Sword Play (2 page)

I awoke from a deep sleep to a rumbling purr and soft fur rubbing against my cheek.

“Huh?” I murmured groggily. I peeked out to see white fur and mismatched blue-and-green eyes regarding me impatiently.

Living in the country, I never knew what I’d wake up to. A crowing rooster, mooing cows, bleating goats, or my cat Lilybelle. Sometimes I awoke early simply because great smells like wild flowers and freshly cut hay drifted in through my window. Then there were the not-so-great smells like fresh manure or ripe skunk.

You’d think I’d be used to country smells and sounds after living with my grandmother for half a year. But memories have a way of time traveling so that one moment you’re in the here and now, then zap! A thought jumps you back to another time, as if you were in two places at the same time. Like two different people.

If only there were two of me
, I thought as I cradled Lilybelle in my arms and hugged her close.
Then one of me could stay here like I want and the other could do what my mother wants.

In a rush, anxiety struck and I felt as sick inside as I had when Mom had come to visit me in the hospital and told me I had to move back to San Jose.

My first impulse was to argue, “No way! Are you nuts? Leave Nona and all my friends? Forget it.”

That’s what I wanted to say, but not what happened. Emotions twisted inside me. I was scared of hurting people I cared about yet grateful for this crumb of attention from my mother. So I just nodded.

Mom thought she was doing me a favor, welcoming the “disgraced daughter” back home. There had even been tears in her eyes when she’d hugged me goodbye, which was so not like her. I knew she meant well, but she totally did not get me. She treated me like I was six, rather than sixteen, speaking
at
me rather than
to
me in her queen-addressing-subject tone. I could imagine her wearing a crown and declaring her royal proclamation, “Despite the supreme shame you have brought upon your respectable family, you are now forgiven. You have served out your banishment, and may return to dwell in our home.”

Only I didn’t want to return.

San Jose wasn’t my home anymore. Home was with Nona on her ten-acre farm in Sheridan Valley. My grandmother’s farmhouse wasn’t spacious like my parents’ tri-level stucco home in San Jose, and I’ll admit it could use some paint and new carpeting. But this cozy home welcomed me with open doors; the oaks and pines hugging the farmhouse, offering shade when it was too hot and holding off chilling winds in storms. And I didn’t want to leave, especially now.

Shadows shifted across my bedroom walls, and instinctively I looked over for reassurance at the cheerful clown night-light. The night-light had been a “get well” gift from my boyfriend Josh when he’d visited me in the hospital. He said to think of him whenever I looked at the big clown smile because he clowned around in a fuzzy wig and floppy shoes when he performed magic tricks for sick kids. It was the perfect gift since I collected night-lights. I displayed this collection (unicorns, angels, cats, angels, dragons, and more) in a glass case. Each night I plugged in a different night-light, the luminous light warding off night visitors.

Night visitors
…

These two words shivered through me like a shock wave. Something about last night flickered in my mind … a bad dream or memory. Not a solid thought but more of a pit-in-my-gut scared feeling. Goose bumps prickled on my arms and I heard a whisper of a male voice telling me to … to what?

I tried hard to give the vague feeling shape, but my thoughts were whiffs of smoke playing tag through my mind. I couldn’t bring forth the memory. Whatever happened during the night eluded me. A nightmare, I finally decided. Nothing to worry about—especially when I had more urgent worries.

The biggest, most heart-stabbing worry was my grandmother’s failing health. Recently I’d found out Nona had a hereditary disease which stole her memories, and if not treated, she’d lapse into a coma and never wake up. There was a cure, but it had been lost to our family over a hundred years ago. I had been tracking down this remedy (it involved finding four silver charms) with Dominic, the handyman/apprentice who worked for my grandmother. We were close to finding the final charm.

We’d also been getting
close
in another way, which was totally wrong. I hated myself, I hated him, and it had to stop. I mean, I already had a boyfriend. Josh was great—sweet, honest, with a fun sense of humor. Dominic was night-and-day different. More sour than sweet and deep with disturbing secrets I’d only started to uncover. He was so not my type. Yet thinking about him gave me crazy anxiety—heart palpitations, hot flashes, and nausea—like coming down with the flu.

