They had a table next to the floor-to-ceiling window which overlooked the tree-rimmed lake.
¡°When do they turn off the fountain?¡± Priya asked, referring to a jet of water offshore in front of campus.
¡°When it freezes I guess.¡± For Tonya, the picturesque view was commonplace. During lectures, she preferred sitting close to the building¡¯s southern walls which overlooked the broad lawn where athletic guys habitually threw Frisbees over the bronze head of sour-faced railroad baron, Sir William McKenzie.
¡°Tonya? Earth to Tonya?¡± Priya swept her hand in front of Tonya¡¯s face.
¡°Sorry, what were we saying?¡±
¡°We think you should be in the movie,¡± said Drake. Tonya admired the way his shoulders filled out his checked shirt.
¡°We need a couple of girls for speaking parts,¡± said Zain. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a great white shark printed on it and a ball cap that said, ¡°Fear Me.¡±
¡°Are you directing?¡± Tonya figured he belonged in front of the camera.
¡°That¡¯s Drake¡¯s job. I¡¯m grip, best boy, bottle washer, prima donna, muse and auteur all rolled into one manly package.¡±
¡°You forgot egomaniac,¡± said Priya.
¡°Out of modesty.¡± Zain bowed.
Priya pointed out the window at Lakeshore Drive. ¡°Don¡¯t you love watching them scurry this way and that while we sit here enjoying our mango shakes?¡±
¡°That will be us in another half hour,¡± said Tonya.
¡°Not all of us,¡± Priya smiled. ¡°Drake and I are skipping this afternoon, so we can figure out how to record my installation.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a mistake,¡± said Zain. ¡°What if people break our cameras as a Halloween prank?¡±
¡°When¡¯s the last time you heard of someone pranking an art gallery? This is an installation, only for the interested,¡± said Priya.
¡°They could be interested in stealing cameras,¡± said Zain.
¡°They won¡¯t even see them,¡± said Drake. ¡°I¡¯m going to mount them way up in the trees.¡±
¡°They could watch us put them up and steal them when we leave.¡± Zain pointed an accusing French fry at his friend. ¡°What would you do then?¡±
Drake pointed a long fry at Zain¡¯s heart and put on a cheesy French accent. ¡°I would defeat them with ze Blade of Orl¨¦ans. En garde, coward!¡±
Zain brandished his own deep-fried weapon and started to thrust and parry across the table. Drake stood up to gain some reach, so Zain leaped to his feet, and the two of them took the fight to the floor. All across the cafeteria, Tonya noticed people staring.
Let them. If Drake could let loose, she could too.
¡°Would you idiots sit back down,¡± said Priya. ¡°You¡¯ll embarrass Tonya.¡±
¡°Speak for yourself.¡± Tonya grabbed a fry and held it en garde. ¡°I was known as ze Ketchup Killer of Loon Lake High.¡±
Priya raised an eyebrow at Tonya. She smiled until Zain put a hand on Tonya¡¯s shoulder, his face suddenly serious. He pointed out the window.
¡°Isn¡¯t that your Professor?¡± said Priya.
Through windows on the opposite side of the cafeteria, Tonya saw Professor Rudolph on the lawn. He was walking blindly up the path as students dodged out of his way. On the lawn, the statue of Sir William Mackenzie stood in his path. The Professor walked right into it, stumbled back and continued past, lumbering into a student and causing her to drop an armful of books.
¡°He looks sick or something. C¡¯mon.¡± Tonya leapt to her feet and went outside to see what was ailing her beloved History professor. His eyes, when she caught up with him, were unfocused and dull, coated in a bluish film. He staggered blindly toward the west end of the grounds, headed toward the wooded path between campus and the cemetery.
It wasn¡¯t difficult to keep up with him. He walked with the grace of Frankenstein¡¯s monster. ¡°Professor Rudolph,¡± she touched his shoulder. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
No reaction.
¡°Can you hear me? It¡¯s Tonya, from Philosophy of History.¡±
He kept lumbering forward, unhearing as well as blind.
Priya and Drake caught up.
¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Priya stared.
¡°He won¡¯t answer. Watch this.¡± Tonya waved her hands in front of his face. He didn¡¯t react, so she stepped into his path and stood there. Professor Rudolph was huge and closing on her fast. She waited, blocking the way in the hope he would come to his senses. When he was about to plow into her, she leaped clear.
¡°We should follow him,¡± said Drake. ¡°My brother used to sleepwalk so badly, my parents had to tie his leg to the bed, so he wouldn¡¯t wander down the stairs.¡±
¡°If we wake him suddenly, could he have a heart attack?¡± asked Zain, who was drawing even with Rudolph.
Priya took the Professor¡¯s shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. ¡°Wake up Professor. Wake up!¡±
That didn¡¯t work so they tried grabbing him. Gently at first. Then they tried poking. Tonya watched Drake pinch him, hard, but the Professor didn¡¯t notice or slow down. He left the college behind taking the path into the trees.
Zain stopped, arms crossed. ¡°I refuse to be a part of this. You¡¯re going to hurt him, and then we¡¯re going to get sued.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you need to have money to get sued?¡± Drake asked.
¡°Hey, I resent that. Someday I¡¯ll be worth millions of bucks. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±
Priya rolled her eyes.
Tonya understood her frustration. While they were arguing, the Professor was getting away.
¡°Wait!¡± Drake yelled, but the Professor lumbered farther from campus.
¡°Adios suckers! I¡¯ll be in Economics.¡± Zain waved over his shoulder and headed to class.
¡°Let Zain go,¡± said Tonya. ¡°We have to stop the Professor, or he might walk into the road and get killed.¡± She hurried after him.
¡°How are you going to do that?¡± Priya jogged to catch up. ¡°You¡¯re a head shorter, and you¡¯re a cream puff.¡±
¡°No problem.¡± Tonya caught up and rushed ahead of the Professor. Smiling confidently, she placed herself in his path, straight-armed her hands at chest height and planted her feet. She gave him a stern look and shouted ¡°Stop!¡± but the blue film on his eyes told her magic was involved. Rudolph kept coming so Tonya resisted with all her force, for at least half a second, until he tipped her back and she crashed onto her ass. Before she could stand, the Professor stepped forward raising a foot so large that from this angle, it blocked out the sun. He was about to bring it down on her head!
Drake grabbed her hands and pulled her aside, just averting the Professor¡¯s trampling feet.
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¡°Thanks.¡± She brushed wet leaves from her jeans.
After that, the three of them tried everything to wake Rudolph: grabbing, shouting, and even kicking at the backs of the Professor¡¯s knees. That made him stumble, momentarily, but nothing could stop or wake him. Giving up on individual efforts, they grabbed onto his belt together and dug in their heels, but soon found themselves water-skiing along the path, sitting on their own heels as their feet slipped across muddy leaves. Three determined Ninjas were no match for the sheer forward momentum of Professor Rudolph.
¡°It¡¯s like trying to stop a rhino,¡± said Drake ¡°What do we do now?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Tonya.
¡°He ruined my good shoes.¡± Priya frowned at her Victorian booties.
¡°We have to do something,¡± said Drake.
¡°Call the cops,¡± said Priya. ¡°He¡¯s a clear and present danger to leather goods.¡±
¡°Not funny,¡± said Tonya.
Nothing helped. Like god in his Greek philosophy lectures, the Professor moved as inexorably as the Unmoved Mover. What was next, perpetual motion?
Priya was panting. ¡°Let¡¯s get ahead of him and clear a safe path. It¡¯s all we can do.¡±
¡°We need professional help,¡± said Tonya.
¡°Who? Campus police? The Provincial Police?¡± said Drake.
¡°The OPP would laugh at us,¡± said Priya.
¡°You have a point.¡± Tonya couldn¡¯t imagine the OPP investigating a runaway sleepwalker. ¡°So, we steer him clear of obstacles until he wakes up naturally.¡± Although she feared he could only be awakened supernaturally.
The professor had almost crossed the well-trodden path through the woods. Tonya said, ¡°He¡¯s headed for the cemetery.¡±
¡°That makes sense,¡± said Drake, ¡°since he lost his wife. Maybe he fell asleep in class and he¡¯s dreaming of visiting her grave.¡±
¡°Very poetic,¡± said Priya, ¡°but shouldn¡¯t we call an ambulance?¡±
¡°Yes. Do it.¡± Tonya wasn¡¯t allowed to mention magic to Mundanes, but the man needed to be stopped before he hurt himself. Professor Rudolph wasn¡¯t from one of the Old Families which meant using magic on him was prohibited. It looked like a rogue magic user was breaking the highest law of Loon Lake.
¡°Tell them we¡¯re headed for the cemetery, and Priya, don¡¯t forget to describe his eyes.¡±
Priya dropped back to make the call while Tonya stayed ahead with Drake.
¡°This is hopeless,¡± Drake said. ¡°What if he walks into a car crossing the road?¡±
Approaching the cemetery, the gravel path changed to asphalt. This was the route runners took on their long circuit from the Athletic Center to the east, west along the south shore of the lake out of campus and then through the Eastern Gate into the Loon Lake Cemetery. All summer, Tonya had watched from the Herbal Healing Shop as they emerged from the Western Gate of the cemetery and turned south to run through Loon Lake Village in their team jerseys. Their typical route ran from Mackenzie College, in through the East Gate, along the path that ran past the chapel, out the West Gate and then around the outside of the cemetery and back up to campus again. How odd to be following the same paths chasing a runaway professor.
Somebody wanted to hurt Rudolph, but even the Mods wouldn¡¯t curse a university professor, would they? It was such a blatant, public flouting of the rule of secrecy that kept Trads and Mods from settling their disputes in the street. Could it be related to her aunt¡¯s mysterious illness?
He stepped blindly into the road.
They tackled him, trying to alter his course.
The force of their combined weight should have turned him, but they slid off as if he was coated in Teflon. He staggered across the road, oblivious to horns blaring.
A car was headed on a collision course with Rudolph.
Tonya was too far away to intervene.
The car squealed the brakes and Tonya watched helplessly as Professor Rudolph continued blundering forward, into the path of the approaching car.
Priya sprinted up from behind and shoved him across, clearing the road just in time.
Drake cheered and followed after them, but this tiny victory worried Tonya. It demonstrated that Rudolph could be hurried along, but he couldn¡¯t be slowed or deflected from his objective.
And then, up ahead, Tonya saw salvation. The tall, wrought iron fence around the cemetery was right in the Professor¡¯s path. A conscious man could turn and walk to the front gate, but Rudolph was in a mindless state. He would wash up against the gate like a fish in a net.
¡°I see the end of the road,¡± said Drake, echoing her thoughts.
The Professor shambled up against the gate where she expected him to stop. Instead, he placed one foot onto a crosspiece and boosted himself up.
Drake whistled. ¡°Who knew he was so spry?¡±
¡°How¡¯s he doing that in his sleep?¡± asked Priya.
¡°His eyes are open,¡± said Drake. ¡°My brother used to open the refrigerator door when he was sleepwalking.¡±
The next bit was harder. The Professor had to get a leg over the top of the fence. Drake rushed over and tried to pull him back.
¡°Stop! What if you knock him down and he hurts himself?¡± said Priya.
¡°What if he falls on top of you?¡± Tonya stood helpless, her own body swaying in sympathy as the Professor teetered with one foot set halfway up the fence, the other in the air, straining his weak muscles to lift it over.
When he finally succeeded Drake said, ¡°I thought he was going to rip something.¡±
Tonya clambered over the fence. ¡°Stay here,¡± she told the others.
She followed his halting steps as he took the circular drive that led around the wooded hill and then continued, walking across country, between the weathered monuments in the oldest section of the cemetery. From here, she could already see her aunt¡¯s shop through the trees, on the other side of Kenny Road. There was no doubt about it, as much as Tonya wished she was wrong. The Professor was headed straight for the Three-Century Ash. This confirmed her fears that the Professor¡¯s problem was magic-related, but would the Ash protect a Mundane as it protected Tonya and other members of the Old Families?
The Professor stopped dead in front of the tree.
She heard feet crunching through the leaves behind her. No, no, no. Tonya was going to have to explain the tree¡¯s powers to her friends.
How else could she make them steer clear of the danger? Her dream of popularity and a normal life was over. So much for keeping magic hidden from the Mundanes, the one issue Mods and the ruling Trads all agreed on.
Loon Lake Village, and the ancient section of the cemetery where the Old Families were buried, exuded supernatural energy. These powers were not supposed to leak onto campus, territory of the Mundanes. Tonya wrestled with what to do. If she told her friends about magic, the Pures like her mother (who never practiced magic) and the Trads (who hid magic from the Mundanes) would punish them severely.
¡°He stopped walking,¡± Tonya said. ¡°We should go back to campus.¡±
¡°Not till the ambulance arrives,¡± said Priya.
Before Tonya could answer, the professor sat down on the dirty roots, and then lay out flat with his head pointing toward the Ash. He moaned and started to agitate his arms.
¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± asked Priya.
¡°Making snow angels with the leaves?¡± said Drake.
¡°Freaking me out.¡± Tonya¡¯s phone shook in her hands. ¡°I¡¯m calling the hospital.¡±
¡°I already called 911,¡± said Priya.
¡°Calling the hospital direct is better. This isn¡¯t Toronto,¡± said Tonya. She turned her back to finish the call. Afterward, she explained. ¡°The firefighters are volunteers and the OPP are outsiders. I want to make sure they send first responders from Loon Lake Hospital,¡± who had seen weirdness like this before. She had made sure to mention the Ash Tree and the frosted look in the Professor¡¯s eyes to tip them off that magic was involved. Something was going on, something a lot bigger than one sleepwalking professor.
When Priya and Drake went to bend over the body, Tonya said, ¡°Stay back. He might be dangerous.¡±
¡°A dangerous sleepwalker?¡± Priya raised groomed eyebrows.
¡°We were all over him a minute ago,¡± said Drake.
¡°Just back off!¡±
Priya looked hurt but Tonya couldn¡¯t stop to explain her darkest fears. She was desperately calling her parents, the Herbal Healing Shop, and her Aunt Helen¡¯s number, leaving messages everywhere when nobody picked up. Even her Dad¡¯s cell, which should have been switched on for emergencies, went straight to voicemail. In desperation, she sent him a text, even though he hated texting.
The ambulance arrived, rolling along the paved road which crisscrossed the cemetery. When the paramedics came out¡ªa man and a woman¡ªthey looked so young, they could have been students too. He stood a head taller than his partner, but both had light brown hair, similar features, and dark green eyes. Were they twins?
Tonya and her friends answered their questions, then stood and watched as they slid Professor Rudolph¡¯s portly body onto a stretcher. With a grunt and muttered curses, they lifted the heavy man and the gurney and rolled it to the back of the ambulance.
¡°Can I come along?¡± Tonya asked. She felt responsible, especially since she hadn¡¯t been able to stop his blind walk to the Three-Century Ash.
¡°We¡¯ll take it from here,¡± said the young woman. ¡°Unless you¡¯re a relative?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not, but I¡¯m from Loon Lake, and I think this is a local problem,¡± Tonya said. ¡°He walked from the middle of campus to the Three-Century Ash with his eyes open but not seeing.¡± It was the most she could say in front of Priya and Drake.
Tonya watched their faces for reaction. A local from an old Loon Lake family would hear those clues and suspect magic right away. Unfortunately, these two didn¡¯t react.
¡°Make sure they know about the Ash Tree when he gets checked in,¡± Tonya added.
¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said the male paramedic. ¡°He¡¯ll get the best possible care.¡±
¡°He¡¯s my Professor. Let me come with you.¡±
He shook his head. ¡°You can visit him in hospital once the doctors okay it.¡±
As the ambulance rolled away, Tonya wondered what to do next. Could the professor¡¯s illness be related to Aunt Helen¡¯s and to her parents¡¯ sudden move? Something was wrong. Her parents would never leave without giving her a forwarding address or telling her which hospital Helen was in. They were hiding something from her. Too many strange events at once had to be related, but how?
She looked at Priya and Drake, innocently watching the ambulance drive away. How long could she protect them from magic if a Mundane like Professor Rudolph wasn¡¯t safe? Had he learned something he shouldn¡¯t? The Old Families could be cruel to those who discovered Loon Lake¡¯s secrets. When she was only sixteen, her mother made her attend a meeting where City Council wiped some poor Mundane¡¯s memory. He had stumbled across some Mods using magic, and so, to protect their secrets, the Council made him forget several months of his life.
¡°Now do you see why using magic is wrong?¡± Her mother had smiled at her, eyes glinting.
After the ambulance left, Drake and Priya turned to go. Tonya followed without saying a word.
The three of them were nearing the Eastern Gate when Tonya stopped. ¡°I¡¯m going back to the shop.¡±
¡°What about class?¡± Priya asked.
¡°And Rudolph?¡± said Drake.
¡°I¡¯m worried about my aunt. She isn¡¯t answering her phone. I want to make sure she¡¯s alright.¡±
DRAKE
¡°Aren¡¯t you coming?¡± asked Priya.
He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m going with Tonya.¡±
He let Priya go in the opposite direction and strode after Tonya. As he caught up, Drake couldn¡¯t help admiring Tonya¡¯s long, shiny hair, and hourglass figure.
¡°Are you following me?¡±
He drew even with her in two long strides. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me coming along?¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± she said, but her crumpled brow said otherwise.
¡°Do you smell that?¡± Acrid odors wafted toward him on the breeze.
Tonya stopped in his path. ¡°Maybe I should go alone. My aunt is kind of a special person. I shouldn¡¯t just walk into her place with a stranger.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it a store?¡±
¡°She has an apartment upstairs, but she¡¯s disappeared. I might have to go through her stuff looking for clues to where she went.¡±
¡°I get it. It¡¯s personal.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be offended.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. What do you want me to do, wait in the shop downstairs?¡±
¡°You should go back. Look at you, without a jacket. Your lips are turning blue.¡±
¡°Really?¡± Drake put a hand to his lips. He watched her eyes linger on them a little too long and smiled. ¡°I feel fine.¡± He stifled a shiver. There was no way he was going back now. Something weird was going on and he wasn¡¯t going to let her walk into danger alone.
Drake picked up the pace. ¡°What¡¯s that burning smell?¡± What if the store were on fire?
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¡°Coming with me is a bad idea,¡± said Tonya.
The night they met, Tonya had seemed excited about Priya¡¯s installation and the Ninja¡¯s film plans, at least she did until she bolted.
¡°What¡¯s really wrong, Tonya? What aren¡¯t you telling me?¡±
¡°Nothing.¡±
¡°Why did you leave the Ninja meeting so fast? Did we offend you?¡±
¡°No. Everything¡¯s fine. You should go back to class.¡±
He looked at her, standing arms akimbo, her frown set. Clearly something was bothering her.
¡°You¡¯re private. I respect that, but I¡¯d like to keep you company.¡±
He waited for her to put him off again but finally she said, ¡°Okay.¡±
Near the center of the cemetery stood an old church with broken windows. To the north he spotted glimpses of the Lake through pines and leafless trees. Tonya was headed west, past crumbling marble angels and monuments, at a pace that meant no fooling.
She didn¡¯t slow until they reached a small break in the fence. Across a meadow he glimpsed a two-story log building. The Herbal Healing Shop looked like an old-time settler¡¯s cabin, although there was nothing historical about the cluster of emergency vehicles flashing their lights in the parking lot. One firefighter stood talking to a police constable while other firefighters rolled up firehose.
¡°What happened?¡± Instinctively, Drake rushed forward, but Tonya pulled him back.
She took his hands and looked him in the eye. ¡°Promise you won¡¯t touch anything, and let me go in first.¡±
Without waiting for an answer, she raced across the field.
Suddenly, Tonya stopped and covered her ears, crouching in pain. Drake didn¡¯t hear anything unusual.
He caught up and offered her a hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
Tonya stayed limp, her eyes glassy. Drake pulled her to her feet and propped her against his shoulder, draping her arm around his back for support. They were so close he could see right into her unseeing eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
She pointed away from the store. Tears rolled down her face and she started to thrash. Was she having a seizure?
As he walked her away from the store, her movements calmed, and she pulled away. Putting one arm on his shoulder, she walked steadily until they were back in the cemetery. She sat down with her back to a small tree.
¡°Are you okay?¡± Drake crouched in front of her.
¡°Yes,¡± she answered through gritted teeth, her eyes focused again.
¡°I¡¯m taking you back. One of the ambulance people should check you out.¡±
¡°No!¡± Leaping to her feet, she hurried toward the chapel, hands clamped over her ears.
Drake hurried after her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°Leave me alone!¡±
Drake let her put some distance between them. What was wrong with her? Her breakdown near the shop, her glassy eyes, and the look of pain on her face . . . If Tonya was ill, why wouldn¡¯t she accept help? Drake followed her at a respectful distance, determined to make sure she was okay.
SUSPICION
She was frail, hardly solid enough to fill the thin blanket on the gurney in front of him. Most of her face was covered in messy white hair that had escaped its ribbon. He reached out to take her hand.
¡°Step back, sir.¡± The attendant¡¯s voice was loud, his lips set in a frown. The police had asked him to leave her, several times. Roberto stood with his hands at his sides, unsure what to do. The compulsion to look after her was so intense, it was painful.
¡°Come with us,¡± said the police officer.
¡°Can¡¯t I go to the hospital first, just to make sure she¡¯s okay?¡± He should never argue with police but couldn¡¯t fight the compulsion.
¡°We need you to make a statement.¡± The officer came right up beside him now. His partner in the cruiser watched Roberto closely.
¡°You say Helen was attacked by a man with white hair, carrying some kind of flamethrower?¡±
Roberto nodded. Magic was involved but he wasn¡¯t fool enough to mention it.
¡°Catching him is our first priority, before he hurts someone else.¡±
¡°So, I can leave?¡±
¡°We want you to give a full description, look at some pictures. We¡¯ll give you a ride to the hospital after.¡±
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¡°I have a car.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s part of the crime scene. You have to leave it for now.¡±
Roberto didn¡¯t like the sound of that. They didn¡¯t say he was under arrest, but he was forced to go to the police station. He would be a fool not to cooperate, but couldn¡¯t master his urge to stay with the old lady.
