T*Witches 3: Seeing Is Deceiving

by H. B. Gilmour

  “You’re not the only one with a super memory, ginkgo biloba girl.” Alex stuck out her chin defiantly. “As I recall, it was Dave who said — and I quote — ‘You just lost your mom. Your dad died some years ago.’”

  “Ixnay on the quibbling, Alex. He was repeating what you led us to believe.”

  Alex turned away. She didn’t want Cam to see her — and she certainly didn’t want to see a reflection of her own face, worried, caring about her.

  “You knew he was alive,” Cam repeated.

  “To me, he is dead. I mean, for all the good he ever was. It never occurred to me he would come looking for me — or want me.”

  “So what’s your hypothesis — why’s he suddenly in the picture?” Cam asked.

  Alex grew angry. “Why? Let’s see, let me channel Ike — the little I remember. Hey, Sara’s dead. That could mean insurance money. I bet the kid has it! I could use it….”

  Cam put a comforting arm around her sister. “Maybe he’s changed? People do, you know.”

  “He’s not people. He’s … he’s the human equivalent of landfill. He’s … he walked out on us, Cam. Left us with nothing but a ton of bills, debt that my mother could never climb out of. Poverty.” She didn’t say, but thought, Nothing you would know about, with your perfect loving family.

  Cam closed her eyes and thought for a moment. “If you let them, Alex, my ‘perfect loving family,’ as you sarcastically call them, could be yours, too. They want to try and make it work.”

  Alex kicked the sand and blurted, “Your mom doesn’t. She’d be just as happy to send me back. To him.”

  Loudly, Cam made the sound of a buzzer. “Wrong! Emily can be tightly wound, but she’s got a good heart. The best heart. Don’t believe me, break into her thoughts….”

  Alex chilled at the thought.

  “I dare you!” Cam challenged. “Anyway, you can’t doubt my dad. Like Karsh told us, Dave was chosen to be my adoptive dad. And he wouldn’t have been if he didn’t have our best interests at heart.”

  “Dave signed on for one superpowered kid. Not two,” Alex reminded her.

  Suddenly, a thought caught Cam unbidden, and she blurted, “How messed up is this? Our biological dad was Aron. A good and powerful warlock, but a dead one all the same.”

  Alex instantly caught on. “Ike, a bad and lazy loser, was never my dad, but suddenly, he returns from the ‘dead,’ wanting to be!”

  Cam continued, “Dave raised me; he wants to be there for both of us.”

  Alex added, “Emily didn’t give birth to you; Sara didn’t give birth to me — but they both were moms, in every way that counts.”

  “Still, our birth mother is Miranda…” Cam stopped, not knowing how to end that sentence. Then she exclaimed, “Parents! Oh, man — you can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”

  Alex cracked up.

  Cam stood, brushed herself off, and extended her hand. After a split second, Alex grasped it and allowed Cam to pull her up.

  “Here’s what we do. And don’t say ‘bad plan, Cam’ ’cause it’s a good one. We go home and download Dad about Ike-the-unlikable. Dad schedules a legal hearing; we fight this.”

  “You think that’d work?” Alex asked tentatively, afraid to be hopeful.

  “Ike can’t have you. End of story. We are stuck with you, Alexandra Fielding!”

  Alex grinned large. “Dude, you should be so lucky.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  AN ENCHANTED EVENING

  Cam did a double take when she and Jason got to the dance that night. Score one for Bree! And Kristen, always the most artistic of her friends, and the whole decorating committee. What was once “Everygym” had truly been transformed into a dazzling winter wonderland. The whole room seemed to sparkle and glisten.

  Silver and white twinkling stars hung from the rafters. Mylar balloons had been attached to the light fixtures, white curlicue streamers wound around the pipes that crisscrossed the exposed ceiling beams. Faux snow, like the kind used in the movies, was sprinkled throughout, practically covering the gym floor. Cam bet Bree had used her Hollywood connections to get it.

  Snow-scene murals wrapped around the walls. The basketball hoops had been draped with ice skates and old-fashioned sleigh bells.

  But what tickled Cam the most were the life-size snowmen posted around the room. Made of giant Styrofoam balls, each wore a silly scarf and funny hat.

  “Oh, man! This place rocks!” Jason exclaimed, taking everything in.

