“Can I use your cell phone?” Kendra asked. “I need to call my dad.”
“Sure,” Alyssa said, handing it over.
“You want a ride?” Kendra asked as she dialed.
“I’m not that far,” Alyssa said. “Case said he would walk me.”
The goblin gave Kendra a strange, sly smile. For the first time, she wondered if Case was aware that she knew his true identity. He seemed to be gloating that there was nothing she could do about it.
Kendra tried to keep her expression neutral. Mom answered the phone, and Kendra reported that she needed to be picked up. She handed the phone back to Alyssa. “Isn’t that a pretty long walk? You can both have a ride.”
Alyssa gave Kendra a look that questioned why she was deliberately trying to ruin something spectacular. Case put an arm around her shoulders, leering.
“Alyssa,” Kendra said firmly, taking her hand, “I need to talk to you in private for a second.” She tugged Alyssa toward her. “Is that all right, Case?”
“No problem. I need to run and use the restroom anyhow.” He went back inside the theater.
“What is your deal?” Alyssa complained.
“Think about it,” Kendra said. “We hardly know anything about him. You just met him today. He’s not a little guy. Are you sure you want to go walking alone in the dark with him? Girls can get in a lot of trouble that way.”
Alyssa gave her an incredulous look. “I can tell he’s a nice guy.”
“No, you can tell that he’s good-looking, and pretty funny. Lots of psychos seem like nice guys at first. That’s why you hang out a few times in public places before you spend time alone. Especially when you’re fourteen!”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Alyssa conceded.
“Let my dad give both of you a ride. If you want to talk with him, do it in front of your house. Not on a dark, lonely street.”
Alyssa nodded. “Maybe you have a point. It wouldn’t hurt to hang out within screaming distance of home.”
When Case got back, Alyssa explained the plan, minus the part about him potentially being a psychopath. He resisted at first, saying it was such a nice night that it would be a crime not to walk, but finally consented when Kendra reminded him that it was after nine.
Dad showed up in the SUV a few minutes later, and agreed to give Alyssa and Case a ride. Kendra climbed up front. Alyssa and Case rode in the back, whispering and holding hands. Dad dropped the lovebirds off at Alyssa’s house. Case explained that he lived just down the street.
As she drove away, Kendra looked back at them. She was leaving her friend alone with a creepy, conniving goblin. But there was nothing else she could do! At least Alyssa was in front of her house. If something happened she could cry out or run inside. Under the circumstances, that would have to suffice.
“Looks like Alyssa has a boyfriend,” Dad remarked.
Kendra leaned her head against the window. “Looks can be deceiving.”
CHAPTER TWO
Talking to Strangers
Kendra arrived at her homeroom several minutes early the next day. As kids trickled in, Kendra sat with her heart in her throat, waiting to see Alyssa. Case walked in, and although Kendra watched him, he paid her no attention. He went to the front of the room and stood near Mrs. Price’s desk talking to Jonathon White.
Was Alyssa’s face going to end up on milk cartons? If so, Kendra could only blame herself. She shouldn’t have left her friend alone with that goblin for a second.
Less than two minutes before the bell, Alyssa entered the room. She glanced at Case, but did not acknowledge him. Instead, she came straight to her desk and sat down next to Kendra.
“Are you okay?” Kendra asked.
“He kissed me,” Alyssa said through a tight smile.
“He what?” Kendra tried to conceal her revulsion. “You don’t sound too thrilled.”
Alyssa shook her head regretfully. “I was having so much fun. We talked in front of my house for a while after you drove away. He was being really cute and funny. Then he moved in close. I was terrified — I mean, I hardly know him, but it was also sort of exciting. Until we actually kissed. Kendra, he had dog breath.”
Kendra could not resist laughing.
Alyssa relished the reaction, becoming more animated. “I’m serious. It was rancid. Putrid. Like he had never brushed his teeth since birth. It was worse than I could ever describe. I thought I was going to throw up. I swear, I almost did.”
