My eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimness. The only light was the reddish glow cast on the walls by the candles. Lady Azura sat in her big armchair. Her client was across from her, his back to us.
Thick brown wavy hair.
My mouth opened wide. Wider. Until I couldn’t open it any more.
Jayden. Jayden was getting his fortune told by Lady Azura!
Chapter 9
Jayden sat across from Lady Azura, talking about . . . talking about . . .
I tried to rewind my thoughts. What had I told Lady Azura? Had I told her I liked Jayden? Had I ever called him by name? Did she know who he was?
He’d come because of me, I realized. I made that flyer.
Lady Azura poured boiling water from her enamel teakettle into a porcelain cup. She was about to read his tea leaves.
I stepped back into the hallway. Lily followed.
“I knew I’d have to scrape you off the ceiling.” Lily beamed. “Amazing, right? Aren’t you dying to know why he’s here?”
“What do you think Lady Azura is telling him?”
“That you are supposed to be his girlfriend. That he was meant to fall in love with you.”
My forehead grew warm. Could Lady Azura really be saying such things?
“Let’s spy,” Lily urged, heading toward the curtain.
“No way,” I whispered. “He came to talk to her about a private thing.”
“What if that private thing is you?’ Lily asked. “What if he’s not really here to see her? What if the fortune-telling thing is a cover? Maybe he’s just pretending so he has an excuse to visit you!”
My cheeks were now the same pinkish color as my forehead. Could Lily be right? “He doesn’t know I live upstairs.” At least, I didn’t think he did.
“I’m seeing what’s going on,” Lily whispered. She poked her head back through the side of the curtain.
I hesitated. I knew I shouldn’t, but the desire to hear what she was saying to him was too strong. Just for a minute, I told myself. I’ll only listen for a minute. I slipped in next to Lily. I knew that from where we stood Jayden couldn’t see us. I’d peeked in on another of Lady Azura’s clients when we first moved in.
“. . . but that will not occur for another year. Now the final image that’s coming to me”—Lady Azura peered at the tea leaves remaining in the white cup—“is a guitar.”
“Guitar?” Jayden’s voice was unmistakable. “I don’t play that.”
“The tea shows us symbols.” Lady Azura leaned away from the cup. “The guitar sings of romance to come.”
Romance. I instinctively wrapped my hand around the crystals on my necklace. Work, work, I chanted silently to the ruby crystal. Lily pinched my arm. I turned, and she flashed me a thumbs-up.
“And that is it,” Lady Azura announced. I wondered what she’d seen in his cup before I peeked in. Did it have to do with me?
Jayden shifted in his seat but made no move to leave.
“Do you require additional services?” Lady Azura asked. She wasn’t pushy. She sounded merely curious.
“I don’t have any more money,” Jayden said, his voice so low I had to lean forward on my toes.
“Tell me what you are searching for, and then we will discuss finances,” Lady Azura said. Her face was open and welcoming.
“I didn’t come here for the tea-leaf thing exactly,” Jayden admitted. “I mean, it was great and all—”
“You seek answers,” Lady Azura said. “For what?”
“My brother died.” He rushed the words out as if he couldn’t say them fast enough. “I mean, he died a long time ago, only it doesn’t seem like a long time ago. You know? It’s like he’s more here with us dead than he ever was alive. He’s all my mom ever talks about. My mom lives like something bad is going to happen again. To me. To my dad. My dad doesn’t talk about Marco at all, but sometimes his not talking is worse, because either way Marco is here. My entire family revolves around his death. That’s weird, right?”
“Not at all. Death is often all-encompassing. What is happening to your family is not so strange.” Lady Azura waited patiently. Jayden fidgeted, seemingly unsure how or whether to proceed.
“So, um, I heard . . . I heard that you can contact the dead.” Jayden stared at his hands, unable to meet Lady Azura’s eyes. “Could you contact my brother?”
Lily pinched me so hard, I almost screamed. I turned to push her hand away.
Oh . . . my . . . God! she mouthed to me.
I realized that Lily didn’t know about Marco. No one knew about Marco.
