“The falcon or Dominic?” I couldn’t resist asking. What was the big deal about Dominic anyway? Sure, he was good-looking if you went for the rugged, sweaty type. But he was also annoying and arrogant. Why couldn’t Nona have mentored someone civilized, like Josh?
“Look!” Penny-Love said with her nose pressed against the window. “He’s taking off his shirt. Have mercy! What a great set of abs! I’m in six-pack heaven! He’s in way better shape than my last boyfriend. Let’s go out and talk to him.”
I shut my calculus book. “I want nothing to do with him.”
“Anyone who looks that good can’t be bad.”
“Worse than bad. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Penny-Love glanced in the mirror over my dresser and smoothed her curly red hair, then flew out the door.
Sinking on my bed, I sighed. Then I reached out for a dish filled with lumpy, fresh-baked cookies and bit into an asparagus and carob chip cookie.
*
As I predicted, Dominic barely said one word to Penny before rudely striding off to the barn. But did that deter my boy-crazy friend? Not a bit. She invited herself to dinner and spent the whole time quizzing Nona about Dominic: Where was he from? What was his family like? Did he have a girlfriend?
“He’s an excellent employee,” Nona said evasively. “If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask him.”
But even though Penny-Love lingered after dinner, drying dishes while I washed, Dominic did not appear. We finished our homework, listened to CDs, and played computer games. Penny-Love kept glancing at the door while I kept a close watch on the clock. By nine-thirty, I was stressed completely. How could I tell my best friend to leave so I could rendezvous with Manny and Thorn?
Fortunately Penny-Love’s cell phone rang at 9:35. I knew it was her mother before she answered. Her mother’s angry voice came across loudly, “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t going to be home for dinner? Why didn’t you let me know where you were? I’m coming to get you, now!”
A subdued Penny-Love said goodbye, then hurried outside. I waited until her mother drove off before switching into dark clothes and finding a flashlight. I told Nona I needed to go copy some notes from a friend, and I crept outside and disappeared into the night.
Nona let me borrow her car, so it was just a quick drive to Taco Bell. A sliver of silvery moon shone through trees, exaggerating shadows into hidden threats. I kept having the urge to look around, as if someone were watching me.
It’s just my imagination, I assured myself. Or was I sensing Opal? I always felt safer when she was nearby, a silent sentry watching over me. But when I tried to connect with her, I got nothing, and my uneasiness increased.
When I reached Taco Bell, I found Manny and Thorn waiting outside by a beat-up yellow station wagon.
“Hey, Beany.” Manny’s grin gleamed in the dark.
“You made it.” Thorn sounded surprised, as if she’d expected me to bail.
“I told my grandmother I wouldn’t be out long, so I hope this doesn’t take long.” I rubbed my sweaty hands on my jeans. “What’s the plan?”
“That’s what we’re figuring out. I brought the complete list of stolen items,” Manny said, withdrawing a folded paper from his trench coat. Yes—a trench coat, just like a B-movie detective.
Shining my flashlight on his paper, I skimmed the typed list. “Some of these things were taken by the janitor. At least that’s what Opal told me.”
“Opal?” Thorn raised her pierced brows. “Oh, your spirit guide.”
“Everyone has one,” I said a bit defensively. At least Thorn didn’t seem to judge me, maybe because she knew what it was like to be judged.
Paper crinkled as Manny studied the list. “Mr. Watkins may have swiped a few office supplies. But what would he want with an engraved basketball trophy or the vice-principal’s chair?”
“No wonder the Regis jocks were suspects,” Thorn said, as we started walking toward the high school. “They’ve pulled pranks before—like putting a plastic shark in the swimming pool.”
“With a fake human leg sticking out of the shark’s mouth. The girls’ swim team sure had a shock that day.” Manny chuckled. “And the photo I took made a great front-page shot for the Shout-Out. But attacking the janitor wasn’t a prank,” he added. “And the Regis jocks had alibis.”
“Alibis can be faked,” I said as we cut through the school parking lot.
