He shrugged. “Nah. Whenever I encounter imminent danger, I try to concentrate on the solution, not the source.”
“Well, have you found a solution for this problem yet?” I mumbled.
He stared at the sky. “Yes,” he answered sucking in his breath. “Run!”
~~~
I’m not sure why he told me to run at that particular moment, but I wasn’t about to argue with him. We both took off running down the alley.
“Hurry!” he barked when I stumbled over a break in the pavement.
“Trying!” I yelled back.
Just then hundreds of sharp “kraking” noises filled the air and I glanced behind us. “Oh, my God!” I shrieked in horror.
The sky was a blur of black, with thousands of birds screaming towards us, the sound of their wings flapping in the wind entwined with the roaring in my ears was deafening.
“Come on!” yelled Tyler, pulling me towards one of the neighbor’s garages.
We crashed through the side door and I threw my arms around him. “Teleport us or whatever it is you do, right now!” I cried.
He nodded and began to chant.
“Going somewhere?”
I opened my eyes to find Michelle smiling coldly at us in the darkness of the garage, her blond hair now a vibrant red, her facial features totally changed. It was unnerving to see my mother’s familiar, loving features twisted into a look of pure hatred.
“Please, don’t hurt us,” I whispered in horror.
She held up a wand and pointed it towards us, chanting some type of spell. Fortunately, however, Tyler had remained diligent in his incantations so we disappeared before she could finish.
Chapter Nineteen
We landed in the bathroom of “Secrets.”
“That was close,” I gasped, trying to stand up. My legs were trembling so much I thought they’d give out any minute.
He closed his eyes and released a ragged sigh. “You have no idea.”
“So, did you recognize that spell she tried to use?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah, she almost annihilated us, both.”
My eyes widened. “Wow. It’s that easy, to kill someone?”
“With the right spell and sorceress, anything is possible.”
The door opened suddenly and old Mrs. Buchaard stood staring at us curiously.
“Oh, I’m sorry, do you need to get in here?” asked Tyler.
She shook her head. “No, but you’d better get your butts moving if you’re planning on helping Adrianne.”
I stared at her in surprise. “What?”
She wagged her finger at us to follow her and said. “Let me introduce myself, I’m your mother’s cousin, Clarice.”
“What?” I repeated, this time in total shock. I glanced at Tyler who was smiling in amusement.
She grinned. “Oh, I know you weren’t aware of it. We kept it from you and your sister for a reason. It was much too dangerous.”
I stared at her and recognized some of my mother’s traits. Cat-like eyes and high cheekbones. Otherwise Clarice’s hair was completely white.
She patted her hair. “I know. I messed up a spell many years ago and it turned my hair white. I kind of liked it so… I kept it.”
“Tyler!” called his mother, who was now rushing to close the shop. “What’s happened? I’ve received some messages that there’s been trouble.”
“Trouble?” he snorted. “I’d say. Vivian showed up at Kendra’s and we barely made it out of there.”
She rushed over and threw her arms around Tyler. “Thank the stars above you’re both safe. That woman is so unpredictable.”
“The opposite of my mom, usually,” I mumbled.
Rebecca turned to me. “I take it you didn’t find her?”
I shook my head sadly. “No, we have no idea where she is.”
“What about your sister?” asked Clarice, taking a step closer.
“Actually, I haven’t spoken to her since this morning.” I hadn’t even considered how much danger my twin could be in.
“We’d better take a drive to the school and check on her then,” said Clarice. “Quickly, before Vivian gets her mitts on her.”
“Um, Kala’s supposed to be getting a ride home with Mark Davis. They’re going to the library after school to surf the Internet.”
Clarice frowned. “Did you say “Mark Davis”?”
I nodded.
“I don’t know. There’s something about that boy that doesn’t sit well with me,” she said. “I’ve seen him around town, getting into all sorts of trouble. He’s definitely not the type of boy your mother would want for Kala.”
“He’s a total jerk,” I said. “I don’t know how she can even stand to be near him.”
Rebecca went behind the register and grabbed her purse. “Let’s go find your sister, Kendra. If we’re lucky, we’ll locate your mother, too.”
I sighed. “Can we drive by my house again, just in case she’s there?”
“Of course, dear,” answered Rebecca. She turned to Clarice who was digging around in her purse. “Are you coming?”
Clarice looked up. “Yes, I was just looking for my wand. It’s got to be in here somewhere.”
Rebecca opened up her own purse and held it away from her body. “Manifest,” she said.
I watched in awe as a thin black magic wand shot out of Rebecca’s leather handbag. It twirled in the air for a few seconds and then sat hovering in front of her face. She grabbed the wand and smiled at Clarice. “You may as well use magic now that Vivian’s aware of our existence in town.”
Clarice nodded and then held out her purse. “Manifest!” she ordered. Unfortunately nothing happened.
“Where is it?” asked Rebecca, stepping closer.
Clarice frowned. “Manifest!” she yelled. Still the wand did not appear.
“Is it possible that you left it at home?”
“I never leave home without my wand. It’s just giving me a hard time. I think it’s still angry that I hollered at it the other day.”