¡°All right buddy, let¡¯s go.¡±
¡°Please.¡± Roberto stood with his arms crossed, unable to overcome his compulsion or to explain it to these Mundanes.
The second officer got out of his patrol car. Now there were two of them standing either side of Roberto.
¡°Everything will be fine. Get in the car.¡± The second cop¡¯s tone made that an order, no mistake. They were about to quick march him to the police car, only that couldn¡¯t happen. He was linked to Helen and where she went, he must follow.
¡°Just let me . . .¡± He took a step toward her, but the police took him by the arms and held him back.
¡°Calm down, nobody¡¯s going to hurt you,¡± said the first cop.
Roberto was about to fight his way free when attendants slammed the ambulance doors and hopped in. They couldn¡¯t leave without him! Who would watch over Helen?
As it drove away, lights flashing, Roberto felt increasing pain in his chest as if a cord was stretching between him and her. What powerful magic, unlike anything he had suffered before. The pain increased with the distance between him and the ambulance until, like a cable, the link between them snapped. He was released. The compulsion to protect her faded sharply.
¡°I can go now.¡±
He let them put him in the back of the car, mentally preparing himself for interrogation. Police were police, even if they were Canadian. What if he had incriminating ashes on his body from the explosion? As they drove away, his situation seemed increasingly dire. They had caught him at the scene of the crime and the real criminal sounded like a made-up story. Who seemed the more likely suspect, a young foreigner in custody, or a limping white-haired pappy who had conveniently disappeared?
¡°Are you okay back there?¡± the first officer asked.
¡°I¡¯m fine. Sorry, I didn¡¯t want to leave the old lady.¡±
The driver gave Roberto an odd look in the rear-view mirror.
Roberto took a deep breath and tried to let it out slowly. In North America, you were innocent until proven guilty, and nobody said the OPP were corrupt; but of all the things that had happened since he flew into Toronto, this ride was by far the scariest.
AUTHORITIES
A pretty, fresh-scrubbed officer beckoned him to follow her into a sparsely furnished room. ¡°You can give your statement here.¡± She set a wrapped sandwich and a paper cup of coffee on the table in front of him.
The moment he saw them, Roberto was ravenous. In six bites, the sandwich was gone. ¡°Can I have more?¡± He opened his wallet and started to count out bills.
She scowled. ¡°Do I look like a waitress?¡± She turned away and adjusted a camera mounted on the ceiling. ¡°The red light means it¡¯s on. Tell me exactly what happened, starting at the beginning.¡±
¡°How is Helen?¡± Roberto tried to keep his voice even.
¡°In the hospital getting excellent treatment, but the perpetrator is getting farther away every minute. We have cars out looking for him.¡± She rubbed her forehead. To Roberto her concern seemed genuine. They believed him.
¡°Tell me everything you can remember about the attacker.¡±
It was weird. She had Roberto tell his story over and over, then asked a bunch of questions she should know the answers to, if she had listened. So, he was being interrogated after all. These Canadians. They appeared soft and friendly and brought sandwiches, all the better to trip you up.
Many hours later, Roberto re-emerged from the station. The officer who released him told him to wait by the curb for a ride. It was already dark. October days were so short here. One of many things he could never get used to: long nights, the wind and the cold. It was threatening snow. Specks of white flew into his face with a burning chill.
Roberto hated his parents for sending him to Loon Lake. Why not somewhere warm, like California? What was special about this small university surrounded by forests, lakes, and fields?
¡°It has a strong aura of magic,¡± Madre had said. Informants had brought the news all the way to Lima and she had to know more.
¡°We have magic at home,¡± he had protested.
¡°We buy you everything you want, let you see who you like, go where you like, but when we ask for one little favor . . .¡± His dainty mother looked up at him and sighed.
¡°I won¡¯t be your lab rat. Why don¡¯t you go yourself?¡±
His mother fussed with the buttons of her lace blouse. ¡°It¡¯s just a year. We¡¯re doing you a favor.¡±
¡°Hilarious. As if you don¡¯t have enough problems with magic here.¡±
¡°Respect your mother.¡± Pap¨ª imposed his barrel chest between them.
¡°I won¡¯t go.¡±
He had tried to refuse but they threatened to disinherit him and cut off his hefty allowance.
If they knew what he was going through, they would apologize. Tomorrow, he would call his parents and tell them everything he had survived, but right now Roberto yearned to go back to the dorm, order pizza, and collapse into bed.
A cruiser pulled up to the curb, his ride home. He got in and asked the officer to take him directly to the school cafeteria. He had a sudden craving for gravy, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf.
¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go home and change your clothes first?¡± The officer raised an eyebrow. It was the same one who had brought Roberto in.
Roberto remembered that his jacket was singed. He ran a hand through his fire-crisped hair, stirring up a terrible odor. ¡°I really need to eat.¡±
Roberto¡¯s ribs ached where he had thrown himself on the ground to escape the fire ball, but the ravenous emptiness of his belly was much worse. If he didn¡¯t eat soon, he would bite into his own arm just to chew on something.
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FORTY MINUTES LATER, Roberto drove a friend¡¯s car to the hospital, feeling stuffed from gorging on cafeteria food. His hair was damp from the shower and it sent shivers down his spine. More than ever, all he wanted was to sleep, but as strong as his need to eat had been, the minute he had looked at his empty plate, all he could think of was Helen. He thought the compulsion to look after her had ended when the ambulance drove away. No such luck. Once he lost his fear of the police, and fed his raging hunger, it came back again. She had bewitched him and without his abuela or his mother to help, he couldn¡¯t lift the spell.
The sensible thing would be to call the hospital and see if she was alright. Then he could go to bed in peace. Instead here he was, nearly falling asleep at the wheel one moment, and shivering the next, anxious to see she was okay with his own eyes. Roberto couldn¡¯t feel more concerned if this stranger was his mother. It was wrong, and he knew it by moments, but then his attention would drift, and he¡¯d forget again. Roberto¡¯s brain was a muddle of sleepiness punctuated by moments of urgency, like two people trapped in one overfed body.
He opened his eyes to the sound of gravel under his tires and realized he was drifting into the unpaved shoulder. This was insane. He was going to get himself killed. The logical thing to do was to pull over and take a quick nap, before he crashed the car.
It was the sane thing to do, and yet Roberto couldn¡¯t stop driving. He was too worried, his head looping and looping with questions. Was she alright? Her quick pulse and funny breathing were worrisome. Did that mean heart attack? And why had she been eating a jar of pickled monstrosities? It was repulsive and unnatural. Helen needed help and Roberto was letting her down.
The thought filled him with a deep sadness that served to keep him awake and on the verge of tears until he turned into the hospital parking lot. What was happening to him? Roberto never cried, and yet as he got out of the car, the cold wind on his cheek iced a rolling tear.
At hospital reception, a back-combed brunette with scarlet nails sat inside a Plexiglas box. Roberto had to stoop to talk to her through the bottom of the wicket because she slid the divider only halfway up. Her cell phone sat on the desk beside her and she kept glancing at it, and chuckling.
¡°Hi, hon, what can I do for you?¡± She gave him a toothy smile through the Plexiglas barricade.
¡°I¡¯m looking for a lady named Helen. She came in by ambulance this afternoon.¡±
¡°Helen, eh? Is she a relative of yours?¡±
¡°No. She¡¯s a thin, white-haired lady. I was there when she took ill. I called the ambulance for her and now I just want to make sure she¡¯s okay.¡±
¡°How sweet. You¡¯re a real life Good Samaritan, am I right? Well, I¡¯d love to help you out, hon, but we get lots of old ladies. Loon Lake attracts more retirees than the early bird special.¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid she was having a heart attack. Could you check the Emergency Department?¡± Why was this cow making jokes? This was serious.
¡°No need. Give me her last name and I¡¯ll look her up.¡± She tapped a computer monitor with her pen.
¡°She¡¯s the owner of Helen¡¯s Herbal Healing Shop. Maybe you know her?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know her last name?¡±
¡°I found her when she needed help.¡±
¡°How do I know you¡¯re not some kind of stalker?¡± She stood up, hands on hips, the teased top of her hairdo standing just above the Plexiglas barrier.
¡°Why would I do that?¡±
¡°I wonder too. I also wonder why your family sent you here.¡± She put a hand up to cover her mouth, but not before he caught her smirk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but if you¡¯re not family and can¡¯t even give me her name, you¡¯re obviously not a friend. I¡¯m going to have to ask you to leave.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you just tell me if she¡¯s okay?¡±
¡°Who?¡±
¡°Helen.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about.¡± This time she didn¡¯t even try to hide her smile. ¡°Is there something else I can do for you? Maybe have somebody take a look at your back to check for burns?¡±
Roberto had showered and changed his clothes. He was wearing a hat that didn¡¯t smell of smoke.
¡°How do you know¡ª
¡°News travels fast in Loon Lake. I think you¡¯d better be on your way, Roberto.¡±
¡°I never told you my name.¡±
¡°Which was very rude of you. I thought Peruvians were friendly.¡± She shook her head and sat back down.
¡°What?¡± How did she know where he was from? ¡°Why won¡¯t you let me talk to Helen?¡± He moved closer to the desk, fingertips on the glass.
Clearly the Canadians were spying on him, and maybe planning to pin something on him too. First the three-hour grilling in the police station with the too-nice policewoman, and now this? The receptionist avoided his gaze, tapping on her phone as if he weren¡¯t standing right in front of her.
Behind him, Roberto heard grumbling from the line of people building up. Didn¡¯t she care? Shouldn¡¯t she be doing her job?
Ostentatiously, she started playing a game. He banged on the glass, but she ignored him. He felt like reaching through the glass and crushing her phone but what would be the point?
He decided to go out the front door and come in another way. The hospital was pretty big. He just needed to find a sympathetic nurse on another floor. Women liked Roberto and he liked them. He would give the new nurse a friendly smile and ask politely for the room number. Problem solved.
With new optimism, he tried to leave but someone took his shoulders and pressed him against the Plexiglas. Roberto struggled and craned his neck to see the same two attendants who had taken Helen in the ambulance. The man shot him a nasty grin just as Roberto felt a needle stab his leg.
He staggered free. Roberto¡¯s head spun, and his knees went weak. He closed his eyes and felt himself hang-gliding off the cliffs in Lima again. His head climbed in a lazy circuit around a thermal until the fishing boats in the harbor shrank to bath toys. Picking up speed, he spiraled faster and tighter, the sky getting brighter with every spin until he merged into the sun.
EATING CONTEST
Her aunt¡¯s wards hadn¡¯t repelled her like a stranger. They had felt personal somehow, as if her aunt¡¯s own hands were driving a stake through her head. How could someone she loved hurt her so much?
This brutal tactic doubled her determination to find out what her aunt was hiding. Someone else would have to do her snooping, but who? Priya would think she was crazy if she asked her to search her aunt''s apartment. If she mentioned her aunt¡¯s magic to Priya, her friend would be in danger. Once Mundanes knew about magic, they were no longer off-limits. If they discovered Priya knew about magic, anyone in the magic community would be allowed to curse her until City Council ordered an amnesia spell. Tonya shivered. That wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d wish on anyone, not even the mean girls back in high school.
Drake was sweet and knew nothing. He also had the equipment to make a video inside the shop. All she had to do was convince Drake to go through her aunt¡¯s place with a camera, as if he was making a documentary, and without mentioning magic. Piece of cake.
She sighed. Her parents forbade her to use or learn about magic, but she was tired of living by her mother¡¯s Pure rules. Tonya knew she had a talent for magic. None of the Mods in her high school could sense life energy like her.
Aunt Helen could, but she studied all types of magic. Flouting her Trad heritage, she made her living selling cure charms, occasionally to Mundanes. ¡°What does it hurt?¡± she told Tonya when she first caught her at it. ¡°I tell them it¡¯s traditional medicine.¡±
She was always experimenting with new materials and spells. Could that be the real reason she was sick?
The coach blew a whistle and the team lined up for the last dives of the practice. Idly, Tonya scanned the pool for Marta¡¯s orange and blue swim cap, but she was absent. As the last swimmer got out of the pool, Tonya was sure of it. Could Marta be sick again?
Ten minutes later, Priya still hadn¡¯t come up to meet her so Tonya left the stands and went downstairs to get changed. She was crossing the foyer when Shin came out of the men¡¯s change room, walked past her, and doubled back.
¡°Hi,¡± he said.
¡°Hi?¡±
¡°I want to apologize for Marta the other day. She¡¯s under a lot of pressure.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I should never have tried out.¡±
¡°Yeah. Anyway, a bunch of us are hanging out at her room tonight if you want to come. No hard feelings?¡± He smiled broadly at her.
Tonya couldn¡¯t believe it. Shin Chang was asking her to a party!
¡°Okay.¡±
¡°Great. Ask your friend to come too.¡± He gestured at Priya, who was just coming in.
Tonya managed to keep her voice calm until he left. Then she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, tripping over her words as she told Priya about the party.
¡°I love divers with their big shoulders and tiny waists.¡± Priya outlined an invisible hottie with upheld hands.
¡°So, you¡¯ll come with me?¡±
¡°Yes, and stop bouncing. If I¡¯m gonna be seen with you, you have to pretend this isn¡¯t the first time your parents let you out of the house.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Priya rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. Sounds like fun.¡±
#
THAT EVENING, TONYA wished she had shampooed her hair three times. Did she still smell of chlorine? Probably. Maybe at a divers¡¯ party others would too.
Choosing clothes for the evening was excruciating. Tonya was nervous about meeting the same diving team girls who had witnessed her crash and burn at the tryout, but this wasn¡¯t high school. University kids should have better things to do than bully her for making a pathetic dive. At least, that¡¯s what she told herself but just in case, she wanted to look great. Because of her summer weight loss, she had to try on three pairs of jeans before she found some that didn¡¯t look sloppy.
She hadn¡¯t bought tops in her new size yet, so she took the stairs up to Priya¡¯s floor. Her friend was shorter and slim, but her clothes were so original. Maybe she could loan Tonya something stretchy but devastating.
¡°What would you like?¡± asked Priya.
¡°Oh, not much. I want girls to envy me and guys to notice me¡ªbut I don¡¯t want to look like I¡¯m trying too hard.¡±
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¡°Call me your fairy godmother.¡± Priya scooped up some accessories. ¡°I don¡¯t have your size. Let¡¯s try your closet.¡±
Hours later, they got in the elevator. Priya had loaned Tonya a wide belt which cinched her roomy top and emphasized her cleavage. Would people stare?
¡°Maybe going to Marta¡¯s party is a mistake.¡±
¡°Too late to back out now,¡± said Priya. ¡°I straightened my hair for this.¡±
¡°It was Shin¡¯s idea, not Marta¡¯s. What if she tells me to get lost?¡±
¡°You worry too much. She was embarrassed you caught her being sick. That doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯ll hate you forever.¡±
¡°She did in high school. What if Marta set this up so she can laugh at me in front of her friends?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be paranoid. She¡¯s probably forgotten her embarrassment by now.¡±
When they arrived on Marta¡¯s floor, Tonya could hear indie music playing. She smiled at Priya. ¡°Thanks for calming me down.¡±
¡°Deep breath,¡± said Priya as she opened the door.
Tonya wasn¡¯t sure what to expect. She never got invited to the cool kid parties in high school. She had all kinds of fantasies about how exciting and exotic their lives must be, like the rich kids in American movies. So, when she saw a bunch of students in jeans, sitting on the chairs, tables, and the bed of a dorm room just like hers, Tonya felt a bit let down.
She looked for Shin or Marta, but the room was all sparkles and shadows. They had doused the fluorescents and hung strings of pumpkin lights. There were glowing Halloween decorations stuck to the walls and at the study desk, a scarecrow sat guarding the punch bowl. The kids who weren¡¯t on the floor or sitting on the window ledge, were crammed together on the bed. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, Tonya made out Marta, holding court to a circle of students. Pulling Priya by the hand, she went to say hi. No reason not to have manners.
¡°Hey Marta. How are you?¡± Tonya tried to act casual.
¡°Mmm,¡± said Marta. Her acolytes were playing a strange game. There was a huge aluminum bowl between them, filled with porridgy goop. Tonya couldn¡¯t look away as, one after the other, they scooped out handfuls of oatmeal and ladled it into their mouths. When they had gone around the ring once, Marta started them off again.
Tonya nudged Priya. ¡°What the?¡±
Priya shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re your friends.¡±
Tonya recognized some of them from the diving team.
¡°What is this?¡± Priya stepped closer to the circle, ¡°a dare?¡±
¡°Join us,¡± said one of the guys, spraying oatmeal as he spoke.
¡°No thanks,¡± said Priya. ¡°I¡¯d rather eat chips.¡±
¡°Those are long gone,¡± said one of the girls. ¡°We had to make porridge because we ran out of everything else.¡±
¡°What about ordering in?¡± Tonya suddenly wished she had brought snacks.
Shin threw open the door. ¡°Pizza¡¯s here!¡±
He held stacks of pizza boxes in front of him, his broad shoulders filling the doorframe as he came through. Looking at him and his buddies with their perfect faces and beautifully molded arms, Tonya didn¡¯t care about Marta anymore. These guys were so symmetrical, they were godlike.
So she wouldn¡¯t stare, Tonya got herself some punch labeled ¡°witch¡¯s brew.¡± It was dark with disgusting brown foam on top but tasted like a Coke float. There were bottles of rum and other liquor bottles on the side. Priya offered to add a shot of vodka to their glasses but Tonya declined.
¡°To partying with the cool kids,¡± Priya toasted, softly enough to keep it between them.
¡°Cheers.¡± Tonya was finally here, at one of those university parties she had always heard about. It was weirder than she expected but in Loon Lake weird was normal, especially around All Hallow¡¯s Eve. That was the time of year the Mods really let loose, practicing magic openly under the guise of Halloween illusion.
Priya, meanwhile, was going around the room, talking about her art installation and handing out flyers. When she got to Shin, she stopped and waited for him to finish handing out pizza.
¡°This is for you. I¡¯d really like you to come to the cemetery Halloween night and see my art display.¡±
¡°Okay . . .¡±
Tonya noticed him glance at Priya¡¯s cleavage then back at her face. He grinned like a kid.
¡°I¡¯m premiering an art installation called Man vs. Nature. There¡¯s also going to be a bonfire.¡±
¡°Does the university know?¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s close by but off campus. Bring your friends but don¡¯t tell everybody. We don¡¯t want to attract attention from campus police.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± He took the flyer, which looked small in his long fingers, and shoved it into his pocket. ¡°Pizza?¡±
¡°Thanks, I¡¯m starving.¡± Priya took an enormous slice and somehow, using folding techniques Tonya had never mastered, ate it in a graceful and ladylike manner.
Tonya stepped up to take a slice just as Shin walked off with Priya on his arm. He seemed awfully excited to be speaking to her, right in front of his girlfriend.
A buff guy stood on top of Marta¡¯s swivel chair. ¡°Alright everybody!¡± A couple of his buddies grabbed the chair and started rolling it back and forth, so it pulsed in time with the music.
¡°It¡¯s showdown time! Clear the floor.¡±
A group of spectators formed around a clear spot in the center of the room. Priya joined Tonya, but Shin wasn¡¯t with her.
¡°The athletes have been preparing themselves all night,¡± said one of the chair rollers. He pointed to the bowl of porridge and everybody erupted into shouts of ¡°Ew!¡±
¡°Bring it on.¡± Marta stepped up and motioned for someone to challenge. At last another girl was pushed into the ring, facing Marta.
The guy on the chair said, ¡°Each athlete will be given a pizza. The first to finish wins.¡±
Eager hands pushed four pizza boxes onto the floor as a couple of guys stepped up as well.
¡°Let the eating begin!¡±
The contestants dropped to their knees and started wolfing down food like dogs.
¡°And you wanted to come to this party?¡± Priya rolled her eyes but she was smiling.
They were shoveling pizza into their mouths so fast, Tonya knew they couldn¡¯t be chewing. It was disgusting!
¡°Marta¡¯s in the lead!¡± said the chair guy. ¡°No wait, it¡¯s Paul. Paul¡¯s ahead by a pepperoni . . . Wait, now Tyrell is coming up from behind. It¡¯s Paul and Tyrell, nose to nose with four slices left.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think I can stand the suspense,¡± said Priya.
Suddenly Marta stopped eating. Her distress was subtle, until her face contorted and she struggled to her feet, stumbling out of the circle. Her milk-white face turned bluish. Tonya wanted to help but she hung back, not wanting to provoke another conflict. Marta put her hands to her neck in the universal choking sign. Tonya rushed to her side.
Marta started to wobble but Tonya supported her. Tonya leaned her over and delivered five back blows then joined her arms around Marta¡¯s chest, placed a fist below her xiphoid process, and gave five quick upward thrusts.
¡°Call 911,¡± she ordered Priya.
She repeated the five and five procedure, but no matter how hard Tonya tried, she couldn¡¯t get Marta to breathe.
Marta collapsed almost taking Tonya with her. It was the first time Tonya had done the Heimlich maneuver on a real choking person instead of a rescue dummy. Why wasn¡¯t it working? Please, please, please let the ambulance come fast.
Marta lay on the floor, her lips blue. When her eyes rolled back in her head, Tonya knew. No ambulance could get there fast enough.
COIMETROPHOBIA (FEAR OF CEMETERIES)
¡°Back up!¡± It was the loudest she¡¯d ever shouted.
They obeyed, and Tonya dropped to her knees, positioning Marta on her back, lifting her neck to open her airway. She swept a finger through Marta¡¯s mouth to check for obstructions. At the back of her throat she felt the hard edge of pizza crust and tweezered her fingers together and pulled, but it slipped through her fingers. Tonya tilted Marta¡¯s neck higher, gave her a rescue breath and then joined her hands over her chest to give thirty chest compressions. By the time she completed the last one, a faint gurgling came from the girl¡¯s mouth. This time when Tonya breathed into her, Marta¡¯s chest rose a little. Encouraged, Tonya slipped her fingers back into Marta¡¯s mouth. The pizza had shifted forward. Tonya reached in as far as her fingers would stretch. She pulled, extracting a wide piece of crust.
