Rhinestone Way

by Addison Creek

  Alternative bakery apparently meant loaves the color of lilacs, topped with frogs, and cookies with studded nails, and cupcakes foaming pink from the middle. Now that I made myself pay attention, I also caught the smell that very subtly permeated the whole place. I kind of thought it smelled like melting roses.

  We waited patiently until we arrived at the front of the line. All the while I was trying to decide if I was going to order something called Spiders Legs or something called Black-eyed Susan Pastry. I wondered: if I ordered it, would I actually have to eat it?

  When Kyle’s friends noticed Kelly, they both tried to pretend they hadn’t. The term “act busy” was employed, and they both ducked their heads and started fiddling with whatever they could find. Orio and Thompson made it obvious that they weren’t inclined to speak with us, but Kelly shouldered her way through and asked one of them to talk. Thompson shook his head and looked over his shoulder.

  I squinted in the same direction and saw a back door. Just then a girl came through it, and it was someone we recognized from the Young Witches club, the one with long dark hair and sharp eyes. She gave Kelly a big smile and extended her hand. She could tell that Kelly was trying to get something out of Thompson and had been denied.

  “I’m Damien. What can I help you with?” she asked. Her eyes flicked to me. She remembered me too.

  “We were hoping to talk to you about Kyle and Henry,” said Kelly loudly. The bakery was noisy with the hum of conversation, but Thompson must have heard us. His gaze flicked to Damien and her face clouded.

  “Of course. We went to the calling hours yesterday. I’m not sure how else we can help.”

  “I can’t get away just yet,” said Orio crossly. I hadn’t even been aware that he was listening, but the bakery was jammed, so it wasn’t far-fetched to think that this wasn’t a good time for him to talk.

  Damien pointed for us to backtrack and said she’d meet us out back.

  When I glanced in the direction where she was pointing, I thought at first that the door we had come through had disappeared. Then I realized that it had changed colors; now it was blue, before it had been yellow. Right after that I realized that I was wrong altogether. A blue giant, with thick legs, thick arms, and a rotund torso was standing in the back of the line, waiting for a pastry. And he was between us and the door, which might as well have disappeared. I swallowed hard.

  Have you ever tried getting out of a small bakery with a literal giant standing between you and the door? It’s quite difficult. This particular giant seemed oblivious to everything around him, including me. He only noticed me when I finally squeaked out something about needing to leave, and even then he moved slowly and with obvious annoyance.

  Back outside, we went around the back of the shop to a small courtyard, where Thompson and Damien were waiting for us. Just like inside the bakery, there wasn’t much room and we were forced to stand close together. Even out here the smells and sounds followed us. The day was still overcast and blustery, but at least the rain hadn’t started yet, so we wouldn’t get soaked while we talked.

  “We are so sorry that your brother is still missing,” said Damien sympathetically. “He was always so nice to me.”

  “That’s because he had a huge crush on you,” said Kelly with a smile. Damien threw back her head and blushed prettily, while Thompson rolled his eyes.

  Damien was the one leading this charge. She was the talker of the two, while Thompson stood to the side, silent and sullen. He kept scuffing his foot on the pavement as if he thought the whole conversation was a waste of time.

  “I know Kyle hung out with you all from time to time,” said Kelly. “This is his favorite store in the whole town. I was wondering if you had talked to him recently.”

  Without missing a beat, Damien turned to Thompson, who shrugged. “We hung out about once a week. We usually played kickball or something like that. You know, just guy stuff.”

  “I was usually there to play kickball. I don’t see how it’s just guy stuff,” said Damien with a slight smile. “I never really hung out with him otherwise. Just saw him around the bakery. We didn’t hang out, in other words.”

  Again Kelly smiled. “I know that. If you’d hung out, he would’ve been deliriously happy. He wouldn’t have shut up about it.”

  Damien was a couple of years older than Kyle. I figured he must have worshiped her from afar in high school.

  “So nothing happened at kickball except kickball?” I asked.

  “Like what?” Thompson growled.

  Damien elbowed him.

  “Like anything you thought was strange or out of the ordinary,” I said.

  Thompson shrugged and shook his head.

  “Do you have any idea where he and Henry liked to hang out?” I asked.

  “Henry was found unconscious in the woods. Do you know whether they went there often?” Lowe added.

  “Look, I just played kickball with them. That’s about it,” insisted Thompson. “I didn’t know they went to hang out in weird places or did things that got them in trouble. I spend most of my time at the bakery. Which reminds me, I have to get back. Good luck in your search.” Without a backward glance, he turned around and walked back into the store. He had never uncrossed his arms.

  Damien turned and looked at us apologetically. “Don’t mind him,” she said. “He’s like that with everyone. He’s more upset about Henry than he lets on. They had a sort of friendly kickball rivalry. I guess that’s over with now.”

  “We understand. Is there any chance Orio could come out and talk to us?” Kelly asked. “I know he did actually come over from time to time.”

  It was clear that Damien was about to say no, but then she thought better of it. “You know what? I’ll make him come out. This is important.” She too disappeared back inside, leaving the three of us to stand and wait.

  “I feel like we’re close to discovering something. I just don’t know what,” said Lowe.