Staring at the leprous scalp of the thing Alyssa had kissed, Kendra could only imagine how bad his mouth would have tasted. At least the illusion concealing his true identity had not disguised his rank breath.
The bell rang. Mrs. Price was encouraging a few noisy boys at the back of the classroom to take their seats.
“So what did you do?” Kendra whispered.
“I think he could tell how shocked I was by his breath. He had this weird smile like he’d been expecting it. I was totally grossed out, so I wasn’t very nice. I told him I had to go and rushed inside.”
“Is the crush over?” Kendra asked.
“I don’t mean to be shallow, but yes. Trina can have him. She’ll need a gas mask. It was that foul. I went straight to the bathroom and gargled mouthwash. When I look at him now, he makes me shiver. Have you ever eaten food that made you puke, then not been able to imagine ever eating it again?”
“Alyssa,” Mrs. Price interrupted. “The school year does not end for four more days.”
“Sorry,” Alyssa said.
Mrs. Price crossed to her desk and sat down. Yelping, she jumped up, swatting at her skirt. Mrs. Price squinted at the class. “Did somebody put a tack on my chair?” she asked incredulously. She patted her skirt and checked her chair and the floor. “That really hurt and was far from funny.” She put her hands on her hips, glaring at the class. “Somebody must have seen. Who did it?”
The class members were silent, exchanging sidelong glances. Kendra could not imagine anybody doing something so hurtful, not even Jonathon White. Until she remembered that Case had been standing near Mrs. Price’s desk at the start of class.
Mrs. Price leaned against her desk, one hand rubbing her forehead. Was she going to cry? She was a fairly nice teacher — a middle-aged woman with curly black hair. She had narrow features and wore a lot of makeup. She didn’t deserve to have a goblin play hurtful pranks on her.
Kendra considered speaking up. She would have ratted out the monster in a heartbeat. But to her classmates it would look like she was telling on a cool kid. And although he was a prime suspect, she hadn’t actually seen him do it.
Mrs. Price was blinking and swaying. “I don’t feel so…” she began, her words slurred, and then she toppled to the floor.
Tracy Edmunds screamed. Everybody stood for a better look. A couple of kids hurried over to the fallen teacher. One boy was feeling her neck for a pulse.
Kendra pressed forward. Was Mrs. Price dead? Had the goblin pricked her with a poisonous needle? Case was crouching beside her.
“Get Mr. Ford,” Alyssa shouted.
Tyler Ward ran out the door, presumably to fetch the principal.
The kid feeling for a pulse, Clint Harris, declared that her heart was beating. “She probably just fainted because of the tack,” he speculated.
“Elevate her feet,” someone said.
“No, elevate her head,” someone else said.
“Wait for the nurse,” a third voice instructed.
Mrs. Price gasped and sat up, eyes wide. She appeared momentarily disoriented. Then she pointed toward the desks. “Get back in your seats, pronto.”
“But you just passed—” Clint began.
“Back in your seats!” Mrs. Price repeated more forcefully.
Everyone complied.
Mrs. Price stood at the front of the classroom, arms folded, eyeing the students as if trying to read their minds. “I have never in my life met such an unruly group of vipers,” she spat. “If I have my
way, you’ll all be expelled.”
Kendra furrowed her brow. This was not like Mrs. Price, even under the current circumstances. Her voice had a different edge to it, cruel and hateful.
Mrs. Price grabbed the lip of Jonathon White’s desk. He sat in the front row because of repeated discipline issues. “Tell me, my little man, who put a tack on my chair?” She was gritting her teeth. Veins bulged in her neck. She looked like she was about to explode.
“I… didn’t see,” Jonathon stuttered. Kendra had never heard him sound scared before.
“Liar!” Mrs. Price yelled, heaving the front of his desk up so that it tipped over backwards. The seat was connected to the desk, so Jonathon went down as well, banging his head on the desk behind him.
Mrs. Price moved over to the next desk, to Sasha Goethe, her favorite student. “Tell me who did it!” the crazed teacher demanded, spittle flying from her lips.
“I don’t—” was all Sasha managed before her desk was upended as well.