Marta coughed and started thrashing on the floor.
¡°Are you okay?¡± Tonya examined her face.
Marta¡¯s complexion went from bluish to white to pink. When she stopped gasping, her first words were, ¡°Out of my room!¡±
At first, Tonya thought Marta was joking, but the girl¡¯s face was red, and her eyes stood out of her head, cartoon furious.
¡°But . . .¡±
¡°Don¡¯t come near me!¡± She shot Priya a look. ¡°Or near my boyfriend again!¡±
¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± Tonya stood up and marched to the door.
Priya tried to leave with her but Tonya put a hand up to stop her. ¡°Stay and make sure that harpy doesn¡¯t die. I¡¯m going to wait for the ambulance before I strangle her.¡±
Outside was a lot colder than Tonya expected. The wind blew through her thin red top and made her wish she was wearing one of her roomy old sweaters. At least her discomfort was temporary. Marta was in real trouble.
Priya joined her. ¡°They¡¯re panicking, hiding the alcohol in case the cops come upstairs with the ambulance people. Marta wants you to turn them away.¡±
¡°The paramedics should see Marta. I think she needs help.¡±
¡°She¡¯ll be delighted when she finds out you insisted,¡± said Priya.
¡°Too bad.¡± After seeing Marta vomiting in the change room and now gulping pizza like a starved wolf, Tonya was afraid for her.
The ambulance pulled up and she recognized the same paramedics who came for Professor Rudolph.
¡°Where is she?¡± asked the woman.
¡°Priya can lead you up,¡± said Tonya. ¡°I gave her CPR and got the food out of her airway. She might try to tell you she¡¯s okay, but will you take a look at her anyway? She¡¯s been purging, and binging . . . I¡¯m worried about her.¡±
As they waited for the elevator, the attendants stood on either side of a stretcher. Things were getting out of hand. Marta was from a Mod family but there were Mundanes on the diving team. One individual could suffer from bulimia but the way those divers were eating seemed unnatural. Could they be cursed?
Tonya turned to Priya. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong about the way Marta and the divers were eating.¡±
¡°Like what?¡±
¡°Pigging out on porridge doesn¡¯t seem natural.¡± Would keeping Priya ignorant of magic put her in more danger than knowing?
¡°It was an eating contest.¡±
Tonya tried again. ¡°What did Professor Rudolph and Marta have in common?¡±
¡°Passing out?¡±
¡°Eating like crazy. He stuffed his face full of fries in the middle of a lecture and then wandered off, blank-eyed.¡± All the way to the Three-Century Ash, but Tonya wasn¡¯t going to explain to Priya that the ancient ash, the same species as the Old Norse World Tree, concentrated power. Until she had evidence to prove supernatural forces were involved, mentioning them would make Priya think she was crazy. Given recent events, Tonya feared she¡¯d get proof soon enough.
The elevator arrived and Priya followed the attendants in. ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming?¡±
¡°You go with them. I want to check something.¡±
She could feel it coming. Tonya reached out with her mind and detected an extra current of energy in the earth beneath her feet. Pure power was moving and shifting but this was nothing like the little currents of life force that sometimes ran through the Herbal Healing Shop. In the summers when she worked there, life magic gave her a warm feeling or made colors look brighter for a while.
This underground energy felt cold and dark, like something bad was coming. It must all connect somehow: Marta, the professor, the porridge-eating divers . . .
Then it hit her. The cemetery. The diving team kids cross-trained by running through it. Professor Rudolph visited his wife¡¯s grave there, and the ash was just inside the cemetery, near her aunt¡¯s property. Lynette took her boyfriend on romantic walks through the cemetery¡¯s winding paths. Marta didn¡¯t have an eating disorder. She had caught some kind of supernatural disease in the cemetery. Was that even possible?
Aunt Helen would know. Tonya sighed.
With a clattering sound, attendants emerged from the elevator pushing an empty gurney. Priya was with them, as was Marta, shoulders squared, face neutral. Her mask only slipped when she caught sight of Tonya and wrinkled her nose.
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¡°I hope you feel better . . .¡±
¡°Shut up!¡± Marta strode past to join the ambulance attendants at the side of the road. She told them something Tonya couldn¡¯t hear, but which cracked them up. Still laughing, they loaded the gurney into the ambulance.
Marta waved them off as they drove away.
¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Priya said, ¡°let¡¯s take the stairs.¡±
On the way up to Priya¡¯s room, Tonya tried to compose a rational argument to convince her friend to stay out of the cemetery. Priya was so excited about her art installation, but if she went ahead with the plan to set it up in the graveyard, the whole campus could wind up like Marta. Supernatural curse or airborne disease, everybody who spent time in the cemetery had been struck with compulsive eating. Her need to eat had gotten so extreme, Marta would have choked to death if Tonya hadn¡¯t intervened.
They went into the room and Priya gave her a hug. ¡°What you did was brave. That ungrateful witch should be thanking you.¡± Priya¡¯s hug made warning her friend away from the cemetery that much harder but it had to be done.
Tonya sat on the edge of Priya¡¯s bed and gestured for her friend to take the desk chair. ¡°I have to tell you something important. I think I know what¡¯s happening, to Marta, to Lynette, and Professor Rudolph.¡±
¡°Lynette your roommate?¡±
¡°They¡¯re all eating uncontrollably. Something takes over their minds and, well, you saw the diving team.¡±
¡°Peer pressure at its worst, right?¡± Priya shook her head. ¡°If Marta told those kids to jump off a bridge . . .¡±
¡°It¡¯s not peer pressure. It¡¯s a curse that spreads like a disease.¡±
¡°A what?¡±
¡°This town hides a lot of secrets. The ground beneath us is full of magical energy. You don¡¯t notice them, but the Old Families in this town are constantly negotiating and fighting with each other to control that power.¡±
Priya crossed her arms. ¡°You must be joking.¡±
¡°Magic is real.¡±
¡°Very funny. Nice Halloween prank.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not kidding. This eating problem is coming from the cemetery.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Aren¡¯t you learning anything in first year Psych? People in groups do nutty things. That doesn¡¯t mean they have a magic virus.¡±
¡°So how do you explain Professor Rudolph stuffing his face with fries and bumping into things all the way to the graveyard?¡±
¡°Narcolepsy?¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling you, a magical force drew him to that cemetery.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t really believe that.¡± Priya stared at Tonya, her eyes a little too wide. She hadn¡¯t told her she was crazy yet, but Tonya figured it was coming.
¡°You saw my roommate Lynette. She doesn¡¯t seem the imaginative type to you, does she? Well, she ate four boxes of Halloween candy, for no apparent reason. People are binging compulsively because they caught something in the graveyard.¡±
¡°That¡¯s insane,¡± said Priya.
¡°What if I told you it wasn¡¯t magic? What if I said the cemetery was spreading a contagious disease and the only way to save them was to shut down the cemetery.¡±
¡°I¡¯d say shut down the bakery too. Every time I walk by that place I smell cookies and I want to buy some.¡± Priya pretended to sniff heavenly baked goods.
¡°I¡¯m not kidding.¡±
¡°You¡¯re overreacting.¡±
¡°Can nothing convince you to stay out of the cemetery?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been building my animatronics for months and you¡¯re telling me to scrap everything? Halloween night is my debut, my one shot. Local TV is going to cover it. I won¡¯t get a chance like this again.¡±
¡°Marta almost died tonight.¡±
¡°She has a problem. The rest is your imagination.¡±
¡°You saw the professor¡¯s face yourself. And I told you about Lynette. She¡¯s binging too.¡±
¡°How do you know the Professor is still sick?¡± asked Priya. ¡°Maybe he signed himself out of hospital.¡±
¡°Look, I know, okay? People in my family have kind of a connection to . . .
Priya frowned. She held up her hand, ready to cover Tonya¡¯s mouth.
How to make her listen? ¡°Something weird is going on in that graveyard. I can sense it.¡±
¡°Good. That makes it even spookier.¡±
¡°I¡¯m serious.¡±
¡°An eating contest is not a virus, and bulimia isn¡¯t a contagious disease. Do you know how crazy you sound?¡±
¡°People here know I¡¯m sane. Loon Lake isn¡¯t like other places.¡±
¡°Right. Your auntie sells herbs and calls it medicine. People in your family believe a bunch of superstitious garbage.¡±
¡°Her cures work!¡±
¡°Sorry. No offense to your sick aunt, but before I believe in magic, you have to show me some.¡±
¡°Magic isn¡¯t like card tricks. There will be consequences.¡±
¡°And lame excuses.¡±
There it was. Initiating Priya into the magic world was dangerous, but there was no choice. ¡°C¡¯mon, we have to take this outside.¡±
Tonya led a reluctant Priya outside and along the path toward the edge of campus. She stopped under a pine tree. ¡°I hoped I wouldn¡¯t have to do this.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go back, I¡¯m cold.¡± It was the first thing Priya had said since Tonya hustled her into the elevator.
¡°Stand back. I¡¯m untrained so things might get out of control.¡±
Priya didn¡¯t move. Tonya walked to the far side of the tree and pulled down a bough by the tip. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the life inside, her mind lighting up with green traceries of sap running through fractal channels like veins. She took a deep breath and willed that life force out through the pine bough, along her arm, and down through her body into the ground.
¡°Nothing¡¯s happening.¡±
Tonya lost her concentration and had to start again. This time she ignored Priya¡¯s questions and tried to become one with the ground and feel its thirst for life.
¡°All things die and return their energy to the earth. I¡¯m just speeding up the process . . .¡±
There, the pine needles went crispy dry in her hands. Tonya opened her eyes.
Priya took the branch from her, turning it over to examine the dead needles. ¡°How did you do that?¡±
¡°I drew out some life force and returned it to the ground.¡±
¡°You killed a branch with your touch.¡±
¡°Now, do you believe me?¡±
¡°Maybe. What did you say? Magic can speed up the natural process of death and decay. But if magic is real and dangerous, that gives me a whole new reason to spread my message. My art scares people. People think art is pretty but pointless. When they walk through that cemetery, I want them to feel primal vulnerability, like their ancestors, surrounded by wild beasts and scared of the dark.¡±
¡°The forest south of campus is creepy too. Why not move it there, just to be safe?¡±
¡°Are you joking? It took me a whole day to install the mounts. Besides, we¡¯ve already handed out the flyers and announced a bonfire in the field just outside Loon Lake Cemetery.¡±
¡°On my aunt¡¯s property!¡±
¡°She won¡¯t mind if we use her empty field. Didn¡¯t you say she was in the hospital? Besides, the swimmers are already bringing wood for the bonfire. If I don¡¯t light it, they will.¡±
¡°Tell Shin to make them move it.¡±
¡°Too late. People are going to show up whether we like it or not.¡±
¡°Make an announcement. Rope off the area and put up signs or something. We can¡¯t lead a hundred people through the cemetery tomorrow night. They¡¯ll get infected.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t prove that.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t the risk enough to convince you?¡±
¡°Building my creatures has taken years, and preparing them for installation took weeks. I¡¯ve already installed most of the pieces. You can¡¯t tell me to dismantle my masterpiece. I could never move it in time.¡±
¡°There are powerful forces you are messing with, extra-powerful on All Hallows¡¯ Eve.¡±
¡°These forces are all over Loon Lake. You said so yourself.¡±
¡°Something¡¯s changed.¡± Tonya put her hand on the grass. An extra energy thrummed beneath the earth. ¡°Feel it?¡± She took Priya¡¯s hand by the wrist and placed it where it vibrated most. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this magic.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t feel anything.¡± Priya snatched her hand away. ¡°You¡¯re tired. It¡¯s late. You¡¯re getting emotional. Go to bed.¡±
¡°Tell me you¡¯ll call it off.¡±
¡°Sure, don¡¯t worry. Now go to bed before you fall over.¡±
¡°So, you¡¯ll do it?¡±
¡°First promise you¡¯ll get your ass into bed.¡±
Priya¡¯s half-smile gave Tonya a nagging doubt, but how could she argue with yes? Besides, draining the branch had worn her out, as though some of her energy had flowed into the ground with the tree¡¯s.
Tonya couldn¡¯t help it. She leaned on Priya¡¯s shoulder as they walked back into the dorm.
LEGENDARY
¡°Priya gave me your number.¡±
Like a sleepy Klondike prospector, Drake let the girl¡¯s words pass through his groggy brain pan, but he couldn¡¯t sift out a nugget of meaning. ¡°Who is this?¡±
¡°Tonya. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±
¡°It¡¯s 5:30 in the morning.¡±
¡°Talk to the Ninjas for me? I don¡¯t have their numbers, and this is urgent. The art show is canceled and so is the bonfire.¡±
¡°No, it isn¡¯t. We¡¯re set to start in twelve hours.¡±
¡°Priya promised.¡±
¡°When?¡±
¡°Last night.¡±
¡°Funny, we were on the phone past midnight, running down her checklist. The installation opens tonight.¡±
On the other side of the room, Zain groaned. ¡°What in the name of Bruce Campbell!?¡±
¡°It¡¯s Tonya.¡±
¡°How dare she wake me! I was dreaming of zombies.¡±
¡°Go back to sleep. It¡¯s a mistake. She thinks we have to cancel the installation.¡±
On the other end of the phone, Tonya¡¯s voice shot up. ¡°You have to stop people from going. There¡¯s something evil in the cemetery air. It made Professor Rudolph sick and Marta and the diving team. If you go into those woods, you¡¯ll get sick too.¡±
¡°I walk by the cemetery all the time without even sneezing.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not talking allergies. Stay out or you¡¯ll end up like Professor Rudolph.¡±
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If he hadn¡¯t seen Rudolph with his own eyes, Drake would think Tonya was crazy. Cute but crazy, and prone to strange headaches, but he had seen Rudolph, which made Tonya¡¯s early morning call seem less insane.
¡°I get that you¡¯re worried, but Priya isn¡¯t. The Ninjas aren¡¯t.¡±
Zain staggered over and grabbed the phone out of Drake¡¯s hand. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±
Zain listened, eyes widening with every word until Drake got so curious he wanted to snatch the phone back.
¡°You can¡¯t cancel the movie.¡± Zain started doing his Godfather voice. ¡°It would kill Priya and then I¡¯d have to kill you, and all your little friends, except you won¡¯t have any friends because you want to kill our movie!¡± Zain handed back the phone and flung himself on his bed.
¡°Zain! Zain?¡± Tonya shouted into his ear.
¡°It¡¯s me again. I agree with Zain, except for the killing part. Are we done here? I want to go back to sleep.¡±
¡°Sorry. Go back to sleep. I¡¯ll come see you later.¡±
Drake was concerned about recording Priya¡¯s event, but not for Tonya¡¯s reasons. The university installed surveillance cameras without student protest, so Zain argued that nobody would mind a harmless recording of Halloween hijinks. He swore he would only use footage of people disguised by their costumes. It was already an ethical gray area, but what if Zain got too enthusiastic and crossed the line? He could jeopardize everything.
¡°Hey Zain, you awake?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°I was thinking. Maybe we shouldn¡¯t film people in the cemetery tonight. Tonya says Professor Rudolph visits his wife¡¯s grave there all the time.¡±
¡°So? We won¡¯t run into him Halloween night.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t respectful.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t change your mind now. Screaming students and Priya¡¯s monsters will make priceless footage. This is our chance to make the Great Canadian zero-budget horror movie we¡¯ve always wanted.¡±
¡°But¡ª¡±
Zain got up and started pacing the room. ¡°This is our big break.¡± He conducted invisible orchestras with his hands. ¡°Priya¡¯s concept is brilliant. Using a centuries-old graveyard will give our movie a look you can¡¯t find anywhere else.¡±
¡°Or residents could complain, and the cops could take our cameras.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Tonight will launch our careers like a rocket, leaving YouTube stars moping in the cinders as we rise into the galaxy of pro film. Want me to leave you behind, or will you be flying Ninja Spaceways?¡±
¡°Beam me up, I guess.¡±
¡°Good.¡± Drake clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°When I¡¯m big in Hollywood I might need a pre-fame friend.¡±
Hours later, Drake finished loading his car with cameras, tripods, and brackets. He also had spare pieces of wood, clamps, an electric drill (sorry trees) and rolls of duct tape. It might take hours to rig, but people¡¯s reactions would make it worthwhile. Zain was right. By daylight, Priya¡¯s animatronic monsters were fascinatingly creepy. Tonight, when they leaped out of hiding in a centuries-old graveyard, the students would feel legendary terror.
GONE
¡°Hey, it¡¯s me! Calm down.¡±
That didn¡¯t sound like a serial killer. Tonya opened her eyes.
Lynette stood over Tonya¡¯s bed, her hair a golden halo in the morning light.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you still be sleeping off Friday night?¡±
¡°Roberto¡¯s missing,¡± said Lynette. ¡°We were supposed to meet yesterday but he isn¡¯t answering texts or calls. The guys on his floor haven¡¯t seen him. Nobody has.¡±
¡°Maybe his phone died.¡± Tonya rubbed her eyes. Things were coming at her too fast. There was something she had to do. Something urgent . . . Oh yeah, she had to stop Man vs. Nature from happening in the cemetery, or a lot of people could end up like Professor Rudolph.
¡°He should have borrowed a phone and called. I¡¯m worried.¡±
¡°He probably had a few drinks and crashed at a friend¡¯s place.¡± For all she knew, Roberto got tired of Lynette. Tonya had.
¡°He texted me that he wasn¡¯t feeling well. He was supposed to call when he got home.¡±
¡°Lynette, when you were pigging out on candy, did you ever feel the urge to walk to the cemetery?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Or to go to the Ash Tree?¡±
¡°You¡¯re even weirder than I thought.¡± Lynette spoke slowly, enunciating every syllable. ¡°Roberto is missing.¡±
¡°Tell campus police.¡±
¡°They said he hasn¡¯t been missing long enough to report. Help me?¡±
What a choice. She had to help Lynette look for Roberto, but that would leave her less time to stop the art installation. If she refused, Lynette would probably kill her in her sleep.
¡°You don¡¯t need my help.¡±
¡°Please.¡± Lynette crossed her arms, her pretty face crumpled in a scowl.
¡°Why don¡¯t you wait and see if he shows up in an hour or two?
¡°I want to look now.¡±
Tonya sighed. ¡°Let me throw on some clothes.¡±
They went to the cafeteria to grab coffee. Students in line gossiped about a fire at the Herbal Healing Shop. Tonya shivered. The shop was full of dangerous items that posed a threat to the ignorant if her aunt wasn¡¯t there to supervise . . . but what if she had been there?
¡°I still haven¡¯t heard from my aunt and that¡¯s her store.¡±
¡°Roberto texted me he was going there last night.¡± Lynette¡¯s bottom lip trembled.
¡°I¡¯ll call the hospital to check for Roberto while you drive us to the shop.¡±
Tonya had Loon Lake Hospital on speed dial. She called on their way out to the parking lot. During the short drive, Tonya waited on hold until a chipper voice answered and told her Roberto wasn¡¯t there.
¡°You sound familiar. Do I know you?¡±
¡°Doubt it, hon. Goodbye!¡± The connection clicked off.
Minutes later, Lynette drew near the Herbal Healing Shop. Tonya expected a painful repeat of yesterday¡¯s ward incident so she dry-swallowed a couple of aspirins. Her aunt might use magic to repel her, but a headache was physical, right? And painkillers prevented physical pain. That was her theory, anyway. She braced herself as they got close. Even ice pick stabs of pain couldn¡¯t keep her from investigating.
¡°Did Roberto do any binge eating?¡±
Lynette hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s an athlete. He eats a lot, all the time.¡±
Not good. He sounded sick too.
When they pulled into the parking lot, Tonya anticipated knitting-needle-through-the-head agony. They parked near the store, but the pain never came. That worried her even more. Did her aunt have to be nearby to keep up her wards? Tonya didn¡¯t think so. Did she need to be alive?
Lynette opened the car door and ran across the parking lot which was littered with broken glass. She picked up something gray, a fine wool scarf patterned with geometric condors. ¡°This is his!¡± Lynette held the scarf to her face.
¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s okay.¡± Tonya came up behind her.
¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Lynette slipped the scarf into her pocket.
Tonya put a hand on Lynette¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll find him.¡±
Aunt Helen lived above the shop, part of the massive two-story log cabin she had inherited from Tonya¡¯s great-grandparents. It was drafty in the winter, and attracted mice in fall, until Aunt Helen resealed the outside walls and modernized. As a child, Tonya remembered walking through the gutted building, asking her aunt why she didn¡¯t just tear it down and build a new one.
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¡°History,¡± was all her aunt would say.
Aunt Helen tolerated a filthy building site for months during renovations, despite her obsession for order. Mom always said she should have been a scientist. Before, after, and somehow even during the reno, she kept her counters sterilized like a laboratory.
As they approached, Tonya noticed the window beside the door was shattered. She stepped over a black puddle onto the stoop and pulled away yellow police tape sealing the door.
¡°Hello? Aunt Helen?¡± It was as cold inside as out and reeked of smoke. The small foyer where they stood opened into the shop, giving them a clear view of the premises. To Tonya¡¯s immediate left, a door marked ¡°private¡± stood between her and the staircase up to her aunt¡¯s apartment.
Wind gusted in through the end of the shop, which was punched through, leaving a large, charred hole. The walls were streaked with soot near the floor, but the A-frame roof remained pristine. The countertop, ahead of her and to the left, remained untouched, but the glass case beneath it, and every jar and container inside, seemed to have exploded. This was no natural fire.
Tonya opened the door to the staircase, but a female constable rushed out from the workroom behind the sales counter. ¡°You can¡¯t come in here.¡± She had mousy hair and pale eyelashes like a child.
¡°I¡¯m looking for my aunt.¡±
The woman tilted her head slightly and squinted at Tonya, despite the light streaming in from outside. ¡°You¡¯re Helen¡¯s niece? I didn¡¯t recognize you.¡±
Without the extra pounds and bulky sweaters. ¡°I remember you. Didn¡¯t you volunteer at the hospital?¡±
¡°Not anymore. Constable Purrell.¡± Her hands stayed on her hips, but she nodded at Lynette and Tonya. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your aunt. She¡¯s in hospital.¡±
¡°What? When?¡±
¡°They sent her, after the fire.¡±
¡°She was here?¡± Her parents had lied. Aunt Helen wasn¡¯t away, being treated in Toronto.
