by Carol Riggs
“I thought you were with Nathan.” He says it as a statement, but I hear the question behind it.
“Someone gave me a ride back,” I say, examining the skies for David as we drive. “Nathan’s stuck on the road. Or was, last I left him. He should be home around six.”
“Good.” Confusion colors the word.
“What’s your concern, Beagley?”
He grunts. “Well, it’s just that I thought Nathan was pining after our girl Cherie, so I’m a bit confused. These days he’s been hanging with you more than her, and last I heard, he wants me to leave both of you alone. That’s taking the territorial male thing a bit too far.”
“Don’t fret. He likes Cherie and I have a boyfriend named Karim. I’m leaving tomorrow—or at least that’s my plan for now. But David’s lost somewhere around here. Let’s focus. Do you want to be the one to tell his mother or Nathan that we can’t find him?”
He mutters something incomprehensible. “Where’d you see the little pest last?”
“By that field just ahead on the next block. If you can circle around, he might be nearby.” Then again, he might be miles away. Or falling toward various sources of electricity, craggy rocks, or deep water.
“I hate that you’re leaving, by the way,” Beagley says. “I’ll cry on your shoulder later.”
“As long as you can do so without touching me.”
He grunts, louder this time. “Nice. So if you’re hunting David, why do you keep looking up in the sky?”
“He was, um, climbing trees. He went up quite high.”
“I’m not sure that makes sense. All you have to do is check the tree he was in, and tell him to get his skinny little butt down, pronto.”
I point to the left. “He wasn’t climbing when I lost him. But he might’ve climbed another tree after he ran off. Please, turn on this road.”
“As you wish.”
His phrase is so out of place, I almost laugh from the absurdity.
We round the corner. My mental fingers lose their grip on a bigger clump of David’s feathers. I sense his panic as he drops, veers, and flaps harder. He’s close, I can tell. I comb the sky by the grove and spot a flailing white object.
“Stop the car!” I cry.
Beagley stomps on something near his feet. We come to a tooth-jarring halt.
“Do you see him?” he asks, but I’m already half out the door and stumbling on my way to the trees.
I wade through the long grasses. They whip my jeans and slow me down. My injured knee aches, making me limp. I keep my eye on a bobbling white figure. David’s close to the treetops now. He drops from sight as I near the grove. More feather chunks vanish into the foggy air, gone as if they never existed.
“David, come down before you fall!” I yell, dodging trees and aiming for the place I saw him disappear. Beagley runs in the field behind me, his feet thudding and his breath rasping.
Something white plummets ahead. It flickers past tree branches like a drunken owl. David squeals. Stars—I won’t be able to catch him or block his fall. Even if I reach him in time, he’ll go right through me.
“Wish for something soft to fall on!” I shout, not caring that Beagley might hear.
David tumbles lower. An image from him shoots into my mind, a frantic wish. I muster my energy to conjure, but it’s slippery under my outstretched fingers. A huge pillow shimmers on the ground, half-formed. It’s no use. I can’t keep my hold on what’s left of the wings and materialize the pillow at the same time.
I drop the wing spell entirely and concentrate all my power on the pillow. The bird suit vanishes. David lets out a shriek. He falls, fast. The pillow is three-quarters formed by the time he thumps into it. I rush over and see him glaring up at me, his face red and wide-eyed.
“Ow, that hurt. What happened to my bird suit?”
“Beagley’s coming. Wish for the pillow to go away, quick,” I say, glaring back. As soon as the thought enters his mind, I disintegrate the pillow and let him roll onto crackly leaves and needles. “It could’ve been a lot worse. I told you to stay close to the field so you’d arrive home before your mother.”
He slumps like a chastised puppy. As well he should.
Beagley runs up and skids to a stop next to me. “There you are, you little punk. What’re you doing? I bet your mom’s worried sick.”
“I did leave a note,” I hasten to say.
Rubbing his shoulder, David gets up and darts me a sullen look. “She’s mean. She made me hurt my arm. I’m gonna have a big bruise.”
