by Julie Parker
Logan smiled. “I figured it was you when the door opened and closed all on its own.”
I flung myself down on the end of his bed. He was so close, if I were to reach out my hand I could touch him. As much as I wanted to, I refrained. I could smell his scent, so familiar to me. I longed to throw myself into his arms and hold him tight. It’d been a hell of a day.
“I’m a little surprised you’re able to get this close to me.”
I shrugged. “Me too.”
“So, what’ve you been up to?”
I remembered suddenly, before all this stuff happened with the feds, I’d been on my way to warn him about using up his wishes. “I have to tell you something. You only get three wishes.”
“Three? Why only three? And how do you know?”
“Megan told me. Apparently she and the other Payton are running a wishing scam around town.”
“A scam?”
“Yeah, granting wishes for cash.”
“How many people know you can grant wishes?”
“Apparently one too many, since the feds are after me.”
“What?! The feds? What have they got to do with this?” Logan climbed off his bed and walked over to the bedroom door. He put his finger to his lips, looking in my general direction, and cracked the door open to listen. Satisfied, he closed the door again and stalked over to the window to gaze outside.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think they followed me here considering they can’t see me. Besides, they think I’m dead.”
He swung around to look at his bed. “Dead? Holy cow, Payton. Start at the beginning.”
“When I got back to my cottage, I saw the fed’s parked out front. Megan had already warned me about them, but I didn’t think they’d be there already. They were. So I ran back into town to try and warn you….”
“That’s when I saw you at the store and you disappeared again.”
“Yeah, right back to my cottage and into their hands.”
“So what happened?”
I quickly filled him in on everything that took place at the old cabin. “And now, here I am.”
“The fed’s suspect something is up with the well?”
“Looks that way.”
He regarded the dent in his bed where I was seated for a moment. “So, why are you still invisible if the kid’s not?”
I was wondering when he’d get around to asking me that. “It’s the only way I could think of to get to you and warn you without evaporating. I took a chance it’d work, and it did.”
“So how do we un-invisible you?”
“You’ll have to wish it. That’ll be your second wish, since you’ve only used one so far. You can use your last one to get us home.”
“You know, as soon as you’re visible you’ll probably get flung back to your cottage again?”
“Yeah, although hopefully by tomorrow evening your first wish will have worn off.” I eyed him for a minute while he leaned against the window. The expression he wore was tense and undecided. I worried he still had doubts about leaving this place. About leaving his mommy.
“Payton, if you’re in danger then you’re my priority. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Good.” It’s about friggin’ time.
The sound of a rattling door handle got our attention. When Logan’s door swung open the sight of his mom posing with her hand on her hip made me visibly gulp. She looked royally pissed.
“Are you up here alone?”
Logan stared at her for a moment and tried to make his face appear innocent. “Yeah. You don’t see anyone else, do you?” Was that a note of sarcasm I detected in his voice?
“Don’t get smart with me, Logan.”
He sighed dramatically. “I’m not, Mom. I just turned off the radio, maybe that’s what you heard.”
“Hmm.” She didn’t appear convinced. I got up and backed towards Logan and the window. I was afraid she’d see the dent my behind was making on the bed and grow suspicious. Logan didn’t realize I stood before him, and when he walked across the room he bumped right into me before I could leap out of the way.
“Ahh!” I couldn’t help but yell as I was flung to the floor. Logan tried to dodge around me but stepped on my fingers. “Ow!” I yelped. It was a natural reaction—no, really—when I bent forward and bit his calf.
“Hey!”
“What is going on in here? Why do I hear Payton’s voice? Is that girl in here?” She stomped over and peered beneath the bed. When she failed to spot me she flung open the closet door.
“Mom, Payton isn’t here. You’re hearing things.”
“Don’t you tell me I’m hearing things!”
“That’s crazy. There’s no one here.”
She turned on him. “Oh, so now I’m crazy, am I?”
Logan held up his hands as though to ward her words off. “Not you. What you’re saying is crazy.”
“What’s all the noise about?” His dad suddenly appeared in the doorway.
“Logan’s fooling around in here, with Payton I think, but I can’t find her. She’s hiding somewhere, Rob.”
“Lori, settle down, all right?” He quickly glimpsed around the room, his eyes resting on a shrugging Logan before he stepped forward to put his hands comfortingly on his wife’s shoulders. “I’m sure you thought you heard Payton.”
She pulled away from him. “Don’t patronize me. I know I heard that girl.”
What a scene she was putting on. If she didn’t stop referring to me as that girl, I was gonna give her such a pinch.
“I came up here to tell him dinner was ready, and I know I distinctly heard that girl in here.”
That did it. I slunk forward, and just when I was about to reach for her, Logan’s dad stepped on my foot. I almost bit my tongue off trying to keep from hollering.
“What the…?” he said. Stepping on me had knocked him off balance. He glanced around suspiciously, then took his wife by the elbow and led her through the door. “Like your mother said, dinner is ready. Wash up and come down.”
“But Rob—”
“No, hon. Let’s go.” He gave Logan a look and then shut the door behind him.