  “I hope we discover something before anything else goes wrong. Quinn knows we’re up to something. On top of that, Kyle is still missing.” I shook my head.

  It didn’t take long for Orio to appear, but he was alone; Damien didn’t come back with him. He didn’t look as sullen as Thompson, but he was at pains to convey that he was busy. “I only have five minutes. We don’t usually take breaks around here,” he said, sounding gruff.

  “Thank you for talking with us,” I said.

  He shrugged.

  “You were friends with my brother, right?” Kelly asked.

  “Sure. We hung out. There aren’t enough warlocks in town to make it easy to avoid the ones who are here,” he muttered.

  “Of course,” said Kelly. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  Orio glared at the ground as if he knew the answer to the question, but was hesitant to say.

  “I saw Kyle and Henry on the morning of the day they went missing,” he said at last.

  On that cool gray day, his words electrified us as if the sun had just come out.

  “Really?” said Kelly excitedly. “What did they say? How did they seem? Have you spoken with the sheriff?”

  “Definitely not,” Orio’s head snapped up. “Can’t do that. Don’t want to get the guys in trouble. There are rules, you know? We have to be respectful of each other.”

  “Rules for what?” I asked.

  “No snitching,” he said.

  “So you knew they were doing something illegal?” Kelly had gone paler. Orio was confirming her worst fears.

  “I don’t know what they were doing,” Orio hastened to add. “I had no idea. Maybe they were just kidding around. I didn’t have time to ask. Look, this job supports my whole family. The Smiths were nice to give it to me and I don’t want to put it in jeopardy.”

  “You haven’t answered the question about the sheriff,” I told him. I’d have to ask later who the Smiths were.

  “Right. NO, I don’t want to talk to him. I’m sure I wouldn’t be of an
y help anyway. I don’t know anything,” he said firmly.

  “Just tell us what happened the last time you saw them,” I suggested.

  Kelly had started staring into space, as if she couldn’t quite wrap her head around all of it. To her Orio might as well have said that Kyle was snatching pearls from the mouths of dragons.

  “They came by my house,” he offered, grudgingly. “They’d never done that before. My mom wasn’t happy about them being there. She doesn’t like visitors, you know? Anyway, she told me they’d best stay only for a couple of minutes. I was surprised to see them come in the first place. They’d never come before, and definitely not unannounced. It was also early enough in the day so that I was surprised anyone but me would be awake. I had an early shift here, which I usually do. I guess they knew when I worked,” he added.

  I nodded encouragingly.

  He sighed. “They were giddy, all happy like. They were talking about career opportunities and how they were businessmen now. They really thought they’d made something of themselves. I asked them what was going on. They said they couldn’t give me the details, but I could come along. They were headed into the woods to make it all official. I could have a role.”

  “They told you they were headed for the woods?” I asked incredulously.

  “Yup. First they said they had to make a stop, but then the woods it was. I said if all of this was aboveboard, what did they need to do it in the woods for? Sounded secretive. I didn’t like it. So I told them I wasn’t going with them. They weren’t bothered. They said all kinds of stuff, like maybe next time,” he finished.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Look, I can’t stay out here. There’s really nothing else I can tell you. If you’ve already been to their treehouse, that’s all the help I can give you.”

  As he started to turn way, Lowe suddenly lurched forward. My small cousin wrapped one hand around his Orio’s huge arm. She didn’t stop his foreword motion with a physical touch, but instead just managed to surprise him by the contact.

  “Where is that treehouse exactly?” she asked.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Orio reluctantly told us everything we wanted to know, mostly so he could get back inside as quickly as possible. He acted as if we were causing him more problems than we were worth. I thought about offering to pay him for the information, then I realized that the real charitable thing to do would be to offer to stop Kelly from using a curse on him. Once we had the information we needed, we left him to get back to work.

  Tonight was my date with Quinn, so I didn’t want to be out too late, but we absolutely had to check out this treehouse lead. The first thing we did when we left the bakery was to stop at a farmstead and grab sandwiches for lunch. Then it was time to head to the woods.

  Kelly was the most nervous of us. She wasn’t at all happy to discover that Kyle had a secret treehouse. What finally convinced her to look for it was the realization that he might be there even now, hurt or in need of help. We couldn’t just ignore the possibility, we had to check it out.

  “Orio gave good directions. I hope he isn’t wrong about them,” Kelly mused as we made our way through town.

  I took some comfort in the fact that at least this adventure didn’t require us to go into the Bleak Area. Orio had thought that Kelly’s own borough was the best place to enter the woods, and she was careful to stay hidden when we passed her own farm.

  “Mom would be furious if she found out what I was up to,” she explained.

  We made our way down the road and around the bend to a dirt path that led into the forest. Then we all stopped, as if at some invisible signal.

  “Jackie is going to wonder where we are,” I said.

  We had told her we’d stop by her office later so she could show us around. She also wanted to prove to her coworkers that she did in fact have real friends.

  “This is more important, because you’re right. Kyle could be there and hurt right now,” Kelly said, taking a deep breath.

