the money, I know he does. And he’s going to do something stupid with it unless you can get to him in time.”
“What money? Who are you talking about?”
“Jonathon cannot get involved with the consequences of my mistake or he will die, too.”
I didn’t understand. Was someone dying?
“Save him, Raven. Save him before it’s too late.”
His body dissipated into a thin wisp of smoke and his grip on my hand loosened. My eyes flashed outside to the graveyard again and, this time, I could see a blurred outline of a person kneeling down by a headstone in the snow.
I grabbed my glasses from the dresser and took another look. “Johnny?” I said, bending over to see clearer. Sure enough, there was my brother, Johnny, in his pajamas and that stupid blue bomber jacket, digging in the snow for something. Or at least I thought it was him, but maybe it was Blue, I couldn’t really tell. I had to know for sure.
Quietly putting on a pair of shoes and grabbing my housecoat, I hurried off to Johnny’s bedroom. Pushing the door open quietly, I could see his bed was empty.
“No!” I said, not wanting to believe it. I hurried down the stairs to find the back door open. Trapper and Champ sat there looking out the glass of the storm door, whimpering.
“Stay here,” I told the dogs, slipping out into the night and hurrying across the snowy lawn. Wishing I had brought a flashlight, I nervously passed the potting shed and stepped one foot over the imaginary boundary line, entering the wretched graveyard.
“Johnny?” I called out, looking for the person I saw kneeling in the snow. No one was there. “Johnny, where are you?”
What I found up ahead was a guy leaning against a gravestone. “Johnny, what are you doing out here?”
“I hate that name,” he said, making me stop in my tracks.
“Blue?” I asked, slowly walking forward. The moon broke out from behind a cloud, and, sure enough, I saw his face and blue hair. Of course, now Johnny had blue hair as well, so it wasn’t easy telling them apart. But when I saw the glow of a burning cigarette in his hand and the wisp of thin smoke trailing from the side of his
mouth, I knew it wasn’t Johnny.
“Blue, leave my brother alone,” I commanded, eyeing him dressed in Johnny’s pajamas and slippers. It just wasn’t right.
“Why?” he asked, with a sinister tinge to his word. “Johnny likes being me. That’s why it’s so easy to manipulate him.” He chuckled in that low tone, making me feel scared for the first time since I met him.
“I know how hard it is to fight off being possessed by a – a ghost,” I stammered.
“Oh, you mean Mary?” He laughed again. “Or how about your friend, Candy, and Patience Muffet?”
“You know about them?” I asked in surprise.
“Of course I do. Look around you,” he said, sticking the cigarette between his lips and splaying out his hands. “This cemetery is loaded down with all the nursery rhyme characters out of that book. I’m only one of the first to come, but I assure you there will be many more to follow.”
“Many more?” I gasped, not wanting to have to deal with this the rest of my life. “Why are you here and what do you want?” I asked, thinking of both Mary and Muffet’s evil purposes.
“I’m not here to do bad things like the last two,” he said, referring to the other nursery rhyme characters. “I’m your friend, Raven. And since Johnny is accepting me so well . . . there is a good chance I’ll stay in your realm and end up being your brother – forever.”
“No!” I shouted, thinking about the warning of my ghostly aunt. “Whatever it is you are after, I assure you, I won’t let you get it.”
“You can’t stop me,” he said with another chuckle, making me cringe. I suddenly felt the urgent need to help my little brother.
“I can and I will,” I spat. “Now, once more, I warn you to leave my brother alone.”
When he just smiled and took another puff of the cigarette, I started wondering how that was going to affect Johnny’s lungs. I’d had enough of Blue and I was going to do whatever it took to get him to leave my brother’s body.
“Leave him alone!” I shouted, lunging at him, bringing him to the ground.
“You can’t fight me,” he said, taking the cigarette and holding it against my wrist until it burned.
“Ow!” I cried in anger and surprise. I wasn’t going to let him get away with hurting me. So this time, I made a fist and punched him in the jaw. We struggled on the cold ground in the frigid snow for a few minutes before I heard the barking of dogs and turned around to see Trapper and Champ running toward us.
“Oh, no,” I mumbled, seeing my mother and Candy right behind the dogs.
“Raven Birchfield, get off of your brother,” cried my mother as I rolled off of Johnny and got to my feet. I could always tell how upset my mother was with me by if she used my last name or not. I wasn’t sure if my brother was still Little Boy Blue or not. That is, not until he started crying.
“Mom, Raven punched me!” cried Johnny, getting up and giving me a hard shove. I stumbled backward, right into Candy who thankfully caught me and kept me from falling.
“I demand to know what is going on!” yelled my mother.
Well, I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like I could tell her the truth. As I was thinking up something to ease the blow, my bratty little brother decided to lie . . . as usual.
“I followed Raven out here and found her smoking,” said Johnny.
“What?” I gasped, not knowing how to respond to that.
“When I told her that I was going to tell you, Mother, Raven punched me in the jaw and pushed me to the ground.”
“No, I didn’t. That’s a lie,” I shrieked.
“Really?” asked my mother, looking down at the cigarette at my feet and holding up my wrist to look at the burn. “Then tell me what you were doing out here in the snow in the middle of the night.”
