Adventures of Alexis Davenport Series

by West, Shay

  Master stood and moved away from Drifter, trying to regain control of the situation. “How were you taken by surprise?”

  “I was sleeping! How was I to know they would accost me in my own rooms?”

  “You must be prepared for anything. Obviously this girl is more cunning than you imagined. Even without a Master, she has managed to foil your every plan.”

  Drifter clenched his fists. He wanted to hit this man who had found him so long ago, this man who had taught him how to use his gifts. “You owe me some answers. How were those two able to send me back? I tried to make Ay reappear and it didn’t work. What the hell did they do to me?”

  “They used an ancient spell, one I was sure no one else knew.”

  “I think you’d better start talking.” Drifter wouldn’t be put off. He faced Max Poder and refused to look away or back down. He was the one putting his life at risk and he needed to know everything his Master knew.

  Max opened his mouth, ready with a sharp retort, but closed it when he realized his pupil wasn’t going to leave this alone. “The words he spoke were an ancient spell to force a traveler out of the body he’s inhabiting. They are a protection against people like us.” Max smirked.

  “How do I defend myself against this? There was nothing I could do to stop them.”

  “You have to stop them from capturing you. Even if you close your eyes, your reflection will still appear in the mirror and your spirit will find its way back.”

  Drifter pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m thinking we need to stop this plan. The more I learn, the more I realize how much danger I’m in from this girl. And if she has help, then it’s even worse for me.”

  “Oh, stop being melodramatic! It was pure chance she met up with another traveler. If this girl had a Master, you’d be dead already. She’s flying blind with no real help. If you kept your wits about you, maybe you could manage to succeed in one of these small missions.” Max knew that he was running a risk by ridiculing his pupil. But it was the only way he knew to get the man angry enough to continue, if only to prove he was better than the girl.

  “She’s managed to stop me every time! I shudder to think what she could do if she actually figures out about her talents.” Drifter sneered.

  “We can’t give up. We’ve come too far.”

  “I don’t like this. It’s easy for you to insist ‘we’ keep going. It’s not your ass on the line.”

  Max glared at Drifter, hating the man’s new-found confidence. Never in all the years he had known Drifter had he ever stood up for himself like this. “You’ve got to kill this girl, once and for all. I’m not sure what’s going on, but she’s connected to you somehow.”

  “Isn’t there anyone you can ask? Master to Master?”

  “I’m not an official Master. None of the others would ever speak to me about what they know. They hold their secrets close.”

  “Maybe we should pay them a visit and force them to tell us what they know.”

  “We don’t have time to get sidetracked. You need to focus on the task at hand. I know how to kill the girl so we can focus on the big plan. Now listen closely...”

  CHAPTER 11

  ALEX GASPED and gripped the bathroom counter. Confusion filled her, until she remembered she was in her very own bathroom in the new house. A quick peek out the door showed her that the delivery guys were still in the middle of putting her furniture together.

  She slammed the door and turned back to the counter, frantically searching for her phone among the clutter. Alex picked it up in her shaking hands, cursing as she dropped it on the fluffy new bath rug. Thank God the rug was there!

  In seconds, she had the text message ready to send to Jennifer: Went to Egypt. Please call! Need U!

  Alex’s heart raced as she pushed send, hoping that Jennifer would text her back, or call. There was so much that had happened, so much she had learned, and she needed to tell the only person who knew about her special gift.

  She nearly dropped the phone again when it beeped and vibrated slightly. Part of her was scared to see what the message said. What if she told me to go to hell? Tears threatened to fall. Things had been so hectic since Jennifer had gotten mad at her. And the excitement of the new house and all the shopping had pushed the fight with her best friend to the back corner of her mind.

  Laughter bubbled to the surface when she saw Jennifer’s reply: On my way!

  “Oh, crap! She doesn’t know where I am!” Alex didn’t care that she had spoken the words out loud. She sent a text to Jennifer with the address for the new house.

  Alex didn’t know what to do until Jennifer arrived. She felt like she had electricity flowing through her veins. She wondered if it was possible for someone to explode from too much excitement. All of the new things that had happened that day threatened to overwhelm her. Do I show her the new house first or tell her about Egypt? Logic told her that she should probably show off the new house before starting in on the new findings from her trip to Egypt.

  She threw open the door, sighing in relief when she saw the guys leaving, carrying rolls of plastic and flattened cardboard. Her heart galloped in her chest when she saw her beautiful white bedroom set. The delivery guys had placed the furniture haphazardly around the room. To Alex, it was obvious they did it because they had no clue where she wanted anything.

  “If you tell us where you want this stuff, we’ll move it for you.”

  Alex yelped and turned around to face the good-looking guy in her doorway. She blushed as he stared at her. She couldn’t help but notice how tan his arms were against the white of his T-shirt. Get a grip, Alex!

  “We won’t have to change it too much, honest.” Alex proceeded to stammer her directions of where she wanted to place her new furniture. It felt good watching her bedroom come together exactly how she wanted it.

  After the guys were done, Alex ripped open the bedding from Wal-Mart, eager to make her bed. She snorted laughter. Too bad the excitement at making my bed won’t last! Alex hated making her bed. She didn’t see the point of making it if she was just going to sleep in it the following night and mess it up again.