¡°What happened?¡± Lynette asked.
The constable¡¯s face gained twenty years as she snapped into authority mode. ¡°This is an active investigation. You have to leave.¡± She moved forward, crowding them.
¡°What about my boyfriend, Roberto Alvarez? This was where he was going last night, and now he¡¯s disappeared.¡±
¡°Your boyfriend must be the guy who called us. Probably saved Helen¡¯s life.¡± The officer backed them to the door. They lingered in the parking lot.
¡°Was my Aunt Helen living here or did she just come back last night?¡±
Purrell shrugged.
Lynette waved her hands in distress. ¡°Is Roberto okay? Where is he?¡±
Purrell pulled out her phone. ¡°Let me check.¡± The woman gestured for them to stay outside as she walked back in. Through the broken window, Tonya watched her disappear into Aunt Helen¡¯s workroom.
¡°Shhh. Stay here.¡± Tonya slipped back in and crept upstairs. She hoped to find clues in her aunt¡¯s apartment, something to explain why everyone lied about her whereabouts.
At the top of the stairs was the start of the living room, narrow like the workroom below it. Tonya ran her finger across the china hutch. Dustless. A few steps in, the living room opened into the kitchen where the counters gleamed. Either her aunt had been living here recently, or she had found a cleaner as fussy as her.
Tonya decided to check the 1940s Frigidaire which her aunt refused to replace. If it was stocked with fresh produce, it would confirm her aunt never left. She pulled the chrome handle. Inside, the light had burned out, so she swung the door wide, illuminating darkly filled preserve jars, and bowls with lids. No boxes, no store-bought condiments, not even a carton of eggs. Didn¡¯t Aunt Helen eat anything from the grocery store?
She moved aside to let more light in. No aluminum takeout containers. Not even a plate of leftovers.
Tonya fished out a bottle of milk and sniffed it. She poured a bit down the sink to see if it looked sour, but it was fresh. She was replacing the milk, angry with her aunt and her whole family for lying to her, when she saw it. A glass jar filled with smoky fluid and pale, thin, pointing . . . fingers. Ugh! A hand.
Of course her rebel aunt had a hand in a jar.
Heavy boots stormed up the stairs. Tonya grabbed the jar and shoved it deep into the pocket of her coat, hoping nobody would notice the bulge.
¡°Hey! What are you doing up here?¡±
Tonya slammed the fridge door shut and scooted out of the kitchen. She recognized Constable Cram, a fleshy local man with a buzz cut. He swaggered across the living room, forcing Tonya to take a step back into the kitchen.
Tonya didn¡¯t know what to do. She needed to dispose of the hand without getting caught, but Cram wasn¡¯t letting her pass. He towered over her, so close she recoiled from his coffee breath.
¡°Well? What are you doing here?¡±
¡°This is my aunt¡¯s place. I¡¯m worried about her.¡±
¡°She¡¯s in Loon Lake Hospital, as you probably know. This is a crime scene. I should arrest you for interfering with a police investigation.¡± He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest.
At times like this, Tonya wished she had her aunt¡¯s gift of persuasion. She¡¯d love to magically send this lunk butterfly hunting.
¡°Oh my God. You¡¯re that kid.¡±
He didn¡¯t say ¡°that fat kid,¡± but Tonya could tell he was thinking it.
Cram stepped back to look her up and down. His eyes rested on her newfound waist and then uncomfortably long on her chest. This was a new sensation for Tonya. She used to feel self-conscious about her chubby belly, but men staring at her chest was worse. She zipped up her coat.
¡°Can I go?¡± She stared him down.
He stepped aside to let her take the stairs. Tonya imagined his eyes following her.
Downstairs, she told Constable Purrell. ¡°Your partner¡¯s a creep. He was staring at my chest.¡±
¡°How did you get upstairs?¡± Purrell backed Tonya into the wall.
¡°This is my aunt¡¯s home.¡±
¡°You¡¯re interfering with a crime scene!¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±
¡°You ignored the sign and the police tape.¡±
¡°My aunt and I are really close. She¡¯d want me to check on her apartment.¡±
Purrell took a step back and pulled out her notepad. ¡°Do you know anything about what happened here?¡±
¡°No.¡±
Purrell handed Tonya her card. ¡°Call and set up an interview. You need to answer some questions.¡±
¡°Am I in trouble?¡±
¡°Not unless you¡¯re hiding something.¡±
Tonya heard Constable Cram¡¯s heavy steps overhead. He was poking around but at least she¡¯d gotten the hand out of the fridge. They¡¯d better not find anything else.
¡°Aunt Helen is sick. She¡¯s supposed to be in the hospital in Toronto but yesterday you¡¯re telling me she was here. Looks like you know more about it than me.¡± She wrote her phone number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Purrell. ¡°I can¡¯t contact my parents. They sold our house and moved and now they won¡¯t answer their cell phone. Can you help me? They¡¯re missing.¡±
Tears sprang up in Tonya¡¯s eyes. This fire and their disappearance couldn¡¯t be a coincidence. She massaged her throbbing temples.
As Tonya described the last time she¡¯d seen them, Purrell jotted details in her notebook.
¡°They told you they were moving?¡±
¡°My aunt did.¡±
¡°So, it isn¡¯t a surprise they left?¡±
¡°I moved into residence in September and then, without saying goodbye, just before Halloween, they were gone.¡±
¡°What¡¯s your relationship like with your parents?¡±
¡°I love my parents. They would never leave without a goodbye.¡±
Purrell rubbed a creased brow. ¡°So, why didn¡¯t you report them missing sooner?¡±
¡°Their emails said they moved to Toronto, to look after Aunt Helen. I¡¯m worried because I can¡¯t contact them anymore.¡±
¡°Hmm.¡± Purrell snapped the notebook shut. ¡°We¡¯ll be in touch.¡±
A horn honked outside.
¡°Your friend is waiting for you.¡±
CACTUS LADY
¡°The cops wanted to speak to me.¡±
¡°About Roberto?¡±
¡°My parents. I¡¯m worried they might be mixed up in something bad. I need you to drive me by their house, so I can check something.¡± She didn¡¯t say, to make sure they aren¡¯t still in the house, dead.
¡°And Roberto?¡±
¡°For all we know they¡¯re together. They were the first ones to start acting strange, but I think this is some kind of epidemic.¡± Tonya didn¡¯t say a curse that spreads like a disease. Showing magic to Priya had been hard enough. She couldn¡¯t imagine showing it to Lynette, who didn¡¯t respect her.
¡°I can¡¯t believe you want me to look for them now. Why did you wait until my boyfriend disappeared?¡±
¡°Trust me, this will only take a minute. Either the new owners of the house will come to the door or I¡¯ll figure something out.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not helping you break in.¡±
¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ring the doorbell.¡± She would only break in if she really had to.
Lynette sighed and goosed the accelerator.
Tonya wanted to reveal more, but she had no idea what anything meant. The jar Tonya had taken from the fridge didn¡¯t square with the helpful aunt she worked for as a teenager. Her aunt was caring and kind, and swore she made her cures from plants and minerals without drawing on dark sources of power. Only a necromancer would use human body parts. Could it really have been her aunt who put it there, or was it planted by someone to get her in trouble with City Council? Mundane law could put you in jail, but the Old Families could erase your memories and strip your powers.
The fiery explosion suggested Aunt Helen was in magical trouble. Was she hiding more skeletons in the closet to go with the pickled hand? Did her parents know?
In minutes, Lynette raced over the bridge and entered the subdivisions north of town, arriving almost too fast for Tonya. She had to know what happened, but she was afraid of knowing. As long as she didn¡¯t find them, she could pretend her parents were alive and well, living in Toronto to visit her sick aunt. Except since that was a lie, Tonya wondered what else they were hiding.
Strange cars sat in the driveway. Lynette pulled up to the curb.
¡°I¡¯ll wait here while you ring the bell. If you go around the back to break in, I¡¯m going.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t leave me here!¡±
¡°You¡¯ve been twitchy since you talked to the cops. What are you planning?¡±
¡°Nothing, I have a key.¡± Tonya conveniently failed to mention the locks had been changed.
¡°Alright, hurry up!¡±
Tonya got out of the car, curiosity pushing her forward, even as dread slowed her steps.
She tried the door. Locked. She rang the bell and waited.
After four evenly spaced rings, Tonya was ready to give up when a rumple-faced man answered the door. He had a comb-over and a stained undershirt.
¡°Sorry to bother you. I was wondering if you¡¯ve seen my parents?¡±
He stared at her, blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat. ¡°We just moved in. We don¡¯t know anybody here.¡±
¡°We used to live here. Jim and Barbara?¡±
He smiled and put his palms together, releasing a cloud of stale cologne. ¡°Such a cute couple. They sold us the house, really wanted us to have it. I haven¡¯t seen them since.¡± He shrugged his hairy shoulders.
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¡°Did they leave a number? Some way to contact them?¡±
¡°No. They were in a hurry to get out of the country, but when you see them, tell them Phil says hi.¡±
Out of the country. Her parents had left the country? Mom was strict, but she would step in front of a charging rhino for Tonya. Her parents avoided magic¡ªand with it, Old Family politics¡ªbut abandoning Tonya to face danger alone wasn¡¯t like them. Something made them leave, against their will.
While Lynette drove to the hospital, Tonya called the local police and reported her parents missing, again. Purrell wasn¡¯t from an Old Family so she wouldn¡¯t know how to help. Only an officer briefed by City Hall would.
¡°Before we check the hospital, I have to visit City Hall,¡± she told Lynette.
¡°You must be joking. This is no time to pay your parking tickets!¡±
¡°In Loon Lake we do everything through City Hall. It acts as our law court and local police.¡± She didn¡¯t say magic police.
¡°What about Roberto?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be fast. You can stay in the car and call the hospital while you¡¯re waiting for me. I¡¯m sure they just kept Roberto for observation. Purrell would have told you if he got hurt.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t wait for you.¡±
¡°Come on, Lynette. I came with you, so now do something for me. It¡¯ll only take a few minutes.¡±
¡°Be fast.¡±
As they drove through city streets, Tonya wondered who might help a Pure from a disgraced family. Trads and Mods alike called Pures ignorant for denying their magical heritage. It had scandalized both groups when Mom refused to shun Aunt Helen for selling charms to Mundanes. Between her Mom¡¯s Pure, anti-magic upbringing, and Helen¡¯s maverick attitude, all three factions had reasons to reject Tonya.
In high school, Tonya had tried to make Mod friends, but they scorned her lack of magical training. Tonya hated that her father was a Mundane and her mother was a Pure. She wound up with Mundane acquaintances and Mod enemies, but yearned for a best friend she could share her secrets with. The closest she came to real friendship were the summers she worked for Aunt Helen.
They parked in front of City Hall, a pink granite building surrounded by fallow gardens. She hoped to find an ally who could see her issues in shades of gray but in this emergency, she¡¯d take anyone from an Old Family. Tonya pushed through the glass door, her eyes adjusting to filtered light from a skylight in the cupola. The round atrium of City Hall echoed as she crossed the marble floor. By habit, she looked up. A mosaic depicted the top of the Three-Century Ash Tree, encircling the skylight centered in its leaves. A beam of sunlight cast a pretty glow on the stone below her feet.
Behind the reception counter, a lady with long, ash-blonde hair appeared to be scolding a cactus. She was willowy and smiling, wearing a crocheted vest over a long floral dress. It wasn¡¯t until Tonya got close that Tonya noticed her hair was streaked with gray. The lady¡¯s crow¡¯s feet crinkled but her gaze remained on the cactus, even when she began to speak.
¡°Some of us were wondering how long it would take you to come.¡± Her voice was clear and passionless, a cold breath blowing from a snow-capped mountain.
¡°Who?¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to have to be brave.¡±
¡°Are my parents okay?¡±
¡°Helen predicted you would come.¡±
¡°How did you . . .¡±
The lady picked up the plant pot and held it between them, her eyes never leaving the spiny green succulent. ¡°She says your parents are alive and well, but they can¡¯t come back to Loon Lake right now. They can¡¯t even come back to the country.¡±
¡°But I need them. Aunt Helen does too.¡±
The lady smiled and shook her head. ¡°An Entity is rising, and the Trads are losing control. Anyone who can¡¯t use magic will be caught in between.¡±
¡°Tell me where they are.¡± Tonya¡¯s voice cracked, and she struggled to compose herself. She shouldn¡¯t show weakness when she didn¡¯t know if this lady was friend or foe. Delivering a message for someone, she appeared to be in a trance.
¡°Aunt Helen, is that you?¡±
¡°Your parents are well.¡±
¡°Give me a phone number, an address . . . I need to talk to them.¡±
¡°She warned me you would insist but they must be protected, even from you. If you find them, you will put them in danger.¡±
Tonya considered the lady behind the counter. Could she be speaking for the enemy? Was this a tactic to put Tonya off the scent?
¡°Why would Aunt Helen leave me here if it isn¡¯t safe enough for my parents?¡±
¡°She predicted that question.¡±
¡°And?¡±
¡°Helen is working to make sure you never have to know.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
With a cough, the lady¡¯s eyes came back into focus. Her voice turned raspy. ¡°Why am I talking to a plant?¡± She frowned down her nose at Tonya. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±
¡°I need help from the Old Families. There¡¯s some kind of eating disease on campus.¡±
¡°Campus? Well, if it¡¯s just at the university . . .¡± The aging woman smiled, looking less like a fading flower child now than a shark with her bleached teeth.
¡°My aunt seems to be affected, and my parents have left town.¡± When she caught the pleased look on the woman¡¯s face, Tonya decided not to mention her own cravings.
¡°If the disease only affects outsiders, I don¡¯t think the Families need to intervene, do you?¡± The lady¡¯s eyes sparkled.
Tonya shivered. ¡°Mundanes are getting sick.¡±
¡°Good riddance.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Look at the time!¡± The lady grabbed her purse. ¡°Be careful.¡± She swung open a door in the counter, forcing Tonya to hop out of the way. ¡°We don¡¯t want Family secrets blabbed to outsiders, do we?¡±
Before Tonya could reply, the lady strode off with a strength that belied her previously gentle demeanor.
HAIRS AND HOMEWORK
Tonya stooped to speak through the window in Donna¡¯s Plexiglas box. ¡°We¡¯re here to visit my Aunt Helen.¡±
Donna typed a few words into her computer and pronounced Aunt Helen discharged.
Lynette nudged Tonya aside. ¡°What about Roberto Alvarez?¡±
¡°Not here either.¡± She didn¡¯t check.
¡°Are you sure?¡±
Lynette spelled his name and provided information as Donna checked her computer.
¡°He was never admitted.¡±
Tonya stooped to speak through the window. ¡°What about Professor Rudolph? I know he was here.¡±
¡°Full name?¡± Donna¡¯s voice was chipper.
¡°Professor Frank Rudolph and I know he was here. My friends and I called him an ambulance because he sleepwalked off campus, all the way through the cemetery, and then lay down at the base of the Three-Century Ash.¡± Tonya gave her a significant look.
Donna¡¯s kohled eyes widened. ¡°Did your aunt know about that?¡± Donna tented red, manicured fingers.
¡°I haven¡¯t been able to reach my aunt or parents for days.¡±
¡°That is a problem.¡± Donna stroked her chin. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±
¡°I have to see the professor. Are you sure you can¡¯t find him?¡±
¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t tell you, since you¡¯re not family, but he checked out this morning.¡± She beckoned Tonya to lean in closer and whispered, ¡°Against doctor¡¯s orders.¡± She shook her head. ¡°His color was terrible, and he walked like a robot. He had the nerve to steal the cookie tin off my desk!¡±
Tonya inhaled sharply.
Lynnette asked, ¡°Know where he was headed?¡±
¡°No idea. He just walked out.¡±
¡°I¡¯m finding him,¡± said Tonya.
¡°We still have to find Roberto,¡± said Lynette.
¡°Try his phone again. He might be home by now.¡±
Tonya checked her phone while Lynette checked hers. She had sent a text to Priya, reminding her she had promised to cancel or move the show. Still no reply.
Tonya followed Lynette back to the car. ¡°We should go back to campus. Somebody must have seen him.¡±
¡°I hope so.¡±
During the drive back, Lynette was quiet. Tonya tried to distract her with chit chat, but the conversation died every time.
¡°At least you know Roberto is okay.¡±
¡°He¡¯s been acting funny.¡±
¡°Maybe he lost his phone in the fire. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll call as soon as he can.¡± Tonya tried to sound hopeful but suspected a darker reason for his silence. What if he spent too much time in the cemetery and wound up like Professor Rudolph?
They drove west, then south over the bridge, and back east. As they entered campus, Tonya noticed a telephone pole papered with flyers for Priya¡¯s installation. Thinking she might have missed stripping one pole, Tonya didn¡¯t worry until a few poles farther on she saw more. Priya¡¯s flyers fluttered on lampposts lining the drive and the walkways between buildings.
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¡°Let me out in front of the dorm. You¡¯re going to have to keep looking for Roberto on your own.¡±
¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°No matter what happens, don¡¯t go into the cemetery tonight.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be too busy looking for Roberto.¡± Lynette pulled up outside the dorm.
¡°I know you¡¯ll find him.¡± Tonya leaped out.
In the front foyer, on the bulletin board, Tonya saw shiny posters advertising Man vs. Nature. Flyers covered the first-floor doors. Tonight, the cemetery would be full of innocent students expecting a party. Whether the eating disease spread person-to-person like an infection, or whether it was a curse cast on the cemetery, Priya¡¯s installation would put people at risk. She¡¯d seen what this affliction did to Marta. Nobody could save a crowd, compelled to eat until they choked.
She had to stop Priya. Tonya took the elevator to her friend¡¯s room, but Priya wasn¡¯t there. She didn¡¯t have mobile numbers for the rest of the Ninjas, but she guessed where to look. She rushed down the stairs and ran for the cemetery.
She had slowed to an out-of-breath jog as she reached the path leading off campus, but didn¡¯t dare go slower. Only she could stop this catastrophe. The bonfire would draw a big crowd, so she had to convince her new friends to move it far away from the cemetery.
Her feet pounded the path and her labored breaths turned to cloud in the chilly air. Hitting a patch of ice, her legs flew up from under her and she slid along on her backside. When she came to a stop, Tonya sat for a moment, waiting for the pain to ease. What made her think she could convince them of anything, especially without demonstrating magic? If only her aunt were here. She could charm the hair off an orangutan.
Tonya got up and jogged on, despite a stitch in her side. It was a small campus with few Halloween parties advertised. Most of the student body would have heard of the bonfire. How could she, one lowly freshman, stop the majority?
She crossed the street dividing campus from the cemetery. As she passed through the wrought iron gates, Tonya saw hairy things, up in the trees. Priya had shown Tonya sketches, but in person her monsters were hyper realistic.
Priya was a macabre genius, with a theme-park mentality. From now on, every time she walked this path, Tonya would expect to get ambushed by Toyota-sized tarantulas.
Tonya was so impressed with the giant rabbit with sad eyes and blood on its chin, that she wanted to forget why she was there. She had to keep everyone from seeing this masterpiece. Somehow. Her confidence collapsed. To stop mass infection, she was going to need more than circumstantial evidence. She needed proof the cemetery could kill.
Marta¡¯s near-miss could be explained away as an eating contest gone wrong. Tonya believed the feeding frenzy was caused by magic, and suspected the curse was related to the unnatural explosion at her aunt¡¯s shop. A nasty magic user was at work here, one who had probably hurt her parents or forced them into hiding. She suspected their spells caused irrational binge eating, and the mindless stagger of Professor Rudolph, but how to prove it?
And what was so bad about a little binge eating? If a victim didn¡¯t choke on their food, would the need to pig out wear off? How did she know Professor Rudolph wasn¡¯t home right now, doing a crossword and drinking tea? Just in case, Tonya pulled her turtleneck up over her mouth and nose to keep out airborne contaminants. She feared it wasn¡¯t only Egyptian Pharaohs¡¯ tombs that could inflict airborne curses.
Tonya followed a meandering path through the cemetery. At the southwest end, in the oldest section, where time and rain had eroded the names off the marble headstones, she approached the Three-Century Ash. She slowed, walking with dignity in this holy place.
The Ash was revered by the Old Families who had buried ancestors there for hundreds of years, the source of their power. The longer the family had been settled here, the more powerful the magic of the descendants.
They would all be angry if they could see this. Priya had turned the tree into a monster, with slits for eyes and a mouth that looked like a slash in the bark, with fangs. At its base, the clean-picked skeletons of manufactured prey were piled in a jumble, as if the tree had devoured them and spit out the pellets like a giant owl. She did a double take. Priya hadn¡¯t actually cut into the Ash, had she?
She rushed up to take a closer look but there were no cuts in the bark. Priya had applied a mask to the tree trunk that blended so perfectly, it looked like it was part of it. In any other place, her handiwork would be beautiful but here it was an abomination. She was surprised someone from the Old Families hadn¡¯t discovered it and punished her already. If they discovered Priya¡¯s blasphemy and found out Priya knew about magic, there would be a heavy price to pay.
It was a price she had paid herself. Tonya had defaced the Ash in childhood when she nailed slats of wood like rungs to help her climb up the back. Her parents had been livid when they caught her, and her aunt could hardly look at her. That was so many years ago that the Ash had long since started to grow around the rungs, but her guilt still stung.
Tonya went around the back of the tree to look for traces of her forbidden ladder. Lying on a bed of yellow leaves at its base, lay Professor Rudolph. Up through the ground, hair-like roots were growing into the unconscious man¡¯s ears, nose, and mouth. A few more were growing upward and around the side of his face, preparing to enter through his eyeballs.
¡°Professor!¡± Tonya tugged at his arms, poked him with her toe. She slapped his cheek, but nothing would rouse him. Slowly, being careful not to disturb or touch any of the white tendrils, she put a hand on his chest. He was cold. His chest was still, without a heartbeat. His wrist lacked a pulse. He was dead.
