The Dark Lord's Demise (4 page)

If Betty felt the lack of welcome in Lisa's voice, she gave no sign of it. "Oh, you live with your aunt and uncle. Then your parents
are-

"Diplomats," Kurt said quickly. He was positive the visitor was
about to say "separated" or "divorced." He didn't want to hear
either of those words.

Betty surveyed the hallway. She acted like a building inspector in
search of an excuse to condemn the place. "Looks like this house is
laid out basically the same as ours. The parlor's in here, right?" She
walked into that room as she said the words. "Of course, our house is
bigger. Your parlor is really small compared to ours."

"I'll bet it only looks smaller," Lisa retorted as she and her
brother and sister followed Betty into the room. "You notice it's
packed full of things our parents have brought back from all over
the world." Right away Lisa wanted to kick herself for the remark.
It only encouraged their visitor to snoop more.

Betty started to inspect Fred and Jane Friesen's souvenirs. Most
of the objects met with her obvious disapproval. "That's a funnylooking piece of junk," she would say, and "Where'd they get this
ugly thing?" and even "I'll bet they paid too much for this. Looks
like a fake to me." When Betty picked up a fragile vase, flipped it
over and examined the bottom, Wes said, "Watch out! The only
way our parents can replace these things is to go back where they
got them."

"And some of those places, we wouldn't want them going back
to," Kurt added.

Betty smirked. "Sounds like your parents are the travelers in the
family. Haven't the three of you been to any exciting places? We've
moved a lot. I've lived all over the place."

The Friesens exchanged quick looks but said nothing. Exciting
places? If Betty Riggs only knew! They had a rule among themselves: they never talked about Anthropos with those who hadn't
been there. The only exception was their parents. Early on they
had tried to tell their father and mother about their adventures, but
Fred Friesen grew impatient with what he thought were wild imaginings. Only when Gaal had allowed Fred and Jane to see into
Anthropos-briefly, through a hotel room wall-had they finally
believed what their children were telling them.

Betty completed her tour of the perimeter of the parlor. She
moved toward the center of the room. Now she was sure to ask
about the Sword of Geburah. She would probably even try to pick it
up off the coffee table. Wes hurried to a carved stand in a far corner and started talking fast. "Say, I think you missed these porcelain figures over here. They're from Hong Kong. That's where our
aunt and uncle got married. So you could say they're souvenirs of
the wedding as well as Hong Kong."

"I already saw them." Betty's scornful tone expressed her opinion of the figures. She stopped and stared, not at the sword on the
coffee table but at Kurt's feet! "What happened to you?" she
demanded.

Kurt looked down at his shoes. "Me? Nothing happened to me.
Why?"

"Did you fall down the stairs or something?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're using a cane."

Kurt had forgotten he still leaned on his wooden sword. "Oh,
you mean this thing. It's not a cane. It's sort of a-a walking stick."

"Not a very fancy one," Betty sneered.

Embarrassed, Kurt tossed the stick behind a chair. She acts like a
spy, he thought. No, she's not subtle enough for a spy. More like a detective.

"Last year I sprained my ankle playing volleyball," Betty
informed them, not that they were interested. "It was awful! It took
weeks to heal. But I walked on it anyway. I just told myself the pain
wasn't there. And it worked! I'm pretty good at volleyball. So you're
having roast beef for dinner?" The Friesens blinked at Betty's flying changes of subject. She took a deep noisy breath through her
nose. "Who's the cook around here?"

"I am," answered Lisa with pride. "At least I am tonight."

"Actually, it's kind of a group effort," said Kurt.

Betty Riggs gave a shorter sniff. "Smells like you got it a little too
well clone."

Lisa fumed. Who did this Betty Riggs person think she was? Lisa
and her brothers were trying to get together a decent meal for
when their aunt and uncle came home from work. She was about to snap out an irritated response when Betty frowned and said,
"Hey, do I smell cooking gas?"

They all sniffed. There was a gas odor in the air. Lisa ran out
into the hall. They heard her shriek, "Wes! Your potatoes boiled
over and put the fire out! You could have asphaltized all of us!"
The others hurried into the kitchen. Betty obviously enjoyed the
scene. She giggled, "Asphaltize? Don't you mean asphyxiate?"