Another thing to worry about …

Lilybelle meowed and slapped her tail against my arm. Her way of saying, “I want breakfast.
Now.”

“Message received,” I said with a smile.

But my smile changed to a wince of pain when I pushed the covers off my battered body. I glanced down ruefully at the bandage on my left thigh and the purple-yellow bruises on my arms. Tentatively I ran my fingers over the bandage, bitter reminders of my accident. Dominic had been driving me back from the bus station and swerved his truck to avoid crashing into a wayward cow. He’d missed the cow, but totaled his truck and suffered minor cuts. My injuries were much worse, bringing me way too close to death. I was lucky to be alive.

Lilybelle meowed again, then gracefully sprung off my bed.

“Easy for you to move,” I grumbled as I carefully eased my bandaged leg to the floor. “You didn’t almost get creamed by a cow.”

My cat paused by the door and flicked her tail impatiently, obviously not impressed by my pun or sympathetic to my injuries. Food was her only concern, and now that I thought about it, she had a point. A glance at my silver moon watch and I gasped. I was seriously running late. I’d have to rush breakfast or get a tardy my first day back at school.

Slowly, I hobbled across the room. The meds eased the pain, but left me weak and light-headed. If I wasn’t so sick of staying in bed, I might have put off returning to school. But I’d had enough rest in the hospital to last several decades. Besides, staying alone made me think too much, and worry even more. I would rather do ordinary stuff like getting dressed and hanging out with my friends. Anything to avoid dealing with my last conversation with Mom. I kept what she’d said to myself, dreading the awful thing I had to do. But I couldn’t put it off any longer.

I had to tell Nona the bad news.

That I was moving out.

On Friday.

Telling Nona turned out to be easy. I was surprised to discover she had been worrying about breaking the news to me. I should have realized my mother would have already talked to her. Nona said she was sad to lose me but understood I belonged with my family.

“You are my family,” I told her. Tearfully we hugged, and she assured me I was always welcome here.

Unfortunately telling my friends wasn’t as easy.

My best friend Penelope Lovell (nicknamed Penny-Love) totally freaked. Usually we walked to school, but she’d borrowed her brother’s beat-up station wagon to make my first day back at school easier. Her color theme today was gold—gold eye shadow, gold mesh earrings, gold lycra top with low-rider jeans.

“NO! You can’t do this to me!” Penny-Love smacked her palm against the steering wheel, her freckled cheeks flaming as red as her curly hair.

I almost laughed at how everything was always about her. She was such a diva, and somehow that made her even dearer to me. Hanging out together was always a blast. She was like a queen bee at school, privy to the latest buzz sometimes before it even happened. When I’d arrived at school as a new kid, uncertain and uneasy, she’d opened her circle of friends and generously drew me inside. Something clicked and just like that we bonded. As her best friend I could skim the edges of popularity with no personal risk.

But not much longer …

Morosely, I stared out the window at country homes and grassy fields where spindly oak branches reached into wide gray-blue skies. No high rises or crowded urban apartments. I’d stretched and spread my wings here, not confined by concrete expectations. I would miss it all so much.

“I forbid you to leave,” Penny-Love was saying. “It’s completely unacceptable.”

“Tell that to my mother.”

“Maybe I will.”

“No!” I shook my head firmly. “Believe me, it’s no use. My dad’s a lawyer, yet he can’t even win an argument with my mom.”

Penny-Love slowed for an intersection where kids hurried across a crosswalk. “But making you leave is just wrong. You’ll miss out on everything. What about your grandmother’s All Hallows party? It’s Friday night.”

“I already talked about it with Nona. She wanted to change the date so I could make it, but I wouldn’t let her. Why ruin everyone else’s fun?”

“Hello? What about
your
fun?” She cupped her ear like she didn’t believe what she was hearing. “It’s your party, too. You have to be there.”

