Midnight Reynolds and the Spectral Transformer

by Holt, Catherine;

  Midnight leaned back on the sofa. George Irongate wasn’t the only genius. The fact that Miss Appleby had been single-handedly protecting Berry from spectral energy since she was twelve years old was amazing. For the first time in her life, Midnight realized that being born on such a weird night of the year wasn’t actually that bad. In fact, it was kind of cool.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Stop looking at me like that, you freak. And why do you have your glasses on? You never wear your glasses.” Taylor glared at Midnight from across the table the following morning.

  “So not looking at you.” Midnight didn’t bother to add that she’d actually been looking at the wall just behind Taylor’s head to check that the small flash of white light she’d seen wasn’t spectral energy. She’d been doing that a lot over the last few days. Thankfully, in this instance, all it had been was a rainbow of light from one of her mom’s crystals.

  Another thing she’d been doing was reading George Irongate’s diaries, and he said a person should always be prepared for spectral energy wherever they were.

  Their mom joined them at the table with a large bowl of fruit salad. “Just because Midnight’s wearing her glasses doesn’t make her a freak.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Midnight said, trying to ignore the fact that for once Taylor was right. She was a freak. Well, not a freak, but definitely someone who could see things others couldn’t. But at least she could get paid for it. And speaking of money—the amount of money Miss Appleby had given her was beyond anything she’d expected. At this rate, she might even be able to start a college fund as well, and—

  “Earth to Midnight. Are you listening?” Her mom’s voice cut in.

  “Sorry, did you say something?” Midnight blinked, pushing all thoughts of spectral energy from her mind.

  “Like you didn’t hear,” Taylor retorted.

  “Phil wanted to know if we’d all like to go to his place for dinner, so we can discuss the costumes for Thanksgiving,” her mom repeated as she picked up the cloak she’d been embroidering for the last week. She’d even dyed it by hand to make it more authentic.

  “Do I have to?” Midnight’s heart sank at the prospect. It was bad enough that she had to dress up like a Viking and go to a Thanksgiving dinner in two weeks’ time with the Sons of a Gunnar; she didn’t see why they had to have a meeting about it as well.

  “At least you won’t be dressed as a rodent.” Taylor smirked and Midnight poked out her tongue. Her mom frowned in response.

  “Midnight, you need to start making an effort.”

  “I am,” Midnight protested. “But this is Thanksgiving. Why can’t we just have turkey? There weren’t even Vikings at Thanksgiving!”

  “We will be having turkey,” her mom corrected. “This isn’t a reenactment. It’s just a group of Phil’s friends all getting together. Yes, we will be in costume and there will be Viking traditions, but there will be our traditions too—a compromise. Like what I want you to start doing. Plus, he’s almost finished restoring the scooter for Taylor and he wants to talk paint colors,” her mom said, and Midnight rolled her eyes. Another reason her sister had fallen so completely under Phil’s spell was because when he’d seen their mom’s ancient Vespa in the garage, he’d immediately offered to restore it to its former glory for Taylor.

  “I like powder blue, though Phil’s found a nice pale yellow that he thinks might look good,” Taylor gushed, which didn’t improve Midnight’s mood.

  “Fine. But don’t blame me if I fail all of my subjects because I don’t have time to do my homework,” Midnight warned in a last-ditch effort to get out of it.

  Her mom gave her a serene smile. “If you can fit in working for Miss Appleby and a ski trip, you can fit in homework and dinner at Phil’s.”

  “Can’t wait.” Midnight pretended to look happy. Some parts of her life had definitely changed, but other parts were depressingly the same. Then she caught sight of the time and got to her feet. She was meeting Sav and Lucy before school. “I gotta go.”

  “Of course,” her mom said as Midnight scooped up her backpack and made her way to school.

  She headed straight for the old oak tree, but since there was no sign of Sav or Lucy, she pulled out George Irongate’s diary. Miss Appleby had insisted Midnight take all seven of the books home so she could learn as much about spectral energy as possible.

