The Glass Wall (Return of the Ancients Book 1) (9 page)

“Never seen it before,” I mumbled.

“Must be from Halloween,” he said. “Probably part of a kid’s costume.”

I touched the stone with my index finger. “Where was it?” I asked, curiously.

Ellison led me outside to the edge of the yard. It was dark and hard to see, but he had a miniature flashlight on his key ring. He shined the beam back and forth around the mailbox.

“Over here, about a dozen,” he said. He flicked the light and then added, “Oh, a few more over here too.”

“What about over there?” I asked, pointing to something white glistening in the streetlight.

We walked closer to the streetlight and found even more white stones. A line of them led toward the greenbelt. Neither of us said anything as we searched through the darkness. We didn’t stop until we had discovered the entire yard was ringed with them and if you dug in the dirt with your heel, there were even more.

“Odd,” Ellison said. He was no longer laughing.

We went back inside, sat at the kitchen table, and looked more closely at the handful of stones we had just picked up. They were all white, of different sizes, but all of them had the triangle and loops burned on one side.

“Let’s look this symbol up,” Ellison suggested, moving to Betty’s computer.

We spent the next hour sifting through tons of images. There were lots of triangles, but nothing with the swirls inside them.

After a while, I got bored and went to the kitchen to make ice cream sundaes. Tigger followed me hopefully as I brought our ice cream back to the living room and sat down.

“Here it is!” Ellison laughed suddenly and popped his knuckles. “Yeah, must be a kid joke. It’s a fairy rune.”

“Fairy rune?” I peered closely at the screen.

There it was, a picture of a triangle with swirls, exactly matching the white stones sitting on the desk.

“Yeah.” Ellison wolfed down his ice cream. “It’s a fairy protection rune. It means protection from fire or something like that. The kids must have tossed them around your yard as a Halloween prank. A little weird, but you know how kids are. What do you think?”

I glanced at the screen and back at one of the stones. It didn’t look like a toy to me. It was beautiful and for some reason it made me feel good. I didn’t have to say anything, because at that moment Al’s truck pulled up the driveway.

“Oh, it’s getting late,” Ellison said, glancing at his watch. “I meant to pick up Betty’s birthday present tonight and drop it off, but I’ll have to do it next week.”

“Birthday?” I asked, dumping my uneaten ice cream in the sink. “It’s Betty’s birthday?”

“Yeah, her birthday is tomorrow—” he began, but cut himself short as Grace came in and he began to chat with her about the movie instead.

I felt bad. I hadn’t known it was her birthday. Tomorrow was Monday and school. I’d have little time to find her a present, and I didn’t have any money. I liked Betty. She’d been pretty nice to me, actually. It was because of her that Jerry had a nice cage. Suddenly, I didn’t want to be the only one who didn’t give her a present.

As Betty joined Grace and Ellison to talk about the movie, I sidled up to Al.

“Hey, can you drop me off after school somewhere tomorrow so I can get Betty a present?” I asked. I knew I didn’t have any money, but I had my trusty shoplifting skills. I winced a little. I was feeling guiltier about that by the day.

“I’ll be working late, kiddo,” he replied, but pointed to Betty’s keys. “You can borrow the truck.”

I flushed a little and looked at my feet. I was almost eighteen, and I still didn’t have my license. Ashamed, I admitted, “I can’t drive.”

“You can’t drive yet?” Al asked, obviously surprised. “Well, we are going to have to fix that right away. Driving is a basic skill. In my house, you have to learn the basic survival skills! Grace, what are the Mackenzie Basic Survival Skills?”

Grace rolled her eyes a little, but stopped her conversation with Ellison to rattle off, “First aid, driving automatic and stick, self-defense, water purification, fire-building, shelter construction, recognizing edible plants, and grilling the ultimate American burger!”

Ellison grinned.

“And what does ‘STOP’ mean?” Al asked, nodding proudly.

“Stop, Think, Observe, and Plan,” she said, sniggering a little with Ellison.

“And, what are the basic threes?” He raised his brows at his daughter.

“A human can survive three minutes without air, three hours in the snow without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food.” She sent me a commiserating smile.

“And, the most important rule?” Al held up his finger, waiting.

“When complete secrecy and trust is required, use the Mackenzie Covert Code Phrase: ‘Can you get me some of those Blue Pickles?’” Grace giggled.

“Well done, soldier!” Al gave her a salute and then turned to peer down at me. “It looks like we’ll have to start our little Sydney’s basic training immediately! On the way home tomorrow, I’ll pick up a driver’s guide for you to study. We’ll get this transportation situation cleared up and get you independent ASAP!”

I nodded, a little intimidated, but feeling a glow of warmth at his words “our little Sydney”. No one had ever called me that before. I was strangely misty-eyed.

“Betty, can you drop this girl off at the store after school?” Al continued. “She can take the bus home.”

I nodded, pleased. I didn’t tell him I didn’t have money for the bus fare, but it didn’t matter. I figured I could walk. I would pick a big store that wasn’t too far away.

“Of course, honey,” Betty replied, sending me a warm smile.

I was grateful that she didn’t ask why. But then Betty never pried. In fact, she had respected my space and had never forced me into awkward conversations. Suddenly, I realized I’d grown quite fond of her. I was going to steal a really nice present.

Chapter Eight - Caught!

Jung Lin, her strange comments, and the mysterious stones kept my thoughts preoccupied the next morning. I stumbled around the house looking for my books and then searching for my sweatshirt before finally making it out the door. We had almost left the neighborhood when I suddenly remembered I had forgotten my backpack. Betty was kind enough to return for it. It would have been a disaster to forget it, as I planned to use it to shoplift her present after school.

