“That’s it!” Opal said, regaining her voice. Before she could scare herself out of it again she grabbed the ring Mal had given her and yanked it swiftly off. She went to jam it back on but then hesitated a moment, then another. How long would it take for Mal to come to her, to find her?
The window rattled again and this time she saw the glass vibrating in the panes. She jammed the ring back on her finger just as there was a popping sound and Mal appeared next to her.
“Opal! Why did you-”
She lifted her arm and pointed toward the window, her voice escaping her again. Frowning he moved over to the window seat and looked down. He raised his left hand and she could see lightning dancing between his fingertips. Moments later he turned with a scowl.
“He’s gone.”
“Who was he?” Opal gasped, her knees starting to give way beneath her. She made it two steps before falling down on the bed.
“A Trickster,” Mal said grimly.
“I got that much.”
“His name is Jonas Thorn. I didn’t realize that he had it out for me. Well, more than everyone else.”
“We saw him when we were downtown. He was in an alley just staring at us.”
“What? When?” Mal asked sharply.
“Not that long ago.”
“Who were you with?”
“Hannah. We didn’t know which of us he was staring at.”
“Well, this makes it pretty clear,” Mal said indicating the window with a nod.
A tiny plaintive mew reminded her that they were not alone. She crouched down next to the bed and looked underneath. Two enormous glowing yellow eyes blinked at her.
“It’s okay, you can come out,” she coaxed the kitten.
A couple of seconds later Midnight crawled out, looking worried.
“Well, who do we have here?” Mal asked, surprise in his voice.
“Midnight. He found me downtown and insisted on coming home with me,” Opal said.
“Cute little guy,” Mal said. He reached out his hand then snatched it quickly back when the kitten hissed and swiped at him. “Protective, too,” he noted.
“So, I’m guessing you didn’t send him my way then,” she said.
He shook his head. “Wish I had thought of it, but I didn’t.”
Opal set the kitten down on the bed. He proceeded to stretch mightily before abruptly curling up into a ball and going to sleep.
Mal sat down as well, but kept a respectful distance from the kitten. He looked drained she realized as she peered closer at him.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I was right in the middle of trying to work out some new magic when I felt you summon me. Next time it would be fine to use the phone, by the way.”
“I would have but by the time I finally hit the right name it went straight to your voicemail,” she said, struggling to keep the accusing tone out of her voice.
“Odd,” he said with a frown. “Sorry, not sure why it did that.”
“It’s okay. You got the message, that was the important part.”
“Boy did I,” he said ruefully.
“Will he be back?”
“I don’t know. I hope not. If I can find him later I’ll have words with him,” Mal said, sounding suddenly very weary.
“Everything alright?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said, passing a hand through his hair. “I’ve just got to get back to practicing.”
“No convincing you to stay?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
He smiled. “If anyone could, it would certainly be you. I do really need to get back to it, though.”
“Okay, are you going to just...go? Or should I walk you downstairs?”
“Walk me downstairs,” he said.
“Okay,” she turned and headed out the doorway.
He stood and quickly followed after.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs Opal noted that her aunt wasn’t in the kitchen. That saved on explanations which was good. She found herself pausing, though, a good six feet from the door.
‘What’s happening?” he asked.
“It’s going to sound dumb, but I don’t want to open that door.”
“It doesn’t sound dumb. It sounds cautious. Huge difference.”
He stepped around her and opened the door. There was no one outside and Opal sighed in relief.
“All good,” Mal said after looking up and down the street.
“Thank you,” she said, stepping forward to give him a quick kiss goodbye.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I have some appointments tomorrow morning and I won’t be able to walk you to school,” he said with a frown.
She forced a smile. Ordinarily that would have been fine but seeing the Trickster outside her window had spooked her. “Okay.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It’s just a few blocks and broad daylight. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, though.”
She nodded and he turned to go. As soon as he made it to the sidewalk she closed and locked the door. Then she leaned against it for a moment as she contemplated just how strange her life had become.
The next morning when it was time to leave for school Opal almost chickened out and asked her aunt to drive her. Midnight seemed to sense her trepidation and kept mewing pitifully as though begging her not to go. She ultimately forced herself out the front door and down the steps to the sidewalk. She looked in both directions but didn’t see anyone.
Still, the hair rose up on the back of her neck and she had a bad feeling. She wished Mal was there to help calm her down. She forced herself to take several deep, even breaths. She was just being jumpy. She couldn’t let herself get to the point where she was afraid to be alone.
She began walking and once she made it off her block she began to breathe easier. There really hadn’t been any reason to be afraid, she told herself.
It was a beautiful morning and the air was crisp and clean. She began to enjoy her walk as she took the opportunity to really look around her, something she didn’t do when she was with Mal. A jogger, a woman in her thirties, was in the crosswalk as Opal came up to an intersection. The woman made it onto the sidewalk.
