Argentum (P.A.W.S. Book 2)

by Debbie Manber Kupfer

  Mandy backed out of the room and went to find Josh.

  Josh spent a long time with Jenna, gently explaining to her that it was okay for her to leave the packhouse, that Alistair was gone, and that she was the only one left there.

  Finally, he convinced her to return to P.A.W.S. with them. She seemed astonished that she could even walk out the door. She said that Alistair had told her she couldn’t leave. She didn’t understand when she was told that Alistair was no more, and she kept asking for Ryan.

  Ryan, it turned out, was her brother, but Mandy wondered why Jenna cared so much about him, even today. From everything Jenna had told her, it seemed like Ryan had brought Jenna into the pack as a “present” for Alistair, hardly the actions of a caring brother. Mandy believed that Ryan got what he deserved for that, but she was careful to keep her opinion to herself.

  Jenna had the top bunk and was asleep when Mandy entered the room. She was curled up in a fetal position and moaning slightly in her sleep. She had long ash-brown hair that flowed like rivulets onto her pillow. She turned in her sleep, and as she did, Mandy caught sight of her slightly swelled belly, so incongruous with her tiny frame, and as always, Mandy felt a knot of anger when she saw that bump. Alistair did that, Alistair had violated this child . . .

  Jenna had kept silent at first. She accepted her new home at P.A.W.S., but took no pleasure in it. It was Christmas Day and Hugo Hogsworth, the Institute’s shapeshifter chef, had made a wonderful feast for those staying at P.A.W.S. for the holidays. Jenna at first had not wanted even to leave her room, but Mandy had convinced her that at least she should come and have a little to eat.

  Reluctantly, Jenna followed Mandy downstairs. Jessamyn had enchanted the dining hall for the holiday, so that it looked like a green Irish meadow with tiny purple flowers dotted hither and thither. On one side of the room was a huge Christmas tree, with hundreds of sparkling silver lights that danced around from needle to needle as if a company of tiny fairies were playing tag in its branches. Jenna walked over to the tree and stared in wonder, trying unsuccessfully to follow the progress of the fairy lights.

  Joey came bounding over.

  “Hey, Jenna, why don’t you come sit with me? I’ll show you my new trick.”

  Jenna backed away. Joey’s never-ending energy and enthusiasm made her nervous. Seeing this, Mandy gently took her arm and guided Jenna to a seat next to her at the far end of the table.

  For Christmas, all the tables had been put together to form one long table around which sat all the students and faculty who had not gone home for the holiday. A quiet chatter filled the room. At the far end of the table, Mandy noticed Lilith sitting next to Zamir, an exchange student from Egypt. She wondered how long that relationship would continue before Lilith tired of it and went on to new prey.

  Jessamyn walked into the room and stood at the head of the table. All eyes turned on her and there was utter silence. She held her silver scepter in her hand and said:

  “Welcome my friends, this year we have achieved a great good. We have overturned a supreme evil and rescued those who had previously thought they were lost.” With these words, Jessamyn’s eyes rested briefly with Jenna’s and Jenna flinched and turned away.

  “Lig dúinn a ithe agus cuimhneamh agus a rejoice don todhchaí.

  “Let us enjoy now this beautiful spread produced by the ever-talented Hugo.”

  Hugo smiled and bowed. “For it is, it is a glorious thing to be a Pirate King!” he sang out loudly, and everybody laughed and applauded.

  Hugo sat down and cut himself a huge slice of pie and began shoving it into his mouth.

  “Go ahead,” he said, between mouthfuls, “eat already!”

  Everyone tucked into the vast array of dishes. There were meats, vegetables, salads of all kinds, and Hugo’s specialty—truffles. Only he knew where they came from, and they melted in the mouth as if they were infused with magic, which perhaps they were.

  Mandy noticed that Jenna wasn’t eating.

  “Come on Jenna—try a little. These sweet potatoes are wonderful. They’ve got fresh pecans in them.” And she spooned a little onto Jenna’s plate.

  Jenna reluctantly took a bite, but as she swallowed she jumped up, clutching her stomach, and ran out of the room. Mandy rushed after her and found her in the nearest bathroom, throwing up in the toilet stall.