“I can’t help it. The party goes on as planned and I’ll expect you to tell me all about it afterwards. I feel better knowing you’re there to help Nona.”

“Helping her is now my official job. After school, I’ll start working as her assistant for Soul-Mate Matches
.
How’s this sound for my official job title: Assistant Love Doctor?”

“Penny-Love, Assistant Love Doctor.” I smiled. “Perfect.”

“I’m thinking of having a badge made. Won’t that look cool?”

“Definitely. You’re a natural for the romance biz.”

“Thanks, Sabine. See, that’s another reason why you can’t leave. No one gets me like you do, and you have a real talent for listening. I don’t have time to break in a new best friend. There has to be some way to make you stay.”

She kept at me like this until we reached school. It was a relief when she spotted some other friends who waved her over and I was left alone. But I wasn’t alone long. At my locker, I found Josh. We had this routine of meeting by my locker before school; something else I’d miss when I moved away.

He looked so happy to see me that I felt a stab of guilt. Before he could say anything, I sucked in a deep breath, then I blurted out everything; how my mom was making me leave even though I’d rather stay here, and how miserable I was. When I’d finished explaining, I braced myself for his reaction.

But Josh just frowned.

“Well say something,” I told him. “Are you mad at me?”

“No way. It’s not your fault.”

“I could have argued and told my mother forget it.”

“You’re too sweet to disrespect your mother.”

Too scared,
I thought.

“You did the right thing, Sabine. I really admire that. Most kids think only of themselves and blow off their parents. But you listen and do what they want.”

“It’s not what I want.”

“Me, either.” He took my hand, his gentle touch making me feel warm inside. “But I can’t blame your parents for wanting you back.”

He looked so hot, and standing in the hall by my locker reminded me of the day we met. I’d been lusting after him secretly for weeks without the courage to even say “hi.” But after a psychic warning of danger, I was able to save him from a freak auto-shop accident. Gratitude blossomed into something more, and a week later we were officially a couple. Lucky me! Being Josh’s girl was sweet and safe. He didn’t believe in anything unusual, which was a good balance for my own weirdness.

“It’ll be okay, Sabine.” Josh leaned close and brushed a kiss on my forehead. “Leaving isn’t a tragedy.”

“But I’ll be over a hundred miles away.”

“That’s not very far at all, just two hours of driving.”

“I don’t have a car.”

“I do, and I’ll come down every weekend.”

“Don’t you have a magician’s meeting this Saturday?”

“Yeah, but that’s not till evening. I’ll drive down in the morning.”

“And miss sleeping in?” I teased. Josh was
not
a morning person.

“Hey, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for you. So stop looking so worried. Distance is not going to change anything.”

I was relieved Josh wasn’t upset … yet disappointed, too. Why did he have to be so calm and understanding? Couldn’t he complain just a little?

By lunchtime, word of my leaving had spread all over school (most likely via Penny-Love) and while I was sitting at my usual table with the cheerleaders, kids I knew and some I didn’t know came over. Most acted upbeat and said things like, “You’ll have more fun in a big city,” “Moving will be an exciting change,” or “You’ll make new friends.”

Instead of being reassured, fear mounted. I didn’t want new friends, and I didn’t want to even think about my old friends. The ones I left behind when I fled six months ago. How could I go back to that life? And where would I go to school? Arcadia High was out of the question. My mother couldn’t expect me to return there—not after I’d been kicked out. More likely, Mom would enroll me in a private school. Somewhere with boring rules and tacky uniforms.

Just kill me now, please!

Walls closed in and I felt like I could hardly breathe. Making a lame excuse about getting something in my locker, I jumped up from the table and fled to the computer lab where Manny DeVries could always be found working on the latest issue of the school newspaper,
Sheridan Shout-Out.

Instead of his usual grin, Manny scowled at me and demanded, “Is it true?”

“So you’ve heard already.” Wearily, I sank into a chair beside his computer console. “Bad news travels fast.”

“I won’t act like I’m okay with this, because I’m not. How can someone as smart as you do something so dumb?”