  The cover was soft beneath her hands and smelled of age and dust.

  December 1862

  Finally I have discovered the source of the noises and lights that have plagued me for most of my life. It is a dark energy that I believe comes from spirits who cannot pass over to their eternal resting place. Ever since I received my new glasses from Dr. Robinson, I have been able to watch this evil wreak havoc on the living. However, it appears no one but I can see it. Thankfully, Father has insisted that I study the sciences, which I hope will allow me to find a way to stop this perversion of nature.

  “Wow, that’s a seriously old book,” Lucy said and Midnight looked up with a start. “Why on earth would you be reading it?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. Just part of the project Tabitha and I are working on.” Midnight quickly shut the diary, praying her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

  “You poor thing.” Sav patted her arm. “It sounds like loads of work. Lucy and I are doing Jonathan Richards, one of Berry’s founding fathers. There’s a whole website about him, which means it’s going to be super easy.”

  “You’re both so lucky,” Midnight said as they slowly walked toward the main building. She was pleased Tabitha wasn’t there, since she’d no doubt be rolling her eyes—she’d accurately predicted the rest of the class would choose the founding fathers.

  “I know, right?” Sav beamed as she held her phone up and flicked on a mirror app to check her teeth. When she was happy there was nothing stuck in them, she turned to Midnight. “Anyway, we were just talking about Thanksgiving. Lucy has to go to her grandmother’s house, which is like three hours away.”

  Lucy let out a long-suffering sigh as if she’d just been forced to clean a chimney or work in a mine. “And then we have to stay the night. It’s going to be so boring. No Wi-Fi or anything. What about you, Midnight? What are you doing?”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” Midnight groaned so loudly that her friends began to giggle and insisted on hearing all about it.

  “You poor thing,” Lucy said once Midnight had finished telling them about the Viking costume.

  “I don’t know.” Sav stopped walking and studied Midnight’s hair. “It could be kind of cute. You could put lots of little braids and beads in your hair, and if you got a purple dress, it would really make your eyes pop.”

  “Right.” Midnight nodded, not wanting to add that her mom had showed her the sketch for the costume and it more resembled a sack than a dress. Still, she loved that Sav was trying to make her feel better about it instead of teasing her. Besides, she had no intention of taking any photographs of the dinner, so it wasn’t like they’d ever see it. “I’ll definitely try it.”

  “Good.” Sav nodded before pulling a face. “It’s a pity you can’t come with us to the talent show rehearsal after school. You could’ve filmed it for us so we can study it later.”

  “Trust me, I’d much rather be doing that,” Midnight said. Unfortunately, she’d promised Miss Appleby that she’d go over after school to practice with the spectral transformer. Still, on Saturday, they were going shopping at the mall, and for once Midnight would actually have money to buy things. It was an exhilarating thought and she was still grinning as the first bell rang.

  * * *

  Midnight’s good mood faded as she arrived at Miss Appleby’s house to discover her employer waiting for her in a taxi. Miss Appleby beckoned her over and they drove straight over to an old tire factory without an explanation.

  “If you ask me, this place looks like a dump,” the taxi driver said with a frown.

  Midnight shivered as she too
k in the crumbling brickwork covered in graffiti and the broken gutters filled with weeds and bird’s nests. Even without her glasses, the loud buzzing in her ear told her everything she needed to know.

  “I’m afraid you might be right,” Miss Appleby said as the driver helped her out of the back of the vehicle. Midnight dragged the red cart out of the cab. “But I promised my Realtor that I’d look at it as a possible investment. Would you be kind enough to come back for us in half an hour?”

  “Sure.” The driver shrugged as he returned to the car and drove away.

  “I hate lying, but it was better than telling him the truth,” Miss Appleby said, tightening her grip on her ever-present knitting bag. “Now, let’s get to work. The alarm went off at eleven o’clock this morning, but because you were at school, I had to ignore it.”

  “Eleven? That must’ve been terrible.” Midnight shuddered as she remembered the alarm’s shriek. No wonder Miss Appleby was looking so pale.