Logan let out a big breath and bent to put his hands on his knees. “I don’t think I can take much more of this.”
Whether he meant his nagging mother or me, I wasn’t sure.
I went and sat on his bed again. “What’s with your mom? She totally hates me.”
“I dunno. She’s mad almost all the time. She doesn’t seem happy. Neither does my dad.” He walked over and stood before the dent I made on his bed. When he reached out to try and touch me, he poked me in the eye.
“Damn it, Logan!”
He threw his hands into the air and stepped back. “I’m sorry, okay? This just sucks. I can’t tell where you are. I wish I could just see you.” A nanosecond later he realized what he’d done.
Too bad it was too late to take it back.
My hands came up and clapped before my face and I repeated his words. Seconds later I became visible. In the next moment I was being flung away, leaving him alone, just as he’d wished me to do a day ago.
The only satisfaction I got was the shocked, regretful look on his face just before I disappeared and landed with a bounce on my bed. As I got up I consoled myself with the fact my plan had actually worked. I’d gotten close enough to tell him about the three-wish max. He also knew the feds were onto me, and there was great danger in this place if we stayed any longer. Hopefully by tomorrow, Logan’s first wish would wear off and I could get to him again. Even more hopefully, he would be ready to leave, and I’d be able to make it happen.
Chapter Ten
I had some time to kill before I left. My stuff was already packed and stashed in the tunnel, I’d written a note to the other me, and even tried to fix things with my mom; well, the other Payton’s mom. There wasn’t much else for me to do.
When I reappeared at the cottage I’d found Mom lying face down on her bed, passed out drunk
again. I guess my being dragged off by the feds had really taken its toll on her. It was hard to tell since she was usually drunk anyway, but there had been actual concern, I was sure, in her voice when she’d begged them not to take me away. She must love me.
I warmed up a tin of ravioli and sat out on the deck to eat. My mind was spinning like mad over all that had happened. I decided to think about Logan and his family first. What he’d said about his mom and dad being miserable made me wonder. Who was to say the other Logan hadn’t wished for his mom to come back? It seemed more than likely he’d done it. Except keeping her here against her will didn’t seem to make anyone happy. Perhaps this was another one of the reasons why the other Logan had left with the other Payton. Maybe he’d already used up all his wishes and couldn’t undo what he’d done. Even if he did have a wish left, I wasn’t sure he’d want to use it to put things back the way they were. It’d be difficult for any child, I was guessing, to wish a parent away. I think he’d probably rather leave things as they were.
Logan may have come to this conclusion on his own. As nice as it’d been for him to spend time with his mom, he had to face the fact she didn’t actually want to stay. She loved him, it was easy to see, and perhaps this love had been what had made her stay away in our world. Maybe she knew she’d be miserable and would make everyone else miserable by staying. Who knew? I didn’t know her, and her personality might be different there.
The next thing I wanted to ponder was the feds and what they knew about the well. Since they’d grabbed Pauly, and then me, it was a definite red flag that they assumed something was going on. Just how much they knew or suspected had me puzzled. Part of me wished I’d let them question me. It’d be interesting to see what they would have asked. I wondered if there were others out there, like Pauly and me, who had “gifts”? And just where was the well in this world? It must be nearby. They had taken us to an old house just outside of town. Perhaps the well had been close to that location. What better way to investigate something than to be next to it?
I had the entire day to get through till tomorrow, until I could get close to Logan again. His couple of days should run out around ten p.m. or so, I figured. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to try and find the well and do a little investigating myself.
I went to bed early and shut my door to drown out the sound of Mom’s loud snores. In the morning, I grabbed a bite to eat and then headed out before she even got out of bed. She may have questions for me…or maybe she wouldn’t. I didn’t want to waste another minute searching for the well. If I hadn’t needed to reach Logan so badly yesterday, I might have pondered the possibility of the well being near the house when I’d physically been there. Now I had a long trek ahead of me.
When I reached town, I felt suddenly drawn to inform Logan what I was up to. I punched in his number from a payphone…the same phone number as in our world. It was a good thing he answered, because I had to reverse the charges.
After a bit of small talk, I got right to the point. “I’m going back to the house where the feds held Pauly and me. I think the well may be close by there.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. What if the feds come back?”
The thought had crossed my mind. “I’ll be careful.” I couldn’t help but relish the worry for me I detected in his voice.
“I’m sorry, Payton. I feel like a complete jerk. I’ve really let you down.”
“No, don’t worry about it. It’s fine. I understand.” I made an excellent martyr.
“No. We’re in this together, and I let personal stuff get in the way of what’s important.”
“And what’s that?” Say me.
“Getting home.”
I couldn’t help but remember the kiss we’d shared in the medieval world. A small part of me longed for that world once in a while. All the time we’d spent side-by-side, turning the manor house into a home, snuggling before the fireplace, searching for food. Doing everything together.
“I wish I—”
“No! Logan, don’t. Just in case it can work over the phone.”
“Oh. You’re right. It probably doesn’t, but let’s not take any chances.”