“But why call in an anonymous tip?” Manny asked.
“To stir things up?” Thorn said.
“Or throw suspicion on someone else.” A creepy feeling came over me, and I glanced around at the silent building and the empty parking lot but didn’t see anything unusual.
“Whatever. We need to get moving. You’re on, Thorn.” Manny held out the list to her. “Do your stuff.”
The paper shimmered like a small ghost in the glow of Thorn’s flashlight. She stared at it with a fierce concentration, energy surging around her in a stunning pink-yellow-white aura. I had the oddest sense of her flying up and going somewhere else. Not with her body, but with her soul. If I’d had any doubts about her ability, they quickly faded.
Thorn was more psychic than even she knew.
I could tell when Thorn returned. She blinked, disoriented, then gave a small shudder. Then she said simply, “Follow me.”
She started walking, not toward the school as I’d expected, but the opposite direction, into dense woods beyond the school. She disappeared into shadowy trees with Manny, and I had to race to keep up. My feet crunched on brittle leaves and branches slapped my arms. I held tight to my flashlight; its slim beam bounced off tree trunks and uneven ground. We hurried over weeds, around rocks, avoiding holes, deeper and deeper into gloomy woods. When we reached a thick wall of berry bushes bordering a rushing creek, we couldn’t go any further.
Thorn untangled a spindly branch, but it sprang back and slapped her. “Stupid bushes! We can’t stop now.”
“But the path ends here,” Manny said. “There’s no way through.”
“There has to be,” Thorn said with fierce determination. “We have to keep going.”
“It’ll take a machete, and I left mine in the trunk.”
“We’ll just have to find another path,” Thorn said, clearly resolved on getting through. “I’ll look toward the right.”
“Okay.” Manny nodded. “And I’ll go left.”
“Hey guys, what about me?” I asked, but they were already hurrying off separately. And I noticed my flashlight’s beam seemed fainter. Clouds hid the moon and the sky grew darker. I thought longingly of my nightlights and my cozy, safe room. Why had I agreed to this anyway? No one had connected me to the vandalism, so I was in the clear. But if I were caught tonight, everything would be ruined.
I waited in the dark, listening intently for Thorn and Manny. Nearby, a bush rustled. I jumped back with a startled cry. Hugging myself, I shone my flashlight in a wide circle. Night closed around me with fluttering birds, croaking frogs, and a soft whisper of wind in the dry leaves. The sound grew nearer, and I clenched my flashlight. Branches shifted, golden eyes flashed in blackness, and there stood a dark figure silently watching with a bird perched on his shoulder.
“Dominic!” I exclaimed as the figure vanished. Gone so quickly, I was still staring, sure I’d imagined the whole thing.
“Sabine!” Manny’s footsteps pounded through brush as he rushed over. “I heard you yell. Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure.” I swallowed hard. “I think I saw—”
“What?”
“I don’t know. It was so fast, I’m not sure what I saw. It’s gone now anyway.”
“Probably a raccoon. Bet you scared it more than it scared you.”
“You’d lose that bet.” My flashlight flickered, then went completely out.
“Looks like you need new batteries. Stick close to me and you won’t get lost.” He patted my shoulder. “We’ll head back as soon as we find Thorn—”
As he spoke her name, Thorn’s voice rang out, “Manny! Sabine!”
“She’s found something.” Manny grabbed my hand. “Come on!”
We found Thorn crouched on the ground by a pile of brush. When Manny shone his flashlight on the pile, something glinted from underneath dead branches.
“It’s metal,” I said.
Manny pulled away branches. “The vice principal’s chair!”
“But what’s it doing out here?” Thorn wondered.
“Highly suspicious.” Branches crackled and snapped as Manny yanked out the chair. “Why would anyone break into the school, attack the janitor, then drag a chair way out in the woods?”
I agreed it was strange, but I was more curious about what wasn’t there. “Where’s the other stuff?”
