Secrets in the Dark (13 page)

Hopefully Doug won’t do
anything to startle her this time.

And hopefully Ronny was no
better at recognizing sarcasm than she was at getting quotes right.
I said, “Um…the cabin was open when we got there. There was no sign
of Ghalynn, and he hadn’t been there for a long time. There was a
shriveled up half eaten apple on the table, and this
map.”

I held up the map. “We
think he was looking at it before he left, and he might’ve gone to
that cave. You can see where he drew a line along the road between
it and his cabin. Is there something interesting about
it?”

“
I have not heard anything
about this cave,” Ronny answered, looking disappointed. “It used to
be the lair of an old dragon, but no one has seen it for
years.”

“
A dragon?” Doug was
suddenly very interested.

“
There are few left. The
one that lived there must be dead by now.”

I could see Doug wanted to
keep talking about a maybe-dead-dragon, but I was interested in the
very real map in my hand.

Ronny said, “Most of these
symbols are Runic. But they are not in the correct order and I do
not know what they say.” She pointed to another group of symbols
inked near the cave opening. “This says ‘Sleeping Dragon Cave’, but
you can see where Ghalynn added ‘Cave of Prophecy’.”

When her finger touched the
map there was a sudden bright turquoise spark, and Ronny let out a
startled gasp. “There is something hidden here by magick.” She made
a strange gesture with her hand and muttered a long string of words
I couldn’t understand.

She leaned back in surprise
as new words started to appear at the top of the map.

“
Invisible ink,” Doug
said. “Cool!”

I was busy watching Ronny’s
face. Her eyes were wide and filled with horror. “It says, ‘Get to
cave. Critically important. Find what is hidden there, or all may
be lost.’ What does that mean? And why would Ghalynn write those
words and hide them on this map?”

She pushed the map back to
me, then started speaking quickly. Her words kept running into each
other. “I cannot imagine where everyone is. Or why Ghalynn would
write this. Or visit a cave for several weeks. It makes no
sense.”

She paused for a moment,
struggling to regain her composure. Her voice was much calmer when
she continued. “I do not understand what has happened, but there
does not appear to be any real danger. So I would like to know if
you would go to that cave to look for Ghalynn.” She gazed anxiously
into our faces, waiting for our decision.

“
Well, I love caves,”
Olivia told her. “My family has gone to several. I’d love to
explore it.”

Doug said, “Of
course
I’ll
continue.” He shot a look at Faith. “
I
like
going to Chimera.”

Faith grimaced, and then
sighed. “We agreed, all for one and one for all.”

I added, “Besides, I want
to visit the animals again. They were able to communicate with us.
That is the coolest part of Chimera so far.”

I was confused when I saw
Ronny’s jaw drop. I didn’t know people really did that — I’d only
seen it in cartoons. Ronny kept staring at me, her mouth half open.
I felt like telling her she was going to swallow a fly.

Before I could actually say
it, she shook her head and asked, “What do you mean, you could
communicate with them?”

We took turns describing
what happened with the animals at the cabin. Ronny kept shaking her
head, repeating, “That is not possible.” When we’d finished, she
said, “I do not understand. Never have I heard anything like this.
They are acting like familiars, but you are not magickal
beings.”

“
What are familiars?” Doug
asked.

“
Witches and wizards, and
other magick users, can have an animal that interacts with them.
This relationship is not like an owner with a pet. While the
familiar cannot speak, it can communicate with its chosen person.
Familiars provide magick users with information, protection, and
companionship.”

She looked at me and shook
her head again. “Never in the history of Chimera, in nearly five
hundred years, has
a familiar attached
itself to someone other than a magick user. It goes against
everything I know about magick.”

I shrugged and glanced
around the table, hoping someone would know how to answer
her.

Doug said, “We’ll come up
with a reason to be gone most of the day next month, and we’ll
explore the cave then.”

Ronny smiled wistfully.
“You do not know how much I wish I could be the one going! I do not
know how to express my gratitude.”

She gathered her things,
saying, “I need to get home. Contact me if you need anything.
Otherwise I will talk to you after the full moon in
March.”

Once Ronny left, Doug
glanced around, then groaned. “Reject alert. Quick, let’s
go.”

Cool. Even Doug calls them
Rejects!



The next two weeks were
uneventful. Thankfully. Chris and I had made up. It was easier to
forgive him for hiding the truth, now that I was starting to
realize how hard it was to keep a secret from most people you
knew.

Sometimes I really wanted
to be able to talk to someone about Chimera. So one evening when
Faith and Olivia were busy at home, I asked Mom if I could go watch
Doug’s basketball practice at school. I wasn’t really interested in
basketball, but I hoped we’d get to discuss our next trip to
Chimera while we walked home.

It took a while to clue
into how rough Ray was playing around Doug. As they ran up and down
the court, Ray knocked against Doug when they passed each other,
sometimes a knee, sometimes a shoulder or an elbow. He was careful
to make sure the coach was looking somewhere else before he did
it.

My hands clenched into
fists and my jaw was so tight my teeth hurt. Someone needed to stop
this! I stood up, intending to get the coach to pay attention, but
Doug shook his head at me. I didn’t like it but settled back, not
willing to go against his wishes. Not yet, anyway.

Ray and Doug had never
gotten along well, but I’d never seen Ray acting like such a creep.
A couple times, he almost knocked Doug completely off his
feet.

When practice was
over, I waited outside the locker room for Doug.
When Ray came out first, I ducked around the side of the building,
biting my lip as he stopped just outside the door. I realized he
was waiting for Doug when he yelled, “Hey, Geller, there’s no one
around to protect you now. What’re you freaks doing in the
cemetery? Why can’t we find you?”