Despite her shock, Kendra realized what was going on. Case hadn’t poisoned Mrs. Price. Whatever pricked her had cast some sort of spell over her.
Kendra stood up and shouted, “It was Casey Hancock!”
Mrs. Price paused, staring at Kendra through narrow eyes. “Casey, you say?” Her voice was soft and lethal.
“I saw him by your desk before class started.”
Mrs. Price advanced toward Kendra. “How dare you accuse the one person in this class who would never harm a fly!” Kendra started backing away. Mrs. Price continued speaking in a low voice, but she was clearly furious. “You did this, didn’t you, and now you’re pointing fingers, blaming the new kid, the one with no friends. Very low, Kendra. Very low.”
Kendra reached the back of the classroom. Mrs. Price was closing in. She was only an inch or two taller than Kendra, but her fingers were hooked into claws, and her eyes boiled with malice. The normally even-tempered teacher looked like she had murder on her mind.
Only a few steps away from Kendra, Mrs. Price leaped forward. Kendra dodged sideways and raced down a different aisle toward the door at the front of the classroom. Mrs. Price was right behind her until Alyssa stuck out a foot and sent the rabid teacher sprawling.
Kendra yanked open the door and found herself face-to-face with Mr. Ford, the principal. Behind him stood a panting Tyler Ward.
“Mrs. Price isn’t herself,” Kendra explained.
Shrieking, Mrs. Price lunged at Kendra. Mr. Ford, a heavy man with a sturdy build, intercepted the manic teacher, pinning her arms to her sides. “Linda!” he said in a tone that suggested he could not believe what was going on. “Linda, calm down. Linda, stop.”
“They’re all maggots,” she hissed. “They’re all vipers. Devils!” She continued struggling vigorously.
Mr. Ford was looking around the room, taking in the overturned desks. “What’s going on here?”
“Somebody put a tack on her chair and she freaked out,” Sasha Goethe sobbed, standing near her overturned desk.
“A tack?” Mr. Ford said, still trying to control the squirming teacher. Mrs. Price suddenly whipped her head back, slamming Mr. Ford square in the face. He staggered backward, losing his grip on her.
Mrs. Price shoved Kendra aside and sprinted out the door and down the hall. A stunned Mr. Ford was catching blood from his nostrils in a cupped hand.
Across the room, Casey Hancock, the goblin in disguise, grinned wickedly at Kendra.
* * *
By the end of the school day, Kendra was sick of recounting the drama in homeroom. The school was buzzing with the news that Mrs. Price had lost her mind. The frazzled teacher had run off school property, leaving her car in the parking lot, and had not been seen since. As word spread that Kendra had spoken up against Case and been specifically attacked, she was bombarded with endless questions.
Kendra felt terrible for Mrs. Price. She was certain it was some strange goblin magic that had led to the outburst, but that was an impossible theory to present to the principal. In the end, Kendra had to admit that she had not actually seen Case put anything on the chair. Nor had anyone else, apparently. They couldn’t even find the tack. And of course she could not say anything about Case’s secret identity, because there was no way to prove it short of convincing Mr. Ford to kiss him on the mouth.
Walking out to catch her bus, Kendra brooded over the unjust situation. The reputation of an innocent teacher had been ruined, and the obvious culprit was totally getting away with it. Thanks to his disguise, the goblin would keep on causing mayhem without any consequences. There had to be a way to stop him!
“Ahem.” A man walking beside Kendra cleared his throat in order to get her attention. Lost in thought, she had failed to notice his approach. The man was dressed in a fancy suit that looked about a hundred years out of style. The coat had tails, and he wore a vest with it. It was the sort of suit Kendra would have expected to see in a play, not in real life.
Kendra stopped walking and faced the man. Kids heading for the buses passed them on either side. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“Beg your pardon, but do you have the time?”
His vest had a watch chain. Kendra pointed at it. “Isn’t that a watch?”