  Cam looked up into his twinkling dark chocolate eyes. “Best school dance you’ve been to?”

  “For more reasons than one.” Jason tried to sound casual, but he couldn’t hide his happiness as he slipped his arm around Cam’s waist. “In case I didn’t say it before, you look, you know, really nice. Great.”

  Cam lit up. “You did say it before — but you can be repeat-o boy.” Between the trauma-ramas with Beth and Alex, Cam had barely had time to think about what to wear. She ended up with a sparkly silver halter top over a leather miniskirt. On a last-minute impulse, she’d swapped her sun necklace for a loop-chain lariat.

  “Let’s check out the foodstuffs,” Jason was saying, pointing to the far end of the gym, where long tables had been set up with a worthy smorgasbord.

  Cam could see a crowd already there. By their motions, she could tell they were making fun of Mrs. Sullivan’s leaden meatballs, the ones she made every year. The joke was, you ate one and stayed glued to the floor — it felt like a ten-pound cannonball in your gut.

  “Cami! Over here,” Amanda called out with a wave.

  Cam smiled. ’Manda was in a powder-blue ankle-length peasant skirt and striped tube wrap top, her carrot-colored ringlets framing her baby-doll face. She started off toward her friend, when Rick, one of Jason’s friends, called from across the room, “Over here, man, check this out.” He was at the buffet, juggling three meatballs.

  “Be right back.” Jason gave Cam’s bare shoulder a light squeeze as he headed over toward Rick.

  “Where’s everyone else?” Cam asked Amanda.

  “Sukari’s over there.” Amanda pointed to the far end of the gym, where Sukari, outstanding in a peach wrap dress with matching sash, stood, surrounded by a group — most of whom were guys.

  “Trolling for hunks, she didn’t waste any time!” Cam laughed, giving Sukari props. “Although that is a lot of boyage, even for her.”

  Amanda tilted her head. “Should I go and even the odds?”

  “Excellent plan,” Cam agreed with a smile, suddenly wishing Dylan and Alex were there. But Dylan had made other plans, and her twin had insisted she was not school-dance girl. Cam hadn’t pushed it.

  She might have, however, if she’d known then what she suddenly knew now.

  Something toxic had seeped into the room.

  She felt it seconds before she saw it. Cam spun around, and her hunch was instantly confirmed. Ms. Webb was chaperoning the dance. Catching Cam’s eye on her, she had the nerve to smile! But the smile was pure …

  “Evil! Wicked outfit, glam-Cam!” Brianna, in a barely there black slip dress with spaghetti straps, accosted her. “Flash of fashion-forward brilliance to pair last year’s mini with a halter top from five minutes ago.”

  Was that a diss? A compliment? Whatever. She pulled Bree over, motioned to Webb, and whispered, “What’s she doing chaperoning?”

  “I would know this, exactly why?” Bree shrugged.

  “You know everything,” Cam insisted, “You’re ultimate insider girl.”

  “Kudos accepted, for that and for the extraordinary gym decor,” Bree deadpanned. “But for some reason, who’s chaperoning didn’t even make my ‘to obsess about’ list.”

  Kristen, her long, black hair flowing over a pink sheath, flounced over. “You guys! Beth just got here — and you gotta see this!”

  Cam and Bree turned toward the entrance to the gym. There was only one word for Elisabeth Fish right now: luminous! A total Cinderell
a-at-the-ball as if a spotlight shone on the girl, and she simply dazzled.

  Since the morning, Beth’s hair had morphed from astonished frizz to a princesslike cascade of tight and shiny curls. She wore a strapless rose-patterned dress, which set off her beaming megawatt smile.

  But it was her main accessory that rocked the dance: her date.

  Shane threw off a smooth, sure-of-himself vibe. Was it because he looked so incredibly hot that Cam’s pulse raced? Or was her anxiety uptick caused by something else?

  Like a synchronized swim team, the Six Pack, plus dates and friends, swooped around Beth and Shane all at once.

  “You glow, girl!” Sukari high-fived her.

  Amanda added, “Your inner light is definitely on halogen.”

  Brianna cut to the chase. Holding a diamond-braceleted hand out to Beth’s date, she chirped, “Hi! I’m Brianna. And you’re Shane. No doubt.”

  He grinned and shook her hand. “No doubt.”