Back at the house again, I retrieved my backpack. Then on the way to the truck for the second time, I picked up a few fairy runes from the grass and stuck them in my pocket. I found them comforting, though I didn’t know why.

The school day passed uneventfully. My mind continually wandered between Jung and my shoplifting plans. I spent so much time trying to justify stealing Betty’s present that I actually considered nixing the whole plan.

Finally, the last bell rang and I headed to the bridge where Grace and Ellison were already waiting. They were talking, or it was more like Ellison was talking nonstop while Grace listened, but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, if I hadn’t known about her crush on Rafael, I’d have sworn she had a small one on Ellison.

I was nervous. I hated thinking about shoplifting too much before I did it. It was bad luck. Though only caught twice for shoplifting, both times were for items that I had plotted for in advance. A little aggravated, I kicked the engraved letters on the sidewalk and then moved to the gravel on the side of the bridge and kicked that too. A clod of mud arched into the air. There was a plopping sound followed by an enraged squeal.

I jerked around to see Reese, the girl who looked like she belonged in a private school.

Reese stared at me with a livid expression.

Then, I saw the glop of mud dribbling down her pale yellow skirt. My eyes widened. Obviously, it was a very expensive skirt. I quailed at the thought that I would have to pay for it.

“I just bought this!” Reese snapped at me. “And I’m on my way to a party!”

“I’m sorry,” I said, clearing my throat. “It was an accident.”

“You obviously don’t think! Aren’t you too old to be playing in the mud?” Her eyes raked me from head to toe and then narrowed. “Wait a minute. Aren’t you that charity-case kid?”

“Charity-case kid?” I repeated, frowning a little.

“Yeah, the stupid one who wears trash from discount stores?” Her tone was highly disdainful.

I was actually used to comments like this, but I blushed anyway.

“Oh, look. Isn’t that Reese?” I heard Ellison’s voice from close behind me. “Isn’t she that girl with the botched nose job?”

“Yeah! She’s the one who can’t smile anymore because of all that Botox.” Grace giggled from my other side.

Reese’s fine nostrils flared and she lifted her chin, but it trembled a little.

“Looks like someone should tell Sister Ann that Reese has been wearing super-short skirts again, breaking the rules!” Ellison continued. “Yeah, she’ll probably be followed around again for month like last time and have her skirt measured every day at lunch. Reese must have liked all that special attention.”

Reese eyed all three of us and then rolled her eyes. “Whatever!”

Angrily, she clicked away in her heels toward her red sports car, got in, and slammed the door.

Ellison snickered. “That was fun!”

Grace punched me on the arm in a chummy gesture.

Suddenly, it was difficult to swallow, and I was strangely misty-eyed again. That was twice in less than twenty-four hours. I asked, “Why … did you do that?”

“No one can stand her.” Grace shrugged.

“But everyone wants to go to her party!” I frowned, shaking my head. “That’s all I hear them talking about.”

“Nah! The only ones who want to go are those incapable of original thought.” Ellison laughed. “Can you imagine how boring her party would be?”

He jumped on the bridge railing, struck a pose, and shrilled in a high voice, “Everyone, look at my new skirt. Isn’t it epically awesome? It’s one of a kind, like, made only for
me
! And everyone, look at my nails!
Omigosh
! So the first stylist was so lame I had to get them redone pronto—“

“’
Pronto’?” Grace interrupted with a laugh. “What century is ‘pronto’ from? Reese wouldn’t even
know
the word! And ‘epically awesome’ is only something a boy would say!”

I found myself smiling as Ellison jumped off the railing with a grin. “Sorry, it’s hard to be that stupid. I keep forgetting her vocabulary only comes from
Teen Vogue
.”

I knew it was a little mean-spirited, but I couldn’t help giggling.

“Oh, look! Mom’s here,” Grace said as she and Ellison headed toward the truck.

Watching them go, I again felt that odd fuzzy feeling and wondered what it was. I slipped my hand into my pocket and let the comforting fairy runes run through my fingers as I followed them. If it wasn’t for the fact I was getting ready to shoplift, I’d be in a great mood.

Ellison told us good-bye as we climbed into the truck. I watched him walk away and smiled, thinking that he was such a nice guy.

As Betty left the school parking lot, she asked Grace to dig through her purse and find me some money for the bus fare.

“Are you sure you don’t need some spending money, Sydney?” she kept asking.

I shook my head, feeling ashamed, and finally lied, “Neelu gave me some.”

“Are you sure, honey?” Betty persisted.

It didn’t feel right to take her money to buy her own present. Against my better judgment, I insisted I was fine.

Grace began to babble excitedly about the Jareth concert on Friday.

I no longer felt like going, but I didn’t know how to tell them that. I knew Betty had paid a good forty dollars for my ticket. That was a lot of money for a foster kid. It would be a slap in the face if I didn’t go, but I was still terrified. I wondered if I could get sick.

I didn’t have much time to think about it, as Betty pulled up to one of those monolithic discount stores that sold everything from TVs to groceries. After showing me the bus stop and making me repeat the bus number several times, she finally let me go. I kept on telling her not to worry. After all, I had my cell phone, but I actually felt happy that she worried about me. It made me feel loved.

They drove away and taking a deep breath, I strode through the automatic doors. My heart was pounding loudly, and I told it to shut up as I pretended that I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and that I was just a normal person browsing for a present.

I didn’t have a clue about what I should get for Betty.

I looked at the clothes, but I really didn’t know what she liked to wear. The jewelry and make-up aisles didn’t seem right either. I wandered through shoes, home décor, and art supplies before I stumbled upon the electronics department.

I wondered briefly if she’d like a movie or a CD, when my eyes fell upon the perfect gift.

It was a wireless computer mouse.

I grinned.