“Which means the crystal has located the object.” Alistair brought his hands together in excitement. “Watch it closely—it’s swinging toward the spot on the map where you will find the ring.”
When Chelsea started the spell, she held the crystal an inch above where we lived in Pembrooke, New Hampshire. The pendulum now swung East, and Chelsea went along with the motion, allowing the crystal to travel across the Atlantic Ocean.
When the crystal was above England, it settled down.
“Is that it?” Drew asked.
“No,” Alistair replied. “It has determined the country. England. Now we need to get more specific.” He reached for the Atlas and lifted the pages, scanning the table of contents. He must have found what he was looking for, because he flipped through the pages, stopping at a map of England.
The crystal started swinging again, toward the Southern part of the map. It eventually settled above Hampshire County.
The same place where Drew, Chelsea, and I lived in our past lives.
“So the ring is in Hampshire,” Chelsea said. “What do we do now?”
“Simple,” Alistair replied. “You go there and get it.”
CHAPTER 16
“We can’t just pick up and go to Hampshire,” I said the first thought that popped into my mind.
“Why not?” Drew asked.
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “A million reasons! First of all, we have school, and we can’t skip. Also, I don’t have enough money to buy a flight to England without asking my mom for help. And if I did ask her for help, I doubt she would be okay with going on a random trip to England.” I looked down at the map in defeat. “At least not in the next month. There’s no way I can get to the ring in time.”
“You’re not thinking this through,” Drew said patiently.
“Really?” I said, unable to believe how calm he was being. “It doesn’t seem like there’s much to ‘think through.’ But if you have a plan, then please, feel free to share. Because this is looking pretty hopeless.”
“I’ve mentioned before that my grandparents live in England,” Drew started.
“Oh, right.” Chelsea rolled her eyes. “The ones who conveniently decided to visit over Halloween and made it so you had to ditch me on the night of the dance.”
Drew looked at her in annoyance. “I didn’t make that up—they did visit that weekend.” Then he turned back to me. “More specifically, my grandparents live right outside of Southhampton. Which is in Hampshire County.”
“That’s great,” I said. “But I don’t see how that’s going to get us there in time, or convince my mom to let me go at all.”
“If you let me continue, I’ll explain.”
“All right.” I waited, hoping his plan was feasible.
“Christmas is my grandparents’ favorite holiday,” he said. “They love celebrating it with the family, and my mom mentioned that we might visit them over winter break.”
“So you can get there in time,” I said. “What about me? I don’t want to sit back and hope you’re doing everything right. Not that I don’t trust you to do this, but it’s my future on the line. I want to help.”
“And I would love for you to accompany me,” Drew said. “We’re leaving the day after break begins, so we’ll have a week before the full moon to fix this mess. Then we can spend Christmas together, and you’ll be able to see England. You’ll love it there.”
When he put it that way—and when I stopped thinking about Death chasing me for a few seconds—the trip did sound romantic.
“I would love to go,” I told him, charmed that he had invited me. “But I’m not sure how comfortable my mom would be with my going to England with you and your mom. We haven’t even been officially together for a month, and our parents haven’t met yet.”
“Then your mom can come too.” His eyes brightened with excitement. “What better way for our moms to meet than by enjoying Christmas together in England?”
“This is all great,” Chelsea said. “But you’re forgetting something important.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You need me there too, since you can’t get the ring to work without my borrowed magic powers helping.”
“Right.” And with that, my hope that this could work deflated.
“We could invite Chelsea and her dad to come along,” Drew suggested. “Since your parents are dating, it would make sense to include them.”
“I don’t know how things work in New York City,” I said, “But in Pembrooke, it’s not normal to jet off to England without a month’s notice. There’s no way our parents will go for it.”
“I might be able to help with that,” Alistair said, a plan forming behind his eyes.
“How so?” I asked.
“From listening to the three of you, it sounds like the only reason why this plan would fail is because your parents are unwilling to allow you to go to England with Drew.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But it’s a big problem. If our parents don’t let us go, then we’re stuck here, and we can’t get the ring in time. Without the ring, we’ll have no chance to fix everything. If we can’t fix everything, then …” I couldn’t bring myself to say what would happen if fate continued on its current path.
“And if your parents agree to let you go, then you can locate the ring in England,” Alistair continued, as if what I had said was insignificant. “This isn’t a problem. With Chelsea’s help, I can create a potion that will make your parents’ minds more open to allowing you to go on this trip.”
“Like a recipe to get them to go along with the plan?” I asked. “What are we supposed to do with it—dump it in their drinks?”
“Precisely.” Alistair apparently didn’t notice my skepticism. Or else he was trying to ignore it.
“I’m in,” Chelsea said. “Just tell me what to do.”
CHAPTER 17
An hour later, the three of us were driving home from the mall, Chelsea and I each with a vial of clear potion in our hands. I played with the vial, not liking what I was supposed to do with it tonight. I had to put it in my mom’s drink before bringing up the England trip, to make her agreeable to the idea.