Beagley cuffs him on the other arm. “There. Now you have one to match.”
Bellowing, David takes a swipe at Beagley.
“Chill, little dude,” Beagley tells him. “It’s not Adeelah’s fault you’re hurt. Do what she says next time, and you won’t get hurt.”
I hide a smile as David pouts. Self-focused, disobedient boy. But he is only a child. As we start back toward the car, my heart still races. That was much too close. My weakening powers are becoming increasingly hazardous to my masters. I’m worse than useless.
I’m unsafe. How will I ever get to Karim tomorrow?
Is Nathan all right?
We drive to the Turners’ house. David stomps up the steps and inside. His actions would be irritating if I didn’t sense the lingering hurt, fear, and confusion behind them.
Mrs. Turner comes to the door, and counts greenish paper money from her purse as Beagley and I reach the porch. “Thanks so much for watching him, Adeelah. I appreciate it.”
“No, please don’t pay me,” I say. “I didn’t clean up that dreadful ice cream mess. David hurt his shoulder, and I feel bad we’re late.”
“It’s his fault he’s hurt,” Beagley says. “He wasn’t minding what Adeelah said, Mrs. T.”
“Is that so?” Mrs. Turner hands me the bills, her mouth settling into a firm line. “I’ll speak to him about that. It sounds like it’s time for some reduced privileges.”
I slip the money into my pocket even though I don’t want to take it. I’m not sure what will happen next. If David summons me, I don’t want to vanish here on the porch. I hope he’s smart enough not to mention bird suits and magic pillows to his mother. “Thank you. I’ll be getting back home now.”
“I’ll drive you.” Beagley heads toward his car without waiting for my assent.
Mrs. Turner says goodbye and closes the door. I consider bolting like a snake-spooked mule as I follow Beagley to his car. While I don’t get the impression he’s feeling physically affectionate toward me anymore, I’m not in the mood to talk. “I can walk home. It’s not far.”
“Are you kidding? You look bushed. It’s not a problem to drive you.” He swings the car door open wide.
I’m about to refuse, but pause. David won’t summon me while his mother is lecturing him. Before I retreat Inside, I must find out if Nathan’s in trouble with the law or if he’s on his way to Bandon again. “What I need to do is talk to Nathan. Can you contact him for me? I’ve lost my phone and his Mustang broke down. After he got a replacement car so he could drive to Bandon, it wasn’t running well, either.”
He heaves a sigh and slips his phone from his jacket pocket. “Give it up, you two. Quit telling yourselves you’re just friends, and admit the truth.”
I’m not sure I like what he’s implying. “The truth?”
“Yeah. That you’re crazy about each other.” He taps his phone and hands it to me. “I’m not as blind or dense as you guys seem to be.”
“We’re attracted to other people,” I manage to say before Nathan’s voice magically slips into my ear.
“Hey, Beagley,” he says.
It’s Nathan. I blink away a silly rise of emotion. “No, it’s me, Adeelah. I’m using his phone.”
“Are you okay?” His words are tight.
I’m more than aware that Beagley is listening. He might be able to hear Nathan, too. “On the whole, yes. David went to the YMCA and retrieved your backpack.”
&
nbsp; Nathan lets out a string of peppery swear words. “Well, at least you’re not with the psycho. I was going nuts, not knowing where you were for sure.”
“Will you arrive here at six o’clock?”
“No. I’m on the bus, getting close to Eugene. But since it’s Sunday, there’s a reduced schedule and only one bus goes from there to the coast today. I missed that. I’ll be stuck in Eugene until tomorrow morning.”
A thousand curses. Even though I must’ve completed the registration paper he needed for the cop, he’s stranded. “We can’t wait until tomorrow. It’ll be past nine o’clock and too late. They’ll think we’ve changed our minds.”
“I don’t know what else to do, unless I dig up a rental a car or Mom comes to get me.”
Beside me, Beagley cocks his head, concern emanating in strong waves. “Hey, that’s only a couple of hours away. I can drive you up to fetch him…for whatever it is you guys need to do in the morning.”
