Enchanted Secrets (10 page)

I followed Tyler to the kitchen and he grabbed a frozen pizza from the freezer.

“
What, no magic involved in making lunch?” I teased, sitting down at the counter.

“You hea
rd my mom, no more magic, except for the teleporting and maybe a cup of cocoa. So, until this thing with Vivian is over, I have to do almost everything the hard way,” he answered as he removed the wrapper from the pizza. He licked his fingers. “You like pepperoni?”

I nodded.
“So, why can’t you perform magic? Will Vivian know?”

“The stronger
the sorceress, the easier it to sense the energy created by magic, whether it’s hers or someone else’s.”

“I hate to change the subject,” I said, looking around the immaculate white tiled floor and marbled kitchen counters
, “but your house isn’t anything at all like I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, your mom’s a witch and you’re an Enchanter, right?”

He nodded.

“Well, this place is so
white and crisp; it’s just too contemporary for a witch’s pad. I’d have expected something more mystical and I don’t know… old school, I guess? I mean, where’s your herb garden for creating potions or steaming witch’s cauldron? I haven’t even seen a black cat or any pickle jars containing creepy things to make potions. I mean, come on!”

Tyler chuckled.
“You really do read too many books.”

“Maybe,
but your mom’s shop seems a little closer to what I’d expect to find under a witch’s roof. This place, though, it’s like something out of an architectural magazine, I’d never suspect the homeowners were… magical beings. More like yuppie interior designers or something.”

He smirked. “
Well, then we’ve covered are tracks pretty well. My mother didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention. So this is kind of our hideout when things get bad.”

“Well,
” I said, nodding, “if Vivian is aware of my family being in Bayport, then she’ll find ‘Secrets’ blindfolded.”

He shrugged. “It was a risk we had to take.”

“Is your mom safe in the shop by herself?”

“
She’s used a spell for protection and we have some friends that are helping to keep any eye on things, just in case. She’ll definitely know if Vivian is getting close.”

“
Friends…like Trixie?”

He nodded. “Like Trixie
.”

“Well
, then I think it’s time my mother knows you’re here.”