“I – I . . .” I wanted to tell her, honest I did. But that scared look in Johnny’s eyes and my aunt’s warning, made me wonder just what Blue might do if I ratted him out. I was dealing with something different here than I had when I dealt with Mary or Muffet. I wasn’t sure how Jonathon or the cardinal were able to go through realms so easily and I had to find out more before I said anything to my mother.
All I needed was a little more time. I couldn’t let Blue take control of my brother. I had to talk to Johnny and convince him to fight back and not let Blue control his actions. It wasn’t going to be easy since Johnny seemed to have everything he’d always wanted since Little Boy Blue had arrived. But then I had an idea. There was one thing Johnny didn’t have, and that was a father. If I could use that to my advantage somehow, I would. However, it wouldn’t be tonight.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“Raven, I swear, since we moved to Half Horse, I just don’t know you anymore.” Tears filled my mother’s eyes and all I wanted to do was comfort her. Then, just when I thought she was going to ground me or blame everything on me, something happened that I didn’t understand.
“It’s all my fault that you children are turning out this way,” she said, starting to sob.
“Mom?” I asked, rubbing my burned wrist. “What are you talking about?”
“She got a phone call. That’s what woke her up,” Candy whispered.
“A phone call at this hour?” I asked. “Who was it, Mom?”
“It doesn’t matter. Now back to bed, all of you. And I don’t want to see this happen ever again.”
She turned and ushered Johnny to the house and the dogs followed.
“Candy?” I asked, as I made my way through the snow back to the house with my good friend. “Who was on the phone?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” said Candy with a yawn. “But I think I heard your mother say the name . . . Bertram?”
“Bertram?” My heart skipped a beat, never expecting her to say this.
“Yes, I believe that is what I heard. Why?” asked Candy. “Who is that? A boyfriend or something?”
“No,” I said, realizing things were getting weird now and this is the last thing I wanted to hear. “Bertram isn’t my mother’s boyfriend. Bertram is her husband . . . my and Johnny’s father.”
Chapter 6
It was the morning of Johnny’s trumpet audition and I had a sinking feeling in my gut that it wasn’t going to go well at all. After all, my brother still couldn’t play a single solid note. As I dressed for school, Johnny was downstairs blowing on the trumpet and I swear every note he played was twice as bad as it usually sounded, if that was at all possible. Then again, after hearing Blue playing the horn, anyone would sound bad in comparison. He had a real talent for music.
“I don’t think that’s Jonathon playing,” said Candy, looking in the mirror to apply her lip gloss. Ever since she got away from her mother’s abusive boyfriend, Candy seemed so much happier with herself. Gone were her braces, and lately she’d even cut her strawberry-blond hair shoulder length. It looked much more mature than when she used to wear it in a braid.
“No, I can tell that is Johnny playing,” I said. “And I’m afraid he’s not going to get that trumpet solo for the concert after all. I feel bad for him.”
“Hey, maybe you can call Blue back,” suggested Candy, looking at me in the mirror. She smacked her lips together and smiled.
“No, I’m not going to do that, Candy. Gee, I hope you’re not falling for Blue because that would be weird.” I suddenly had the horrifying thought that she inadvertently had the hots for my little brother.
“I’m wearing the makeup so Brett notices me.” Candy dabbed at the lip gloss with a tissue, almost removing all of it, and turned around. “It would be good for Johnny’s morale if he got that Christmas trumpet solo, don’t you think?”
“I suppose so,” I said in thought, fingering the crystal of my necklace. “Then again, if Blue got it for him and then disappeared before the concert, Johnny would be demoralized when he made a fool of himself playing sour notes in front of the entire school, not to mention, everyone’s parents.
”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Candy tossed the tissue into the wastebasket. “Speaking of parents, I miss my mother. She called yesterday and told me the counseling is going well and also that my sister is expecting.”
“Your sister, Eileen, is pregnant? Wow. She just got married.”
“Well, at least she’s married first, and that’s the important part.” Candy looked back into the mirror and started to apply mascara. “So what’s the story with your dad, Raven?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed to tie my shoes. I didn’t like talking about my father.
“You told me he left on Johnny’s seventh birthday.”
“Yep. He did.” I started on the other shoe.
“Why?”
“No one knows for sure.” I got up and straightened my shirt.
“That was a long time ago,” said Candy.
“Seven years, to be exact.”
“So why would he call your mother now? Did she tell you anything about it?”
“No, and I didn’t ask because I don’t want to know.” I felt very agitated bringing up the issue of my father because there were too many memories there that hurt. “Come on, we need to get to the bus.”
As we left the room, I felt like I was being a little insensitive to Candy. After all, her parents weren’t together anymore either. And she had it rougher than anyone when her mother lived with that no-good Mack.
In a way, I wanted to see my dad return into our lives. But on the other hand, I loathed the idea. He’d hurt my mother deeply and with no explanation as far as I knew. And he was crazy. All the Birchfield relatives were loony. Or at least that’s what I’d been told all my life. The last thing I needed in my life right now was my father showing up and making things even more complicated. After all, I already had enough trouble with Little Boy Blue appearing. The first thing I needed to do was to figure out how I was going to help my brother when he was rejected for the Christmas trumpet solo this afternoon.
School didn’t go well at all that day. I left my homework on the kitchen table, lost my favorite pen, and I’m pretty sure I flunked my history exam. And to make matters even worse, Janelle was back at school hanging all over Dex right in front of me. She was probably trying to make me jealous and I have to admit, it was working.
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