UnTwisted
Page 26
Still, some things had changed since the ball. They knew all the facts about what had happened now. Once Zinka knew for sure that Raya was both in custody and had already revealed that she was innocent, she’d told Amala everything. She said she had talked to Raya in the Twists about wreaking havoc on Kaloon with blinzer stones, but it was just talk. She also said she’d had no idea her beloved cat was actually Raya. She said whenever Raya wanted her to do something, Zinka would feel the magic take over her body, and though she’d hear Raya’s voice, she assumed it was coming from the lioness, not Teddy. She’d refused to tell anyone what was happening because Raya convinced her no one would believe her, plus Raya said she’d torture and kill her if she did. Once Raya saw that Zinka had friends, she extended her threats to them too.
On the field, Flissa did a flip over a defender’s back—the defender happened to be a large bull—then hurled the winning hoodlehoop into the air. It clanked down perfectly onto the goalpost as the clock ticked down the final second.
“WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!”
The crowd erupted, and Galric, Sara, Krystal, and Skeed joined the mad rush down to the field.
Once she was released, Zinka had also told Amala that the attack against Genpos was only a distraction. Raya forced Zinka to do the curse with her so she’d be implicated, but while everyone was rushing around trying to figure out what happened, Raya made Zinka hide the blinzer stones in the papier-mâché sculpture. Raya had always intended to attack at the ball, so she arranged her own capture just to make sure it went ahead as planned. She simply kept a tiny blinzer stone between her paw pads so she could escape.
That last bit of information hadn’t come from Zinka; Amala found the stone when she was trapping Raya inside the sphere. That meant there were now fifteen blinzer stones total, all of which had been stashed away somewhere by Katya and Rouen, to be studied and, hopefully, destroyed.
When Sara reached Flissa on the field, she pushed through everyone else swarming for her sister’s attention and threw her arms around her twin. “Superhero! You were amazing!!!”
Flissa beamed. “Thanks! Undefeated!”
Standing nearby, Zinka and Loriah also shouted, “Undefeated!” then all three of them did their secret fist-bump, hand-slap, hip-shake.
Zinka caught Sara’s eye. “Hey, thanks for coming.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed it.”
Flissa had been right. Zinka’s first question when she got out was about Sara. Apparently cursing Sara was the worst part of the ordeal for Zinka, and she was so overwhelmed when she heard Sara was okay she cried. Sara didn’t hold anything against her. They weren’t exactly close, but they got along. That was fine, though; Zinka was Flissa’s friend. Flissa wasn’t exactly close with Krystal either; they got along. It’s just how it worked.
Sara watched Flissa and the rest of the hoodle team get in line to high-five the opposing team, and Sara couldn’t stop smiling. She was proud of her sister. She really was a superstar at Maldevon. She was a titan on the hoodle field, and she and Zinka had taken over what used to be the Ambassadors of Kaloonification and made it a planning committee for all kinds of events to bring everyone together outside of classes. They wanted one big event a month. Next month was a Field Day where everyone signed up for silly sports and played for prizes, and Amala had just given them permission to hold another big dance in the last month of school. Sara wanted to be the one to make the ball-posal this time, and she was already scheming ideas.
The hoodle team finished their high fives, then Sara saw Flissa and Zinka turn to Amala. The Shadow didn’t come down to the field, but she watched every game and nodded to them from her spot in the stands. She had made some school policy changes since the ball too. Given all of Zinka’s late-night excursions under Raya’s control, she’d implemented a strict lights-out policy and made sure the Dorm Fairies kept everyone inside after hours. She also made sure there was an all-night patrol on campus, just in case.
Almost everyone else from the stands had peeled off, but Sara, Galric, Krystal, and Skeed stuck around. The others knew Sara wouldn’t want to leave without talking to Flissa again. She waited until Flissa said goodbye to the last person waiting to talk to her, then jogged back her way.
“Seriously, great game,” Sara said. “You were incredible.”
“You think? It felt incredible. I’m really glad you saw it.”
Flissa’s name rang out across the field, and she and Sara both turned to look. The rest of the hoodle team was clumped together, making goofy faces at Flissa and yelling for her to get back to them so they could all go celebrate.
Flissa grinned. “I’m going to dinner with the team,” she told Sara. “You?”