He let out a long
, drawn-out sigh. “Believe me, she probably already does.”

~~~

Tyler teleported u
s straight to my house after lunch. We landed on the floor in my bedroom, this time, with him on top of me.

“We have to quit meeting this way,” he said, his eyes smoldering.

“Off,” I said, pushing him away.

“
Sorry, you just have this effect on me. Being a gentleman is getting harder by the minute,” he said.

Pleased, I smiled. “Really?”

“Really, so let’s get what we need from your bedroom and then find your mom.”

I looked at my alarm clock and it was just after
one o’clock in the afternoon.

“
Okay. Turn around,” I said, moving to my sister’s underwear drawer.

He nodded
and turned around.

I grabbed a pair of
Kala’s new panties and rushed to the bathroom. After slipping them on, I walked back into my bedroom and froze. “Do you hear that?” I whispered.

He shook his head and stared at me in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s too quiet,”

I walked out of the bedroom and he followed me downstairs.
“Mom runs a daycare and nobody’s around crying or screaming their head off.”

The kitchen
, which was usually stacked with dishes and chaotic children, was spotless and empty.

“Could she have taken the children outside?” he asked.

“I hope so.”

We hurried to the backdoor and I opened it. The yard was filled with outdoor toys
and the new jungle gym we’d recently installed. Other than that, it was also empty.

“Okay, this is weird,” I said, stepping back inside. “Where in the world is she?”

He rubbed his chin. “Does she ever take the kids on field trips?”

“Sometimes, but she usually lets me
and my sister know ahead of time, in case of an emergency.”

“Then this
is
very bad. I think we should be prepared for the worst,” he said.

I stared at him in horror as I realized what he was suggesting. “Do you think it’s too late?” I asked in a strangled voice. “That maybe...
Vivian’s gotten to her?”

“I don’t k
now,” he said, avoiding my eyes.

A sudden kno
ck at the door startled us and we both jumped.

“I
’d better get that,” I whispered.

“
No, let me do it,” he said, already heading towards the front door.

When we opened the door, a pretty blond woman stood beaming at us. “
Oh, hello. My name is Michelle Evans and I was wondering if your mother is home? I sell Beauty Life Cosmetics.”

“Um, no,” I answered, eyeing the woman suspiciously. “She’s not home, sorry.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” she said, pouting. “I spoke to her on the phone earlier and she told me she’d be here all day. She sounded really interested in trying our new line of lipsticks.”

“We’ll let her know you stopped by,
” said Tyler as he began to close the door.

Mich
elle stuck her foot in the doorway and her eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you kids supposed to be in school?”

I cleared my throat. “Actually, we’re homeschooled.”

“Well, how nice,” she said, studying my face. “Would you mind if I wait for your mother inside? It took me almost forty minutes to get here and she promised me she’d be around. Would it be okay if I just waited ten minutes?”

“No, I’m sorry. My mother is very adamant ab
out not letting strangers into the house when she’s not home.”

Her lips curled into an ugly scowl. “Is that so?”

My breath caught in my throat when our eyes met. Not only were they the same color as my mother’s, but they were now filled with such malice, that I instinctively took a step back.

“We’ll let her know you stopped by,” repeated Tyl
er firmly.

Michelle, who looked like she was going to explode just a moment ago, regained her composure and smiled
sweetly at us. “Yes, of course. Well, I’m sorry to have bothered you. Have a nice afternoon.”

As she turned away, Tyler shut the door and locked it
quickly.

“
What’s happening?” I whispered. “Who was that?”

He looked at me. “That, my dear, was death knocking at your front door.”

“We have to get out of here,”
stated Tyler, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the backdoor. “She’s going to be watching for your mother and we need to warn her before she gets back home. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

I shook my head. “Honestly
, Tyler, I don’t know. She’s normally home right now. This just doesn’t make any sense. Actually, nothing about today makes sense.”

“
Does she have a cell phone?”

I shook my head. “
No, she says they give you brain cancer. She refuses to even allow them into our house.”

Tyler nodded. “They are also an easy tracking device, probably the real reason she doesn’t allow them.”

Now that made much more sense.

“Is it possible that the school called my mom and she’s
there looking for me?”

“I guess it’s possible. I did persuade the attendance clerk to forget about contacting your mother though.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How did you do that when you were with me the entire time?”

“If I told you how, I’d have to kill you.”

My eyes widened in shock.

He laughed. “No, I’m just messing with you.”

I smacked him in the arm and then pushed him out the back door. “Let’s go back to school, just in case she’s waiting around there.”

As we snuck
away from the house towards the back alley, he looked up into the trees. “Vivian’s probably watching us right now,” he said in a low voice.

“From the trees?” I whispered
in horror. I thought about how dangerous this woman was and it chilled me to the bone. Now, as I watched the wind blow the leaves around on the trees, everything seems so much more ominous.

“The birds, usually
ravens or crows. She’s been known to manipulate them to do her bidding.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and grabbed his hand.
“I’m scared. I mean really freaking scared. Are you?”

He shrugged. “
Nah. Whenever I encounter imminent danger, I try to concentrate on the solution, not the source.”

“Well, have you found a solution for this problem yet?” I mumbled.

He stared at the sky. “Yes,” he answered sucking in his breath. “Run!”

~~~

I’m not sure why he told me to run at that particular moment, but I wasn’t about to argue with him. We both took off running down the alley.

“Hurry!” he barked when I stumbled over a break in the pavement.

“Trying!” I yelled back.

Just then hund
reds of sharp “kraking” noises filled the air and I glanced behind us. “Oh, my God!” I shrieked in horror.

The sky was a blur of
black, with thousands of birds screaming towards us, the sound of their wings flapping in the wind entwined with the roaring in my ears was deafening.

“Come on!” yelled Tyler
, pulling me towards one of the neighbor’s garages.

We crashed through the side door and I threw my arms around him. “Teleport us or whatever it is you do, right now!” I cried.

He nodded and began to chant.

“Going somewhere?”

I opened my eyes to find Michelle smiling coldly at us in the darkness of the garage, her blond hair now a vibrant red, her facial features totally changed. It was unnerving to see my mother’s familiar, loving features twisted into a look of pure hatred.

“Please, don’t hurt us,” I whispered in horror.

She held up a wand and pointed it towards us, chanting some type of spell. Fortunately, however, Tyler had remained diligent in his incantations so we disappeared before she could finish.

We landed in the bathroom of “Secrets.”

“
That was close,” I gasped, trying to stand up. My legs were trembling so much I thought they’d give out any minute.

He closed his eyes and released a ragged sigh. “You have no idea.”

“So, did you recognize that spell she tried to use?”

He nodded. “
Oh yeah, she almost annihilated us, both.”

My eyes widened. “Wow. It’s that easy
, to kill someone?”

“
With the right spell and sorceress, anything is possible.”

The door opened
suddenly and old Mrs. Buchaard stood staring at us curiously.

“Oh, I’m sorry,
do you need to get in here?” asked Tyler.

She shook her head. “No, but you’d better get your butts moving if you’re planning on helping Adrianne.”

I stared at her in surprise. “What?”