It felt like cheating. I didn’t want to take advantage of her emotions like that.
On the other hand, it was easier than telling her about being reincarnated, Chelsea’s curse, and Death coming after me. If I told her that, I had a feeling that instead of a trip to England, she would take me straight to the nearest mental institution.
“I hate that I have to do this,” I said, not taking my eyes off the vial in my hands.
“You know it’s the best way,” Drew said. “It’s either use the potion to get your mom to agree, or go behind her back.”
“I know,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like either option.”
“You’re definitely going to use it, right?” Chelsea asked. “You’re not going to chicken out?”
“I won’t chicken out,” I said, my voice firm. “Besides, I don’t have much of a choice. There’s no way my mom would be okay with this plan otherwise. I have to use it.”
Drew pulled into Chelsea’s driveway to drop her off, and I realized—too late—that it might look suspicious for us to come back from shopping without any bags. We must have gotten so involved with the plan of getting to England that we forgot about how our parents assumed we were at the mall for the Black Friday deals.
“I’ll text you after I talk to my dad to let you know what he said,” Chelsea told me as she got out of the car.
“All right,” I said. “And remember not to let him talk to my mom until I’ve confirmed that we can go, too.”
“Of course,” Chelsea said. “Talk to you soon.” She shut the door and hurried into her house.
“She’s certainly gotten more agreeable,” Drew said once she got inside.
“She’s not that bad most of the time,” I told him. “It’s hard to tell from the way she’s been
acting recently, but there is a reason why we were friends for so long.”
“She cast a curse for you to die,” Drew said. Anger flared in his eyes, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “And it’s going to work if we don’t do something about it.”
“We’re going to fix this,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “She didn’t know what she was doing when she cast that spell. If she knew she was sending Death after me, there’s no way she would have done it.”
“You think so?” He sounded doubtful.
“I know so,” I said. “She’s upset that you dumped her for me, but she’s not evil. She doesn’t want me dead. It’s why she’s helping us now.”
“None of that makes it so I’m not angry about what she did.”
“I’m trying not to think too much about that until we have this sorted out,” I said, refocusing on the vial of clear potion in my hand. “I just hope this works and gets my mom to agree to go to England.”
Drew lifted a hand from the wheel and interlaced his fingers with mine. “It will work,” he said confidently. “And if it doesn’t, you’re coming to England with me no matter what. I’ll buy you the plane ticket myself. We’re going to get that ring, and then we’re going to fix what Chelsea did. Your mom will be angry with you for going behind her back, but at least you’ll be alive. That’s all that matters to me.”
I nodded, knowing he meant it. If this potion didn’t make my mom more agreeable to the trip, I would have to go without her permission. I didn’t want to do that—I’ve never gone against my mom in such an extreme way—but I wouldn’t have a choice. If I didn’t get to England and find that ring, I wouldn’t live to see the next full moon.
Hopefully the potion would do the trick.
“Call me once you get an answer from your mom,” Drew said as he pulled up to my house.
“I will,” I said.
“I love you, Elizabeth,” he said, his eyes locked with mine. “No matter what, we will find a way to get out of this. We just found each other again, and I don’t plan on losing you anytime soon.”
“I love you, too,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. “Always and forever.”
“We will have that,” Drew promised. “Once we manage to fix this.”
CHAPTER 18
Walking inside, I was painfully aware of the vial of potion in my bag and what I had to do with it in the next few minutes. At least Alistair had promised the solution was tasteless, so my mom wouldn’t know I’d added it to her drink.
“Did you have fun at the mall?” my mom asked from her study.
“It was fun,” I said. “Crowded, though. I’m exhausted. I’m going to make some tea—do you want some?”
“Sure,” she replied. “I just have to finish something up, and then I’ll be right over.”
I figured that’s what would happen. My mom thought Black Friday was a pseudo-holiday—a reason to get Americans shopping—so she didn’t consider it an appropriate reason to take off work. I figured she was in her office dealing with paperwork, or whatever she did when I was at school.
I went into the kitchen and took out my favorite mug with the word “cocoa” written all over it in different colors, along with a plain, white mug for my mom. That way I wouldn’t mix up who had which mug. I filled them up with water from the instant hot, and dropped in the teabags.
Now for the hard part.
I took out the vial and stared at the clear liquid. Drugging my mom felt so wrong. Could I go through with this? Just thinking about it made me feel like a terrible person.
Then I reminded myself that as much as I hated it, using the potion was my best option. If my mom didn’t agree to the plan, then I either had to go to England behind her back, or be doomed to die by the next full moon.
The idea that I could die was frightening. Hadn’t I faced enough imminent death by keeping Jeremy from getting us in a deadly car accident last weekend? I never thought that at sixteen I would be worrying about dying. Yet here I was, knowing that because of one selfish act from someone who I once considered my best friend, I might not live to see my seventeenth birthday. The whole situation made me feel helpless and out of control.