  “Jenna, what’s wrong? Stay there, I’ll get Mrs. Bumsqueak.”

  “No, no . . . You don’t need to . . . I . . .”

  But Mandy rushed out the door and came back a few minutes later with the healer. They found Jenna sitting on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “No . . . No . . . no!” she cried.

  Mrs. Bumsqueak lifted Jenna’s frail form and carried her up to the infirmary. Mandy trailed behind. What had happened to this girl?

  For two days, Jenna stayed in the infirmary. Mrs. Bumsqueak fed her potions and whatever little food she could keep down. Mandy visited each day, but Jenna wouldn’t talk about what was wrong. On the third day, Mandy decided to bring Miri up to the infirmary. She wondered whether Miri might be able to use her special empathic magic to help Jenna.

  “Jenna,” Mandy said, “I’ve brought someone to meet you. This is Miri.”

  “Hello, Jenna,” she said. Miri looked into Jenna’s sad gray eyes and slowly let down her mental shield. She reached into her mind: sadness, fear, loss. She delved deeper and then suddenly recoiled. She fell back onto the floor and slammed her mental shield down hard. There was evil lurking inside Jenna, an evil she recognized, because she also bore its remnants, the remnants of Alistair.

  Miri slowly got up and regained her composure. She took a chair and sat down next to Jenna. Silently, Mandy sat on her other side and listened.

  “Jenna,” began Miri gently, “we want to help you, but first you need to tell us what happened to you. You are with friends now.”

  Chapter 7

  Jenna lay on the bed and looked at the two girls. They were waiting, but it was hard to find the words. She’d never told anyone her story and it was eating up her insides; she could feel her stomach churning and it felt like she was going to throw up again. Silently she swallowed the bile, the sour taste permeating her body.

  It had started not so long ago, yet it felt like a millennia. It was hard to believe that just a few short months ago she’d been a normal kid, with school and friends and a family who loved her. All gone now . . .

  It was the last day of the school year. Jenna was walking home with her friend Isabelle. In two weeks, Isabelle was off to a sleep-away camp. Jenna had wanted to go too, but her parents didn’t have the money for it, so Jenna would have to be content hanging out around their neighborhood with the other kids who were staying home. Maybe her brother Ryan would spend some time with her, but probably not. In his teen years, Ryan, whom she’d once been close to, was now growing more and more remote. He hung out at shopping malls with a group of adolescents whose idea of fun was messing around in the stores and jeering at the shoppers until they were chased out by the security guards.

  Ryan had one year of high school left, but had no plans for the future. When his parents asked about college or jobs, he laughed at them, and they were so busy with their own lives that they just gave up. He still went to school—mostly—and his grades, while low, were not so low that they drew attention to him, and he was able to comfortably continue his life below the radar.

  Jenna and Isabelle walked home slowly, planning their next two weeks together: the pool, ice cream, maybe the zoo—and just hanging out. They didn’t notice the group of boys loitering behind the bushes until they felt the ice-cold water of the first balloon. Ryan and his cronies pelted them with water balloons until the two girls were completely drenched, then, laughing, they ran off down the street in the opposite direction.

  “Sorry,” apologized Jenna. “Ryan can be a jerk sometimes.”

  “It’s okay,” replied Isabelle, ringing out her braids that were saturated with w
ater. “Actually, I think he’s kind of cute.”

  “Who?”

  “Ryan.”

  “My brother, yuck!”

  Isabelle just smiled, and the girls carried on walking until they reached Jenna’s house.

  Ryan never came back that night, but no one really noticed. They were used to him staying with his friends; they assumed that that’s where he was. No one seemed to notice the second night he was away either, but then on the third day when the phone rang, Jenna answered it. It was Tom, a kid that Ryan had known since kindergarten and who, last year, Jenna had had a crush on.

  Jenna found herself blushing as she talked to him on the phone.

  “Hey, Jenna, is Ryan there?”

  “No, I haven’t seen him. Have you tried his cell phone?”