Tonya, have you done your homework? His voice demanded inside her head. His unseeing eyes opened. She ran.
WHISPERS
She still remembered how it sent wordless whispers through her mind. In a panic, she had rushed to the shop to ask Aunt Helen about it.
¡°Gravediggers grow into the brains of the dead. Their telepathic whispers frighten outsiders away.¡±
¡°And if they don¡¯t?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s harmless.¡±
¡°You planted it, didn¡¯t you?¡±
Her aunt looked away, but not fast enough to hide her smile. ¡°Of course not. Everybody knows I avoid death magic.¡±
The Professor¡¯s voice in her head had sounded ten times more powerful than the telepathic fungus of her childhood memory. She stretched the neck of her sweater over her nose and went back to look for telltale signs of fungus. Normally, a gravedigger just gave you that cemetery feeling, like raised hairs on the back of your neck, or rustling sounds in the bushes. It was a harmless guardian but the way it propagated itself creeped Tonya out. It sent up one kind of shoot to sense movement, and another to spread spores. Tonya didn¡¯t like to think of it spying on her, then releasing a cloud of spores as she passed by.
Tonya wished her aunt had explained how to destroy the fungus. She suspected Aunt Helen knew more about it than she would admit. Her aunt claimed to create folk cures from natural elements like herbs and minerals, but there was another kind of spell, cast purely through the will of the caster. Such spells required dark energies, the kind it would take to boost the powers of a mindless, mildly telepathic fungus into something more sinister . . .
Tonya tried to swallow the lump that rose in her throat. Her parents were mixed up in this with Aunt Helen. They never spoke of the danger, but the warning, delivered by the entranced woman at City Hall, confirmed it. Whoever was behind this must have defeated Aunt Helen and done something to her parents. Helen wanted to fight this battle alone, but there had been some kind of magical showdown at the store which sent Helen to the hospital. She had checked herself out but still hadn¡¯t contacted Tonya, leaving her niece alone and surrounded by unknown enemies.
Even in daylight, this forested patch on the edge of the cemetery was half-dark. She shivered and zipped her coat up to her chin, scrunching her face into her collar in case of spores. What if they didn¡¯t only grow in the brains of the dead? What if they could grow inside her living brain? The wind blew through her hair, whipping it around and making the trees hiss and sway, lending life to the artificial creatures Priya had hidden there. Tonya closed her eyes and stood still, wondering how far the Dead Professor¡¯s mind reached. Did the link work in two directions, allowing him to overhear her thoughts, and broadcast his? Could he feel her shivering right now?
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Tonya sped up. As she passed through the Eastern Gate and crossed the road back to campus, she had a new theory which would explain Professor Rudolph and Marta. It had to be the gravedigger plant, enhanced by dark magic. This gravedigger couldn¡¯t just broadcast whispers into people¡¯s minds, but implant ideas as well. Ideas like the compulsion to eat.
She had to stop tonight¡¯s gathering at all costs. Tonya started jogging toward campus.
She yearned to leave this to the authorities, but the Provincial Police would laugh at her. And campus administration? She¡¯d never find somebody to talk to her on a Saturday. Besides, they¡¯d think she was crazy.
With no other choice, Tonya pulled out her phone and called.
¡°Loon Lake police.¡± The chipper voice didn¡¯t sound familiar to Tonya. Was the receptionist mundane or Old Family?
¡°Miss, are you still there?¡±
¡°Uh, I want to report a death.¡± Tonya didn¡¯t risk saying more.
¡°Where are you?¡±
¡°Loon Lake Cemetery.¡±
¡°Young Lady, we don¡¯t tolerate pranks! I should warn you this call is being recorded.¡±
¡°Something terrible is happening to my Professor Rudolph. I just found his body, laid out at the base of the Ash Tree.¡±
¡°Now aren¡¯t you smart, to know the kind of tree. What¡¯s your name, Miss?¡±
¡°Tonya.¡±
¡°I guess that makes you Helen¡¯s . . .¡±
¡°Her niece.¡±
¡°Hm. Well, don¡¯t trouble yourself about Rudolph.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll take care of it, then?¡±
¡°In a way. Some things have a way of taking care of themselves.¡±
¡°Should I stay with the body?¡±
¡°Leave him to us. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve done enough.¡±
Tonya hesitated. ¡°Warn your personnel to wear masks. I think he¡¯s contagious.¡± She emphasized the word, hoping the woman would understand this was a special, magical kind of contagion.
¡°You sure know a lot for someone who just found the body.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, send the right people and they¡¯ll understand.¡± She hung up but, in her mind, Tonya saw him again, white shoots snaking up from underground to invade his lifeless body.
She didn¡¯t trust the police. The lady on the phone had recognized her and acted like she¡¯d been expecting her call. The receptionist sounded like she was working for the Old Families but if so, why hadn¡¯t she seemed more concerned? Professor Rudolph had died under suspicious circumstances. Were the Old Families and the police working together to cover it up?
At City Hall, the lady with the flowery dress had brushed her off. It made Tonya want to march into City Hall and complain to the Mayor¡ªif that would do any good. Tonya wondered if the councilors actively opposed Helen. They were mostly Trads, and some were Pures, which didn¡¯t help her aunt¡¯s case. Tonya wasn¡¯t supposed to know, but when Helen¡¯s hair turned white overnight in her late teens, she had been accused of using death magic. The mayor had exiled Aunt Helen for ten years right around the time Tonya was born.
Since she couldn¡¯t count on the police or the Old Families, Tonya had few places to turn for help. She had shown Priya magic. Maybe together they could convince the Ninjas to move the festivities out of the cemetery.
She phoned and sent Priya urgent texts, but she didn¡¯t answer. Time to make house calls.
DRAKE
¡°Am I glad to see you!¡± Tonya let him pass.
¡°Me too. You want to tag along? One more run and I¡¯m finished.¡± He hefted the box.
Tonya joined him at the top of the stairs. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to talk to you about. The cemetery is too dangerous.¡±
¡°We already talked about that. Priya¡¯s concept is to scare people.¡± Drake walked to his car at the curb. He arranged the box in the trunk and shut it.
¡°Wait! Let me explain.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± Drake smiled at her like she was a piece of chocolate cake.
¡°Professor Rudolph is dead,¡±
¡°What?¡± His smile vanished. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he your favorite prof? Are you okay?¡± Drake took Tonya¡¯s hand and led her to sit on the bumper of his car.
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°Bad magic made him sick, in the woods by the cemetery.¡±
¡°What do you mean magic? They took him away to the hospital.¡± Drake sat on the bumper beside her.
¡°He checked himself out and went back to the cemetery and lay down at the foot of the Three-Century Ash to die.¡±
¡°Did they figure out what was wrong with him?¡±
¡°He was eating all the way. Donna, at reception, said he swiped the cookies off her desk.¡±
¡°That¡¯s terrible.¡± Drake knit his brows. ¡°So, heart attack?¡±
¡°That tree is supposed to protect the town. It has for hundreds of years, but now I don¡¯t know. Somebody is using its power to do terrible things.¡±
¡°Tree power?¡± Drake quirked an eyebrow at her.
Tonya shifted her feet. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe, but my family knows things.¡± Uncomfortable under his stare, she shoved her hands into her coat pockets until her right hand encountered the jar and she snatched it back as if burned.
Drake pulled out his phone. ¡°Did you call someone to deal with the Professor¡¯s body?¡±
¡°Yeah. I wish I could show it to you before they collect it.¡±
¡°No thanks.¡±
¡°I know it sounds crazy but Priya¡¯s installation is wrong. The cemetery is a sacred place and the Ash Tree¡ª¡±
¡°Has spiritual value, and your professor¡¯s dead, and Priya built a nasty monster on it.¡±
Tears welled up in her eyes. ¡°He won¡¯t be the only one to die if I can¡¯t stop her show.¡±
¡°You still believe that?¡± He stood, and the bumper lifted beneath her as she stood too.
¡°Sounds crazy, until you believe in magic.¡±
¡°Priya told me about the thing you did with the tree branch. She called it sleight of hand and swore you wouldn¡¯t be able to do it in daylight.¡±
¡°Why won¡¯t she just believe me!¡±
¡°Show me?¡± He held his hands out, not quite touching her.
¡°No. Until you¡¯ve witnessed magic, the Old Families aren¡¯t allowed to use their powers against you.¡±
¡°That¡¯s lame. You might as well say if I tell you, I¡¯ll have to kill you.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t have to. Somebody wants to do it for me.¡± Tonya sighed. At least Drake wasn¡¯t laughing. She watched his expression change as he tried to process the idea of real magic.
Finally, he held out his arms and Tonya crumpled into them. Everything was wrong, except for his warmth. She leaned her head on his firm chest and some of her tension drained away.
¡°I¡¯ll talk to Priya,¡± he said gravely. ¡°She¡¯ll be disappointed, but we¡¯ll clean up your aunt¡¯s tree.¡±
Tonya backed away. ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡±
¡°The spot where Professor Rudolph died deserves a memorial. We¡¯ll put a picture and flowers there so his students can pay their respects.¡±
¡°People should stay out of the cemetery.¡±
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¡°You¡¯re against a memorial?¡±
¡°His corpse could be contagious,¡± she remembered the shoots growing into his eyes. ¡°Something evil is growing in the cemetery and it¡¯s making people sick.¡±
¡°Who?¡±
¡°The diving team were competing to eat the most bowls of porridge and stacks of pizzas. Marta couldn¡¯t stop eating. She choked on a piece of pizza until her face turned blue. If I hadn¡¯t been there to give her CPR, she would have died.¡±
¡°That¡¯s disgusting but an accident isn¡¯t a disease.¡±
¡°My roommate Lynette has been eating so compulsively, she tied her own hands together.¡± Lynette¡¯s concern for Roberto was all-consuming and that might have distracted her for a while, but the compulsion to eat must mean she was infected. How long until she went frosty-eyed and brainless?
¡°The thing they all have in common is the cemetery. The diving team runs through there to train. Lynette and Roberto go to the graveyard for picnics. I¡¯m afraid if you set up your cameras in the cemetery, you¡¯ll end up like Professor Rudolph.¡±
¡°That¡¯s all coincidental.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ignore me and get sick, I¡¯ll never forgive myself.¡±
¡°Stop worrying, nothing¡¯s gonna happen.¡± Drake stepped close and brushed the hair out of her face. He was so close she could see right into his bright blue eyes.
She sighed. ¡°If you go into those woods you¡¯ll die like Professor Rudolph.¡±
¡°He was old. He was grieving for his wife. Maybe he was sleepwalking or had a mental breakdown.¡± The angular planes of Drake¡¯s face were like porcelain, subtly strong but not unbreakable.
¡°This thing could become an epidemic.¡±
¡°Sit here.¡± Drake offered her the driver¡¯s seat, but she remained standing.
¡°You saved Marta from choking to death. You said she looked like she was dead when you started CPR. You¡¯re still in shock, that¡¯s all . . .¡±
¡°Promise me you¡¯ll help me cancel the installation, and the bonfire too.¡±
¡°Sorry.¡± He looked at his phone. ¡°I¡¯m late. I promised Priya I¡¯d get the last cameras to her half an hour ago.¡±
¡°A few more minutes won¡¯t kill you. C¡¯mon.¡± Tonya led him back into the pub and downstairs to the Ninjas¡¯ meeting room. She had been going about this all wrong. Drake was rational, and he wasn¡¯t going to see a supernatural cause for anything, no matter how much evidence she could tell him about. He wasn¡¯t going to believe until he saw for himself.
He sat down at the table. Tonya pushed her chair far away from him and, breathing softly into her turtleneck, began to explain. ¡°Lynette and I went looking for Roberto this morning.¡± Tonya described the Herbal Healing Shop after it got hit with the unexplained fire, the shattered jars, and the unnatural burn marks. ¡°My aunt and Roberto went missing from the hospital. The strange eating compulsion must be related. I think they wandered out of there, unconscious, just like Professor Rudolph.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry about your aunt.¡± Drake reached for her hand and, although she probably shouldn¡¯t have, she let him take it. His hand was warm and calloused, and holding it made her feel calmer.
¡°You have to believe me. Something bad is happening. Help me convince Priya to move the installation. I can¡¯t fight magic and Priya all by myself.¡±
¡°Forget Priya. Tonight, we should remember Professor Rudolph. The bonfire will be his wake.¡±
¡°Not in the cemetery.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°It¡¯s contagious, like a mummy¡¯s curse.¡±
¡°There¡¯s no such thing.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t there? Rudolph was eating himself to death, just like Marta, and then a magical force drew him to the Ash Tree. Remember, we couldn¡¯t stop him, no matter how hard we tried? Look, I know it sounds nuts, but this was no natural disease.¡± Could the gravedigger fungus have infected her? Could she be shedding infection onto Drake right now?
¡°You really do believe in magic.¡±
¡°For hundreds of years, the Old Families have used magic in Loon Lake.¡±
¡°I live here. Why haven¡¯t I seen magic?¡±
¡°We don¡¯t practice in front of Mundanes. The mayor and his councilors are Trads who enforce steep consequences on anyone who breaks the rules.¡±
¡°By telling me, aren¡¯t you breaking their rules?¡±
¡°If they find out you believe, you could get your memory wiped.¡±
¡°Gee thanks.¡±
¡°It¡¯s better than dying like the professor.¡±
¡°I want to believe you, mostly because I don¡¯t want you to be crazy, but I don¡¯t believe in horoscopes, or bad luck on Friday the thirteenth, or unicorns.¡±
Tonya wiped her hands on her jeans and took a deep breath.
¡°Of course you don¡¯t.¡± She phoned the hospital and asked for Reception. When Donna answered, she set it to speakerphone, so Drake could hear everything.
¡°Hello, this is Tonya. Remember Professor Rudolph? We found his body lying under the Three-Century Ash in the Loon Lake Cemetery.¡±
Donna sounded excited to hear this. She listened as Tonya described the hair-like roots growing out of the ground and into all orifices of his head. ¡°How terrible,¡± she said. ¡°Evil forces are at work in Loon Lake for sure.¡±
¡°What¡¯s with the sarcasm?¡±
¡°No sarcasm. Tell me how I can help, hon.¡±
Finally, somebody who believed her! She arched an eyebrow at Drake and smiled. To Donna she said, ¡°Do you think you could get word out to the other Old Families? I need help right now.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. Tonya, take care of yourself.¡±
¡°About that. I must go into the cemetery tonight, but first I need to take some precautions. Could you loan me some equipment, off the record?¡±
¡°Sure.¡±
Tonya was surprised she agreed so quickly but she thanked Donna and hung up.
¡°Well, that makes one person who believes you,¡± said Drake.
¡°You still don¡¯t? Donna is from an Old Family that has been practicing magic for hundreds of years. Anyone from an Old Family knows about magic, they just hide it from outsiders like you. I wish my Mom were here, or Aunt Helen. They could tell you.¡±
¡°I admit, Professor Rudolph¡¯s sleepwalking, and his eyes, didn¡¯t seem natural.¡±
¡°Finally.¡± Tonya took a deep breath and sighed. Drake knew, which meant with him, she didn¡¯t have to hide who she was anymore. It would have been a perfect moment, if they weren¡¯t all doomed.
¡°So, magic is real, and it can kill you.¡± Drake stared at his hands, as if the town¡¯s secrets lay there.
¡°Can I borrow your car? I need to pick up a box of equipment from the hospital.¡±
¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±
¡°Sorry. Somebody might figure out that you know.¡±
¡°So, they¡¯ll make me forget it. Big deal.¡±
¡°A mind wipe is serious. It erases months of your life, not just the thing they want you to forget.¡±
¡°But you need help.¡±
¡°Just stop the party tonight¡ªwithout telling anybody else what¡¯s really going on. Can you do it?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll try, but it¡¯s Halloween. The students are expecting a keg party, Man vs. Nature, and a bonfire.¡± You¡¯d need armed guards to keep them out of the cemetery tonight
Tonya held out her hand. ¡°Give me the keys.¡±
If Drake couldn¡¯t stop the students she needed a plan B, and for that she had to visit Donna at the hospital.
He surrendered the keys. ¡°Stay safe.¡±
¡°See you soon.¡± Maybe, unless Rudolph¡¯s condition spread unchecked and this was their last moment together. On impulse, Tonya kissed him on the cheek.
He smiled, eyebrows raised. ¡°Hurry back.¡±
PLAN B
Tonya was relieved to find Donna at Reception. She stooped to speak through the slot in the Plexiglas.
¡°We spoke on the phone, about Professor Rudolph?¡±
¡°I haven¡¯t got around to sending an ambulance but don¡¯t worry.¡± She shot Tonya a smile.
Mom knew Donna, but they weren¡¯t quite friends. ¡°I was hoping you could loan me some equipment.¡±
The smile faded. ¡°Not my department.¡±
¡°I need to avoid breathing some very bad stuff.¡±
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¡°Safety equipment has to be inspected and accounted for.¡±
¡°I promise to bring it back in perfect condition. It¡¯s only one night.¡±
¡°Oh, I see what this is about.¡± Donna leaned back in her swivel chair. ¡°We don¡¯t loan medical equipment for Halloween costumes.¡±
¡°Of course not. I suspect somebody cast a curse on the cemetery.¡±
¡°Recently?¡±
¡°I think it¡¯s contagious.¡±
¡°Really, how would that work?¡±
Tonya didn¡¯t want to tell Donna her gravedigger fungus theory. While it was possible to enhance living things with magic, like Donna¡¯s pumpkin, a gravedigger fungus wasn¡¯t exactly alive. It increased in size by feeding on dead things, and could be only manipulated by death magic.
¡°I¡¯m not sure, and I don¡¯t want to find out the hard way.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you think you should be telling City Hall about this?¡± Donna tented her fingers.
If somebody was using death magic they were powerful and unethical. Before making accusations, Tonya had to know who she was up against. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the mayor once I have proof. Help me?¡±
Donna shook her head. ¡°Leave it to the authorities.¡±
¡°I will. The equipment is just in case they don¡¯t listen. I¡¯ll probably return the stuff tomorrow without taking it out of the box.
Donna shot Tonya a tight smile. ¡°All right, hon, but only because your Mom makes the best coffee cake in town.¡±
HALLOWEEN
¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡±
¡°Sorry, I only have safety stuff for one.¡± She dashed around to the trunk and hauled out the box of hospital equipment. ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t go in and make yourself sick?¡±
Tonya looked at Drake over the cardboard lid, but he wouldn¡¯t make eye contact. ¡°I have bad news.¡±
¡°What?¡± Tonya set down the box and slammed the trunk.
¡°I believe you but Priya doesn¡¯t. They¡¯re going ahead with it.
¡°I¡¯ll try her again.¡± Tonya hoisted the box in front of her.
¡°Let me carry that.¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±
¡°No, really. I got this.¡± Drake carried the box into the building and held it as they stood in front of the elevator. Tonya called Priya who answered on the first ring.
¡°I already talked to Drake.¡±
¡°People¡¯s lives are at risk.¡± Tonya described finding Professor Rudolph¡¯s body. The elevator arrived, and Drake came up with her.
¡°I know you¡¯re trying to do the right thing,¡± Priya said, ¡°but walking through a cemetery on Halloween will not make people sick.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t protect you Priya. I showed you my magic so now you have to be careful.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not falling for your optical illusion. You can¡¯t suck the life out of a branch.¡±
¡°I did. You just refuse to admit it.¡±
¡°People walk through the cemetery every day. The diving team and cross-country teams run there to train.¡±
¡°Which is why Lynette and Marta are sick. Lynette says Roberto is having uncontrollable food cravings too.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fall. People eat more when the weather gets cold.¡±
¡°The Old Families of Loon Lake have been burying our dead by the Three-Century Ash for hundreds of years, accumulating power. Now somebody is using that power to kill people.¡±
¡°We¡¯re done here.¡±
¡°I get it. You refuse to believe in magic. I don¡¯t blame you, but you have to admit we have a contagious disease problem. People are getting sick.¡±
¡°I worked hard. I burned through all my savings to create this installation. My art, the Ninjas¡¯ film . . . There¡¯s too much at stake to indulge your paranoia,¡± said Priya.
¡°Last night you promised to stay out of the cemetery.¡±
¡°You were supposed to come to your senses after a good night¡¯s sleep and apologize in the morning.¡±
¡°Trust me or people will die.¡±
The elevator stopped, and they got off at her floor. She walked down the hall, unlocked the door, and Drake followed her in. Priya¡¯s voice was getting louder.
¡°First, it¡¯s evil magic, now it¡¯s a scary epidemic. You know what I think? You¡¯re jealous. Your family doesn¡¯t even return your calls but mine crowded around to listen when I got interviewed on campus radio.¡±
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¡°I was happy for you.¡±
¡°After Halloween, the whole town will know my name.¡± Priya¡¯s voice went up an octave. ¡°You were my friend when I was nobody, but now I¡¯m a tall poppy you want to chop down.¡±
¡°This isn¡¯t about you. It¡¯s about Rudolph.¡±
¡°One sleepwalker doesn¡¯t mean panic.¡±
¡°Not yet.¡±
¡°We found him wandering around the courtyard so maybe the courtyard is contagious. If people go see my show, at least they¡¯ll be safe from the dangerous courtyard.¡±
¡°Not funny. You have to move your art thing.¡±
¡°Art thing! I¡¯ve been working on my installation for months, and nobody, especially not a jealous frenemy can ruin it.¡± Priya disconnected.
Tonya stared at the phone.
Drake raised an eyebrow. ¡°Want me to talk to her?¡±
¡°Too late.¡± Tonya sat on her chair with the hospital box at her feet. It gave her a shiver. Drake and she were alone. A boy was sitting on her bed.
¡°Give.¡±
She handed over the phone and let Drake redial. He put it on speaker phone.
¡°Tonya is right,¡± he said.