Additional curses. He heard what Nathan said. I hope he hasn’t learned anything to make him suspicious. But with his assistance, we might have a solution.
“Beagley’s offered to help,” I tell Nathan. “If he can get your backpack from David, we can drive it up to you. We could also use Eugene as a location for the exchange.”
“Brilliant.” His tone is relieved. “Then we can call Karim and tell him.”
I assume he means he’ll make a wish to locate Karim’s phone number. That might work if I rest up and gather strength for that one small conjuring. We’ll tell Faruq and Karim to travel to Eugene and pick up my bottle. Perhaps everything’s not lost, after all.
“But you should stay in Bandon, Adeelah,” Nathan says. “Beagley can come by himself.”
Beagley makes a disgusted face. “What? Gimme that phone.”
I clutch the device and back away. An emotion akin to pain shoots through me. No. I don’t want to wait like a lump of cold porridge inside my bottle. What if Nathan doesn’t get a chance to be alone and summon me before he leaves my bottle for Faruq? We won’t get to make the wish to find Karim’s number. If we can’t contact Karim, Nathan and his family will remain in danger.
“That won’t work,” I say into the phone, which causes Beagley to stick his thumb into the air. “I need to travel to where you are with Beagley. It’s not that tiring for me.”
“This isn’t open to negotiation.”
“You can’t prevent me from helping.” I’m about to protest further with added heat, when Beagley shoots his hand out to grab his phone. I have just enough time to tilt it so that only a few of his fingers graze through mine. Breathing through the residual nausea and discomfort, I watch Beagley’s manner grow forceful.
“What’s going on, Turner, and who’s this psycho guy? Is Adeelah in some kind of trouble?”
The other end is silent for a tense moment. “Sort of,” Nathan says at last, his distant-sounding voice gruff. “Her boyfriend’s father is the psycho. She’s trying to get together with Karim, and at the same time trying to avoid his father. There’s uh, something that belongs to the psycho in my backpack, but we’re gonna leave it here in Eugene so Adeelah doesn’t have to see him. Then she needs to call Karim by nine o’clock tomorrow to tell him the location.”
I twine my fingers together. All that is mostly true, except I will have to see Faruq eventually. Which will be like being abandoned in a blistering desert with no camel and an empty water flask.
“So why can’t Adeelah come with me?” Beagley asks. “She’s a big girl, and she should be able to do whatever she wants. Besides, she’s about to leave Bandon and I haven’t had one decent conversation with her yet.”
“She’s exhausted,” Nathan says. “Her knee is bruised and cut, for another thing. She’s been through a lot this weekend. You gotta let her rest.”
Oh, dear. No matter what they decide, the next time I see Nathan—if I see him at all—it will be for one final wish, to help me contact Karim. That woeful fact won’t change.
Beagley regards me with a fond gaze that looks a lot like farewell.
“Fine,” he says into the phone. “I’ll leave Adeelah here.”
Chapter 20
I insist on accompanying Beagley to the Turner house to fetch the backpack. I want to be sure everything is set before I retreat into my bottle. We step onto the porch, and I knock.
Nathan’s mother opens the door and tilts her head to one side. “Forget something?”
“Just talked to Nathan,” Beagley says. “He’s stuck in Eugene and wanting his backpack. Adeelah says it’s under David’s bed. The little snot took it from the YMCA without asking him.”
She motions us inside and shoots a stern glance at David, who sits on the sofa with his fawn eyes in full angelic mode. “David, what do you have to say about that?”
“I was getting it for Nathan,” he says. “In case he needed it. I’ll give it to him when he gets back.”
Beagley snorts. “He wants it sooner. We’ll go upstairs and grab it real quick, Mrs. T., if you don’t mind.”
“Go right ahead.”
David leaps to his feet and shoots me a panicked look. “No, you can’t have it yet! Wait right here. I’ll go get it.”
“You’re not going anywhere, young man,” his mother says. “Sit down. I’m not done talking to you.”
David bursts into noisy tears. I trail Beagley up the stairs while Mrs. Turner launches into a firm explanation to her son about respecting other people’s belongings.