“Oh,” said Rebecca. “You have one of those.”
“What do you mean?” I asked incredulously. “What… you hollered at your wand and now it’s acting out?”
Clarice nodded. “Some wands are sensitive. Mine is very temperamental,” she murmured.
“I heard that!” boomed a feminine voice from somewhere inside of Clarice’s purse.
My jaw dropped as a long thin wand shot out of the purse and hovered close to Clarice’s face. “Madame, you owe me an apology!” it announced.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” said Clarice, with a stiff upper lip. “You’ve been ignoring me all day. With Vivian around we have no time for such petty games.”
“I’m not playing games! I’d just like a little respect, is all. I’ve served you for over fifty years, witch. Have you once ever asked me to perform a spell nicely?”
“Whatever do you mean?” she asked.
The wand snorted. “A simple ‘thank you’ or even a ‘please’ works wonders. Is that too much to ask?”
Clarice’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. Thank you for all your magical assistance, I greatly appreciate it. Now get your petulant, bony butt into my fist before I turn you into a box of toothpicks!”
The wand immediately flew into Clarice’s hand.
She smiled smugly and then looked at me. “You have to teach the wand who’s in charge or they won’t serve you properly. They like to test you from time to time. Some more than others.”
I was still flustered from seeing a wand talk, let alone think on its own. “Um, okay.”
Clarice stepped closer to me. “You do realize you’re a witch too, don’t you, dear?”
“Me?” I asked, hoarsely.
“Oh yes. Your powers are dormant right now. But you and your sister have the genes to be very powerful witches.”
Chapter Twenty
I chewed on what Clarice had told me on the way to the school but had a hard time reall
y believing it. I was still trying to imagine my mother as a powerful sorceress. It just didn’t seem logical. She changed diapers and served macaroni and cheese to children during the day. Did she really have the ability to teleport or put a hex on someone when she wasn’t potty training?
“You okay?” asked Tyler, touching my knee.
“I think so,” I said, staring at his hand.
“I know this whole thing is hard to grasp,” he said, looking down, suddenly shy. He removed his hand. “Sorry.”
I smiled. “You didn’t hear me complaining.”
He grinned and put his hand back on my knee.
“Tyler,” warned Rebecca, who must also have eyes on the back of her head.
He removed his hand and smiled sheepishly.
I turned to look out the window as we pulled up to the high school. The last bell hadn’t rung yet, so I knew we still had some time.
“Kendra and I should go into the school alone,” said Tyler. “You ladies can keep a lookout for anything unusual on the outside.”
“Just be careful,” said Rebecca. “If you run into Vivian, send me a signal.”
He nodded and we got out of the car.
“So, how are you going to let your mother know if Vivian’s around?” I asked.
He pointed to his head. “If she opens her mind up, I can send her a telepathic message.”
I sighed. “Oh, of course. I should have known.”
The bell began to ring right as we entered the school and the sound of chaos soon filled the halls.
“I’m not even sure which class Kala has for final period,” I said, as kids started rushing past us towards the exit.
“Maybe you should watch for her at this side of the building,” he said. “I’ll go to the other exit and keep an eye out.”
“Okay.”
I watched as Tyler put his sunglasses on and walked away. He seemed so much older and sophisticated than the guys sprinting past me on their way out of the school. Some of them were belching out loud or skateboarding towards the exits, and I began to wonder if Tyler was older than what he’d said. It was feasible since he only came to the school looking for us.
“Kala!” hollered Hailey coming straight towards me. She obviously had me confused with my sister.
“Hi,” I said, gritting my teeth.
She looked down at my dress and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Oh, I see they do make that dress in regular sizes. It certainly looks nice on you.”
I forced a smile. “Well, thanks.”
She nodded. “Too bad your sister can’t lose all that extra weight. I’d have thought seeing you in the exact same dress would inspire her to eat less.”
“Why are you so interested in my sister?” I snapped.
Hailey’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not. It’s just that I know you were talking about running for student council president and having a sister like her can’t be good for your image. Maybe you shouldn’t even waste your time running.”
“What do you mean?”
She smiled cruelly. “Well, you’re popular, of course, but she’s pretty much in a class all by herself. Think about it, you’ll lose a lot of votes and that would be totally humiliating. You could save yourself the embarrassment and just help someone else win.”
I folded my arms under my chest. “Let me guess, you’re running for president as well and would like me to back you up?”
Her face lit up. “You’d do that?”
I was speechless. Words just couldn’t describe how much I despised Hailey at that particular moment, although, if I had the power to turn her into a toad right now, I’d turn myself into one instead. Then I’d turn her into a fly, so that I could devour her.
“Listen,” she said. “Don’t forget to meet us at ‘The Pointe’ after school. Mark mentioned that he was giving you a lift?”
The Pointe? That was a popular partying spot. I cleared my throat. “Oh, yeah. I’ll see you later.”
She stared at me curiously for a minute and then walked away.
~~~
As I continued to search for Kala, I noticed Tyler hurrying towards me.
“Did you see her anywhere?” I asked.