  “How’s it going, kiddo?”

  Alex looked up from shoving her pillow in the purple pillowcase, and smiled at her mother. “Great! You should see what I did with the bathroom! It looks so awesome!” She cleared her throat. “Oh, and Jenn’s on her way over.”

  “So you two are speaking again?”

  “I guess. I invited her to come see the place and she said she was on her way.” Alex shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

  “I guess it’s okay, as long as she doesn’t stay too late.”

  She was glad to see her mom smiling. Alex’s heart filled with so much happiness she thought it would burst. If someone had asked her at the moment what her best day ever had been, she would tell them “Today.” Up until this day, she would have said the double date with Jennifer, Drake, and James. But the new house, having her own walk-in closet and bathroom, all the shopping, the dinner with her mom, having more information about her gift, and having her best friend speaking to her again made this the best day ever.

  “Jenn’s here, Lexi!”

  Alex squealed and ran to the front door. She was greeted by a bear hug that crushed her ribs, and a mouthful of brown hair. “Oooof! Can’t breathe!”

  “Sorry, Alex! I’m so sorry about everything! I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately but sometimes I just get so mad and I don’t know why.”

  “It’s okay! I’m just glad you’re speaking to me again,” Alex assured her. There was a part of her that wanted to demand why Jennifer had said those awful things after rehearsals, but she ignored that part and thought it better to let things be.

  Alex showed Jennifer the house, feeling a little smug when Jennifer oohed and ahhed over the vaulted ceilings, the huge kitchen, Alex’s room, and the beautiful back yard. She knew she shouldn’t take such pleasure in showing off her new house, but she couldn’t help it. S
he had never had nice things, and it felt good to have someone jealous of her for a change.

  Not like Jenn has a reason to be jealous. Alex actually loved spending time at Jenn’s house. She lived in a big country-style house with a wrap-around porch. Her family owned quite a bit of property and their neighbors had horses. Alex loved feeding them grass, feeling their lips brush against her palms. The house itself was so full of love and laughter, and memories hanging on each and every wall.

  Alex never felt like an intruder when she visited the MacDonald’s home. Jennifer’s parents always made her feel welcome, like she was part of the family instead of just being their daughter’s friend. Sometimes, as she watched Jenn’s mom and dad sharing glances, touches, and the occasional kiss, feelings of jealousy would rage through her. She would fake smiles and laughter until the anger dissipated, leaving her wondering why her father couldn’t have been more like Jenn’s dad.

  Alex led Jennifer to her room and closed the door. Now that the tour was complete, there was important business to attend to.

  CHAPTER 12

  “TELL ME EVERYTHING!” Jennifer ordered.

  Alex paced in front of the bed. Jennifer had her special notebook reserved for writing down every detail of Alex’s trips through time. Alex was concerned about the notebook. She understood the need to document what was happening, but she couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if someone ever found it.

  “There’s so much to tell, I almost don’t know where to start!”

  “Well, start somewhere! I’m dying over here!”

  Alex started from the beginning, thinking that would be the best place to start. She told Jennifer about getting caught watching the hot delivery guys, and then seeing the girl in the mirror, and feeling the urge to touch it.

  “Wait, you had a bunch of guys in your room today?”

  Alex rolled her eyes. “They were putting together the furniture, Jenn.”

  “Come on, Alex! You had older, hot guys in your bedroom! How many girls our age can say that?”

  “Can we please get back to the time traveling thing?”

  Jennifer huffed. “Fine. But I want details about the hotties later.”

  “Okay, so I figured out I was King Tut’s wife—“

  “Seriously? The King Tut?” Jennifer was staring at Alex with a look of incredulity on her face.

  Alex sat in her computer chair and wheeled herself in front of Jennifer. “I need you to focus, Jenn. Just write stuff down, and you can get all excited later. Seriously. I learned something important on this trip!”

  “Okay, geez! I’ll keep my outbursts to myself.”

  “I was King Tut’s wife.” She looked at Jennifer to make sure she wasn’t going to say anything else. When Alex saw her lips clamped tight, she continued. “I went into town and came across someone. Jenn, he was a traveler too!”

  Jennifer gasped and dropped her pencil. “Oh my God, Alex! Was he evil, like the other guy?”

  “No. In fact, all I sensed from him were good things.”

  “Another one like you. What are the chances?”

  “According to Sean, pretty much impossible. I was the first he’s met too.”

  “This is getting complicated.”

  “Tell me about it. Anyway, Sean told me some stuff about my gift, but in reality, he wasn’t all that helpful.”

  Alex told Jennifer everything she could remember about her conversations with Sean. As she spoke, it became even more obvious that she didn’t know much more than before she met him. But at least I’m not alone in this.

  She waited while Jennifer scribbled furiously in the notebook. “Anyway, he helped me to beat the bad guy and force him to leave Tut’s advisor’s body.”

  “How did you force him out?”

  “A magic spell.”

  Jennifer laughed. “A spell? Seriously?”