  “Yep, but it’s switched off. I’m kind of worried. We were supposed to hang out last night, but he never showed up.”

  When Jenna got off the phone, she started thinking. She hadn’t seen her brother since the water balloon incident. Her mom was sleeping, but she’d be getting up soon to go to work. And her dad should be back from his job. There was perhaps ten minutes each day when both her parents were home.

  Jenna picked up the phone and punched in the numbers of Ryan’s cell.

  “The subscriber you are trying to reach is currently unavailable,” said the automated phone message.

  Where was Ryan? It was virtually unheard of for him to turn off his cell.

  She heard the key turn in the lock. Ryan? No, it was her dad coming home from work. He looked tired and withdrawn, but then he always looked that way these days.

  “Dad, hi, have you heard from Ryan?”

  “What? Oh, hi Jenna—how’s your day been?”

  “Oh . . . okay, just hanging out with Isabelle. Still wish I could go to camp with her.”

  “I’m sorry, Jenna, but you know money’s tight at the moment. Maybe next year.”

  Her mom came padding into the room. She wore a faded green t-shirt and denim shorts and still looked bleary-eyed from sleep. She went over to the refrigerator and grabbed a diet Coke. Seemed like her mom lived on diet Coke these days. Jenna guessed she must eat something while she was at work, but she never seemed to have anything but soda at home.

  “Mom, when was the last time you spoke to Ryan?”

  “I don’t know . . . Monday? No, Tuesday night. I think I saw him for a few minutes before I went to work. Why, what’s he done now?”

  “Nothing, I’m not sure . . . Tom called looking for him. He’s not answering his cell.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’ll turn up. I’ve got to get ready or I’ll be late for work.”

  But Ryan didn’t turn up, and Jenna became more and more worried. It took two more days before she was able to convince her parents that he was really missing. During that time, she would obsessively call his cell phone over and over, but it was never in service.

  Finally, they went to the police. The police took down the details, but minimized it. He’ll turn up, they said. And he did, of course . . . but maybe it would have been better if he had stayed away.

  Isabelle had gone off to camp and Jenna was already missing her friend. She walked over to the local elementary school playground. Maybe there’d be some kids from her middle school there that she could hang out with. They could walk to McDonald’s or something. She had a couple dollars in her pocket.

  But no one was there. Everyone was off on their own summer adventures, she supposed. She sat down on one the swings and started aimlessly pumping, going higher and higher. She closed her eyes as the swing dropped, feeling the rush in her stomach. As the swing rose again, she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of a figure at the far end of the playing field. She jumped off the swing and ran down the steps.

  “Ryan!” she screamed, “Ryan, wait!”

  Ryan turned around and looked at her.

  “Jenna?”

  He looked confused and disheveled, not at all like her cocky elder brother, who thought he knew everything. He looked at her in silence, then slowly a smile began to play on his lips.

  “Yes,” he mumbled, “you’ll do . . . I suppose. Jenna, come with me. I want you to meet someone. My new friend.”

  Jenna stared at him. “Where have you been? We were all so worried.”

  “I’m fine,” he said, and gazed nervously up at the sky. It was darkening as ominous clouds gathered. “Come on, my friend has a car. We’ll drive you home. It’s going to storm soon.”

  When Jenna wouldn’t move, Ryan took her arm gently and directed her toward the street where a silver gray Camry was waiting at the curb.

  In the driver’s seat was a woman about thirty years old. Jenna cringed when she saw her. She wore black leather, had purple spiked hair, and a number of piercings in her nose, lip, and eyebrow. How had Ryan met this woman? Jenna felt nervous getting into her car, but the heavens were opening up now and heavy rain was pouring down. Ryan opened the back door for her and then joined the strange woman in the front seat.

  The playground was about a half mile from their house, and Jenna assumed they would just go straight home. At least she’d be able to tell her parents that Ryan was okay. But they didn’t turn onto their street at all, just kept going up to the main road and then out onto the highway.

  Jenna was scared now. The woman drove impossibly fast and she had to hold on tight not to be thrown forward. The car was old and messy and the seatbelts didn’t fasten properly.