“Just the chain, my girl,” he said, patting his vest. “I parted with the watch some time ago.” He was fairly tall, with wavy black hair and a pointy chin. Although the suit was fancy, it was rumpled and worn, as if he had slept in it for several consecutive nights. He seemed a little seedy. Kendra resolved immediately not to let him lure her into a windowless van.
She was wearing a watch, but did not check it. “School just got out, so it’s a little after two-forty.”
“Allow me to introduce myself.” He held up a business card in his white-gloved hand, in a way that suggested he meant for her to read it, not take it. The card said:
Errol Fisk
Cogitator * Ruminator * Innovator
“Cogitator?” Kendra read dubiously.
Errol glanced at the card and flipped it over.
“Wrong side,” he apologized with a smile. The back side said:
Errol Fisk
Street Performer Extraordinaire
“Now, that I believe,” Kendra said. He glanced at the card and, with a look of chagrin, flipped it over again.
“I already—” Kendra began, but she hadn’t.
Errol Fisk
Heaven’s Special Gift to Women
Kendra laughed. “What is this? Am I on a hidden-camera show?”
Errol checked the card. “My apologies, Kendra, I could have sworn I tossed that one out long ago.”
“I haven’t told you my name,” Kendra said, suddenly on guard.
“You didn’t have to. You were the only one of these youngsters who looked fairystruck.”
“Fairystruck?” Who was this guy?
“I take it you’ve noticed an unwanted visitor in your school recently?”
Now he had her full attention. “You know about the goblin?”
“The kobold, actually, though the two are often confused.” He flipped the card again. It now read:
Errol Fisk
Kobold Exterminator
“You can help me get rid of him?” Kendra asked. “Did my grandpa send you?”
“He did not. But a friend of his did.”
At that moment, Seth came up to them, his backpack slung over one shoulder. “Who’s the ringmaster?” he said to Kendra.
Errol held the card up for Seth to see. “What’s a kobold?” Seth patted Kendra on the shoulder. “Hey, you’re going to miss the bus.” Kendra could tell he was trying to give her an opening to get away from the stranger.
“I might be walking home today,” Kendra said.
“Four miles?” Seth said.
“Or I’ll catch a ride with somebody. The goblin who kissed Alyssa and framed Mrs. Price is a kobold.” She had told Seth about the disastrous incident at lunch. He was the one person who could understand t
he real story.
“Oh,” Seth said, sizing up Errol anew. “I get it. I thought you were a salesman. You’re a magician.”
Errol fanned out a deck of playing cards that had appeared out of nowhere. “Not a bad guess,” he said. “Pick a card.”
Seth pulled out a card.
“Show it to your sister.”
Seth showed Kendra the five of hearts.
“Put it back in the deck,” Errol instructed.
Seth replaced it so that Errol could not see the face of the card. Errol flipped all the cards around, so they faced the kids, still fanned out. They were all the five of hearts. “And there’s your card,” Errol announced.
“That’s the lamest trick ever!” Seth protested. “They’re all the same. Of course you know what I picked.”
“All the same?” Errol said, reversing the cards and thumbing through them. “No, I’m sure you’re mistaken.” He turned them back around, and it now looked like a normal deck of fifty-two different cards.
“Wow!” Seth said.
Errol held the cards face down and fanned them out again. “Name a card,” he said.
“Jack of clubs,” Seth said.
Errol held the cards up. They were all the jack of clubs. He flipped them over again. “Kendra, name a card.”
“Ace of hearts.”
Errol displayed an entire deck full of the ace of hearts. Then he tucked the deck away into an inner pocket.
“Whoa, you really are magic,” Seth said.
Errol shook his head. “It’s just legerdemain.”
“Leger-what?”
“Legerdemain. A word of French origin meaning sleight of hand.”
“What, you’ve got a bunch of decks up your sleeve?” Seth asked.
Errol winked. “Now you’re on the right track.”
“You’re good,” Seth said. “I was watching close.”
Errol tweezed his business card between two fingers, folded it into his palm, and then immediately opened his hand. The card was gone. “The hand is quicker than the eye.”
[Fablehaven 02] - Rise of the Evening Star Page 2