He nodded and then ran a hand through his hair. “I did, but unfortunately Mark hustled her out of the school so quickly, I didn’t get a chance to talk to her.”
I sighed. “Well, I know where they’re going,” I said. “The Pointe.”
“What’s “The Pointe”?
I smirked. “Exactly.”
He snorted. “Do you know where it is?”
“I think so. There’s a park a few blocks from here with a great view of the valley below. If you climb down the hill underneath it a few feet, you’ll supposedly come to this hidden cave. That’s where the kids hang out to drink or do whatever.”
His eyebrows went up. “So you’ve been there before?”
I shook my head.
He looked a little relieved. “Let’s go find it then,” he said, taking my hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Clarice checked your house while you were inside and Adrianne is still not there,” said Rebecca as we slid into the back of her car.
“Yes, I left her an encrypted note so she’d know you were safe, as well,” said Clarice.
“Did you teleport from the car?” I asked.
“No,” she answered, patting the outside of her purse. “I flew on my broom.”
My jaw dropped. “You actually flew on a broom and now it’s in your purse?”
She smiled weakly. “I just can’t teleport like I used to. The last time I landed, my knees were sore for a week.”
“But, seriously, you can fly on a real broom?” I asked. If I wasn’t so worried about my sister and mom, I’d make her fly for me.
Clarice nodded. “Oh, yes. I find the old-fashioned way is much easier. Plus, I can see exactly where I’m going.”
I sat back. “I wonder where my mother is? What if Vivian has already found her?”
“Your mother is not an easy witch to put down,” said Clarice. “She’s just as powerful as Vivian, remember. They’re twins.”
Rebecca sighed. “Yes, but Vivian practices Black magic, which Adrianne wouldn’t touch.”
“What’s the difference?” I asked.
“Black magic is evil and it’s used for one’s own good. A witch who uses this type of magic learns how to control demons and spirits, using them for his or her own selfishness. Usually,” Clarice added with a scowl, “to do harm to others.”
“We don’t dabble in Black magic,” said Rebecca firmly. “It’s dangerous and against our beliefs. Instead, we use only White, which works with the spirits,” said Rebecca, “to heal others or create spells that help us defeat evil.”
“Oh,” I said. “Which is stronger?”
Rebecca and Clarice looked at each other.
“It depends on the witch and her inner strength,” said Tyler. “If she believes she can conquer the other’s magic, no matter what it is, she usually succeeds.”
“So White magic doesn’t always win?” I squeaked.
“Only if the witch knows what’s she doing and believes her powers are the stronger of the two,” said Tyler.
That revelation gave me goose bumps. I only hoped my mother’s inner strength and beliefs were enough to keep her alive.
~~~
The park was crawling with high school students, most of them attempting to climb down the hill, many carrying small brown bags.
“Looks like a B.Y.O.B.,” remarked Tyler.
“Bring your own broom?” asked Clarice. She smiled and her eyes lit up. “Oh, how wonderful. I used to enjoy those parties as a young girl, you know.”
Rebecca laughed. “No Clarice, bottle, not broom.”
Her smile fell. “Oh, those naughty kids.”
“I can’t believe my sister is going to this party,” I said. “She told me Mark didn’t drink alcohol.”
“Hey, there they are,” pointed
Clarice.
Sure enough, my sister followed Mark towards the hill, although neither of them carried a bag of any sort. Kala didn’t look very enthused.
“I’m going to talk to her,” I said, opening up the car door.
“I’ll come with,” said Tyler.
“We’ll keep an eye out for Vivian. She might be drawn to this kind of thing,” said Rebecca.
Clarice raised her hands in the air and closed her eyes. “Yes, I can sense an aura of evil and deception radiating from some of these kids. This party screams of bad news.”
“Sounds like a blast,” answered Tyler with a humorless smile. “On that note, we’ll be back as soon as we can.”
We stepped away from the car and walked towards the edge of the hill.
“Hey, it’s vampire boy,” snickered Trevor Danes, coming up behind us. He was holding a two plastic bags filled with ice and plastic red cups.
I smirked. “Wow, Trevor, looks like you’re all set.”
Trevor was in our math class – a total surfer type of bonehead. He was also close friends with Mark.
He bobbed his head up and down. “You know it. Say,” he said, motioning towards Tyler. “I didn’t know you had a thing for bloodsucking-losers, Kala.”
I opened up to let him have it when Tyler removed his sunglasses and motioned for me to remain silent.
“There goes the shades… hey, watch out for the burn, dude!” laughed Trevor.
Tyler looked into Trevor’s vacant blue eyes. “Stay put, and keep an eye out for a woman with long, red hair. If you see her coming this way, howl like a wolf as loudly as you can.”
Trevor’s face became slack and he nodded.
I smiled. “Wow, I wish I could do that. Of course, I would have told him to drop dead.”
“I don’t know if that would work on a human,” said Tyler with a straight face. “I’ve never attempted it.”
“Oh, my God…I was kidding!”
He didn’t say anything.
My eyes narrowed. “You mentioned something about trolls before. Um, was that real? Did you actually kill three trolls?”
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