Doug walked out of the
locker room calmly. He didn’t seem afraid of Ray. How did he do
that? “Have you been playing hide and seek in the cemetery again?
Aren’t you a little old for that?”

“
Listen up, buttface, or
I’ll make you sorry. Answer the question.”

“
What
question?”

“
Spill, Geller. You really
don’t want me to make you.”

Doug laughed. “Yeah? You
and what army, Tate?”

Ray stepped forward and
balled his hands into fists. “I don’t need an army. I can get it
out of you all by myself. And I’ll like it, but you
won’t.”

It was obvious Doug was
going to refuse again. And this time Ray looked like he was done
talking. So I made a quick decision, hoping I wasn’t going to
regret it. I walked around the side of the building, noting Doug’s
look of dismay. He shook his head furiously at me, but I ignored
him.

I tried to whine like
Olivia’s little sister when I said, “I’m tired of waiting, Doug.
Aren’t you ready to go yet?”

Ray turned and said, “Go
home, Taylor. We’re busy.”

“
No way! Mom said Doug has
to walk me home.”

“
Your boyfriend’s busy.
Buzz off. Or better yet,
you
tell me about the cemetery.”

“
Geez, everyone knows a
cemetery is a place full of dead people.”

“
Funny, Taylor. I can make
you tell me.”

“
Yeah? I’m shaking in my
boots. Oh wait, I don’t have any boots.” I snuck a glance at Doug,
who looked like he was going to explode. Ray didn’t look much
better. Maybe it would be smarter to calm things down. “Why are you
so interested in the cemetery?”

He gave me an ugly grin and
said, “You’re up to something. I wanna know what.”

“
None of your business!” I
crossed my arms over my chest, hoping I looked more intimidating
than I felt. I was
grateful when Doug
moved up behind me.

Good
to know he’s got my back. Since I’m working so hard to watch
his!

”
This whole town is my
family’s business. We don’t like it when people sneak around. So
tell me.” Ray’s voice kept growing louder and angrier. That last
sounded like a growl.

Note to self — Probably a
good time to start treating him like a rabid bear.

“
Fine, I’ll tell you.”
Doug gasped and grabbed my arm so tight it hurt. I ignored him. “I
was
helping Doug’s mom at the museum a
couple months ago. One of the old books says there’s a witch buried
in the cemetery. Her headstone is supposed to give a clue where you
can find her magic book. I’m trying to find it.”

“
That’s such bull,” Ray
spluttered.

“
I want to be a witch.” I
tried to look scary when I said that. I narrowed my eyes, stuck out
my jaw and glared. Really hard. Maybe it would freak him
out.

“
You
are
a witch, Taylor!”

Okay, so he sounded mad,
not freaked out. But there really was a story about a witch buried
in the cemetery. Most kids knew about it — it was one of the
stories whispered around campfires on the beach each year.
Teenagers had been checking out the cemetery for years without any
luck.

I suddenly wondered if that
story had anything to do with Chimera. I’d have to remember to ask
Ronny if she knew anything about it.

Ray glared at me for a long
moment, then stated in a threatening voice, “You better watch it,
‘cause we got our eye on you. We can make you sorry you were
born.”

With that, he turned on his
heel and stalked away.

Doug gazed at me,
amazement written all over his face. “Where did
that
come from?”

“
I recently read that book
at the museum. Thinking about Chimera and witches and magic
reminded me.”

“
It was quick thinking,
but you shouldn’t have done it — Ray could’ve hurt you.”

“
I was hoping he wouldn’t
really hurt a girl. Plus, it would’ve been two against one. He
wouldn’t like those odds.” I grinned. “Now we just need to keep
clear of him and his Rejects when it’s time to go back.”



That night, I lay in bed
thinking of the differences between home and Chimera. It was like
the Wizard of Oz. Kansas and Santa Ramona were ordinary, like they
were in black and white. Chimera and Oz were full of beautiful,
strange sights and colors. And our familiars were like the
Scarecrow and Tin Man and Lion.

Fortunately, my last
thought that night didn’t keep my awake, nor, thankfully, did I
dream about it. My last thought before sleep claimed me was
to wonder if I’d end up like Dorothy some day,
wandering around my own personal Oz, looking for someone,
anyone,
to help me get
home.

Chapter 17

It Was a Dark and Stormy
Night…

Well, Morning

The Saturday near the full
moon in March started out cold and rainy. In spite of the rain, I
was excited. Chimera would be open, and we’d convinced Olivia to
get there at 9:00 am.

We snuck into the cemetery
by two’s — Doug and I first, then Faith and Olivia. No one had seen
the Rejects that morning, but Faith kept wringing her hands like a
heroine in an old-fashioned horror movie. Twice she stopped and
asked, “Can’t you feel someone watching us?”

“
There’s no one there,”
Olivia said impatiently. “Let’s get into Chimera. Then we don’t
have to worry about them.”

“
Right,” Faith muttered.
She moved up next to Olivia and waited while Doug and I leaned
against the tree and fell, slowly, through. I kept my eyes shut
again, but it didn’t help.

Bleech! Won’t this ever
get better?

As I stumbled into
Chimera, the first thing I saw was
the
Siamese cat sitting on the wall. I ran up and stroked its back. “I
wish I knew your name,” I said as I buried my face in its fur. “Can
I call you Shadow?” The cat purred loudly and rubbed her head
against my chin.

The others joined me and we
started walking away from the tree. The dog ran up to Doug, barking
and panting, his whole body quivering with excitement. Doug
stopped, going down on one knee, and laughed when the dog flipped
onto his back. Doug reached down and rubbed the furry belly, making
the dog wriggle his back into the dirt. “Can I call you Rusty?” he
asked. The dog sat up quickly and gave a loud bark. We all laughed
— the dog obviously liked that idea.