"I mean suffocate. Poison. Murder. Wes, why didn't you watch
this pot?" Furious, Lisa broke several matches in her attempt to
relight the flame under the pan. Wesley felt as if he would boil over
like the pot. He tried to contain his aggravation. Through his teeth
he said, "As you may recall, I was busy answering a doorbell."

Betty looked around at the others wide-eyed. "Do you realize
what might have happened if I hadn't walked in here and smelled
that gas? You could have all been killed!"

This was too much for Kurt. Bad enough that this new invader
was nosy and critical, she also had to play the hero. He couldn't
hide his sarcasm as he said, "Yeah, Betty, you saved our lives! It's
like you were sent here to us!" Kurt's own words jolted him. They
jolted Wes and Lisa as well. Sent to them? Questions poured into
their minds. They shot secretive looks at each other. Kurt stammered out, "I mean, at least you saved the potatoes." All three wondered if his first statement was more accurate.

Apparently Betty did not notice the others' reaction. She
plopped herself into a chair at the kitchen table (in Lisa's usual
place) and looked over the neat arrangement of plates and silverware. Wes and Kurt waited for her to criticize their table-setting job.
Betty only sighed and remarked, "It feels good here. Our house is
still wall-to-wall boxes and packing crates. And all we've had to eat
for two days is pizza."

Kurt was envious. "What's wrong with pizza?"

"Nothing, except ... I don't know. I guess our new house doesn't
feel like home yet. It's nice to come into a place that feels like people really live here. Do you know what I mean?" Betty turned away,
but not before Lisa saw her blink rapidly several times.

Now the Friesen children were embarrassed for Betty and themselves. She still irritated them, but they began to feel a little sorry for her too. They searched for something to say that might be helpful. Wesley sympathized, "Moving can be hard. I remember when
we first came here to live. It was kind of scary. I guess I have the
strongest memories because I'm the oldest." He looked at his sister
and brother for confirmation and to encourage them to join in.

"Did Mom and Dad ever sit us down and explain to us why we
had to live here?" Lisa asked. "I don't really remember."

"They probably did," Kurt replied, "but I'm sure it went right
over my head. Another scary part was that I don't think we'd even
met Uncle John before. At least, I didn't remember him."

Wes chewed his lip and tried to recall more details of their
arrival at Grosvenor Avenue. "We'd probably met him, but I don't
think we'd ever been to this house before."

"It was scary," Lisa admitted. "One day we were living with our
parents, then all of a sudden, bang, this was going to be home."
She looked at Betty Riggs with new sympathy. She pictured herself
at school tomorrow with "the new girl." No doubt Betty would be a
deadly combination of clingy and bossy. I'm sure to lose friends
because of her, Lisa thought. Then again, what if Kurt's right and she
really was sent to us? Gaal and the Changer must have done it. But why?

Betty gave a big sigh. "I can understand how this place felt
strange to you at first. But before long it felt like home, didn't it?
Our family has moved so often, I don't even know what I think of
as home. I guess nowhere." She sniffled a little. "You don't know
how lucky you are. You know you're going to be here forever-at
least until you're out on your own. Even then, you can always come
back."

The Friesens glanced at each other. Painful lumps formed in all
their throats. This house, their home forever? Probably not. Life for
them was going to change very soon, and who could say where the
three of them would be?

Betty's next words distracted them from their worries. "I've tried
to do with this problem like I did with my sprained ankle. So far it
hasn't worked."

"With your what?" Kurt asked. "What's your sprained ankle got
to do with moving?"

"Remember how I said I told myself the pain wasn't there? And I walked on it anyway, and it worked? Well I've tried to do that with
moving so often, but so far it hasn't worked. I have to concentrate
harder. You know what I wish more than anything in the world? I
wish I could sit here at this table and eat with you and your aunt
and uncle tonight."