You look very pretty.
“Thank you,” Opal said, surprised by the sudden compliment.
The jogger turned and gave her a strange stare. She took an ear bud out of her ear and stopped her forward momentum, jogging in place. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Thank you,” Opal repeated herself.
“For what?” the woman said with a frown.
“For...” and that’s when Opal realized the voice she’d heard was male.
She spun around, looking to see if there was someone behind her. The street was empty. She turned back to the jogger who was now looking at her with something akin to concern.
“Are you okay?” the woman asked.
“Fine, sorry, my mistake,” Opal gasped.
The woman nodded, put her ear bud back in and continued on her way.
Opal hurried across the street, her heart in her throat. Who had spoken to her? Mal had spoken inside her mind before, but he didn’t sound anything like the voice she’d heard.
As soon as she made it across the street she looked around anxiously. The peace of the morning had been shattered and she could feel her fear rising with every passing second.
“Just stay calm and breathe,” she muttered out loud, hoping that she could take her own advice.
She picked up the pace, walking faster. She kept looking around, aware that an attack might come from any direction. She tried to tell herself that it was nothing, that she’d simply imagined the voice. Deep down, though, she knew that wasn’t true.
She made it another block and there was still no one around. She wasn’t that far from school. She should be seeing others soon who were walking like she was. She kept hoping to see someone she knew or at least recognized. If sh
e was walking with someone, surely she’d be safe.
No one is safe.
She screamed and broke into a run. She made it to the next intersection and as she started to leap out into the street a car horn blared at her. She threw herself backward just as a green SUV roared past her and she realized that she could have easily been killed by it.
Terror knifed through her as she remembered what she’d told Mal’s father on Saturday night. She’d been talking about how uncertain and unpredictable life could be and had said she could be killed in a car accident on Monday. That had almost just happened.
What’s happening? her overloaded brain was screaming at her.
It was a coincidence, it had to be. It had been clear, though, that Matthew really didn’t want her seeing Mal. He wouldn’t do something like this, though, she couldn’t believe that.
Her mind flew to the Trickster. It had to be him somehow. But how would he have known what she said?
Coincidence. It had to be. That’s what she told herself as she carefully looked both ways before scurrying across the street. She just needed to keep it together long enough to get to school.
She heard a footstep behind her. She spun around, but there was nobody there.
“Who is that?” she shouted, half-fearing that there would be an answer.
There was only silence.
She turned back around and walked as fast as she could. She wanted to run but she was afraid to do so after nearly being hit by the SUV. Her pulse was racing out of control as she crossed the next intersection. She kept expecting a car to materialize out of nowhere.
She made it up onto the sidewalk and in front of her she could finally see her school. She let out a gasp of relief. Suddenly, something wrapped around her right ankle. She screamed as it yanked hard, sending her falling. She threw up her arms just in time to keep herself from smacking her face on the pavement.
She kicked out with her foot and thrashed around. The grip just got tighter and pain exploded through her. She flipped over, struggling to face her attacker. The root of a nearby tree was wrapped around her ankle, and, as she watched, it twisted itself around her leg even more.
She screamed and began whacking at it with her bag. The heavy bag smacked against her shin and pain exploded in her. She kept flailing, though, trying to get the root to release her.
Scared now?
The voice inside her head was mocking, laughing.
She was sobbing now in pain and terror as she kept trying to get the root to release.
“Opal!”
It finally registered that someone was shouting her name. Hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up and saw Hannah staring down at her.
“The tree! It’s alive, the root caught my foot,” she gasped.
Hannah turned and began yanking the root from Opal’s ankle. It resisted for a moment and then suddenly gave way. Hannah pulled it loose and then helped Opal to stand and move quickly away.
“What happened?” Hannah asked, her voice bewildered.
“Someone is chasing me,” Opal gasped.
“Where?” Hannah said, turning to look behind them.
“I don’t know. I can’t see him. I can just hear him and feel him. I think he’s trying to kill me,” Opal sobbed, realizing she must sound hysterical and paranoid.
Hannah looked like she was going to say something then changed her mind. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up and then we can get to the bottom of this.”
Opal looked down and realized at that moment that her arms were skinned and bleeding. “Oh no!”
“It’s fine. We’ll get the nurse to put some antibiotics on those scrapes,” Hannah said gently.
Opal planted her feet. “I don’t want to see the nurse,” she said, flashbacks of the last time she’d been in that room coming back to her.
“We can discuss that after we make it inside and away from whatever it is that’s after you,” Hannah said through gritted teeth. She tugged hard on Opal’s hand. “Now, let’s go,” she said.
In a daze Opal allowed Hannah to pull her toward the school. Suddenly there were people everywhere as opposed to a block away when the streets had been empty. Everyone said hello to Hannah. Several greeted Opal as well.