“A definite hole in this puzzle.” Manny shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“I—I do,” Thorn said in an odd dazed voice. She touched the spiked dog collar around her neck and stared off with a glazed expression.
Then she whirled around and ran back toward the school.
Manny and I didn’t hesitate and took off after her. Thorn’s clunky boots crashed through the woods. I followed behind Manny, holding on his arm so I wouldn’t get lost. At first I felt like I was running in a black tunnel, but trees thinned and we were out of the woods, racing across the grassy sports field and past the bleachers rising like sleepy dragons in the dark. Thorn was a blur ahead of us, sprinting across blacktop, turning a corner and stopping at a closed door.
“We need to get inside the school,” Thorn said urgently. “But the doors are locked.”
“I know a way,” Manny said. “A door with a faulty lock—all it takes is a swift kick in the right spot.”
One stride of Manny’s seemed to equal two of mine—math that added up to exhaustion. I pushed myself faster, panting and growing more anxious with each step, worries pounding through my head. What if the janitor’s attacker came back? What if the new janitor caught us? What if Nona got worried and called the police? What if my legs collapsed and I passed out?
Manny led us through a side door by the cafeteria, then Thorn rushed ahead. Manny hurried after her, catching up as she made a sharp right at a bank of lockers. Feeling dizzy, I leaned against a wall until my head cleared. The eerie glow from the security lights made the hallway seem both familiar and alien.
As I turned the corner, I saw Thorn staring at some lockers. “Look,” she was telling Manny.
“Why’d you stop here?” My heart pounded from effort.
“Because the missing stuff is here.” Thorn pointed. “Whoever owns this locker is our thief.”
“But that’s impossible!” I gasped trying to catch my breath.
“Why?” Manny asked.
“This is my locker.”
Someone dangerous was out to get me.
That was the only thing I knew for certain. No matter how hard I tried to summon a name or visualize this faceless person, I got nothing. And apprehension crept into my soul.
It was Thorn’s idea to remove the basketball trophy, staplers, and other stolen stuff from my locker and leave them with the chair in the woods. Manny agreed right away, and I was so touched at their concern for me that I didn’t know how to thank them.
“No prob,” Manny said with a wicked grin. “Always happy to transport stolen goods for a friend.”
Despite everything else that could go wrong, nothing did. The substitute janitor never even saw us—although we spotted him sleeping in the teacher’s lounge. It was almost midnight by the time I reached home.
Lights glowed from within the house, a good sign Nona was still busy at her computer. When she closed in on a perfect match, she lived in another reality. If I interrupted her, she’d look at me like I was a stranger. She felt so guilty after this happened a few times that now she did most of her work late in the evening.
A flap of wings made me glance up. Caught in the glare from the porch light, a solitary bird glided low in a silent flight across the pasture. The bird circled over the barn, then swooped down and disappeared through an open barn window. Footsteps on gravel made me turn. In the dim light from the chicken coop, I could see a slim, muscular figure.
I hadn’t imagined it—Dominic had followed me.
Instead of being afraid, I was angry. It was bad enough someone was out to get me at school; I didn’t have to put up with this crap at home.
“Dominic!” I shouted. “You are such a jerk!”
He stopped by the barn and slowly turned toward me.
I strode over, fuming. “You followed me tonight.” I stabbed my finger at his chest. “Don’t deny it.”
“I won’t.” He faced me; his blue eyes were narrowed and far from friendly.
“Why’d you do it?”
“To help.”
“Help?” I snorted. “Like I believe that.”
“I don’t care what you believe,” he said with disgust. “I was wrong about you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“How could you let Nona down like this? Did you do it for the thrill? To show off to your friends?”
“Huh?” I scrunched my forehead. “Do what?”
“Steal.” He spat out the word.
“But I didn’t!”
“You had those things in your locker, then you hid them in the woods.”
His words slammed into me. “It’s not what you think.”
“What else can I think? I know what I saw.” Sadness hooded his eyes as he looked at me. Dagger shrieked from the loft, and Dominic turned and started toward the barn.