  “Hey,” she shouted, “where are we going? I thought you were just taking me home . . .”

  The driver laughed. “Nah, I don’t think we’re going to take you home, sweetheart. You see, we need another puppy around the house, and young Ryan here thought you’d be perfect.”

  “Ryan, what’s going on?” pleaded Jenna. “Tell this woman to take me home, please.”

  “I’m sorry Jenna. I can’t do that,” replied Ryan.

  Jenna addressed the driver. “Who are you?” she asked. “How do you know my brother?”

  “We only met recently,” she replied. “Let’s just say we have a mutual friend. And as to who I am, well, I’m Nora.”

  Chapter 8

  For twenty minutes, Nora drove a crazy route, weaving in and out of traffic as if she was playing Mario Cart. Jenna kept expecting to hear sirens; surely someone would alert the police. She was being kidnapped, after all. But the highway turned to side roads in a rundown subdivision, where there was no one around to pay any attention.

  They stopped outside a boarded-up building. Ryan got out of the car and came around the back and opened the door.

  “Out you go, Jenna.”

  Jenna sat there for a moment, looking at Ryan. Why? Why had he brought her here? Reluctantly, she got out of the car and followed Ryan and Nora up the path overgrown with weeds, and into the house. Inside was the atmosphere of a college frat house—a messy hub for a bunch of guys who coexisted, or at least tried to. Discarded clothes and empty beer bottles were strewn here and there. There was no air-conditioning, just a few ineffective fans dotted around the various rooms. The hot, humid air reeked of beer, cigarettes, and a dank canine smell, as if the house held a pack of invisible hounds.

  The stink made Jenna nauseated. She looked at Ryan. “When can I go home?”

  “Take her upstairs, Ryan. The back room, okay?” said Nora.

  “Come on,” said Ryan, and pulled Jenna up the stairs.

  Jenna was left in the small room. She sat down on the bed and sobbed. Why? Why was she here? What were they going to do with her? She wished she had a cell phone so that she could call her parents, but they had said there wasn’t any money for that just yet, and that she would have to wait until high school. She got up and went over to the door, but discovered it was locked.

  She went back to the bed and laid down. She was tired, as she’d stayed up very late the night before chatting with Isabelle before she went off to camp today. She drifted off to sleep and had a strange dream that
she was running through a forest. She was wearing a long, old-fashioned nightshirt and her feet were bare and she was entirely alone. High up ahead of her was a round, shining moon and she ran towards it, but of course she never got any closer. She saw a figure in front of her and ran faster to meet it, but just as it came into view, she woke with a start.

  Someone was unlocking the door. A boy entered, holding a tray—Ryan? No, it was someone else, a couple of years older than Ryan, by the look of him. He smiled at Jenna, a genuine smile, the first she had seen all day.

  “Hello. Jenna, isn’t it?” Jenna nodded. “I brought you some food. I’m Andrew, by the way.”

  Jenna glanced at the tray; it contained a cheese sandwich, an apple, and a glass of milk. Jenna realized she was extremely hungry. It was many hours since she’d eaten breakfast.

  She took the tray and gratefully began eating the sandwich.

  “Thank you, Andrew,” she said.

  When she was done eating, Andrew lead her to a small bathroom down the corridor and waited outside while she used the toilet and washed her hands and face.

  For two weeks, Jenna was kept in that room. Three times a day, Andrew would come and bring her food. He would talk to her a little while she ate, general chitchat about the weather or gossip he’d picked up from the boys in the house. He seemed kind, though he wouldn’t answer her questions about the place or what was going to happen to her. He also brought her small things to keep her occupied during the hours she was alone. An old, worn copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird, a notepad and a few pencils, newspapers which she gleaned to see if there was any mention of her disappearance, but there was nothing. That seemed strange. Surely the police were looking for her by now.

  Then one night, she heard the sound of the door unlocking and expected it to be Andrew with her supper, but instead, this time, it was Ryan. He had a strange, nervous look on his face, and Jenna wondered if perhaps they were finally going home.

  “Come on,” he said. “Quickly, he wants to see you.”

  Jenna followed Ryan out of the room.