  “It wasn’t ideal, but my bigger concern is that the spectral energy’s had time to grow stronger. I packed one of the bigger transformers just in case. Do you think you’ll be able to carry it?”

  “Of course.” Midnight lifted it out. The camera was larger than the one she’d been using and had a gigantic steel flash and two glass bulbs attached to the top of it. Miss Appleby hadn’t been exaggerating about the weight. Midnight made a mental note to do more arm exercises.

  “The bulbs will help fight any resistance that the spectral energy might have,” Miss Appleby explained, limping toward the entrance of the building. Midnight followed.

  Her skin prickled as soon as she stepped inside. The large space was filled with cobwebs and old benches that had seen better days. Weeds were growing through the uneven concrete floor and light streamed in through the broken roof. The buzzing increased.

  “Now, let’s see what we’ve got,” Miss Appleby said, putting on her glasses. She looked around. “Oh dear. I was afraid of this.”

  “Afraid of what?” Midnight put the large transformer on the ground and fumbled with her own glasses, slipping them on. Her throat tightened as the room transformed.

  Gone were the cobwebs and pale beams of light. In the center of the room was an old wheelbarrow, which spewed out deadly tendrils like a fountain. The darkness was everywhere—covering the ceiling, the walls, the floor.

  Panic seized her as the temperature dropped, turning her breath into a frosty trail of smoke. This was nothing like the darkness in the toy store. It was larger, stronger. Her limbs seemed to turn to lead.

  There was a screeching noise, and the energy suddenly merged together in the shape of an arrow. It went flying over to Miss Appleby, covering her like a pulsating cloak.

  Midnight screamed. “It’s all over you! What should I do? Should I try and get it off you?”

  “Definitely not. Just do what I taught you,” Miss Appleby said. “Take the transformer and neutralize the wheelbarrow—” Her voice cut off, as if the spectral energy was stopping her from speaking.

  “But how?” Midnight said, but there was no answer. The spectral energy continued to gather around Miss Appleby, hiding her from sight.

  Midnight’s body shook as she reminded herself that Miss Appleby had done this hundreds of times before—all on her own, and she probably didn’t fall apart or get scared either. If she wanted to save Miss Appleby, she’d do what needed to be done.

  She ignored her shaking fingers and lifted the transformer up from the ground. The cloying smell of sulfur hung in the air, and the dark tendrils slid across the floor, gathering at her ankles like icy fingers. It wanted to cover her, just like it had done to Miss Appleby.

  Midnight held the camera up and stiffened her spine.

  She wouldn’t mess this up.

  Despite the frosty room, her palms sweat as she slowly pressed down on the button. The flash exploded around her, illuminating the darkness.

  The energy howled and raced toward her. Midnight didn’t move as the darkness swirled around her like a tornado. Next to her, still wrapped in the thick spectral energy, Miss Appleby whimpered.

  The buzzing turned into a piercing cry. The windows in the old building shattered and fell to the ground, startling her. Still, Midnight held the transformer tightly. Her arms protested against the weight of the transformer, and its copper and brass parts were cold against her fingers. Just when she was certain she was going to drop it, the spectral energy was entirely sucked in and the darkness disappeared. The warehouse building was once again filled with pale shafts of daylight.

  Midnight’s whole body shook as she lowered the camera to the ground and tried to catch her breath. Next to her, Miss Appleby’s face was pale and drawn, and she clutched her cane with a white-knuckled grip.

  “Well, I must admit, I wasn’t sure if you were going to manage it,” Miss Appleby said, her voice shaking.

  Midnight hugged her arms to her chest. “I didn’t either,” she admitted. While most of the blackness that had surrounded Miss Appleby was gone, there was still a faint smudge around her, reminding Midnight of the photograph in the locket that she’d found. “Are you okay? Did it—” She broke off, not quite sure what the spectral energy might have done.