¡°I thought about this all night.¡± Priya¡¯s voice was strong again. ¡°Seeing Marta almost die affected Tonya. I don¡¯t blame her for getting upset but now it¡¯s time to look at the facts.¡±
¡°Why are you so stubborn?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re taking her side.¡±
Tonya took the phone from Drake. ¡°All right, I give up. There¡¯s nothing we can say to stop you.¡± She directed her words at Drake too. ¡°At least aim some of the cameras at the Ash Tree. There has to be a way to monitor things, so we¡¯ll know when to call the police.¡±
¡°No police. Are you crazy? I¡¯ll never live this down if my friends get carted away.¡±
¡°Now who¡¯s being over-imaginative? I just want a camera and a monitor. The Ash Tree is where Professor Rudolph died.¡±
¡°Drake told me you thought the man-eating tree concept was in poor taste so I¡¯m turning it into a memorial. You should be happy.¡±
¡°Good. Let¡¯s set up a web link from the tree to people¡¯s phones, and a laptop in the common room back at the dorm.¡±
¡°So absent students can pay their respects. Good idea. I¡¯ll get Drake to help me. And Tonya, I¡¯m sorry I called you a frenemy. Of course, we¡¯re still friends. It¡¯s just that this installation took me years to make. So, are you mad or can we still have fun together?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not mad.¡±
They might never have fun again, but at least Tonya would have video proof if people passed out under the Ash, and rootlets started growing into their brains. She had been so panicked at the time, she didn¡¯t think to get a picture of Rudolph with her mobile and by now his body would be gone.
¡°Drake¡¯s on his way now.¡±
¡°Tell him to hurry. You just wasted fifteen minutes I didn¡¯t have.¡± Priya ended the call.
Tonya looked at Drake. ¡°Promise you¡¯ll stay out of the forest.¡±
¡°Where will you be?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be safe.¡± She patted the side of the box at her feet, pretending confidence she didn¡¯t have.
She walked Drake to the door, but they lingered, neither wanting to part. Tonya made comic shooing gestures. It wouldn¡¯t do for him to see how worried she was. ¡°Go on. Priya¡¯s waiting.¡±
When the door closed behind him, Tonya shuddered. Ever since she heard the voice of Professor Rudolph in her head she¡¯d been worried about her friends. Tonight, the nocturnal gravedigger fungus would rise to feed and send out spores. She had to keep people out of the cemetery! She paced the small room. The equipment Donna gave her would help, but she still had to think of a way to turn back the crowds.
Her stomach growled. Normally not a big deal but right now any urge to eat made her suspicious. She hoped it was just her mind playing tricks with her stomach. Trying not to think about eating always made Tonya hungry.
Tonya went into the bathroom and ran cold water over her hands and face. She stood up and admired her healthy new form. She was getting strong and her curves were firmer now. She was healthier than she¡¯d been since she was a kid. Turning sideways, she sucked in her gut, which was still round. It reminded her of all those times she had looked in the mirror and hated herself as a young teen.
¡°Hey, you¡¯re kinda cute,¡± she told the mirror, and blew herself a kiss. ¡°But tonight, you have to be kickass.¡±
Her stomach growled like an angry raccoon. Why were her cravings back? Was it because people around her were pigging out? Or was this hunger and Rudolph¡¯s voice in her head symptoms of infection?
She steadied herself on the bathroom counter and stared down at the tiles, remembering Marta. She was doomed. Rudolph¡¯s voice in her head was just the final stage. She¡¯d been craving food non-stop since September. What if she had given it to Lynette, and Lynette had given it to Roberto, plus all the love-struck boys who hovered around her?
That couldn¡¯t be. It was the cemetery, the trees, the terrible roots growing into Rudolph¡¯s head through his ears. As the sun set, Tonya unpacked the hospital box to get dressed. By the time she was through, she would be completely unrecognizable. Good thing too. Getting caught doing what she had planned would make her a social outcast, forever.
WORLD PREMIERE
There was plenty of action: the animatronic arm that came out of a gap in a tree trunk as you entered the east gates near campus; the giant constrictors that lurked amongst tangled tree roots along Loon Lake¡¯s southern shoreline and, continuing west all the way to the fence; the Volkswagen-sized tarantula poised to pounce from above. She loved to hear the whoops and screams of teens as they stumbled upon her ¡°actors.¡± How could Tonya have tried to deny her this? With its meandering paths and ancient, indecipherably weathered tombstones, this place was perfect. She avoided the chapel of course, although Zain was dying to record in it. Her installation steered clear of modern gravestones and concentrated on the parklike areas of the cemetery where she could use trees to trigger people¡¯s eternal fear of the Wild.
She left the tent to find Shin. She had to see his reaction when he saw her werewolf sculpture, an Adonis caught halfway through the change, his powerful shoulders modeled on Shin¡¯s own. She thought she was finished sculpting her last creature before she met him, and she had tried to resist using Marta¡¯s boyfriend as a muse, but his athlete¡¯s anatomy was too perfect to overlook.
She took the path leading out of the western gates and turned south toward the bonfire, through the wooded strip between the cemetery gates and Kenny Road to the west. This patch of ground was even more wooded than the cemetery.
As she walked, Priya was disappointed by this year¡¯s female costumes. She passed one scary Bride of Frankenstein, but the rest of the co-eds defaulted to the standard hot chick combo: heels, cleavage, and short skirts. By the time she reached fireside, Priya had passed sexy witches, sexy devils, sexy cats, and sexy pirates who all looked the same. Not that she had a problem with sexy, but couldn¡¯t they show more imagination?
The bonfire was built in a clearing just outside the cemetery, almost opposite the Herbal Healing Shop. Around the fire, Priya recognized a cluster of guys from Shin¡¯s party wearing capes, swords, and cowboy hats. It made her wish she had a costume. Too busy primping her monsters these past few weeks, she hadn¡¯t thought about her own appearance.
¡°Hey.¡± Shin was coming toward her, silhouetted against the flames.
Priya dusted bark and twigs off her jeans and heavy lumberjack shirt. Her hair was clean at least. For convenience, she had braided it and pinned it to her head in a pair of tight coils.
The light caught the side of Shin¡¯s face and she could see him staring, first at her plaid jacket, then up at her face and hair.
¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡±
¡°Uh . . . Princess Leia, disguised as a Canadian.¡±
He smiled and pointed up into the trees where she had installed a hundred glowing eyes.
¡°So, all these crazy monsters are yours?¡±
¡°I confess. I am the mad artist.¡±
¡°Well, don¡¯t cut your ear off, Van Gogh. Can I get you a drink?¡± He thumbed over his shoulder at a keg on the far side of the fire.
With a flourish, Marta strutted out of the shadows wearing a floor-length gown with an embroidered bodice worthy of Queen Elizabeth I.
¡°Your costume is fabulous!¡± Priya tried not to stare.
Marta¡¯s cleavage welled up from the beaded neckline of her dress and even the corset underneath couldn¡¯t hide the fact she looked fifteen pounds heavier than in her diving team picture on the university website.
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¡°Shin likes it.¡± Marta spun, sending multiple layers of skirts floating.
Priya saw Shin frown, as Marta wobbled to a stop. Was there something not right between them?
¡°So, about that drink.¡± He shot Priya a gaze so steely she felt like it could nail her to a tree. What was wrong with this guy?
¡°No thanks. I¡¯ll get my own.¡± She strode around the fire to where a couple of guys were selling cups of beer for a buck. Priya wasn¡¯t thirsty but she found a place to stand in the shadows. She was intrigued by the firelight effect, flickering over the circle of faces. Paintable. Definitely paintable.
She was so lost in this living chiaroscuro that it took her by surprise when somebody sidled up to her.
¡°Here¡¯s to the Mistress of Darkness and Special Effects.¡± Shin toasted her with his plastic cup.
¡°It¡¯s supposed to be Art.¡±
¡°It¡¯s incredible.¡± He closed the gap between them and spoke softly. ¡°Me and Marta are just about finished.¡±
¡°So?¡±
¡°I thought you might care,¡± he looked back at the fire.
¡°Has she stopped training? She¡¯s gained some weight.¡±
¡°D¡¯ya think? Lately she eats like nothing else matters. We go on a date and she ignores me. Won¡¯t look at anything but her plate. It¡¯s like she¡¯s trying to push me away.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not supposed to love someone when they¡¯re rail thin, then dump them the minute they don¡¯t fit your idea of perfect.¡±
¡°Is that what I¡¯m doing?¡±
¡°Yeah it is, but how you feel about your girlfriend is not my business.¡±
¡°That could change.¡± He took her hands in his and Priya didn¡¯t know what to do. He was so forward, and she was more comfortable pursuing rather than being pursued.
¡°You sure are friendly.¡± She gave his hands a little squeeze and broke away. ¡°Want to see something cool?¡±
¡°And leave the bonfire? This is where the party is.¡±
¡°C¡¯mon, you have to see this!¡±
She led Shin through her carefully constructed monster experience. As the path wound deeper into the wooded section, glowing eyes gave way to hints of things that swished and howled in the bushes. Shin tried to take her hand again, but she evaded his grasp. His nearby presence felt magnetic, but she couldn¡¯t decide whether to encourage or reject him. He belonged to Marta.
Priya led Shin off the path.
¡°Where are we going?¡±
They were approaching the tent. He looked at her, then back at the tent. He grinned. ¡°Looks like your lucky night!¡±
¡°Calm down, Diver Boy.¡± She unzipped the tent flap revealing the laptop and chair.
He raised his eyebrows. ¡°You brought me all the way here, to show me a computer?¡±
¡°Patience.¡± She pointed to the laptop screen which was divided quilt-wise, showing images from six different cameras.
¡°Watch camera four.¡± She indicated a couple strolling through the cemetery.
¡°What are they doing?¡±
¡°Getting close to Tonya¡¯s famous Ash Tree. Watch what happens.¡±
The camera was mounted high in the branches, yielding a foreshortened, bird¡¯s-eye view. At their leisurely pace, it was taking them a while to get to the tree and, while Shin watched the screen, he snaked his arm around Priya¡¯s waist.
It sent a shiver up her spine.
She stepped out of his reach. ¡°Look.¡±
Camera three showed the same scene from the opposite direction. In it, they could see what the couple was seeing: the tallest tree in the cemetery.
There was a flash, then a trembling in the branches and out leapt Priya¡¯s pi¨¨ce de r¨¦sistance, Artemis, goddess of the Hunt. After a whole forest of creepy, fierce-looking creatures, Priya wanted to end the show with something magical.
¡°Is that Marta?¡± Shin stooped closer to the screen.
¡°Not exactly. Months ago, I used a volunteer in a wig for the hologram, then spent a day last week manipulating the face. It¡¯s her portrait.¡±
Projected in holographic light, Artemis glowed like a goddess. The couple in the forest stood still, watching from behind as the huntress drew her bow and shot at something unseen beyond the cemetery fence.
¡°What¡¯s she aiming at?¡± asked Shin.
¡°Exactly! That¡¯s the effect I wanted to create.¡±
¡°She¡¯s so perfect.¡±
¡°Do you want to see her live?¡±
The way Shin¡¯s eyes looked her up and down told her he¡¯d rather get lively in the tent, but an object on the screen caught her attention. A bulky dude passed right through the hologram, dispersing Artemis into haze.
Priya was annoyed. Some lunkhead student had ruined the recording, except his suit and hair weren¡¯t student-like. Was he wearing a costume?
He turned to face the camera.
¡°It¡¯s Professor Rudolph!¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you say he was dead?¡± asked Shin.
She watched the professor lumber after the couple, hands outstretched like a sleepwalker. There were no microphones, but Priya saw the girl¡¯s mouth open wide and her hands go up to protect her face. As the couple sprinted away, Rudolph blundered after them, passing out of camera range.
¡°We should check that out,¡± said Shin.
They jogged along the path by the bobbing light of Priya¡¯s phone, but when they reached the Ash Tree Professor Rudolph was gone.
HERO COSTUME
She crossed the road, walked her bike through the Eastern Gate and rode west. This was it, the moment which would define her career at the university and her life in Loon Lake.
There are those who give their lives in battle. Others sacrifice themselves at sea like the captain who goes down with the ship. Tonight was Tonya¡¯s weigh-in on the scales of Fate, and henceforth she would know her worth. Heck, the whole town would know. And so, for the good of the many, she had come equipped for self-sacrifice on the altar of social suicide.
The yellow Hazmat hood made her stumble by limiting her vision, but it protected her from inhaling infected air. She walked her bike into some bushes and left it hidden, beside the abandoned chapel. With gloved hands, she pulled a penlight out of her plastic pocket.
Inside, the chapel ceiling was too high to illuminate with her little flashlight, but she could see a set of dusty wooden steps which took her up to the choir loft. At the top of the stairs, gauze blurred the mask of her hood. Ugh! She had walked through a cobweb. She wiped her mask and walked toward a patch of moonlight.
Peering through a gap in the broken stained-glass window, she spotted a bonfire just outside the cemetery. To get there, the students would have passed the great Ash Tree. She shivered. They could already be infected.
Tonya left the chapel and took the southward path. She was familiar with every cemetery trail. The Old Families treasured their graveyard and revered the ancestors buried there. They were the first Europeans to settle the area who, legend had it, survived their first winter by using old country magic.
Tonya could hear the shouts of students coming through the Eastern Gate. Through the trees, she heard laughing and screaming as they encountered Priya¡¯s monsters. Tonya hesitated. Every moment they spent in the cemetery put them at risk. Should she break up the bonfire first or turn back the arriving crowds? She decided to detour east.
Students strolled in through the gates and cut south on the path which led around the hill into the old section and the Three-Century Ash. Tonya rushed to intercept them. When she got close enough, she yelled through the plastic window of her Hazmat suit:
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¡°Leave the cemetery immediately!¡±
A couple stopped and stared.
¡°This area is quarantined!¡± Tonya shouted.
¡°Funny!¡± said the guy.
¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡± asked the girl.
¡°I mean it. It¡¯s not safe.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said the guy. ¡°We¡¯ll use precautions.¡±
The girl giggled and punched him in the arm. They brushed past her as if compelled to visit the Ash Tree.
Tonya watched couples, singles, and groups take the path leading to the ash, drawn by some unseen force. To anybody else, they might appear to be wandering randomly but Tonya was convinced the gravedigger plant was manipulating them, drawing in victims for a sinister purpose. Professor Rudolph¡¯s behavior had proven it. Yet how could the beloved tree of her childhood have been corrupted to cause harm? There was dark magic at work here, but who was behind it?
Another handful of students approached Tonya who was blocking the path.
¡°Go back or die!¡±
¡°Very scary,¡± some said. Others mocked her plastic suit but not one listened. For a moment she stood, too frustrated to move. Their refusal to listen brought back high school memories of rejection, like being chosen last in Phys. Ed., except there were no captains to pick or leave her anymore. She had volunteered for this job herself.
Tonya walked to the pinch point in the pathway between the small hill and the cemetery gate. They would have to get past her to reach the Ash Tree and the bonfire beyond. Squaring her shoulders, she pressed the button on the loud hailer with her bulky gloves and shouted:
¡°Attention! Attention!¡±
No sound came out. All she could hear was her voice, muffled by the thick Hazmat hood. She held the handle up to her face and angled it this way and that in the moonlight, trying to see what was wrong, but it was too dark. She pulled a flashlight out of the suit pocket and looked again. The buttons were clearly labeled. She tried again. Nothing. Even the power light didn¡¯t come on.
Fumbling with her gloves, she pressed a release and snapped open the back. No batteries. Donna said the equipment was tested. What now? With the suit and hood on she could never shout loud enough to warn people. If she took it off, she would be infected. There had to be another way.
Tonya replaced the flashlight and took out her phone. She removed the plastic glove, so she could work the touch screen. Video cameras fed online images. She would be able to see whatever was happening by the tree as soon as the page loaded.
The first thing she noticed were the flowers, garlands, and photos attached to one side of the massive trunk in memoriam for Professor Rudolph. Priya had removed the evil-looking mouth and teeth as promised.
A woman carrying a bow came around the side of the tree. She was dressed in white. Tonya had another look. The woman wasn¡¯t visible because of light reflecting off her white toga as Tonya first thought. She glowed from within. It must be Artemis, Priya¡¯s showpiece.
Tonya watched as Artemis knocked an arrow to her bow, stepped around the tree, and fired a shot into the darkness beyond. She blinked out of sight much too soon.
Why did Priya¡¯s creations have to be so breathtaking? It made what Tonya had to do that much harder.
With a few taps on her phone, it was done. Priya would never forgive her.
HOLOGRAM
¡°Not our problem.¡± said Shin.
¡°How can you say that? You saw him chasing people on the monitor.¡±
¡°I saw him stumbling around and one couple running away, but this is Halloween. How do you know he wasn¡¯t just fooling around?¡±
¡°We made a memorial for him. Tonya says he passed away, right here in the cemetery.¡±
¡°Weird.¡±
¡°Tonya wanted to cancel tonight. She said something here was making people sick, but I wouldn¡¯t listen.¡±
¡°And you believe her now?¡±
¡°We saw the Professor stumbling around blindly on the campus lawn. Three of us couldn¡¯t wake him or stop him. We were afraid he would walk into the road and get hit by a car.¡±
¡°Tonya¡¯s mistaken. If he¡¯s here tonight, he must feel better.¡±
Priya¡¯s stomach did a fish flip. ¡°Or he¡¯s dangerous.¡± She took out her phone and tried first Tonya and then Drake, but there was no answer. ¡°What if Tonya¡¯s right and he¡¯s contagious?¡± Priya searched Shin¡¯s face for a sign he believed her.
He frowned. ¡°We should get Marta.¡±
¡°If Tonya¡¯s right, Marta¡¯s binge eating was caused by the same disease. Stay away from her or she could give it to you.¡±
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¡°Let¡¯s find her.¡± Shin grabbed Priya¡¯s hand and started running toward the bonfire. His long legs made him impossible to keep up with. She stumbled until he slowed down a little.
She was panting as they jogged into sight of the bonfire. She scanned the crowd ringing the flames, but couldn¡¯t see Marta¡¯s face.
¡°Do you think she wandered off?¡± she asked.
Shin didn¡¯t answer. He searched the bushes and clearings nearby until they found her, sitting at the base of a tree, with her head tilted against the trunk.
¡°Marta, are you okay?¡± Shin went down on one knee and put his hand on her forehead.
Marta didn¡¯t move. Priya touched her shoulder. No reaction.
¡°Wake up.¡± said Shin.
They each took one hand but when they tried to lift Marta up, she shook them off. Marta started to rise, hands out for balance. She wobbled up to her full height and opened her eyes.
¡°How long have you two been together?¡± Marta¡¯s voice sounded groggy.
¡°Priya¡¯s worried about you.¡±
¡°That¡¯s your excuse for going off into the woods together?¡± Marta steadied herself against the tree.
¡°Want to come back to rez?¡± Shin held out his hands.
¡°Not with you two.¡± Marta closed her eyes and slid down the trunk. ¡°Nap time.¡±
Her gentle speech and the way her legs practically collapsed beneath her surprised Priya. Where was Marta¡¯s attitude?
Shin stepped forward and took Marta by the shoulders, ¡°You can¡¯t sleep here. It¡¯ll freeze overnight.¡± He laid his hands gently along the sides of her face tilting her head up, but Marta wouldn¡¯t open her eyes.
¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll take you back to your room.¡± The tender way he kissed Marta¡¯s forehead took Priya¡¯s breath away.
¡°So much for breaking up,¡± said Priya.
Shin still had feelings for Marta and they were putting him in danger. What if Marta was infecting him right now? Priya wanted to protect Shin, but he was right. It was chilly and would get much colder. If Marta fell asleep out here, she¡¯d get hypothermia.
Marta made a vague mumbling sound and swatted in Shin¡¯s direction before her arms fell limp at her sides.
¡°You see the strange way she¡¯s moving,¡± Priya said, ¡°like Professor Rudolph, sleepwalking.¡± They had to act, before she got out of control like him. ¡°Maybe she is sick.¡±
¡°I got this.¡± He lifted Marta into his arms and strode back toward campus.
WHAT’S WORSE THAN SNAKES?
¡°Hey! Help! Help!¡±
Nobody seemed to hear him, despite a cemetery filled with people. He could see flashlights moving between the tombstones and among the trees. Halloween. Roberto heard the faint shouts of university kids, partying somewhere nearby. Closer, he heard individual shouts and cheers coming from every direction, but nobody responded to his cries.
The moon peeked out from behind the clouds allowing Roberto to make out his surroundings. He was tied to a tree of average size, behind the big Ash Tree he used to run by in the cemetery. Why had somebody left him just inside the cemetery, near the break in the fence? He remembered the white-haired man, the surprise injection, and passing out in the foyer of Loon Lake Hospital. This must be the work of Helen¡¯s enemies. Did they put him here for Helen to find him?
Poor boy. Don¡¯t bother your head trying to figure it out. Just relax.
Roberto tried to locate the source of the voice, but nobody was there.
Roberto, you are outranked, outflanked, and you surrendered before you knew we were at war. When it comes to strategy, you flunked the final exam.
¡°Professor Rudolph?¡±
I am Rudolph, yet so much more. Let go. Join the amalgam of consciousness. I can already taste your memories and thoughts. Peruvian archeology. Your abuela¡¯s magic. Delicious visions of Machu Picchu in sunshine, and the smell of rain on the Inca Trail. It¡¯s a shame I¡¯ll never walk it with my wife . . .
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Roberto felt hundreds of disjointed images and sounds stream into his mind, making his head spin. He strained against his ropes not wanting to hear Rudolph¡¯s silky words in his head or relive the Professor¡¯s memories, but he couldn¡¯t resist forever. The pull of something under the ground crooned at him to surrender.
He felt himself slipping into a murmur of voices gathered somewhere in the earth below. With every minute, they sounded louder, the words and images more fascinating. He felt his body relax as his mind opened to it and all pain faded away. Even if someone were to cut his bonds right now he might be tempted to stay a little longer. Long enough to understand what he was feeling¡ª
¡ªunless the person cutting the ropes was Lynette. The memory of her face and her slender arms returned to him and he wanted to escape again.
Don¡¯t struggle. You¡¯ll only make it worse.
Roberto tried to wriggle free of the fibers. They moved like pythons, cinching him tighter each time he exhaled, winding relentlessly up and around his chest, compressing more and more of his ribcage.