  In default flirt mode, Bree purred, “Naturally Bethie mentioned you, but she never said you were so —”

  “Tall,” Kristen cut her off with a kick to her ankle. “You seem taller than we … uh, expected …”

  To Cam, Shane seemed amused. Not uncomfortable, as Jason — or most guys — would have been in this situation. Not unlike he was at the mall that day when she accidentally slammed into him.

  Beth did the intros, ending with, “And you’ve already met Camryn, of course.”

  “That is Camryn Barnes,” he playfully teased, just as he had that first time. “Who could forget?” He didn’t move to take her hand. Instead, he squeezed Beth’s hand tighter and leaned over, brushing his lips across Beth’s temple.

  Cam was suddenly reminded of the time, back when she and Beth were kids, that they’d been tickled by a silly pun. Because of Beth’s last name, it used to reduce them to instant giggle fits. “You can tune a piano, but you can’t tune a Fish.” This guy’s got her tune all right, Cam now thought.

  You think I’m playing her?

  Cam gasped and choked back her words. Shane had read her mind.

  The dance was ruined. Even though the band had cranked up, Jason was by her side again, and voices, music, and laughter reverberated from floor to ceiling to walls, Cam couldn’t keep her mind off Shane.

  Every time she turned around, Cecilia Webb stared back. Was the woman stalking her? Waiting to pounce? Could she read Cam’s mind, too? Most chilling of all, could there be a connection between Shane and Webb?

  Cam had arrived at the dance feeling like her old carefree self, surrounded by her friends, with a cute guy, looking good. Now, two hours into it, she was on edge.

  It wasn’t until the band launched into a raucous version of “Old Time Rock ’n’ Roll” that she went over the edge.

  Bam! There it was: Her heart pounded, beads of perspiration broke out on her forehead, that sickeningly familiar icy chill swirled around her.

  Instinctively, her hand went to her throat. Her fingers found not the chain of her sun necklace, but the lariat instead. She whirled around, her back to Jason now. She knew who was the likely cause of her premonition, but had no clue what was about to happen. Only that it was bad.

  “Was it something I sang — off-key?” Jason leaned in close to be heard over the music.

  Turning around, Cam giggled nervously. “No, it’s just I —”

  He touched her arm. “Want to get out of here?”

  “— need to get some water,” she finished, feeling pulled, magnetlike, to the other side of the dance floor.

  “Want company?” he offered.

  “That’s okay,” Cam quickly dissuaded him. “Be right back.”

  Acting on pure instinct, she bolted to the far corner of the gym. There, the tallest of the decorative snowmen had been posted. Like a sentry keeping guard, it stood in front of the door leading to the equipment room. Without thinking, Cam brushed by the snowman and rushed through the door. It didn’t occur to her to wonder why it was unlocked. She knew: Whoever was after her would follow.

  “So, we meet again. That is Camryn Barnes.”

  His voice was light, teasing. He’d been waiting for her.

  She heard the door swing closed behind her and struggled to keep cool. “As if any of our meetings,” she responded, “have been exactly accidental.”

  Shane’s playful eyes glinted. “Accidentally-on-purpose, then?”

  Cam searched his face for a clue to his real identity — and his agenda. An unexpected calm settled over her. Her pulse slowed to normal; she no longer felt chilled. In fact, she began to feel a strange comfort in his presence.

  Then she thought of Beth.

  Cam stuck out her chin. No matter who he was, or what he wanted, she could deal. Even without Alex, or her necklace — without any word, even, from her protectors — she was no helpless victim. “What do you want with me, Shane? Were you sent here —”

  “To convert you?”

  For a second, Cam was confused. Convert her? To what? Was he talking about … Helping Hands?

  Shane laughed. “You can’t still think this is about… charity?”

  He’d tapped into her brain again. Okay. She could handle this. “So you’re a mind reader.” She shrugged and went all Shania Twain. “That don’t impress me much. What else can you do?”

  Shane said, “All sorts of things. Come with me and find out.”

  “Where?”

  “Coventry Island. That’s where we live.”

  “Where’s that?” Cam was interested in spite of herself. “I mean, is it on …” She wanted to say, “Earth,” but how dumb did that sound? “Is it a real place?”

  Shane laughed and his eyes twinkled. “It’s off the coast of Wisconsin, in Lake Superior. Real enough for you?”