She wagged her finger at us to follow her and said. “
Let me introduce myself, I’m your mother’s cousin, Clarice.”

“What?” I
repeated, this time in total shock. I glanced at Tyler who was smiling in amusement.

She grinned
. “Oh, I know you weren’t aware of it. We kept it from you and your sister for a reason. It was much too dangerous.”

I stared at her and recognized some of my mother’s traits. Cat-like eyes and high cheekbone
s. Otherwise Clarice’s hair was completely white.

She patted her hair. “I know. I messed up a spell many years ago and it turned my hair white. I kind of liked it so
… I kept it.”

“Tyler!” called his mother,
who was now rushing to close the shop. “What’s happened? I’ve received some messages that there’s been trouble.”

“Trouble?
” he snorted. “I’d say. Vivian showed up at Kendra’s and we barely made it out of there.”

She rushed over and threw her arms around Tyler. “
Thank the stars above you’re both safe. That woman is so unpredictable.”

“
The opposite of my mom, usually,” I mumbled.

Rebecca turned to me. “
I take it you didn’t find her?”

I shook my head
sadly. “No, we have no idea where she is.”

“What about your sister?” asked Clarice
, taking a step closer.

“Actually, I haven’t spoken to her since this morning.” I hadn’t even considered how much danger my twin could be in.

“We’d better take a drive to the school and check on her then,” said Clarice. “Quickly, before Vivian gets her mitts on her.”

“
Um, Kala’s supposed to be getting a ride home with Mark Davis. They’re going to the library after school to surf the Internet.”

Clarice frowned. “Did you say “Mark Davis”?”

I nodded.

“I don’t know. There’s something about that boy that doesn’t sit well with me,” she said.
“I’ve seen him around town, getting into all sorts of trouble.  He’s definitely not the type of boy your mother would want for Kala.”

“He’s a total jerk,” I said. “I don’t know how she can even stand to be near him.”

Rebecca went behind the register and grabbed her purse. “Let’s go find your sister, Kendra. If we’re lucky, we’ll locate your mother, too.”

I sighed.
“Can we drive by my house again, just in case she’s there?”

“Of course
, dear,” answered Rebecca. She turned to Clarice who was digging around in her purse. “Are you coming?”

Clarice looked up. “Yes, I was just looking for my wand. It’s got to be in here somewhere.”

Rebecca opened up her own purse and held it away from her body. “Manifest,” she said.

I watched in awe as a
thin black magic wand shot out of Rebecca’s leather handbag. It twirled in the air for a few seconds and then sat hovering in front of her face. She grabbed the wand and smiled at Clarice. “You may as well use magic now that Vivian’s aware of our existence in town.”

Clarice nodded and then held out her purse. “Manifest!”
she ordered. Unfortunately nothing happened.

“Where is it?” asked
Rebecca, stepping closer.

Clarice frowned. “Manifest!” s
he yelled. Still the wand did not appear.

“Is it possible that you left it at home?”

“I never leave home without my wand. It’s just giving me a hard time. I think it’s still angry that I hollered at it the other day.”

“Oh,” said Rebecca. “You have one of
those
.”

“What do you mean?” I asked incredulously. “What…
you hollered at your wand and now it’s acting out?”

Clarice nodded. “Some wands are sensitive. Mine is very
temperamental,” she murmured.

“I heard that!
” boomed a feminine voice from somewhere inside of Clarice’s purse.

My jaw dropped as a long thin wand shot out of the purse and hovered close to Clarice’s face. “
Madame, you owe me an apology!” it announced.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” said Clarice, w
ith a stiff upper lip. “You’ve been ignoring me all day. With Vivian around we have no time for such petty games.”

“I’m not playing games!
I’d just like a little respect, is all. I’ve served you for over fifty years, witch. Have you once ever asked me to perform a spell nicely?”

“Whatever do you mean?” she asked.

The wand snorted. “A simple ‘thank you’ or even a ‘please’ works wonders. Is that too much to ask?”

Clarice’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. Thank you for all your magical assistance, I greatly appreciate it. Now get your
petulant, bony butt into my fist before I turn you into a box of toothpicks!”

The wand immediately flew into Clarice’s hand
.

She
smiled smugly and then looked at me. “You have to teach the wand who’s in charge or they won’t serve you properly. They like to test you from time to time. S
ome
more than others.”

I was still flustered from seeing a wand talk, let alone think on its own. “Um, okay.”

Clarice stepped closer to me. “You do realize you’re a witch too, don’t you, dear?”

“Me?” I asked
, hoarsely.

“Oh yes. Your
powers are dormant right now. But you and your sister have the genes to be very powerful witches.”