¡°Help! Help!¡±
His cries started out strong but petered out as constriction made it hard to breathe, and fibers began growing into his mouth. He gnawed them off and spat them out, but a new crop forced their way in. The second he stopped fighting he would stop breathing, asphyxiated by the living gag, and coils crushing his ribs.
And then, salvation. A couple came along the path, laughing and talking, unaware of his plight. Roberto was so tightly bound he couldn¡¯t move an arm to wave, or use his fiber-filled mouth to shout.
If he could just make a sound they might look his way. Inhaling through his nose, Roberto tried to yell.
Whistling through roots that clogged his throat, a scream came out, too muffled to hear. Roberto took a second breath and waited for them to get closer. The coils kept tightening around his ribs but if he kept his lungs full, he should have enough breath for one last sound as they passed.
The coils seemed to anticipate his strategy, cinching his chest until he felt a rib waver, then snap under pressure. Through agony, Roberto felt the coils tighten around the break to take up the slack. Everything went cold except the pain. His body shook, and he had to fight to stay conscious. The vines were crushing his chest, rib by rib, and there was no way to stop them. If he died he¡¯d never see Lynette again.
Give up, Roberto, you can¡¯t resist. The pain will end when you let go.
BANG!
Tonya, don¡¯t go. Stay with me.
Professor Rudolph used his calm, history lecture voice, which made everything worse. Tonya backpedaled until she was up against the fence. Outside, she could see happy students standing around the bonfire. She wanted to scream at them to evacuate the area, but it was hopeless with a malfunctioning loud hailer. She would be ignored or laughed at again.
Tonya knew she¡¯d probably regret it but there was no choice. She pulled off her Hazmat hood in order to shout louder. As she did, a cluster of dark slashes in the fabric stood out in the moonlight. With her flashlight, she examined a series of razor cuts, deliberately punched into the back of the hood. So much for an infection barrier. She hadn¡¯t noticed the sabotage when she got dressed, but it explained how she could smell Professor Rudolph¡¯s corpse.
At the hospital, Tonya had told Donna her plan. She had needed help and didn¡¯t know who to trust. It looked like she had made the wrong choice, but how was she to know? Marta¡¯s mother had never treated her badly. In middle school, she reprimanded her daughter when Marta snubbed Tonya for being a Pure. Tonya shook her head. Donna¡¯s treachery proved Donna knew there was something contagious in the cemetery, and she wanted Tonya to catch it.
Mom never would have suspected Donna¡¯s politics. For hundreds of years, Trads and Mods had fought for control of Loon Lake, but Mom willfully ignored such struggles. Trads controlled City Council and they, like Mom, wanted to regulate magic use and hide it from the Mundanes.
As a child, Tonya thought Mom¡¯s anti-magic stance unfair. Arguments usually ran like this:
¡°The other kids at school use magic, why can¡¯t I?¡±
¡°Because you¡¯re a Pure.¡±
¡°You¡¯re a Pure. I can be whatever I like.¡±
¡°As long as you live under this roof, you won¡¯t touch magic.¡±
Tonya obeyed until, as a teen, she learned by watching the other kids. They laughed at her but didn¡¯t chase her away. Maybe they felt sorry for her. And why shouldn¡¯t Tonya learn a little? It wasn¡¯t illegal to use magic discreetly, among Trads.
One day, Mom caught Tonya with her hand on a tree, sensing life energy. She kept Tonya home from school and banished her to her room. At the end of the day, Mom brought dinner.
¡°Why can¡¯t I use magic like Aunt Helen?¡± asked Tonya.
¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡±
¡°You want me to be just like you.¡±
¡°I want you to be happy.¡±
¡°So, let me learn magic.¡±
¡°Magic broke Helen¡¯s heart.¡±
¡°That¡¯s stupid.¡±
¡°It¡¯s true.¡±
¡°Is that why she never married?¡±
¡°Ask her yourself.¡± Mom left abruptly, and refused to talk about it, ever.
#
SIRENS WERE APPROACHING the cemetery. Time to get out of here.
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The police would probably enter through the eastern gate and drive through and out the Western Gate to reach the bonfire. To see the Ash Tree, they would have to walk along footpaths.
Tonya hurried west. She didn¡¯t want to run into police. If she did, she¡¯d be tempted to rush over and warn them of the epidemic. Drawing attention to herself would be a mistake. The cops would be looking for a perpetrator after she¡¯d called in the anonymous bomb threat.
Tonya¡¯s stomach growled. She wanted chocolate, and steak. Maybe together. Although she was prone to nibbling when anxious, Tonya wondered if her cravings proved she was infected.
A widespread shuffling blocked the road ahead of her. Out of the trees and descending the hill, frowning, foot-dragging beings shambled toward her en masse. Tonya paused, unsure whether it was safe to walk through this tide of . . . sleepwalkers? Zombies?
No. Judging by their swearing and muttering, and by a few wearing beer guzzler hats, these students were dragging their feet to delay leaving the woods, and to express their annoyance at the cops for breaking up the party. As the slow mob of pissed-off party-goers continued east toward campus, one pointed to Tonya.
¡°That¡¯s her! The one in yellow. She wanted us out. She must have called the cops!¡±
¡°She was weird in high school,¡± said a girl.
¡°Get her!¡± called a guy wearing a funnel hat.
Tonya thought about standing her ground. She was acting to save them. She shouldn¡¯t be afraid. This wasn¡¯t high school anymore. She stepped forward to explain the danger . . .
A wave of shouting people charged.
Tonya ran off the path and up the hill. Branches caught at her Hazmat suit. She didn¡¯t dare sneak a glance, but she could almost feel their beery breath on the back of her neck. Tonya tossed away her hood and raced up the hill, hoping they wouldn¡¯t follow, but they did. Like a pack of wolves, the leader barked orders at them, describing how to outflank and capture Tonya.
Descending the other side, she continued north and ran through the bushes. The woods weren¡¯t as thick here, but she tripped over headstones and roots in the dark. The sound of her pursuers was softer now, but she didn¡¯t dare turn on her flashlight. She could hear them fanning out, looking to see where she went. As quietly as she could, Tonya slipped behind a large monument to think.
Tonya had to get to the chapel and find her bike.
Dashing from bush to tree to headstone for cover, she peered into the black. Was she still going the right way? She searched the sky ahead for the familiar chapel spire but couldn¡¯t see it, like a black cat in a coal mine.
She angled her head this way and that, peering intently. Something glinted up ahead. Bingo! Moonlight on the chapel windows. She closed the distance quickly and groped the bushes until she found her bike. She swung a leg over and had just pushed off when the students swarmed her.
She rang the bell and ploughed into the crowd, which instinctively stepped back just long enough for her to get free. She circled around the chapel but there were teens clogging the main road between the Eastern and Western Gates. With no other choice, she headed north toward the big hill overlooking the lake.
The group stayed with her, no matter how hard she pedaled, so she cut sharply onto what looked like a deer path. It was a hard slog uphill, but she kept pumping her pedals. Thank goodness for all those summer workouts.
At the summit, she intended to hide out in the base of a hollow tree she remembered from childhood. Nobody would think to find her there. She smiled to herself despite the sweaty Hazmat suit. She had escaped the pack of beery nutcases, or at least she thought so, until she heard footfalls on the path behind her.
They had caught up and she couldn¡¯t go any faster uphill. One guy was so close she heard his heavy breathing and thumping tread. He must be massive to make that much noise on soft ground, but Tonya didn¡¯t risk turning her head to look. On a path this narrow, a moment of inattention could slam her into a tree. The only way was to outdistance him. Tonya pedaled until her thighs burned. She should be out of reach soon. The terrain leveled out and she was going faster.
What was with this guy? He didn¡¯t seem to tire. He was gaining on her. There was a whoosh of air at her back, as if he had tried to grab her and missed. Pain forgotten, she pedaled faster than ever in her life.
¡°I got her!¡± he announced in a powerful bass voice.
Tonya snuck a glance back in time to see him lunge. She feinted to the left, but it would only be seconds before he caught up and pulled her off the bike.
With the puffy Hazmat suit encumbering her legs, she could feel herself losing speed when she needed it most. She would never get away without an incline. The only hope left was to somehow descend toward the water, but the top of the hill was studded with trees. She didn¡¯t dare go off the path, so she circled around in a clearing, looking for a way down.
She spotted a faint track leading southwest. She could roll down it faster than anyone could run. She swerved and headed for the dip which twisted right, then left, before suddenly turning into a drop.
She hurtled down the hill on a tiny track, visible like a pencil line on charcoal. Keeping clear of the trees was hard as speed turned them to a midnight blur. The only sounds were the wind rushing past, riffling the plastic legs of her suit, and her gasping breaths. At this speed, it was hard to keep control. She could brake, a little, and steer even less, but she needed both hands on the handlebars. She would just have to¡ª
Bang!
CAUGHT
What time was it? How long had she lain there?
Her ears were ringing, distorting sounds of police shouting and dogs barking. Through the trees, an officer wielded a powerful flashlight. Every few paces his German Sheppard sniffed at the fallen leaves then led his master in a circle, looking for a bomb that wasn¡¯t there.
Last night in a panic, making a bomb threat to evacuate the woods had seemed like genius. Tonya hadn¡¯t anticipated endangering the lives of these officers who might be breathing infected air as they searched under every leaf. Unless she confessed, they would keep looking.
Admitting she made a false bomb threat would get her charged, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. That is, unless she could think of a good excuse for her actions? Tonya shook her head at her own folly, making herself dizzier. There was only one way out of this mess. She had to invent a rational, believable explanation for crying bomb, one that didn¡¯t involve magical fires or mysterious eating epidemics. Trying to think made her head throb more.
She tried to sit up, but the world wobbled. She touched her forehead and felt a teacup-sized bump.
That¡¯s it! I¡¯m faking amnesia.
The sky disappeared, blocked out by a monstrous head. Black eyes stared into hers and a deep growl sent her neck hairs standing. She wanted to flee until a gleam of light highlighted the beast¡¯s enormous teeth. She froze. Its rotten breath invaded her nose.
¡°I found somebody!¡± said an officer. He recalled his dog, but not before it dribbled slobber onto her face. Tonya groaned. She hated dog slobber.
A second officer approached. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
She nodded, then winced as that movement sent pain through her head.
As the first officer rejoined the search with his dog, Tonya wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Should she protect this cop by telling the truth or deceive him in case Donna¡¯s family had infiltrated the police?
¡°What happened?¡± he asked.
¡°I hit my head on a tree.¡± She cupped the goose egg on her forehead.
¡°You were riding your bike off the path, in the dark?¡± He stood with his hands on his hips.
¡°I was being chased by angry students.¡±
He raised an eyebrow.
¡°They were upset because I called about a bomb and they had to leave.¡± Tonya sat up gingerly.
He stroked his chin and got down on his haunches. He pointed a flashlight into her face. ¡°What bomb?¡±
¡°I saw suspicious wires in the trees and I thought, terrorists for sure, right?¡± Better sound as ditzy as possible if she was going to sell this tale. ¡°Then everybody got mad and came after me.¡±
¡°We haven¡¯t found any bomb.¡±
¡°Thank goodness! That must be why I¡¯m still alive. I was sure everything was about to blow.¡±
¡°Where did you see these wires?¡±
¡°It was dark.¡± She looked around pretending to search for landmarks. ¡°I don¡¯t know but somewhere on the path, near the small hill.¡±
He extended a hand and helped her to her feet. Tonya groaned. Her leg muscles were in agony from running and pedaling, and stiff from lying on the frosty ground. She took a step forward, but her leg refused to extend fully, and she stumbled.
¡°Easy there, lean on me.¡± The police constable took her right arm and pulled it around his broad shoulder, at the same time wrapping his other arm around her waist. ¡°Do you think you can walk? My car¡¯s back at the road.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be okay,¡± She wobbled as the world spun, forcing her to lean into him more than she intended. Beside her he felt warm and solid. At another time, she might daydream about a uniformed hero come to rescue her, but she was too suspicious to enjoy it. For all she knew, he would take her straight to Donna.
They walked until the trees thinned and she could see a car passing on the road beyond the cemetery gates. She wriggled away from him. ¡°I¡¯m okay now,¡± she lied, ¡°just a bit stiff from sleeping on the ground. Can I go back and get my bike?¡±
¡°Your bike?¡± His expression was perplexed.
¡°Campus isn¡¯t far.¡±
¡°Let me give you a ride. You¡¯re covered in scratches and that bump on your head needs treatment.¡±
¡°But my bike . . .¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry but the bike is a write-off. Come with me.¡± He took her arm and steered her westward through the trees.
¡°Oh. Good thing I don¡¯t love cycling.¡± It was the first true thing she¡¯d said to the constable. She was glad he wasn¡¯t looking at her face, in case he could tell. Under interrogation, she¡¯d probably crack and tell this handsome policeman everything. If he was a Mundane, the truth would earn her psychiatric attention. If he was Old Family, who knew where his loyalties lay?
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They went through the Western Gate and walked to his patrol car. In a moment, he would lock her in the back, behind a heavy grill. It might as well be a jail cell. She had to get away before she was trapped.
¡°Wait.¡± She retreated a few steps and unzipped the Hazmat suit. As she stepped out of it, the wind cut through the jacket she was wearing underneath. She turned the Hazmat suit inside out so any fungus spores on it wouldn¡¯t get airborne and infect him.
¡°Let me take that.¡±
¡°It¡¯s dirty,¡± she ran a hand through her hair, knocking out some dry leaves. ¡°I have to return it. Thanks for offering but I¡¯d rather walk back.¡±
He shook his head. ¡°You can sit in front.¡± He took her hand and helped her in like a gentleman. Was that to put her off guard? She had lost. She sat back, and her eyelids drooped.
Tonya sat bolt upright and forced her eyelids open. It seemed right to trust this handsome policeman and let him look after her. Besides, her eyes felt so heavy . . .
Her mind drifted away from Donna and gravedigger fungus, and Rudolph¡¯s creepy voice in her head. It would be so sweet to relax and let herself sleep.
As the car pulled out she was hardly conscious of it moving until he said: ¡°So, describe this equipment again?¡±
Her eyelids snapped open. His stern tone meant she was in trouble. With effort, she ordered her thoughts. ¡°Up in the trees. There were wires and boxes and blinking red lights.¡±
¡°Uh huh. And why were you riding your bike in the cemetery?¡±
¡°It was Halloween. I¡¯m too old for trick-or-treating.¡±
¡°I also want to know how you got a hospital Hazmat suit.¡± He shot her a crooked smile then looked back at the road. ¡°I¡¯m going to take you in and get a formal statement, but not until a doctor declares you fit. You really cracked your head.¡±
¡°The bike took most of it. No doctor necessary.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll take you to the hospital, to get checked for concussion, before we go to the detachment.¡± His tone made clear that this was not negotiable.
What should she do? Tonya didn¡¯t want to make a false statement, and she was afraid to face Donna at the hospital. Once she discovered what Tonya knew, the evil choir lady might schedule a lobotomy!
¡°I hate hospitals. Besides, I¡¯m fine.¡± She moved her head around in a circle, pretending it didn¡¯t make her woozy. ¡°Can¡¯t I give you my statement now?¡±
¡°Sure.¡± He pointed up the road to where an ambulance was parked on the shoulder. ¡°First let¡¯s get you a second opinion.¡± He pulled alongside and rolled down his window to talk to the driver.
¡°This girl hit a tree on her bike. Real feisty. Says her head doesn¡¯t hurt but . . .¡± He shrugged and got out of the car to talk to the driver.
Tonya wanted to flee, but she couldn¡¯t outrun this young cop. Just turning her head made her stomach heave.
When he had finished talking the officer returned, offering her a hand out of the car. ¡°They¡¯re just going to make sure you¡¯re okay.¡±
¡°And if I don¡¯t want to go?¡±
¡°Then come with me.¡± His smile was tight. ¡°You need to report to the station for questioning, as soon as you feel better.¡±
¡°I do have a headache. Maybe they should check me, to be sure.¡±
He nodded and tried to take her hand again. Tonya insisted on climbing into the back of the ambulance without help and stood, pretending she wasn¡¯t desperate to lie down on the gurney.
¡°Lie down, I have to strap you in,¡± said the attendant.
Lying down sounded too tempting. ¡°I¡¯m not sick,¡±
¡°Sorry, but you have to. The less your head moves the better.¡± The ambulance still wasn¡¯t moving. ¡°Now.¡±
¡°Please? I hate being strapped down and I hate hospitals.¡±
¡°Sorry. I need you strapped in. You look kind of green.¡±
Tonya didn¡¯t see a way to refuse that wouldn¡¯t put this nice young ambulance attendant into save the uncooperative victim mode. She was familiar with it from lifeguarding, and feared the restraining moves he might execute to force her compliance.
¡°All right, but don¡¯t strap me in tight. It makes me claustrophobic.¡± That at least was true.
The minute she lay down, Tonya¡¯s eyes closed. She was on the verge of passing out. As the ambulance pulled onto the road, she allowed herself sixty seconds with her eyes closed as the vehicle did a U-turn. Forcing them open, she craned her neck to look the attendant in the eye.
¡°So, do you live around here?¡± The attendant was muscular but not nearly as handsome as the police constable.
¡°I¡¯m from a village North of Loon Lake. Do you know Rural Route . . .¡±
She let him describe the tiny intersection closest to his father¡¯s farm, but she was more worried about the dwindling distance between the ambulance and the hospital. Surreptitiously, she loosened the straps each time he looked away, all the while encouraging the attendant to tell her about the horse he was going to buy someday.
¡°What are you going to call him?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. That depends on what he¡¯s like.¡±
The attendant seemed like a decent guy. She hoped he would get his horse one day, but when the ambulance stopped at a red light, she slipped off the far side of the gurney and shoved it at him.
She leaped from the ambulance and ran. Although she had pushed the gurney hard, Tonya figured the attendant would be fine. She, on the other hand, was so dizzy she could barely see where she was running. The horizon kept circling around her.
Straining to put maximum distance between herself and the ambulance, she tripped over her feet. Slow down. If she fell again she would pass out and they¡¯d carry her away. Her only hope was to duck into a backyard before the driver got turned around.
At least she hadn¡¯t leaped into farmland. Here, the houses were grouped along a handful of loosely interwoven streets. She sprinted across a lawn and found a chain link fence. She got her shoe tips stuck in and climbed over easily. Dashing across the lawn, she emerged between two houses and crossed a small street. She crossed another set of lawns and another street before she saw a shed where she could hide and catch her breath.
The darkness inside the shed tickled her nostrils and watered her eyes. The arterial stab, stab, stab, of pain in her temples dulled to a steady throb as she caught her breath. The shed was safe but also a dead end. This was a residential area to the northeast of the lake, nowhere near campus or friends who might give her a lift. The ambulance driver would spot her the minute she went near the highway, or tried to walk home.
Home. The cut grass scent of the shed triggered memories of Dad pushing the mower on Sunday afternoons. It worried her how he and Mom had suddenly moved, like refugees leaving everything behind. Tonya blamed Old Family magic but to what purpose? What did Donna gain by perforating her Hazmat suit? She hadn¡¯t sent an ambulance to pick up Professor Rudolph¡¯s body from the cemetery, but did she know it was walking around? No decent Mod supported death magic, but Donna¡¯s family was more extreme than most. What might they support?
As the Sun rose on November 1st, Tonya slipped out of the shed and hopped on the first bus she saw. There were only a few bus loops in Loon Lake and this one would take her close to campus. She had made it through Halloween, but it was unclear whether she or the other students were infected with the eating disease. She suspected Aunt Helen knew something, as well as the lady at City Hall who had spoken to Tonya in a trance.
Why spread a supernatural disease? There were simpler ways to kill. And who were the real targets? Tonya hoped she could figure it out before the police realized she¡¯d run off.
RIBS
It hadn¡¯t been a dream.
He looked at his surroundings and saw Lynette, sitting at her study table.
¡°Morning,¡± he said.
¡°Hi, Baby. That was some weird scenario I found you in last night. At first, I thought it was part of Priya¡¯s installation, until you tried to scream.¡±
¡°How did you get me out?¡±
¡°One strand at a time.¡± From the tabletop, she picked up a pair of heavy duty shears. The blades were stained green and black.
He sat up gingerly, trying not to move his ribs but each breath made him gasp.
She ran her fingers through his hair. ¡°We should get that looked at.¡±
¡°No hospitals, no doctors.¡± Roberto remembered the hypodermic-wielding ambulance attendants.
He heard her stomach growl.
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¡°Want to go for breakfast?¡± she asked.
¡°I am hungry, but it can wait.¡± Lynette sat beside him and moved in for a hug but her weight shifting the mattress made him wince.
¡°Sorry. Does it hurt that much?
¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He stood up and dusted himself off.
¡°Come into the bathroom. Let me look at that.¡± Lynette pulled tensor bandages out of the medicine cabinet. ¡°Hold still but don¡¯t hold your breath.¡±
Roberto didn¡¯t cry out while she wound tape around his ribs, but he gritted his teeth.
She finished and frowned at him. ¡°That won¡¯t hold. We should go to the medical center.¡±
¡°No. I can manage.¡± He loved the look of admiration she gave him, as if refusing treatment made him a tough guy. Truth was, even if he¡¯d broken his neck, he was afraid of being sent to the hospital. ¡°Just give me a minute.¡±
Roberto stayed in the bathroom where Lynette had left the first aid kit. He had broken a rib playing soccer once and knew what to do. Looking at himself in the mirror, he carefully wound the tape tighter than Lynette had. He winced and swore, clamping his jaw with pain.
¡°Roberto, are you okay?¡±
That Lynette. What had started out like a fling felt so different now. The concern in her voice went right through him, pain and pleasure mixed. It hurt him to make her worry, but at the same time, her concern gave him a feeling of warmth. He burst into the bedroom anxious to reassure her he was fine.
¡°I must leave this town.¡± He grabbed a shirt off the floor, trying not to let the pain show on his face. ¡°Come with me?¡±
Lynette¡¯s jaw dropped, but then they kissed.