“Wait!” I called.
He paused. “Why should I?”
“Because we both care about Nona. I don’t owe you any answers, but I’ll tell you anyway.” I glanced at the soft light still shining from my grandmother’s office. “Only not out here.”
“Inside then.” He led me into the barn.
Bales of hay climbed to the ceiling on half of the large wood-floored building, and a cow mooed from one of the stalls lining the opposite wall. Dominic moved toward the staircase, flipping on a light that illuminated a flight of steep stairs. My heartbeat quickened as I climbed.
Entering Dominic’s private loft apartment felt like stepping into the enemy camp. I didn’t even like him, so it shouldn’t matter what he thought. Yet it did, and I felt compelled to set him straight.
As I stood uneasily on an old braided rug, Dagger fluttered on a wooden post by an open window. Except for some candles and crystals on a dresser, there were no photographs, books, or knick-knacks. There was little evidence of Dominic’s personality, as if he’d locked himself away in secrecy and hidden the key.
“Make it quick,” Dominic said sarcastically, mimicking my own bitchy tone of a few days earlier, when he was in my room.
“Someone put those things in my locker. I was framed.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“I have no idea.” I sank into a chair. “I wish I did.”
“Can’t you figure it out?” he asked, pulling up a stool across from me. “With your powers?”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried? But I never can get visions about myself. It’s scary knowing someone hates me. If it happened at my last school, I’d understand. But people here don’t know about my … my abilities.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve only told Manny and Thorn.”
“And you trust them?”
“Yeah. Tonight they came through for me in a big way. But I’m not so sure about you.” I regarded him suspiciously. “How did you know I was at the school?”
“A friend told me.”
“Who? Not Penny-Love?”
He turned away and walked over to his falcon.
“Is it someone I know?”
“Maybe, but not exactly.”
“You’re not making any sense.” I studied him, trying to pick up on his aura, but his colors were as nondescript as h
is room. I concentrated on his energy.
The room faded out, and I was suddenly outside in a drizzling, icy rain that sliced into my skin. My stomach ached with a raw emptiness. Hunger. And when I looked down, I saw a shackle chained to my leg. No, not my leg. A scrawny young boy in bloody jeans. Rain whipped against his frail, battered body, and he huddled against a tree trunk. There was a hollow anguished sound, more animal than human, coming from the boy. So much pain, too much to bear.
As quickly as it came, the vision passed. I sucked in a breath and grabbed on to his dresser to steady my trembling legs.
“I’m so sorry,” was all I could say.
“What for?” he demanded. “Something just happened, didn’t it? What did you see?”
“A boy.” My heart ached. “Chained outside in the rain—like an animal. He was starving and cold and scared. And he—he was you.”
His expression hardened. “You don’t know anything.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. It was a long time ago.”
“But the pain is still there.”
“Forget about it.” His brow furrowed. “Don’t waste sympathy on that boy—he survived.”
“Who—who did that to him, to you?”
“An uncle.” Dominic’s eyes glinted dangerously. “A sick person who felt powerful if he was beating on someone smaller than him. He eventually got what he deserved, and I realized I’d had more power than him all along.”
“What power? I know Nona invited you here because you have some sort of psychic ability.”
“I’m not psychic.”
“Then what are you?”
“A communicator—but not with ghosts or people.”
“What’s left?”
“Can’t you guess? Lillybelle warned me you were going out tonight.”
“My cat?”
“Yeah.” He slid his hand across Dagger’s silky feathers.
“You can communicate with—” it shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did.
“—with animals. Yeah, I can,” he said.
The next morning I awoke from a strange dream where Dominic stepped out of the pages of my childhood collection of Dr. Dolittle books. Only instead of being pudgy and middle-aged, Dominic was a young, hunky animal doctor, and I was the mythical two-headed llama called a Push-Me-Pull-You. Dominic pulled me in one direction, while Josh pulled me in another. I couldn’t remember the details, but when I woke up, I ached all over.
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