Marco. I scanned the darkened room. The faint outline of Marco’s shimmery figure stood in the corner, arms crossed. He was not pleased.
Dread flooded my veins. I was watching a train wreck about to happen. It was as if I were on a faroff mountain peak with a clear view of the tracks, yet powerless to stop the speeding disaster.
Did Lady Azura know that the spirit Jayden wanted her to summon was already here? Did she feel his anger growing?
“Calling up the departed should be done with great forethought,” Lady Azura cautioned. “Why do you want to communicate with your brother?”
“I don’t know.” Jayden’s voice was strained. He sounded so different from how he usually sounded at school. He sounded sad and confused. Not at all confident and joking like he usually did. “It’s like . . . the weight of his memory is too much. I just want him to send some sort of sign to my mom that everything will be okay. That she can stop worrying so much.…” His voice trailed off.
“Jayden, you still have the gift of life. You don’t need your brother’s blessing to live it,” Lady Azura counseled.
Marco moved toward the table. His anger throbbed around him. A negative force.
Jayden stood. “This wasn’t a good idea—”
“No, no.” Lady Azura gripped the table, suddenly sensing Marco’s presence. Unable to see him, but feeling him. His energy. His anger. “Not at all. You have a great emotional burden. You must find a way to crawl out from under this burden and assert your independence. You need to sever the cord that binds you. Release yourself from your brother.”
Marco pushed himself between his brother and Lady Azura, desperate to stop the exchange. He did not want Lady Azura to counsel Jayden. His opaque eyes darted wildly around the room, as if he was looking for something to help him end the session. Then his gaze rested on me. He saw me!
Chills racked my body. I stared back. I couldn’t look away. His eyes drew me in. Closer. Closer.
The chills gave way to comforting warmth blanketing my shoulders, as if the sun had come inside.
I blinked, opening my eyes to a brilliant blue sky. The slightest breeze with the aroma of pine tingled my nose. I wrapped my hands around my bare arms. Bare arms? I glanced down to a pink halter top and cut-off jean shorts. My legs and arms soaked up the rays of the summer sun. I sat on a striped towel.
Laughter.
I turned. Two girls and three boys sat on towels too. Older than I was. High school, probably. They laughed and shared sandwiches. The girls wore bikini tops and shorts. The boys had on bathing suits.
A bag of potato chips passed from hand to hand. The laughter of friends. Joking. Fun times. The chips passed to me. I was part of this group. This group of friendly faces I didn’t know.
But I did know a face. One of the boys. Ray-Bans shaded his eyes, but the hoodie was unmistakable. His skin glowed. Caramel-colored. Alive. Vibrant. Marco.
In life, Marco bore a strong resemblance to Jayden. That same grin. Those same coffee-colored eyes.
Marco wrapped his arm playfully around a pretty girl with long blond hair. She giggled and pushed him away. He told a joke. Everyone laughed.
I heard the rush of water and glanced down. Gray-blue waters of a river swirled below me. White foam gathered around small jagged rocks. We were up high on a flat overhang. Pine trees surrounded us. Birds sang above us. The water glittered under the rays of the sun.
A perfect d
ay.
My attention returned to Marco, as if guided by an unseen force. He pulled a chunky black cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. Not a current model. An old phone. Ringing.
“Yes, Mom, I’m studying,” he said into the receiver. He pulled the straw from his soda can and gently poked the blond girl as he talked. She giggled and elbowed him. Flirting.
“Yep, I’m at the library. Crowded today,” he said, leaning closer to the girl. He obviously liked her.
The girl giggled at his lie to his mother.
“Oh, come on, Mom.” Marco’s playful tone changed to annoyance. “Today? I don’t want—”
The girl walked her fingers up his arm.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard you.” Marco snapped the phone shut. “I’ve got to go,” he told the group. “Got to babysit my brother.”
“That stinks,” muttered one of the other boys.
“You can’t go,” the flirting girl said, feigning a pout. She walked her fingers farther up his arm. “Stay. For me.”