In David’s room, Beagley scoops the backpack from under the bed. “Man, lots of toys and crap under there. So this is it?”
I give a short nod as alarm spikes through me. Technically, Beagley’s in possession of my bottle at the moment. Except he doesn’t realize what he holds and doesn’t know how to summon me. At least not yet. I sense my bottle’s close familiarity and realize I’m more exhausted than I thought. I long to go Inside and sink into a lengthy sleep. After I rest, my mind will be clearer so I can plan my next steps.
We return downstairs and echo our earlier goodbyes, with Beagley promising to fetch Nathan as speedily as he can. David erupts into a fresh wave of crying as we exit.
At his car, Beagley tosses the backpack onto the rear seat. “Time to take you home before I head off to Eugene.”
This is awkward, considering my home is nonexistent. I’ll have to invent one since I’m sure he won’t agree to me walking. I remember Nathan saying something about a Brandt Street having apartment dwellings, so I’ll target those. I mention that location to Beagley, and we drive until I see a group of two-level homes in a horseshoe shape. It looks like a safe place, so I point to it.
“These new apartments?” he asks. “Nice.”
I slip from the car before he can hug or touch me, and duck my head back in. “Thank you so much for helping. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. You’re a good friend to Nathan.”
He ruffles a hand through his hair. “For a while there, I was hoping to be good friends with you, too. More than good friends.”
“It wasn’t meant to be,” I say, keeping my voice as neutral as I can. “There’ll be another girl for you in the future. I’m sure of it.”
“Yeah. You were a lost cause, but I’ll survive. I bet if it weren’t for that boyfriend of yours, Nathan would’ve ended up with you. Now I suppose he’ll get together with Cherie.”
I frown. Something about the way he said the last statement grates the air. “You don’t like him wooing Cherie, do you?”
He meets my gaze straight on. “Except for one trip to the movies, he’s been pretty much ignoring her since you showed up. She was super bugged to see him doing that moony-eyed thing with you in the shop. Now she’s not so sure she’s into him as much as she thought she was.”
Oh, no. I’ve ruined everything. “But he has liked her as more than friends for months and wanted to see if something could develop. I was merely a passing distraction.”
“Seriously? If he’s distr
acted that easily, that doesn’t say much for him supposedly liking Cherie.” Beagley’s jaw is firm, and his eyes flash.
That’s true. Maybe they were destined to be friends. His attraction to her simply wasn’t strong enough for anything more. On the mountaintop, he did act resigned about accepting that. But I didn’t think Beagley would be so outraged for Cherie’s sake. I find the corners of my mouth curving upward despite my fatigue. “You care for her, don’t you? As more than friends. I bet you didn’t realize that until you saw her upset about Nathan and me in the shop.”
Beagley gives a dry laugh. “Is it that obvious? I thought I was hiding it pretty well.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her lately.”
“Yep, and it’s been awesome.” A broad smile spreads across his face. After another moment, it fades. “She told me last year when I broke up with this chick named Tessa that I’m flaky. She said I chase after girls like they’re shiny ornaments on a Christmas tree. That was flippin’ annoying. But now I’m wondering if it’s true. Being around her these last few days feels more real and interesting than being with any girl I’ve hung out with before. It’s weird.”
This is a surprising development. I wonder which of her two best friends Cherie prefers. She seems to care about them both. What I need to do is hand myself over to Faruq and stop interfering in their lives, especially if she favors Nathan over Beagley. “Perhaps you should tell Nathan you like her, and he’ll be gallant enough to step aside.”
“I’d rather let Cherie decide who she wants. I’m not pushing her or getting in Nathan’s way. That way I know it’s real if something happens.”
“Good luck, then.” I step back. “It was wonderful to meet you.”
“Ditto. Bye, Adeelah. I’ll miss ya—as a friend, that is.” He winks. “Keep in touch.”
It’s hard to believe, but I’ll miss him too, along with Cherie. She may be possessive and protective of her friends, but she was helpful to me today.