“We’re headed to Skeed’s,” Sara said. “He built some kind of magic version of horseshoes in his backyard. There’s moving obstacles involved, and I’m pretty sure he used the words ‘giant inflatable penguin.’ We’re pretty psyched to check it out.”
“Have fun. We’ll catch up with each other later, though, right?”
“Always.”
They shared a smile, then at the same time rushed in to hug one another tight. They broke away, then each sister darted off in the opposite direction to catch up with her friends.
They didn’t look back.
First and foremost, thank you so much to everyone who read and supported Twinchantment. I’ve been blown away by the positive response to the book, and it’s a privilege to bring you this next chapter in Flissa and Sara’s adventures.
UnTwisted simply doesn’t happen without the help of many amazing people. Kieran Viola, there just aren’t enough words (and you know I like writing a lot of words) to explain how much I value your guidance and insight. I trust you, I love working with you, and holy cow this is our sixth book together and I hope there are many more. Readers, you should know Kieran isn’t just an amazing editor, she’s also an author, and you can find her at www.kieranscott.net.
Huge barrels of thanks also go to Jane Startz, manager extraordinaire. Jane, you are an unstoppable powerhouse, and I’m honored to have you in my corner. I love playing in every sandbox with you, and I’m excited for our continuing adventures.
At Disney Hyperion, many many thanks to Mary Mudd and Vanessa Moody in editorial for your invaluable advice; designer Jamie Alloy; copy chief Guy Cunningham; managing editor Sara Liebling; production manager Jerry Gonzalez; and Jackie De Leo in sales. Also, big thanks to publicist Lyssa Hurvitz, and Danielle DiMartino, Holly Nagel, and Dina Sherman in marketing. Danielle and Holly, I can’t thank you enough for including Twinchantment in the Barnes and Noble Kids’ Book Hangout—it was a triumph, and you are amazing for arranging it. Speaking of the hangout, giant shout-out to everyone at Barnes & Noble Calabasas: Christine, Sara, Michelle, ROCKSTAR Kim, and of course Tiffany J. Mouse for letting me be a part of your fantastic event.
Sticking in the world of publicity, ENORMOUS thanks to Wendy Lefkon for making my Disney dreams come true and setting me up with the best Disneyland tour guide ever, Barbra Dunkley (if you’re getting a tour guide there, request her by name). Thank you also to Kelly Hofmann at YAYOMG (www.yayomg.com) for giving me an Instagram takeover and a reason to take Disneyland by storm (as if I need a reason); and to Karri Lucas, the greatest producer around (www.duckonapondentertainment.com), for producing the day like a BOSS!
Dawn Ius (www.dawnius.com), you are my doctor on call. I love you and thank you, and I would not have my sanity without you.
Nancy Kanter, you have my ultimate admiration and respect. Thank you for supporting Twinchantment. I know it will thrive in your hands.
Maike Plenzke…wow. Readers, Maike did the cover illustrations for both Twinchantment and UnTwisted and her work makes me cry with joy. Check out her stuff on Instagram @maike_illu—you’ll be blown away.
The biggest thanks as always go to my husband, Randy, my daughter, Maddie, and our dog, Jack. The three of you are my everything. And if any of you out there have been f
ollowing my acknowledgments pages in other books, you know about Mom-Mom Sylvia, who is now ONE HUNDRED AND THREE YEARS OLD and still sharp as they come. Mom-Mom, I’m wildly lucky to have you in my life and I love you.
Finally, thank YOU for reading the book. I love hearing from readers, and you can find me at www.eliseallen.com (where you’ll see a picture of Jack the dog), @EliseLAllen1 (Instagram), or @EliseLAllen (Twitter).
Xo,
E
New York Times best-selling author and Emmy-nominated television writer lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and dog…who is clearly a Magical Animal. She is the coauthor of the Gabby Duran and the Unsittables series (now on TV at Disney Channel!) and the YA novel Populazzi. She has also written for several television shows, including The Lion Guard, Rainbow Rangers, and Abby Hatcher. You can find her on Twitter @EliseLAllen, on Instagram @eliselallen1, at her website, www.eliseallen.com, or hanging around Disneyland, where she likes to sit at her computer and write while waiting for her FastPass times.