When they unclinched, Lynette said, ¡°Let me drive. There¡¯s an all-day pancake house by the highway. We can plan the trip while we eat.¡±
As they walked out of residence, Roberto sensed he might never feel this free again. There was something moving in the air, and it wasn¡¯t just the cold breeze. Whispering below the surface of things, a voice called him back to the cemetery.
¡°After the pancakes,¡± he said, ¡°I want to take you somewhere.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care where we go. I¡¯m just happy you¡¯re okay.¡±
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
Lynette ate everything on her plate, then put a hand on her aching stomach and looked up at her boyfriend.
Roberto grinned. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you ate all that.¡±
¡°The server is staring at us.¡± Lynette stifled a giggle. ¡°I just ate my calories for a week.¡±
¡°Is that all? How about another round?¡±
She beamed. ¡°Sure.¡± Pancakes were like drugs and she couldn¡¯t get enough.
Outside the restaurant, Lynette headed for the driver¡¯s side of her car, but Roberto insisted on taking the wheel.
¡°But your ribs. Aren¡¯t they too sore?¡±
¡°I want to take you on a drive through the country.¡±
¡°Around here every drive is through the country. What are you up to?¡±
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¡°Nothing. I¡¯m taking my Querida to look at the fall colors. The leaves don¡¯t turn gold and red like this back in Lima.¡±
¡°Oh, all right, you drive, but don¡¯t fall asleep behind the wheel. I see you yawning after all those pancakes.¡±
¡°No te preocupes. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±
Roberto drove them north of town, pointing out cows and horses as if he¡¯d never seen them before. The repetitive scenery on top of a huge breakfast, made Lynette¡¯s eyelids heavy. She would just close them for a moment. Roberto would be okay, unless he fell asleep and went into a ditch. Maybe she should stay awake to watch over him. Maybe . . .
The next time she opened her eyes they had circled back south. They were on Kenny Road, crossing the bridge into Loon Lake Village. At the Herbal Healing Shop, Roberto slowed, and she expected him to turn into the parking lot. Instead, he drove across the field between Kenny Road and the cemetery. The grass was short, but the jarring movement and the food straining her stomach made her bilious. How could he drive over rough ground with cracked ribs? They were halfway to the cemetery fence when she could take no more.
¡°Stop! You¡¯re wrecking my car!¡±
¡°I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±
Lynette looked at Roberto, who stared straight ahead with unfocussed eyes. It was like he was possessed! The doors were locked. Stealthily, she undid her seatbelt and slipped her hand over to release the door.
Roberto was fast. He grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm to push her into her seat.
¡°Ow! Let go of me! Stop the car!¡±
¡°Go back to sleep.¡± He let go her wrist and started patting her shoulder. ¡°Everything will be okay.¡±
¡°Not if you ruin my suspension.¡±
Without slowing, he looked at her with glazed eyes. ¡°Oh, Querida, your car no longer matters.¡±
TOOTHY
Tonya wished she had powerful Mod or Trad friends to help her. She feared a malevolent spell caster had used death magic on a gravedigger plant, and its telepathy was getting into people¡¯s heads and compelling them to gorge themselves. It wasn¡¯t too hard to see what would happen next. Gravediggers grew by absorbing dead bodies, and it was implanting hunger in people¡¯s minds, just as Professor Rudolph¡¯s voice had spoken in hers. The hunger, which she had also felt, would make them eat more and more so that when they died and were buried, it would have plenty of fat to absorb from their corpses. Tonya shivered. How could someone defile the Ash Tree to create such a monstrosity?
For hundreds of years, her ancestors had been burying their dead near the Ash because the recent dead were full of dark magic. Without the tree to purify the bodies of dead magic users, all sorts of evil could rise from the cemetery. It was the price of magic, but Mods didn¡¯t care since it didn¡¯t have to be paid in life. What did it matter to them if leftover power somehow infected the ground like pollution, causing unpredictable effects?
This dangerous power was something Mods and Trads quarreled over. It could be harnessed by death magic if it wasn¡¯t dispelled by the Ash. Somebody had used it to raise Professor Rudolph from the dead and set him walking, casting his voice right into her head. It was everything the Trads feared.
Tonya hadn¡¯t been invited to City Council meetings where Trads and Mods argued over the rules, but her mother and aunt had similar debates.
¡°I¡¯m with Mayor Thornton,¡± Mom had said. ¡°What happens if Mundanes find out your cures work and declare Loon Lake a miracle town like Lourdes?¡±
¡°I could help more people,¡± replied Aunt Helen.
¡°While we get trampled by outsiders, asking you to make the lame walk or cure their cancer.¡±
¡°You¡¯re overreacting.¡±
¡°Am I? What will we do when some Mundane offers your Mod friends so much money that they agree to bring back their dead loved ones?¡±
¡°They would never do that.¡±
What made the uneasy Mod-Trad truce possible was the historical pattern of Mundanes who feared magic and burned or hung anyone who used it. Nobody in Loon Lake could ignore the Salem Witch Trials or the Spanish Inquisition, and nobody was na?ve enough to think similar things couldn¡¯t happen again.
The bus stopped hard, sending a wave of pain through her head. The driver opened the door to pick up commuters and as they filed past her, Tonya caught a whiff of coffee and hash browns. Her stomach raged with hunger but that could be normal. By this time of day, she should have eaten breakfast. Maybe she wasn¡¯t one of the infected, just hungry. What she wouldn¡¯t give for a stack of her Mom¡¯s pancakes right now. She sighed. A lump rose in her throat.
Her phone pinged. It was a text from Aunt Helen:
Only trust family. Leave town. NOW. Love, Aunt Helen
Tonya tried to call back, but her rings went unanswered. She texted Aunt Helen:
Where are you? Where are my parents? I can¡¯t contact them. I need your help. But be careful. Somebody killed my professor then raised him from the dead.
She waited, staring at the screen but there was no answer. Aunt Helen just sent her a message so why didn¡¯t she reply? The bus lumbered on, but it would turn soon, leaving Tonya to walk the rest of the trip to campus. She rang for her stop and made her way to the back door.
No sooner had she stepped out and started walking when she heard limping steps behind her. When she sped up, she heard them keep pace. Tonya walked as fast as she could without running, but her pursuer was gaining. Despite her dizziness, she ran a block before she risked a peek back.
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He was an old guy in a leather coat, almost on top of her! She needed a bike, a car, a rocket, to lose him.
Tonya kept running, searching for a house with an unfenced yard she could cut through. Loon Lake City was surrounded by farms and forest. One minute you were on a residential street near the north end of town, the next you cut north and found yourself toiling through a field of corn stalks.
She ran to the center and then took a sharp turn, gambling that her pursuer would not guess which way she went.
Out of breath, she emerged from the cornfield onto a familiar country road, hoping to flag down a ride. If a car didn¡¯t come soon, the white-haired man would figure out where she went and catch her. She eyed the top of the hill eagerly, willing any kind of vehicle to appear. She stepped into the road, ready to stop whatever came from either direction.
She didn¡¯t have long to wait. An ancient station wagon with fake wooden panels drove over the rise and slowed down. The sun-burned driver opened the passenger side door, releasing a chorus of slide guitars.
¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miss? You can¡¯t stand in the middle of the road.¡± He wore a sweat-stained John Deere hat.
¡°It¡¯s an emergency. Are you going near campus?¡±
¡°Yup. Get in.¡±
His face looked familiar. Tonya and her family attended the Cattlemen¡¯s Ball and similar fundraisers, but she didn¡¯t know many farmers by name. With luck, he wouldn¡¯t recognize her either. Tonya climbed in.
¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind sharing,¡± he said, by which he meant his slobbery hound would sit across her lap and lean its head out the window.
¡°I¡¯m just grateful for the lift.¡± After watching the dog¡¯s long ears and tongue cast around in the wind for a while, she decided she liked this guy and his dog. They were a real pair. There was even a framed picture of the dog glued to the dashboard.
¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± She stroked his back.
¡°Fido.¡±
¡°You¡¯re joking.¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
Tonya was about to ask whether ¡°yeah,¡± meant he was kidding, when the dog pulled his head back into the car and gave Tonya a long, searching look before it opened its mouth, showing her every detail of its teeth and tonsils. She shivered.
Tonya had never been fond of toothy dogs. Too many owners let them roam free and it was always the bitey ones that ran after your bike. As a kid, she had been terrorized more than once by farmers¡¯ German Shepherds, keen to sink their teeth into her pedaling legs. At least, that¡¯s how it felt when she was a kid. It was kind of pathetic.
I know.
It took Tonya a moment to register that the driver¡¯s lips hadn¡¯t moved. He had answered with a voice in her head! Tonya shoved the dog aside, opened the door, and jumped out of the moving car, rolling into the ditch with none of the grace of an action hero. Maybe that was because of all the rocks she hit as she somersaulted along the ground. By the time she crashed to a stop, she was bruised like a banana and when she put her hand to her mouth, it came away bloody.
Struggling to her feet, she stood, teetering, as the car backed up to her. The door was still open, the hound fixing her with a steady stare. It wasn¡¯t a big dog, but when it leaped out of the car she screamed like a little girl and took off across the field as if pursued by wolves.
Tree. Tree. Climb a tree, she thought. Except she was in the middle of a corn field with nothing but stalks to slow her down and trip her.
The wicked thing caught her, growling and sinking its teeth into the cuff of her jeans. Tonya tried to shake free, but it wouldn¡¯t let go. What she wouldn¡¯t do to have some of her aunt¡¯s extra-persuasive talents right now. She was always good with animals.
She turned to face the beast. ¡°Calm down Buddy. You don¡¯t want to hurt me, do you?¡±
The dog growled louder.
¡°That¡¯s it! I refuse to be intimidated by a mutt who, five minutes ago, was sitting on my lap with his floppy ears out the window.¡± She circled her hands mysteriously and looked him in the eyes. ¡°I am your new master,¡± she intoned in her best lion taming voice. ¡°Let go my pant leg.¡±
¡°You gotta be kidding.¡± The white-haired man emerged through the corn stalks. ¡°You are the niece of the dreaded Witch of Loon Lake?¡±
How did he know her? And where had he come from? No one could have predicted she would jump out of the car into this cornfield. She continued to croon and move her hands mysteriously which seemed to calm the dog. At last, it released her leg and sat back on its haunches.
¡°Alright, fun¡¯s over. You¡¯re coming with me,¡± said the man.
¡°You¡¯re welcome to him. What a strange dog.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t try to be funny.¡± He raised an eyebrow and held out his hand. Levitating above it appeared a tiny flaming orb, so bright it hurt to look at. ¡°You must be wondering where your aunt has gone. Get in the car and we¡¯ll take you to her.¡±
¡°Is Aunt Helen okay?¡± She didn¡¯t want to go anywhere with him. Nothing she had seen in her life prepared her for a man who could harness a ball of fire, and the telepathic farmer creeped her out. ¡°Did you kill my professor?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He talked like a man who had a gun on her, but he didn¡¯t. Over distance, she could outrun this limping old man.
¡°Make me.¡±
Suddenly, the fireball levitated ten feet over his head, expanding to the size of a tennis ball. ¡°Shall I burn up the cornfield along with you? How about the farmer¡¯s house with his family inside?¡± The man attempted a smile, which failed to turn up the corners of his mouth. It only sank his wrinkles deeper as his Grinch mouth stretched wide.
To think she¡¯d been afraid of a dog bite a few minutes ago. For the first time in her life, Tonya wondered what her parents would do if she predeceased them.
FOOD FIGHT
After they were ejected from the cemetery, the party had moved into a field just beyond campus where carousing had ensued until the cops dispersed them for trespassing.
¡°Are you up, Zain?¡± There was a lump in his roommate¡¯s bed, but that didn¡¯t guarantee anything. The guy was such a slob that Drake regularly spied lost props and camera equipment poking out of the bedding.
A quick check of the clock explained Zain¡¯s absence. It was 11:00 a.m. and Zain, unlike Drake, was a morning person. It was a good thing he was such a good sound editor, otherwise Drake might not forgive his cheerfulness about attending 8:00 a.m. lectures. By 11:00 on a Sunday, he could be anywhere.
Drake¡¯s phone buzzed with a text from Zain: Apocalypse now! Cafeteria. Bring cameras.
Drake would rather go back to bed, but Zain¡¯s message sounded urgent. He threw on jeans and a t-shirt and went to the elevator, promising himself coffee. Oh, celestial elixir! The magical brew would open his eyes and restore his wits for whatever Zain was talking about.
#
THE SCENE IN THE CAFETERIA was beyond anything Drake had imagined in his wildest movie scenarios. Troupes of students brandished trays at the cafeteria ladies, who defended the food with ladles and long-handled pots. Young men and women were shrieking and stealing bananas, leaping up and down in triumph like it was Planet of the Apes.
A handful of campus police clustered together, but instead of stopping the thieves, they stuck their hands into heating trays and pulled out handfuls of bacon. The eating wasn¡¯t split exactly along student/employee lines. In some instances, cafeteria staff gorged themselves on sausages, while students walked out in open-mouthed disgust.
Drake pulled out his NEX-VG30H. He had to capture this carnage and stream it live, now!
Zain stood on a table, panning with his camera and tripod.
Drake yelled up to him, ¡°It¡¯s the Super Bowl of food fights!¡±
¡°It¡¯s no food fight Duck, it¡¯s destiny. Cue the suspenseful music. Here comes the trailer.¡± He put on a horror narrator voice: ¡°In a world gone topsy-turvy, it¡¯s a showdown between the hungry, and the voracious. Cafeteria!¡±
Drake would have found it funnier if the fighting weren¡¯t so intense. Zain was standing back and recording while staff broke wooden spoons over students¡¯ heads. Shouldn¡¯t somebody break up the fight?
A skirmish between servers in hair nets and students waving plastic trays drew his attention when a muscle-bound guy stepped up waving a baseball bat. This looked bad, and the authorities were too busy stuffing their faces to notice.
¡°Hey!¡± said Drake, ¡°Put the bat down!¡±
The guy¡¯s shoulders were so broad he¡¯d be tall sideways. He stepped up to the cafeteria ladies and swung the bat like a gorilla. The cafeteria ladies stood between him and the bananas.
¡°Outta my way,¡± said Gorilla Guy.
¡°Please. Talk this out. Tell the ladies what you want.¡± Drake held his palms up in the universal sign for please Gorilla Guy, don¡¯t split my skull with that baseball bat.
¡°I want the food, all the food.¡± Gorilla Guy smacked the bat into his hand and stepped up to Drake, squaring his impossibly broad shoulders.
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¡°No, it¡¯s mine!¡± shrieked one cafeteria lady, launching a flying tackle at Gorilla Guy and knocking his legs from under him. A moment later, she was sitting astraddle him with the bat raised over her head, smirking. ¡°Who¡¯s calling the shots now, you snotty rich kid! I¡¯m sick of you, all of you!¡±
A handful of servers converged on Gorilla Guy to hold him down. They chanted ¡°Hit the rich kid! Hit the rich kid!¡±
¡°Whoa, whoa,¡± Drake said to her. ¡°Think what you¡¯re doing. He looks like a killer but he¡¯s somebody¡¯s child. You can¡¯t just bash his brains in.¡±
Drake stepped close and tried to get at the bat, but she took a swipe at him. Her prey tried to sit up and throw her off, but she laid the bat across his throat and pushed down with all her weight until he couldn¡¯t breathe.
¡°Stay still. All the food is mine!¡±
Gorilla Guy stopped struggling. She raised the bat up, ready to deliver the death blow. Her eyes were frosted blue.
The student lay there, eyes wide, hyperventilating.
¡°Do you have children?¡± Drake asked.
She blinked, and the frost cleared from her eyes. She looked around as if noticing the bizarre scene for the first time. Her mouth fell slack. She looked at the student beneath her and startled, then leaped off, coming toward Drake, bat in hand.
¡°You¡¯re up next.¡± She handed him the bat and strode off, tossing her hairnet to the floor. ¡°I quit!¡±
She ran out the emergency exit and Drake watched her flee past the statue of Sir William Mackenzie and out of the courtyard.
Opening the door had set off an alarm. Over the racket, nobody could hear what anyone shouted. With no chance of arguing for peace, Drake looked around for hotspots where he should intervene.
Zain never stopped filming, even as students threw themselves on the edibles from all sides and cafeteria ladies tried to beat them back with wooden spoons. The students outnumbered staff, so why were the servers risking injury to defend the university¡¯s food? The answer came when he saw them gorging themselves as well. That is, the ones who seemed crazed, with frosted eyes like Professor Rudolph.
Drake noticed a clear-eyed server taking advantage of the chaos by scooping cash from the till. Most of the campus police were too busy stuffing their faces to uphold the law but Drake found one lucid officer and pointed the server out.
The first bagel flew over the officer¡¯s head while he was crossing the floor, phone to his ear as he reported the situation. A second bagel hit him full in the face.
The cafeteria erupted into a blitzkrieg of flying dishes and utensils as students fought their way to the hot tables. The serving staff, like medieval defenders under siege, used long-handled spoons to catapult showers of hot oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and fried tomatoes at their enemies. This tactic, intended to repel students, instead attracted them. Platoons of students laid down their arms and started lapping porridge off the floor like puppies.
A pair of girls started to fight over the last bagel on the floor. The brunette yanked the blonde by her arm and spun her to the ground. Drake stepped in and snatched the brunette¡¯s bagel right out of her mouth. He tossed it away to end the fight, but similar skirmishes erupted all around. Kids were kicking, shoving, punching, and biting each other over the dregs of food.
Six police officers rushed in with Tasers, starting a stampede out the emergency exit.
¡°Zain! Zain! Get out before you get trampled!¡±
He could shout all he wanted but there was no way Zain could hear him over the alarm and the crazed mob. The unrelenting noise was making Drake¡¯s head throb, on top of the caffeine withdrawal. He needed coffee!
Between the din and the lack of morning caffeine, Drake¡¯s headache was an icepick to the temple. Knowing he shouldn¡¯t, but too tempted by the scent of java in the air, he made his way gingerly into the fray. What an addict. All he could think of was that first sip.
He advanced toward the hot drinks, but didn¡¯t like the frosty-eyed looks the servers were giving him. Especially that blonde hefting a big ladle. She shook it at him, guessing his desire.
Behind her, in a steamy row, awaited the coffee carafes. He had lost all desire for food. Who wouldn¡¯t, after watching students gulp it off the floor doggy style? What he desperately needed was to grab an extra-large java.
¡°Easy there. I just want a coffee,¡± he told the blonde. He reached into his pocket, making no sudden moves, and pulled out a meal plan card. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it. See?¡±
She didn¡¯t look impressed but lowered her ladle a bit. ¡°The coffee is mine.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s do this nice and slow. Want to take my card?¡± He extended it, a peace offering amidst the melee.
She paused, and they locked eyes, gazes unwavering as laser beams as she pivoted 180 degrees around him with her ladle raised, looking for an opening. Now Drake stood with the coffee carafes behind him, she with her back to the cash register.
¡°I¡¯m just going to take one cup.¡± He took a step backwards. She didn¡¯t move so he turned around and filled a large cup.
The back of his head exploded with pain. He staggered around to face his attacker.
¡°Nice try.¡± Her ladle was slightly dented where it had connected with his head.
¡°What was that for? I was paying for it.¡±
¡°Sure kid, except this card is out of credits.¡± She held it up like a trophy. ¡°Put down the coffee or taste my ladle again!¡±
That did it. Drake picked up fistfuls of sugar cubes and pelted them at her. She held her hands up to fend them off. He snapped a lid on his coffee and ran.
WHAT IS FOREVER?
¡°Come, Querida.¡± Roberto opened the passenger door for Lynette. She looked up at him, her eyes unfocused, her face slack.
¡°I want to stay here. You go.¡±
¡°Just let me kiss you then.¡± He pressed his lips to her forehead. She tried to protest but he undid her seat belt, picked her up, and started carrying her across the field. There was a break in the fence big enough to lift her through.
¡°Where are we going?¡±
¡°Shhh. I¡¯ve got you.¡± He kept walking, being careful not to catch her dangling arms and legs on bushes as he went. He stopped at the foot of the Ash.
¡°We can lie here together.¡±
Reverently, he set her body onto its ancient roots. She looked up at him through lidded eyes.
Well done, said a voice inside Roberto¡¯s head. Now lie down beside her so we may all be united.
Roberto did as he was told, cuddling up to Lynette and nuzzling her neck. Later, they would merge into the cold Entity, but for now why not enjoy her warmth?
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She had been wrong to rescue him yesterday, but he didn¡¯t blame her. Even he had screamed and cried for help at first, but after the breaking of ribs and passing out he had eventually felt no pain. The voices in his head were not grieving or angry. They were a chorus, welcoming him to join something larger.
It reminded him of being a small boy inside the Cathedral of Lima, awestruck by the sheer height of the vaulted roof, the beauty of walls and carvings glowing with gold. To be one with something mighty, to be part of a community on Earth and beyond; such things had once inspired him. Joining the Entity reminded him of that childlike exhilaration, but this new being linked him to minds he had never met. Its commands were absolute. It was intoxicating, but it also trapped Roberto between life and death, for as long as the Entity wished to hold him there.
He ran a thumb over Lynette¡¯s cheek and gave her a smile of encouragement. The Entity¡¯s rootlets were nearly surfacing. He could hear them worming up with a high-pitched burble that echoed in his mind. She would try to fight when they first embraced her, but Roberto would calm her and hold her still. He smoothed her hair, then lay on the leaves, so close to her warmth, he felt almost alive.
Memories of Lynette dancing filled his mind in defiance of the Entity, but in vain. There was no resisting the thoughts and commands flooding into Roberto¡¯s head.
How different were his prospects now, compared to boyhood pleasures and college expectations. His parents had sent him to uncover the town¡¯s mystical secrets and his abuela had made him promise to stay true to his upbringing, no matter what happened.
Such promises belonged to another time. He had become part of the Entity, and now Lynette would join him in its power.
Hair-like roots poked up through the leaves, expanding and fattening as they wormed into the air. Roberto held her tight. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. It¡¯ll be over soon.¡±
And we shall be united forever.