  Go with him — to some remote island? Neh-vuh! She shook her head. “I’m here now, Shane. Or whatever your real name is.”

  “Actually, it is Shane. My parents were big Western movie fans.”

  “Fine, Shane. Whatever message you have to deliver, do it here, or forever hold your —”

  Something wasn’t right. Had the door behind her opened? Was Ms. Webb about to join them? Would it be two against one? Cam wished she had Alex’s hyperhearing! She listened harder, but now heard nothing.

  “Peace? Forever hold my peace?” he finished her sentence. “Interesting thing about peace. You might never find it, until you know who you really are.” He paused, then his eyes bored into her, and he added, “Don’t you agree? Apolla?”

  Cam swallowed hard, but fought to stay focused. He wasn’t telling her anything she hadn’t just deduced. Shane was a warlock, the latest messenger sent by “Uncle” Thantos. But where did Ms. Webb fit in? And what was the connection to Helping Hands?

  “Lots of questions!” He’d read her mind again. “And of course, smart little witch that you are, you’ve already figured out some of it. But here’s what you haven’t figured out. I’m not here to hurt you. Or to kidnap you. I’m here on behalf of some people who’ve been waiting a long time to get to know you. So as your charming friend Beth might put it — ‘Come with?’ ”

  At the mention of her friend, Cam’s hands went clammy, and her heart began to thud all over again.

  “Leave Beth out of this. Stay away from her!”

  Shane shrugged. “Beth is sweet. And idealistic. Unlike you, trusting. You could take a lesson, Apolla.”

  “I should trust you?!” In spite of her fear, Cam almost burst out laughing.

  Shane leaned in and let his hands rest on her shoulders. At his touch, she felt a familiar jolt, a sensation that felt electric, exciting. He whispered, “Hey, Cam? Despite what you might think, I’m not the bad guy. I’m not evil. I’m doing the right thing.”

  “What are you doing, Shane? You still haven’t answered me.” That came out shakily.

  “I’m here to take you where you really want to go, Apolla. To Coventry Island, where you were born, where your family is waitin
g. Your real family.”

  The room slowly began to spin. Cam grabbed onto a shelf to steady herself. She heard him saying, “You know you want to. You’ve always wanted to. They’re all waiting for you….”

  But the next words weren’t his. Not like this. Not this way. Alex! That’s what Alex had said, the last time someone had tried to lure them. It was one against one. Cam had not seen Shane’s powers in action, so she was not sure she could take him. She decided not to fight.

  But she could bargain.

  Gripping the edge of the shelf so hard her knuckles went white, Cam took a deep breath. She faced Shane straight on. “Deal. I’ll come —”

  “I knew you would!” He was pleased.

  “On one condition.”

  “You have a condition?” His eyebrows shot up.

  “Stay away from Beth. Just disappear — don’t come back.”

  “But that would hurt her,” Shane said softly.

  “You’re right and you’re wrong. She is idealistic. And innocent. And no matter what you think you believe, you are the bad guy, Shane. It’s bad to use Beth to get to me. So go ahead, break her heart — but not her spirit; don’t mess with her soul.”

  For a split second, real empathy flashed across Shane’s smooth face. He softened.

  And in that split second, a plan came to Cam. But before she could put it into motion, the door behind her flew open.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THE NIGHTMARE

  Three white orbs filled the archway: the snowman?! In her confusion, Cam thought it had walked and opened the door itself. But that wasn’t —

  “Grab her!” a voice coming from the snowman hissed. It was a voice she’d heard before.

  Cam hadn’t planned what to do next. She focused her blazing eyes on the Styrofoam snowman, trying to see inside it. She hadn’t meant to scorch it — but suddenly, tendrils of smoke encircled the snowman and the acrid odor of charred Styrofoam swirled around them and began to seep swiftly into the gym beyond.

  “Dumb move, Cam!” Shane didn’t bother to hide his panic, as the smoke began to thicken.

  “Stupid servant boy!” That voice again, thin and reedy. “Why are you wasting time? Just get her!” With that, a form leaped out from behind the snowman: a man with a swizzle-stick mustache, sparse wishy-washy whiskers on a pointy chin. Cam felt like everything about him was insubstantial, a bundle of bones inside a sack of skin. Fear rippled down her spine. She’d heard this creature before.