Witch Ball - BK 3 (17 page)

"Thanks. It's the blueberries and vanilla."

"Excellent combo. Yumm!"

"Would you like more?" Manny said, offering
a plate of steaming pancakes. When she shook her
head, he turned to me. "How about you, Beany?"

I stomped over to the table. "Why aren't you
at school? What's going on here?"

"Breakfast," Thorn answered, reaching for a
glass of orange juice. She wore a longish pink-andblack wig, black lipstick, and a pink leather dog collar with silver studs. "Are you always this grumpy in
the morning?"

"I am not grumpy. But I smell conspiracy."

"Not a conspiracy. This is an intervention."
Manny eased me into a chair at the table. "Beany,
you're under house arrest."

"Forget it." I tried to stand, only he was
stronger. "Move. I'm going to school."

"No," Manny said firmly. "You're staying here
today."

"Your grandmother agrees it's a good idea,"
Thorn added.

"Nona's in on this?" I asked indignantly.

"Two hundred percent," Thorn said, lifting up
two mauve-tipped fingers. "She's buying snacks and
renting videos to keep you comfortable. She already
called the school to report you sick. And I talked to
Dominic, too."

I groaned. "You didn't!"

She nodded proudly. "He's keeping an eye on
things outside."

It was a conspiracy! I remembered my cat in
my room last night and the glimpse of wings out
my window. His animal posse was spying on me.

I tried to stand up, only Manny kept a firm hold
on my shoulders. "Let me go. I can't miss school."

"I knew she'd be difficult," Thorn said, wiping
syrup from her chin.

"I have a right to be. You can't keep me here
like a prisoner."

"Watch us," Manny said ominously.

"I'm leaving now!"

"We'll see about that." Manny reached into his
pocket and lunged forward. He grabbed my arm
and there was a flash of silver. I heard the sound of
metal clinking as he pulled my arm behind my
back. Then before I knew what was happening, he
slipped a handcuff on my wrist. He fastened the
other half to a chair.

"Take this offl" I shouted, jerking my arm and
only managing to move the chair a few inches. The
skin around my wrist burned and so did I. "This is
not funny! Unlock me now!"

Manny pursed his lips stubbornly and stepped
out of my reach. "Beany, you're not going anywhere
until this day is over."

Thorn stood beside him with her arms folded
across her chest. "We're your guards, whether you
like it or not."

I didn't like it. Not one little bit. Especially since
I desperately needed to get to school so I could see
Josh. I had to talk with him today; tomorrow would
be too late. Evan would make sure of that. This was
too personal to discuss with Manny or Thorn, so I used every other argument I could think of to convince them to give up their plan.

But they remained firm. I was so mad, I could
hardly think straight. Part of me was also grateful
that they cared enough to make me miserable.
They were impossible-and wonderful. I hated
and loved them.

Ultimately, I gave in. They made me swear on
my grandmother's life that I would not sneak off to
school. I'd never go back on that solemn oath-and
they knew it. I had lost ... more than they knew.

All the fight was out of me as Manny unlocked
the cuff.

"That's more like it." He handed me a printed
paper. "Now let's get down to business. Here's your
schedule."

"My what?" I asked.

"Schedule," Manny said.

Taking the paper, I stared at it with dismay.
My life was organized into hours and bodyguards.

12AM-8AM: Manny

8AM-1 OAM: Manny/Thorn

10AM-12PM: Thorn/Nona

12PM-3PM: Nona

3PM-7PM: Thorn

7PM-Midnight: Manny/Nona

There was also a list of rules. My jailers wouldn't
allow me to do anything on my own. "No sharp objects, being near machinery, deep water, eating anything we don't try first, or lifting heavy objects."

It was worse than being in prison.

But a solemn swear was unbreakable, so I surrendered to my friends. After cleaning away breakfast dishes, we hung out in the living room. Manny
filled Thorn in on last night, making the car chase
sound like something out of an action movie and
K.C. come off like a tragic hero. Then Manny's shift
was over and he headed to school to catch up his
newspaper duties.

"Not fair!" I complained. "Manny gets to go
to school and I'm stuck here."

Thorn busted up laughing."Never knew anyone mad about missing school."

"No one handcuffs me at school," I said accusingly, rubbing my bruised wrist.

Before leaving, Manny offered to pick up my
assignments and asked if I wanted him to pass on
messages to anyone.

After a long pause, I shook my head.

Thorn and I sorted through DVDs, debating
what to watch. With everything going on, I wasn't in the mood for a thriller or a romance. Finally we
chose an adventure flick which kept my mind off
Josh. When it ended and I glanced at the clock, I
wondered what was keeping Nona.

"Are you sure she only went to the grocery
store?" I asked Thorn.

"Yeah. She said she wouldn't be gone long."

"She must have stopped somewhere else." I
frowned, trying to imagine what could have kept
her for over three hours. "I'll call her. I hope she remembered to take her cell phone."

She had-but the connection echoed and
Nonas voice sounded weird.

"Sabine, where are you?" she asked, her words
echoing.

"At home."

"Why aren't you in school?"

"Nona, you called the school to say I was sick."

A hesitation, then she said almost accusingly,
"You don't sound sick."

"I'm not ... Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" Her voice rose in panic.
"Everything is confusing."

"Where exactly are you?"

"I-I don't know." Her voice broke. "I'm sitting
in my car on a street I've never seen before ... I
have no idea how I got here. Sabine, I'm lost."

My worst fears for my grandmother were coming
true-despite her seeming so much better lately. I'd
started to believe she could beat her illness even
without the remedy. The more she talked, the more
confused she sounded. She couldn't tell me where
she was, and I didn't recognize nearby streets or
businesses.