  I stared forward into the woods as if I were facing the edge of a cliff. In front of us were dark, close-growing trees that turned out to be nothing like ordinary trees. Through their thick branches I could see a forest unlike any other, with blue leaves and gray trunks, or pink branches and black acorns. It was all very strange and very magical.

  Twinkleford forest here we come, I thought to myself.

  As before, Kelly led the way. She was small and studious, but she had a brave heart. Lowe and I were only too happy to fall into step behind her.

  “Don’t eat anything,” Kelly cautioned.

  “We know that much,” Lowe muttered.

  Kelly glanced over her shoulder at Lowe and said, “Good, because I don’t think either of us would look very good as a chipmunk.”

  Lowe blanched. “I’m re-thinking this whole becoming-a-witch thing,” she said suddenly. “It feels like a lot of pressure.”

  “I’m sure the you can manage it,” I told her. “Look at how well I’m doing.”

  “Are you referring to the murderous vixens or the killer swamp creature?” Lowe asked.

  “Don’t be petty,” I warned her.

  We kept moving further into the forest as carefully as we could. Like most areas filled with trees, this place was far from quiet. There was the brush of wind and the twinkle of water, the distant sound of footsteps and the rustling of foliage.

  Kelly pressed on without commenting on any of it. I kept swiveling my head from side to side in case something should come upon us quickly. The swamp creature’s appearance had traumatized me just a bit. So soon after that experience, I was determined not to be taken unawares again.

  “He said come into the forest, find the purple mushroom straight to the left, turn right after it and follow the green tree marks.” Kelly was whispering Orio’s directions over and over to herself as she moved slowly but deliberately along the path.

  “I think I see it,” I said, pointing through the silver leaves to where there was a glimpse of purple. We moved a little faster in the direction of the large, purple mushroom.

  “What can you do with this beauty?” I whispered. The mushroom seemed to hear my words, because I could have sworn it puffed up a bit upon hearing my compliment.

  “This way,” said Kelly.

  We made our way around the mushroom, and from there it became a lot easier. There were indeed clear green marks on the trees showing us the way. After what must have been half an hour of walking, Lowe stopped. “Where are you two going? We’re here.”

  We both looked around. “I don’t see anything,” said Kelly craning her neck upward.

  “I don’t either.” I was also looking to the sky.

  Lowe frowned at both of us as if we were crazy. “It’s right up there!” She pointed over our heads. “A big old treehouse. Well made if I do say so myself.”

  I thought it was rather funny that I’d had a treehouse at home and now I was hunting for one in the woods of Twinkleford. Maybe it was a magic thing.

  “I still don’t see it,” I grumbled.

  “I bet that’s because they spelled it that way,” said Kelly, her face suddenly lighting up in inspiration. “I bet they spelled it so that witches couldn’t find them!”

  “But Lowe is a . . .” I trailed off. She wasn’t a witch yet, technically. “That’s clever.”

  “More clever than I would have given them credit for,” Kelly muttered.

  She grabbed a book out of her bag and started leafing through it. After a while she stopped at a particular page and said, “Jade, we’re going to have to perform a ritual. Get some leaves and branches and pile them under the spot where Lowe says the treehouse is.”‘

  While I did that I kept one eye on Kelly. Out of her bag she pulled a blue potion and a small piece of glass.

  “For transparency,” she explained when she saw that I was looking.

  After a quick ritual where we had to synchronize our hand motions (which made Lowe laugh), the treehouse shimmered
into existence.

  “Glass is an excellent substance for rituals,” Kelly murmured.

  The treehouse was big. So big, in fact, that several trolleys could have fit up there.

  “They really put a lot of work into that thing,” said Lowe.

  Kelly wanted to take her time, so we were still on the ground looking up at it. The only problem was that the day was getting on.

  “What if someone else comes here looking for the treehouse? What if several people used it and some still are?” Lowe whispered. Every crunch of a leaf underfoot was now making my cousin jump. She was sure we were going to get caught and end up in big trouble.

  “We’ll just have to deal with that if it happens,” said Kelly. “I’d actually love it if Kyle had accomplices and they showed up. I’d give them a piece of my mind.”

  “Let’s go,” I said. “We have to get up there and get out of here. Let’s see what they have up there, or if Kyle needs help.”

  At the mention of her brother’s name Kelly appeared to wake up. She took the ladder as quickly as she could.

  “Be careful!” Lowe cautioned her. “You could get hurt!”

  Kelly reached the top of the treehouse with Lowe and me right behind her. She hopped onto the balcony and rushed toward the door. I expected it to be locked, but it wasn’t. Before Lowe and I could get up the ladder, Kelly disappeared inside.

  Before we could reach her, she was screaming.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Lowe and I went faster, forgetting about our own safety. Lowe got there first, gasped, and darted toward the door. Kelly was already inside the treehouse, and Lowe and I crowded in after her. There was a couch in there, and I could just see her head over the top of it. She was kneeling on the floor.

  “Get help! It’s Kyle! He’s unconscious,” she cried.

  Lowe immediately turned around and rushed down the ladder, while I hurried over to help Kelly.

  On the floor in front of her was a big, gangly young man lying facedown. From this angle I couldn’t tell whether he was breathing.