“Don’t worry about it. I just want to nose around a little and see if I can find the well. I’ll meet you back at your place tonight, all right? Say around ten o’clock or so. Your wish should be worn off by then, so we can leave. Just make sure you’re packed and ready.”
“I’ll pack again, just in case. But if I can wish us straight home, there really isn’t a point.”
“I suppose,” I agreed.
“Be careful. I hate the thought of you roaming around on your own.”
Haven’t I practically been on my own since we landed in this world? I wanted to remind him, but refrained. “I’ll be fine.”
I hung up the phone before he could argue with me, then I started out on the long trek to find the well. It’d taken about five minutes or so past Trent to reach the turn off to the cabin when driving out there with the feds. Therefore, I calculated at least an hour or so to walk it. Hitchhiking wasn’t an option; I wasn’t about to make some pervert’s dreams come true. I started to jog.
All the running and walking I’d done came in handy now. I was fit as a fiddle. Alternating between a steady jog and brisk walk, it only took me about forty-five minutes—according to the watch I’d thought to put on when I got up—to reach the turn-off from the main road. I continued cautiously, keeping close to the side of the overgrown driveway just in case I had to duck for cover. When I came up before the cabin I saw no cars were there. Hopefully, it was empty. I refrained from going inside, opting to go around back instead. When I didn’t come across a well, I searched all around the perimeter, but then I remembered something. If the other Payton’s family car had broken down near the well, then shouldn’t it be closer to the main road? Sighing in frustration, I started walking back, this time keeping my eyes peeled for signs of an old well.
Sure enough, after rummaging around in the foliage, I found the well about ten yards from the main road. Branches were piled strategically to hide it from sight. After pulling them away I was able to get a better look. There were remarkable similarities between this well, and the one I vaguely remembered from my world, and the medieval well…minus the cave surrounding that one.
Standing about three feet high and three feet in diameter, the outside was constructed from rough-hewn stones varying in size and shape. They’d been cemented into place with a mud-like substance. My hands braced on the ridge of the well. Peering down, I could just make out the shadow of water several feet below. Inside, the well wall was slick with algae. A bucket, in surprisingly good condition, lay at my feet with a rope on the handle. The other end was fastened to a round bracket pounded into the stone.
It could have passed for any other stone well, unremarkable, and certainly not memorable. Except for one difference…markings etched deep into the ridge my hands rested upon. If there’d been similar markings on the well from my world and the medieval one, I couldn’t recall, having not paid much attention to details. I recognized one of the symbols as a triquetra, having seen it on re-runs of the show Charmed. Celtic origins, I believe.
What these markings said or meant, I hadn’t the slightest idea. Perhaps they were instructions on how to make the well grant wishes, or maybe they were a dire warning. I stared long and hard at the markings, burning them into my brain for future reference. If there was time, I could look them up at the library in town…if there was Internet in this world.
It was time to leave. Just as I started down the road back to town I saw a black sedan approaching, identical to the one the feds had brought me here in. I crouched low out of sight as the car turned down the dirt drive. When it passed by me, I recognized the men. Now I had a dilemma. Should I go to town, or spy on the feds? I never had figured out who turned me in, and that thought had pricked at me ever since Megan told me.
After debating for a moment or two I decided it�
��d be the feds. It was still early, too soon to hook up with Logan and leave, so I had time. Before long I was hiding at the edge of the forest, just out of sight of the cabin and the two inhabitants. I was surprised they’d returned after the scare Pauly and I had given them. They were braver than I’d thought. Or perhaps they had figured out our little ruse. On cautious feet I stole up to peek through a dirty window. I could just barely make them out. Their voices, though slightly muffled—more so because of the wall’s thick grimy coating than the building’s sturdiness—were audible.
“There’s no sign of either of them, leaving us back at square one,” the driver fed said.
Pauly must have left town with her mother. Good. It was probably also wise I’d returned to the cottage late last night, and then left early that morning. If the feds were watching yesterday, they couldn’t have seen me enter since I’d flown through space and not used the door. Mom hadn’t even known I’d returned, so if they happened to go back and question her she wouldn’t know anything. For all they knew, Pauly and I were still ghosts.
“You don’t think they’re still hanging around here, do you?” the other fed said. His gaze darted back and forth, his voice sounded worried.
“No. I already told you it was probably some trick. Who knows what other powers that teenager has?”
“Or had….”
“Knock it off. They’re not dead, and they’re not haunting us.”
Oh, I so wished I was invisible again, just so I could freak them out. But I wasn’t; I had to settle for eavesdropping.
“Did the kid say anyone else in town was doing strange things? Anyone else we can connect to the well?”
This perked me up. They must be talking about their informant. The rat who’d turned me in, and probably Pauly too. Perhaps there were others like us, others with gifts. I strained my ears to listen.
“No, he only mentioned those two,” the driver replied.
“Maybe we should pay him a visit. If the girls aren’t ghosts, maybe he knows where they would hide out.”
“I dunno. He and that teen were pretty tight. I have the feeling we’re not going to get any more out of him.”