Finally, it was Thorn who took charge. She got
on the phone and asked Nona questions. While she listened, her eyes glazed over and I knew she was
tuning into her finding skill. Her energy swirled,
reaching out like a radar to Nona. After a few minutes, she told my grandmother she was on her way.
Thorn sounded confident that she could bring my
grandmother home.

But I shared none of her confidence when I
found out that Thorn had asked Dominic to watch
me while she was gone. When he joined me in the
living room, I felt oddly tongue-tied. I sat on the
couch, drawing my legs up under me.

He stood in front of me, making no move to sit
down. "So how you holding up?" he asked, shoving
his hands in his pockets.

"Okay." I managed to sound casual.

"Good." He just stood there as if waiting for
me to say more. Even with the TV on, the room
seemed unnaturally silent.

"This is all so unnecessary," I finally said with a
frustrated wave of my arm. "The witch ball is locked
up and can't cause any more trouble. I do not need a
babysitter."

"Better safe than dead."

"Nothing is going to happen to me. Manny and
Thorn overreacted. I should be at school right now,
and you probably have chores to finish."

He shook his head. "Already done."

"What about your horseshoe classes?"

"Not until tomorrow."

"You must have better things to do than hang
around here."

"Nope."

"Well I do. This is all messed up."

"It'll be better by tomorrow."

"For me maybe-but not Nona. I still can't believe she got lost. Little kids get lost, not grown
women." The drone of the TV rattled my nerves, so
I grasped the remote control and shut off the power.
"She's getting worse and we're no closer to finding
the remedy book."

"Not so." He sat down on the other end of the
couch. "I heard back from that guy in Arizona. His
name and info fits, and he claims to have old family jewelry."

"Including silver charms?" I asked hopefully.

"He thinks so, but it's in storage and he can't
check till after work. He'll get back to me then, so
we may have the remedy soon."

"That would be so great!" I almost reached out
to hug him-until sanity clicked in and I jerked my
arms back.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" He flashed a
wicked smile and scooted close to me-way too
close.

"Of course not. I'm totally at ease. Why would
you even ask?"

"Because you're clawing that pillow."

I hadn't realized I was holding a pillow. When
I looked down and saw the fabric ripping under my
fingernails, I tossed the pillow on the floor. "I'm
fine."

"No argument there."

His gaze fixed on me. Instead of turning away,
which would have been the smart thing to do, I met
his gaze, and emotions sizzled so sharp and overwhelming, I could hardly breathe. Warmth spread
through me and I felt lightheaded. I thought of
Josh, who probably hated me by now. I wasn't sure
how Dominic felt towards me-except I knew for
sure it was definitely not hate.

He leaned closer ...

"I-I'd better watch TV," I said, panicked.

I jumped off the couch, tripping over the pillow I'd tossed on the carpet. I steadied myself, then
sat far away from Dominic in the recliner, aiming
the remote at the screen. Click, click ... I flipped through channels like a maniac, switching fast if I
came to anything romantic. Finally I settled on a
documentary about cockroaches.

Turns out I couldn't have picked a better show
for Dominic. Who knew he'd find cockroaches so
interesting? Or maybe whatever chemistry flared
between us made him as uncomfortable as it made
me, and he was relieved to change the mood.

The documentary was nearly over when Thorn
returned with my grandmother. Nona didn't say a
word about getting lost, and went directly into the
kitchen where she put on a teakettle.

Thorn was running late and had to leave. Dominic tactfully excused himself, too, so it was just
Nona and me.

"Can I help?" I asked my grandmother, coming
to sit beside her at the kitchen table where she was
digging through a box of assorted herbal tea bags.

"Don't coddle me." She lifted her chin defiantly.
"I am competent enough to pour my own tea."

"Of course you are. Can I have a cup, too?"

"Wild berry, peppermint, or cinnamon spice?"

"Peppermint. Thanks, Nona," I added, reaching out to put my arm around her slim shoulders.
She felt so warm and secure, and I needed her so much. She'd always been the one to protect me from
the shadows and spirits I saw at night. I couldn't
bear to lose her.

The teakettle whistled and for a few minutes
the only sound was the clicking of our spoons as
we stirred our cups. Spice and mint scents warmed
the kitchen, and I felt calmer.

"Sorry for scaring you," Nona told me. "But
I'm fine now, so don't worry about me. I'm more
worried about you."

"Don't be."

"The moment you brought that witch ball
into this house, I sensed it meant trouble. I should
have made you get rid of it right away."

"Dominic locked it up, so it can't cause any
problems." I didn't add about my encounter with
Hortense. That would only cause Nona more
concern.

"Predictions from dark entities must never be
taken lightly. Your friends told me about the other
three predictions."

"That was just a fluke." To change the subject,
I told her about Dominic's results searching for the
remedy book. "He may have tracked down another charm. So we might have the remedy soon."

"That would be a relief."

"Then you'll be well."

"I hope so. But at the moment, I'm more concerned about you." She kissed my cheek. "According to Manny's schedule, it's my shift."

I rolled my eyes at the mention of the "schedule." But Nona suggested using our time to bake
caramel chip cookies, and who was I to argue?

Being under house arrest never tasted so delicious. Nona kept smacking my hand away from
the batter, but I told her it was the best part. We
laughed as she shaped dough and inhaled the delicious scent of baking cookies. I was glad to shut off
worries and just have fun.

Around two o'clock, I got a call from Thorn,
apologizing because she was running late. "Ask
Nona or Dominic to cover for me till I get there,"
she said in a rushed voice.

"Why? What's up?"

"After you told me about K.C., I couldn't stop
thinking about him. I've been to homeless shelters
with my mom and it's always heartbreaking. So I
talked to K.C. and said I'd help find his car."