Marco hesitated. He wanted to stay, that was clear. I could feel his indecision. That pull between family and friends. “I don’t know—”
“Yes, you do.” She flashed him a smile. A smile that she knew would win out.
Someone tugged my arm. I wanted to hear what Marco would say. I ignored it and instinctively reached for the crystals around my neck. I traced the contours of the stones as I watched Marco. As he looked to the smiling girl. As he made a choice.
I circled my fingers over the smooth, glassy hematite. The stone was warmer than the sun on my skin.
A tug again. I turned, and the shivers returned.
Lily.
Lily tugged at my arm. Bringing me back. Back to the folds of the velvet curtain.
She pointed, and I followed her finger. Jayden! Jayden was leaving Lady Azura’s fortune-telling room. He was steps away from discovering us.
Chapter 10
Lily scurried down the hall. My socks skidded on the wooden floors as I slid behind her into the safety of the kitchen.
She bent to catch her breath. “Wow, that was close!” she whispered. “Why didn’t you move? Were you in a love trance watching him?”
A love trance? No. But a different kind of trance. Marco had done something to me. He’d brought me in. Showed me another piece of their family puzzle. But why? What was happening by that river when Marco was still alive?
I heard the front door close, then the rhythmic clatter of Lady Azura’s low heels. He was gone. They were gone.
I leaned against the back of a chair. I felt light-headed. “Don’t tell her,” I warned Lily. “You can’t let her know we were there.”
I’d missed what had happened at the end. I guessed that Lady Azura hadn’t agreed to call up Marco. I knew it wasn’t because of the money. But did she promise to do it another time?
“I see you girls are still here.” Lady Azura poured herself a glass of the now-warm pink lemonade. She drank, not looking at us but deep in her own thoughts.
“What did he want?” Lily asked. I prayed Lady Azura couldn’t hear how fake Lily sounded.
“That I cannot tell you.” She looked weary.
“Come on,” Lily wheedled. “He goes to our school. Sara likes him, you know.”
Lady Azura eyed me curiously, then turned to Lily. “A lawyer never tells his clients’ secrets. A doctor never reveals her patients’ medical issues. Likewise, I never betray my clients’ trust.” She made the motion of zipping her lips. “I need to lie down. That reading left me a bit drained. Sara, will you be okay?”
“Okay?” I asked. Was she talking about what had happened with Marco?
“Your dad is working late again,” she reminded me.
“Oh yes. I’m fine.” I was happy to be left alone. I had a lot to think about.
It was all a blur at first. Blue and gold. The green of the field. Legs pumping.
I steadied my camera and observed the action in my viewfinder. Then I trained my lens on Jayden.
His wiry frame dodged in front of the ball. I snapped, capturing the moment. Cranking up the telephoto lens, I zeroed in. Determination radiated from his eyes as he touched his foot on the ball and began to dribble up the field. With each step, I snapped a photo, hoping the results would please Mrs. Notkin. She’d asked me today when I would be submitting my photos. I promised to hand them in the Monday after Halloween, just a few days away.
Jayden faked to the left, maneuvering the ball away from the other team’s burly defender. Then he passed the ball to Garrett. But I kept my lens focused on Jayden. There are other players on the team, the voice inside my head reminded me. Good action shots are with the kid who has the ball. Yet I couldn’t stop watching Jayden, and the confident way he dodged every opposing player.
I bit my lip. Marco was on the field. Beside his brother, of course. But not watching. Helping.
I pressed my eye against the viewfinder, the camera pushing uncomfortably on my face. What was he doing? As each defender stepped to block or move in front of Jayden, Marco’s unseen hand guided them in a different direction.
Garrett passed the ball back to Jayden. A defender moved to steal it, but Marco was there first. His shimmery foot nudged the defender’s foot, forcing him to kick the air instead of the ball. Jayden pushed on, unaware of his supernatural assistance.
He slammed the ball toward the goal. It was a strong kick, but the goalie managed to catch it. Marco was a few steps too far away to help.
“The coach says Jayden has eyes in the back of his head. That’s why he can move across the field like that,” Lily commented. She stood next to me on the sidelines, scribbling in a notebook.