By now the Friesens were used to Betty's boldness as well as her
sudden changes of subject. They weren't even startled that she
invited herself to dinner. Lisa did wonder how the presence of a
guest would change what she hoped would be a special meal. At
least Uncle John and Aunt Eleanor were less likely to argue at the
table if they had company. As for Kurt, he thought Betty would feel
happier if she sat and ate a good meal with their family (though he
still envied her all those pizzas). Wesley thought it would be good
for his aunt and uncle to have someone else to focus on, someone
whose problems were as bad as theirs.

Lisa smiled at Betty. "Sure you can eat with us!" she said. "We'd
like that! I'm certain our aunt and uncle would too!" She hoped
she was being honest. She still wasn't crazy about their new neighbor, but somehow it felt right to invite her to stay-or rather to
accept the way she had invited herself. Kurt and Wes enthusiastically agreed.

Betty stood up so fast that she nearly knocked the chair over
backwards. Excitement and happiness flooded her face. She hadn't
lost her take-charge attitude, however. "I'll run home and tell my
parents I'm eating with you, okay? Don't worry. It'll be fine with
them. They'll be glad I've made some new friends in the neighborhood." She was out of the kitchen in a blur. The front door
slammed.

The house felt strangely empty and quiet without their new
neighbor. Kurt spoke first. "She's really different. "

"Strange is more like it," said Lisa. "I'll say one thing: she can
sure move fast. Wes, what were you saying about Olympic sprinters?"

"Huh? Never mind that. You know, Kurt, I think you were right
when you said Betty was sent here. You may have meant it as a joke,
but couldn't Gaal have sent her to us?"

"Why would he do that?" Lisa wondered.

"I don't know. To teach us something. Or so we can help her. Or
both. He'll show us when the time comes. Meanwhile, how about if
we make tonight's dinner a sort of welcoming occasion for her?
You know, `welcome to the neighborhood.' Uncle John and Aunt
Eleanor can be part of that. It'll be good for them."

"If they ever get home," Lisa grumbled. "The roast is getting
cold." Her face lit up with inspiration. "Hey, I know how to make
this a really special occasion! We'll use that fancy old china after
all. It'll be okay if we're careful with it. I'll go up and get it!" She ran
out into the hall and up the stairs to the attic.

Kurt sighed and began to stack up the unused everyday plates. "I
don't see how entertaining Betty Riggs is going to help Uncle John
and Aunt Eleanor with their problems," he said.

"It might show them they're not the only people who are hurting."

"Hurting. . . say, did you understand what Betty said about her
sprained ankle and the pain not being there?"

"Who knows? Sounded weird to me. But then athletes in all
kinds of sports play when they're injured. They keep going for the
sake of victory. And soldiers who are wounded can crawl miles
through jungles because they're so intent on their duty to their
country."

"Yeah, but Betty said she'd tried to do it with moving. She meant
the `pain' of her family having to move often. What do you think
she meant?"

Fast footsteps thudded down the stairs from the attic. The brothers heard Lisa half-scream their names. "Wes! Kurt! Come here
quick! "

The boys hurried into the hall. Lisa stood halfway up the narrow stairway. Her eyes were almost as big as those plates she had
gone to find. But her hands held no plates. She gripped the banister as if she could hardly stand up.

At that instant the front door banged open. The voice of Betty
Riggs called out, "I'm back! Okay if I walk right in?"

Betty charged down the hallway toward the three Friesen children. As she came, she called out, "My parents said it was fine! I
told you they would!"

"Go in the kitchen, Betty!" Lisa ordered. "Right now! Go in
there and-and-put the potatoes into a serving bowl!"

Betty was startled, but she shrugged and said, "Okay. Where do I
find a bowl?"

"In the cupboard! Up high-no, I mean down low. Just look
around and you'll find it. Hurry!"

Betty Riggs was used to giving orders, not taking them. She
folded her arms and asked, "What's the rush?"

During this conversation Kurt and Wesley looked back and forth
between the two girls. Lisa's behavior confused them for only a few
seconds. She had just come down from the attic. Only one thing in
that attic could cause her, or any of the three of them, to get so
excited.

The old TV sets had come to life again.