  “I thought the same thing, but it worked. I held the mirror and Sean said the spell, and the guy was forced out of Tut’s advisor’s body. It was crazy. I could actually feel the spell working.”

  “So what now? That traveler is still alive. And I doubt he’s gonna quit messing around with time. Can you stop him for good?”

  Alex sighed. “I don’t know. That spell we used will force the traveler from their host body. If there isn’t a mirror for them to look into, their spirit will float forever in the void.”

  “But you managed to make it back to your body. If this guy can too, then the spell won’t do any good.”

  “That’s what I was thinking too. I asked if there was a way to get rid of a traveler for good and Sean said he didn’t know.”

  “Geez, Alex. This is pretty intense. What about trying to contact him in Scotland? I mean, if you could figure that out, you could talk to his Master and maybe get some answers.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t even know where to start—“

  A knock on the door interrupted their discussion. “Getting kind of late girls.” Patricia peeked in, giving Jennifer a small wave.

  Alex knew better than to argue. “Okay, Mom. We’ll be done in a sec.”

  As soon as Patricia closed the door, Alex turned to Jennifer. “Guess we’ll have to finish tomorrow.”

  “You should practice forcing the mirror to change. The sooner you can talk to Sean’s Master, the better.”

  Alex promised she would. She walked Jennifer to the front door and waved good-bye as she drove away. She wished for the hundredth time that her mom would let her get her driver’s license. Her birthday was in October, and if she could get her learner’s permit now, she was sure she could be a good enough driver by her birthday.

  Mom’ll never budge.

  “I’m pooped, kiddo! How about you?”

  Alex sighed. “I am too, actually. What a day!”

  “See you in the morning.” Patricia kissed her daughter goodnight and went to bed.

  Alex closed the door to her room and got ready for bed. After brushing her teeth, she stared at the mirror, trying to make it change to the reflection of someone else. After a few minutes of only managing to look constipated, she gave up.

  While updating her Facebook and Twitter status about the new house, a chat box came up from Drake. Her face flushed and her heart soared. She couldn’t wait to hold his hand and kiss him again.

  But what he typed next put a damper on her evening. He asked why Jenn was being such a needy freak and calling James multiple times a day. Alex didn’t want to chat about Jennifer. It felt like betraying her. When she didn’t answer for a minute, Drake typed in the question again. Alex bit her lip. She wanted to stick up for Jenn, but she didn’t want to upset Drake. She decided to play dumb and pretend that she didn’t know anything about Jennifer calling or texting James.

  Drake asked Alex to maybe say something to Jenn about being so annoying. He said James was thinking of dumping Jenn if she didn’t leave him alone. Alex wanted to cry.

  Alex asked Drake how she was supposed to bring up the subject without letting Jenn know that the two of them had been chatting behind her back. Drake suggested watching how often she called and sent texts to James, then say something about it to Jennifer. She explained about their fight earlier that day, and not wanting to piss Jenn off again. Drake said he would talk to James and tell him to speak to Jenn himself, but he was worried that if it came to that, he would just break up with her.

  Alex promised to speak to Jenn before their double date that next weekend. She told Drake goodnight, and logged off the computer. She had no idea how she was going to bring up Jennifer’s incessant calling and texting without hurting her feelings. Alex felt torn in two. On the one hand, she wanted to keep her mouth shut and keep Jennifer as her friend. And yet, she wanted to warn her friend that she was being annoying and to back off. She’ll hate me if James breaks up with her and I keep seeing Drake. All this was new to Alex and she didn’t know how a friend should respond. Should she keep quiet to keep from hurting Jenn’s feelings, insist James deal with this himself, o
r tell Jenn and risk her getting angry again?

  Why does being a teenager have to suck so bad?

  CHAPTER 13

  ALEX SPENT MOST of Saturday settling into the new house while her mom was at work. She arranged her books on the shelves, got the computer set up on the desk, put her clothes away in the walk-in closet. She sighed at how much space there was, even after she hung up all her clothes.

  Karen came to dinner that night and brought take-out from the new barbeque restaurant that had opened near the Mesa Mall. Even though she tried to put on a brave face, Alex thought Karen looked like she was on the verge of tears. I’m gonna miss her too.

  “I have another reason for coming tonight other than just seeing the new house. Which is fabulous by the way,” Karen said. “I have been thinking of opening a new store for quite some time now, but the location was always wrong. I wanted something on Main Street, and preferably close to my store now. Well, something came up today and I think I have my new building. And it’s right next door to Uptown Girl!”

  “Oh, Karen, that’s great!” Patricia said.

  “You know that art gallery next door? The owner is moving to Phoenix and selling the store. She knew about me wanting a building so she came to me at lunch today and told me she would sell it to me.”

  Alex waited impatiently while her mother and aunt squealed and hugged again, exclaiming about how fortuitous it all was. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Mind if I ask what kind of store you plan on opening?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry Alex! Your mom and I have talked about it a little while at the store and I just figured you knew. I’m opening a men’s clothing store and calling it Downtown Boy.”

  “Cool! Am I gonna work in that store too?”

  “Absolutely! If your summer schedule isn’t completely full, I’ll put you to work so you can start earning money for school clothes for fall.” Karen winked.