“He definitely has a second pair of eyes,” I murmured, as the referee gave two shrill toots of his whistle to end the game.
“This sport is so boring,” Lily complained. “Zero to zero. How does Mrs. Notkin think I’m going to write an exciting story if nothing happens? I need a quote from the coach.” She stomped across the field.
I sat on the grass as parents and kids streamed past on the way to the parking lot. I clicked through the photos I’d taken. Some had potential.
“Hey, Harvest Queen.”
He stood next to me. Mud and grass caked his legs. The shoelaces of his black cleats were untied.
“Hey,” I said. I remembered how upset and lonely he’d seemed in Lady Azura’s room. He needs a friend, I thought. “Here to sell me more of your famous mud?” I joked. I can be that friend, I thought.
“You buying?” He squatted down beside me.
“I only buy winning mud,” I remarked.
“Ouch. Not fair. We didn’t lose.”
“Tying isn’t winning.”
“Are you calling me a loser?” He pretended to be offended, but his eyes were smiling.
“No, just your lame mud. Now a signed jersey might be worth something.…” I tugged the hem of his and smiled. “Why is yours a different shade of blue from the others?”
“You noticed?” He seemed surprised. The difference was subtle. “Mine is vintage. Been in the family.”
I bit my lip again and thought about what this meant. Then I took a risk. “Was that your brother’s? The one you told me about at the dance?” During the dance last month, I’d found Jayden in the graveyard in back of the school. Marco wasn’t buried there, but it had been the anniversary of his death. That was all he’d told me.
Jayden nodded. “Yeah. Marco was amazing at soccer.”
“You’re really good too.”
Jayden didn’t answer, but he stayed next to me. Maybe he wants to talk about it, I thought.
About Marco.
Marco, who I suddenly felt, as he hovered beside Jayden. Marco, who pulled all the air out of a bright, sunny day, making it hard for me to breathe.
I took a deep breath. “So what happened to Marco? I mean, how did he die?”
“Swimming accident.” Jayden plucked blades of the grass.
Marc
o edged closer.
“What happened?” I asked.
Marco wrapped a protective arm around Jayden, an arm he couldn’t see but could feel, because all at once his mood changed. I could see it in his eyes. They were now guarded.
“Does it really matter?” Jayden stopped pulling up the grass. “My brother was so brave. Accidents happen to brave people too.”
“They do,” I said quietly. My lungs felt tight. Breathing was an effort. “He sounds great.”
“Marco was the best big brother,” Jayden continued. “He took care of me. He was amazing at sports, and everyone just loved him. I’m going to be just like him.”
Marco’s expression changed. Fear? Panic? Distress? I couldn’t read his blank eyes. But something was wrong. He began to push at me. Not with his arms or his body, but with the weight of his spirit. My head throbbed. A pounding began behind my eyes, a pain that made it hard to speak to Jayden.
“I brought you players to photograph!” Lily called.
Sunlight pulsed before my eyes as I raised my head to the field. Lily headed toward us with Garrett, Luke, Jack L., and Jack R. in tow.
Marco released his grip, and immediately my headache lessened. The autumn air turned crisp and breathable.
“Lily said you needed action shots,” Luke called to me. “Watch this.” He juggled the soccer ball with his knees.
“Sara.” Lily now stood nearby. “The camera? You kind of need to use it.”
I stared down at the camera resting in my lap, then at Marco. He remained seated, arm around Jayden. Expressionless. I tried to focus on the boys, who were now having some sort of juggling contest. “Thanks.” I raised my camera and took photos, barely paying attention to my subjects.
Lily told the boys about the party at Lady Azura’s house. She told them about the night of fortune-telling and food and the house filled with scares.
I watched Jayden stiffen at Lady Azura’s name, but Lily was careful. She never said anything about seeing him there.
“Come on,” Luke scoffed. “That house isn’t really haunted, even if that fortune-teller does live there.”
“Yes, it is,” Lily insisted. “Ask Sara. She lives there too.”
Mischief Night Page 6