With a heavy sigh, I explained about my mother’s verdict.

When I finished, Manny narrowed his dark eyes, resembling a punk pirate with dreads snagged in a ponytail and a gold eyebrow ring. “Drastic measures are required. Don’t make me kidnap you.”

“One kidnapping is all you’re allowed. And you used your quota up last week when you and Thorn put me under house arrest.”

“Classic moment,” he said proudly. “Speaking of Thorn, have you told her yet?”

I bit my lip and shook my head. Thorn and I had a prickly enough friendship. She was a chain-wearing, black-garbed Goth with an anti-social attitude, while I hung out with cheerleaders. When Manny introduced us, it was dislike at first sight. But when I found out Thorn had a psychic ability, too—psychometry—I was intrigued. We got to know each other better on a road trip, learning mutual respect. Still, Thorn was quick-tempered with unpredictable moods and I had no idea how she’d react to my leaving. Maybe I’d send her an email or write a letter.

Manny gave me a stern look, as if reading my mind. “Seriously, Beany,” he added, “leaving is a lose-lose situation. The newspaper needs you.”

“You’ll find another proofreader.”

“But no one with your
special
talents.”

I smiled sadly. He may have a reputation of being a player, but he’d been a real friend to me. He kept my secrets and in return I helped with his Mystic Manny column by giving him authentic predictions. I foretold hook-ups, heartbreaks, and what students would be doing in ten years. Manny’s readers were amazed with his uncanny accuracy.

“You have special talents, too,” I pointed out. “You’ve helped Dominic and I track down info on my ancestors and the missing charms. You’re an amazing researcher.”

“Go on, say more. I thrive on compliments.”

“Watch out, your head is swelling.”

“Is that all?” He glanced down with a wicked grin.

“You are so bad.”

“Stick around and I’ll show you how bad I can be.”

“Save it for your girlfriends.”

“So many girls, only one Manny,” he joked.

“Egotist!” I swatted his arm.

“Just telling it like it is. Some guys have it, and some guys have more of it.”

“More than I need to know.” I gave a bittersweet smile, thinking how much I’d miss teasing with him. “Anyway, don’t worry about predictions for your column. I’ll email them from San Jose.”

“Thanks, but it won’t be the same.” His expression sobered. “Will you be going back to your old school?”

“No!” I said a bit too sharply. “I could never return there after all the lies and accusations. I’d rather die.”

As I said the word “die,” a chill shivered through me. I grabbed tight to my chair as dizziness struck. Lights flickered around the classroom, bright colors spinning into confusing images. Posters fluttered like birds in flight and white walls shimmered into a silver sandstorm.

I stood swaying, afraid of passing out. To clear my head, I focused on the floor. Only the tile whirled, changing from dull-gray squares to golden polished wood. The computer lab was gone, replaced with a silvery cave. And Manny had vanished.

But I wasn’t alone. Ghostly white-clothed figures glided around me on the golden floor, shifting in quick moves like living chess pieces. They had no faces, only blurry gray masks. With deft spins, they paired and began battling among themselves, slashing with blade-shaped arms and razor claw fingers. They ignored me, except for one. A lone figure glided toward me, slowly, with chilling purpose, gleaming silver claws outstretched. I was paralyzed, unable to move, watching in terror as knife claws loomed closer, closer …

“Sabine … Beany!” Manny snapped his fingers in front of my face.

“Huh?” I jumped back to reality; the hum of computers, the bright lights overhead and posters on faded white walls.

“You’re so pale,” Manny said, leaning closer and studying me. “Did something just happen? Was it a vision?”

“Yeah … I think so.” I clasped my hands in my lap to keep from shaking.

“Tell me,” he insisted.

So I did. And when I finished, he stared at me with both concern and curiosity. “Knives, figures in white, a chess board? Any idea what it means?” he asked.

“No.” I shook my head numbly. “But it could be a warning.”

“A warning for whom?”

“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling.” I shuddered. “If I don’t find out, something terrible will happen.”