They were almost to the front doors when they opened. Annie came outside. She took one look at Opal and Hannah and came running.
“What happened to her?” Annie asked, addressing Hannah.
“She fell. Her foot got tangled in a tree root. She’ll be fine,” Hannah said shortly.
“That’s not what-” Opal started to protest.
“Ssh, you’re in shock. Don’t say anything else to anyone until I figure this out.”
Annie doesn’t know about magic, Opal remembered with a start.
“That’s not the only craziness this morning,” Annie said, matching pace with them.
“What’s going on?” Opal asked, registering the excitement in Annie’s voice.
She glanced around and suddenly realized there were a couple of police cars present. Her heart sank as she instantly thought they were there to harass Mal some more.
“The school was broken into,” Annie said excitedly.
“What? When?” Hannah asked.
“Sometime over the weekend.”
“What did they do?” Hannah asked.
“The police and the teachers are still trying to figure that out. The computers are still in the labs and no one broke into the office.”
“So how do they even know there was a break-in?” Hannah questioned.
“One of the trophy cabinets was broken into,” Annie said.
Opal felt her stomach drop. “What happened to it?” she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.
“Nothing apparently was stolen from the case, but there was some vandalism. Aside from the broken glass there was a picture that was burned.”
Opal gasped. “Which one?”
“I’m not sure,” Annie admitted.
By the sick twisting of her guts, Opal was sure, though. She was sure that it was the picture of her mother.
20
“I want to see the case,” Opal said.
Annie shook her head. “You won’t get near it at the moment.”
“It’s just as well, you need to go to the nurse and get your arms cleaned up,” Hannah said.
Opal relented grudgingly. Hannah walked with her into the building and to the nurse’s office. Together they went inside. The nurse looked up, frowning the moment she saw Opal.
“What has he done now?” she asked, tight-lipped as she walked over.
“He hasn’t done anything,” Hannah said. “Opal tripped on a tree root outside and skinned her arms when she fell.”
“Uh huh,” the nurse said, sounding far from convinced.
Hannah lifted her chin. “I was there. The tree root just suddenly tangled up her foot.”
“Like magic,” Opal muttered to herself.
“What was that?” the nurse asked sharply.
“Nothing, I just would like some aspirin,” Opal said.
The nurse stared at her through narrowed eyes for what seemed an eternity. The warning bell rang and she seemed to shake herself out of whatever mood she was in.
“Alright, let’s get you cleaned up,” she said.
“Great. You okay?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah, fine. I’ll see you later,” Opal said.
The nurse cleaned the scrapes and put some antibiotic cream on them. A few minutes later she dismissed Opal who then headed to her homeroom class as slowly as she could.
Fortunately everyone was busy discussing the break-in and only Ginger noticed when she slid in late.
“I heard about the fall,” the other girl said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll live,” Opal said, wishing she could talk about what had really happened. Mal had said that Ginger was one of the ones who had seen magic when they were k
ids. Still, Opal didn’t know how much it would be safe to say in front of her. She was also a bit concerned that knowing more would stress Ginger out. “What can you tell me about the break-in?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.
“I don’t know much,” Ginger admitted. “I did hear that someone broke a lock on one of the doors in the back and that they torched something in one of the display cases.”
“Do they know who did it?”
“I haven’t heard if they have any suspects. It is weird, though, why go to all the trouble of breaking in and just vandalize one or two things?”
“Maybe whoever was doing it had a grudge about something,” Opal said.
Or wanted to destroy my mom’s picture.
She couldn’t help but think of her aunt sitting at the kitchen table burning the picture of Opal’s mother. She’d never given a good reason for why she’d done it. She wouldn’t have, couldn’t have broken into the school and burned the picture in the trophy case, though.
Or could she?
It seemed unimaginable, but then, a lot of things she would have thought to be so had turned out to be not only very imaginable but also very real.
But why? What could possibly motivate her to risk getting caught doing that?
“You okay?” Ginger asked, interrupting her reverie.
“Sorry, just thinking,” Opal said. The truth was she wasn’t feeling at all okay. There was a mystery here, one that she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to solve. As curious as she was to understand her aunt’s motivations she felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff looking over, afraid to jump.
The rest of the morning passed without an opportunity for her to verify that it had indeed been her mother’s picture that had been burned. By the time lunch arrived she found herself suddenly reluctant to verify for sure. Maybe that was because if it was her mom’s picture then she’d be forced to do something about it. As she approached the lockers she looked up to see Mal leaning against hers.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said as she walked up.
“Hey, yourself,” she said, wishing the terms of endearment would flow off her tongue as smoothly as they seemed to flow off his.
He moved aside so she could open her locker. When she did she jumped, startled. It seemed like there were dozens of roses suddenly exploding out of it.
Now You See Me Page 18