  Miss Appleby managed a feeble laugh. “You don’t need to worry. It didn’t turn me into an evil monster, though it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

  “Are you sure?” Midnight noticed the knitting bag had spilled out onto the dirt floor. She bent down to retrieve it, but when her fingers touched the amber yarn, a sharp shock passed through her. She whipped her fingers away. “Ouch.”

  “Oh, I should’ve warned you not to touch anything that’s been so exposed to spectral energy.” Miss Appleby pointed to the red cart. “There are gloves in there; it’s always best to put them on first. Actually, I should’ve warned you about many things. I hope it didn’t scare you too much,” Miss Appleby said, her voice soft and reassuring. Some of the panic in Midnight’s chest lessened.

  “Only to the point of being a screaming mess,” Midnight confessed as she retrieved the gloves so she could gather up the knitting without getting another shock. “So are you definitely okay? I mean it was all over you. It was—”

  “Horrible? Soul chilling? Beyond words?” Miss Appleby said before sighing. “Because that’s how it felt. Still, the important thing is that you kept your wits and neutralized the true threat. Now we need to get the glass slide safely into the brass container in my backyard.”

  “Okay.” Midnight reluctantly carried the spectral transformer to where she’d left the red shopping cart. “D-did that happen because we couldn’t come out and neutralize it as soon as possible?”

  “Yes.” Miss Appleby nodded as some of the color returned to her cheeks. “I guess you can see now why I was so desperate for your help.”

  “Well, next time we’ll try and get to it sooner.” Midnight looked up at the graffiti-covered brickwork, now free of spectral energy. She’d only agreed to help because of the ski trip, but discovering how brave she could be filled her with pride. Even dinner at Phil’s didn’t seem so bad after this.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Sav, you absolutely have to get it,” Lucy pronounced. It was Saturday morning, and the three of them were crammed into one changing room. They’d been at Seven Oaks for two hours and Midnight was in heaven. On the downside, every single one of her muscles ached. In fact, she didn’t even know that she had so many muscles. Still, the cool hundred dollars that Miss Appleby had given her more than made up for a few aches and pains.

  The only frustrating thing was that she couldn’t tell anyone about it—especially not her popular friends.

  Sav wrinkled her nose. “Do you think the color’s okay?” She took another selfie and then scrutinized the image. “I’m not sure that yellow suits me.”

  “It does,” Lucy and Midnight chorused. That particular shade of yellow would’ve made most people look like they had a liver disease, but it just made Sav glo
w even more brightly.

  “Okay.” Sav put her phone down and studied herself in the large mirror one last time, then grinned. “You’ve convinced me. I’m going to be the proud owner of the yellowest sweater in existence. Go me.”

  “Here, here!” Lucy cheered. “So, what about you, Midnight? Did you find anything?”

  “Actually, I did.” Midnight held up a black, army-style jacket. She loved the design, and unlike the orange jeans she’d worn on her first spectral outing, it would be a lot more practical when she went out with Miss Appleby.

  “You can’t have boring black.” Lucy gave a firm shake of her head. “See, this is what happens when you spend too much time with Tabitha Wilson. You turn into a Goth.”

  “I’m not a Goth—” Midnight started to protest before she realized that Lucy was joking. “Ha-ha-ha, very funny.”

  “You’re welcome,” Lucy said before frowning again. “But why does Tabitha wear so much black? It’s like she’s allergic to color.”

  “Lucy, not everyone’s blessed with good taste, like we are,” Sav said seriously, though a hint of a smile tugged at her mouth.

  “Yeah, but don’t you think that she’s just a little bit weird? It’s like she wants to fade away into the background,” Lucy persisted. “What do you think, Midnight? After all, you’re the one who’s been spending time with her.”

  “Just for our project,” Midnight protested, not quite sure how she was meant to answer. Thankfully, before she could, Sav patted her arm.

  “Lucy’s only teasing. You know what she’s like.”

  “Well, I might be teasing her about Tabitha, but I’m not teasing her about the jacket,” Lucy said. “It’s so boring and baggy. Why not get a white, cropped jacket? Sav got one in red last week and I have a pink one. We could all match.”