I uncapped the vial, and dumped the potion into my mom’s drink.
As much as I told myself that I was doing what I had to, it didn’t make me feel any better.
“What did you get at the mall?” my mom asked as she entered the kitchen.
“I couldn’t find anything,” I said. “It was crowded, and the lines were so long for the dressing rooms and to purchase anything that I didn’t feel like waiting. I’m never going to the mall on Black Friday again.”
“I guess that’s a lesson you have to learn the hard way,” my mom said with a laugh. “It’s why I do my Black Friday shopping online.”
Apparently she was getting some shopping in while claiming to work.
“Yeah,” I agreed. I took a sip of my tea, and then handed my mom her mug.
“This is good,” she said. “What kind of tea did you use?”
“It’s just cinnamon,” I said, feeling guilty about the lie. I hoped the strong flavor of cinnamon would cover up any possible taste of the potion, despite the fact that it was supposed to be tasteless.
“I’m glad you and Chelsea are friends again,” my mom said, taking a seat at the table. “I had a feeling the two of you would work it out.”
I joined her at the table. She’d taken a few sips of tea, so the potion was in her system.
It was now or never.
“When the three of us were at the mall, Drew invited us to spend Christmas with him,” I said nervously. My mom’s mind was supposed to be “relaxing and opening to new possibilities,” but I dreaded she would immediately say no when I brought up the trip.
“Do you mean you, Drew, and Chelsea?” my mom asked suspiciously. I couldn’t blame her for thinking the offer was strange. It would make sense if he invited me, but she knew there was bad history between the three of us.
“It’s a family thing, so he invited our families as well. He figured it would be nice to invite Chelsea and her dad since the two of you are dating.”
“That was thoughtful of him,” my mom said. “Will it be at his house?”
“That’s the thing.” I dreaded the next words that were going to come out of my mouth. “They’re spending Christmas with his grandparents in England.”
My mom nearly choked on her tea. “So you’re saying he invited us to England?”
“Yes.” I tried to remain calm and not worry about her minor freak out. Maybe she needed time to let it soak in. “His grandparents’ house is large enough to host all of us, so we won’t have to stay in a hotel. All we would need are the plane flights.”
She took another sip of tea, and I could tell she was considering it. A spark of hope passed through my chest. She hadn’t said an immediate no, which was what I had feared.
Maybe she would actually go for this plan.
“I do have airline miles set aside that need to be used,” she said.
“So we can go?”
“I’ll check the flights, and if I’m able to use the miles to get free airfare, then we can go. I’ve always wanted to spend Christmas somewhere exotic. It might be a nice change.”
“Wow,” I said, surprised by how easy that was. Not like I should have been surprised—I gave her a big nudge with the potion. “Can you check the flights now?” I wanted to make sure she purchased them before the potion wore off.
“First, why don’t you ask Drew for his flight information so I can try booking the same one?” She didn’t even sound skeptical. If anything, she sounded excited. This was more than I had hoped for.
I took out my cell and texted him.
I’m sitting with my mom right now so I can’t call, but she seems on board with the plan! She wants to know your flight information so we can try to get on the same one.
A minute later, he texted me the information. I relayed it to
my mom.
“Come with me to the study and I’ll check the flights,” she said.
I couldn’t believe she was agreeing so easily. Actually I could believe it, since I gave her the potion, but I didn’t really think it would work.
I also wondered if she would have agreed if I hadn’t used it at all. Maybe she would have. I doubted she would have said yes so fast, but I liked to think she wouldn’t have been completely opposed to the idea.
I felt bad that I had to manipulate her with the potion, but at the same time, I was going to ENGLAND! I’d wanted to go to England for years. My fascination with the country probably had to do with how I’d lived a past life there. And now I was finally getting a chance to visit! It was like something out of a dream.
For a moment, I was so excited about going to England that I forgot the reasons behind the trip. If we didn’t go, find the ring, and stop my death in the past, this might be the last vacation I took in my life.
“It looks like my miles work for these flights,” my mom said as she typed the information into the places necessary to get the round trip flights. “And now we’re officially going to England for Christmas vacation!” she said with a final click of the mouse.
She just got the tickets—we’re going to England! I texted Drew.
“Who are you texting?” she asked.
If there was one question that always annoyed me, it was when my mom asked who I was texting. But I answered anyway, unable to hide my smile when I said Drew’s name. “Just telling him that we’re officially in for the trip,” I explained.
“Any news from Chelsea?” my mom asked. “Tyler doesn’t like flying. I should have asked him before booking the flights … it’s strange I didn’t think of that first.” Her forehead creased, and I could tell she was genuinely confused. Which made me feel guilty, since she definitely would have asked him first if it hadn’t been for the potion in her tea making her do what I asked.
“I’ll ask Chelsea,” I said.
I texted Chelsea to ask about her progress, hoping her response would be positive. If Chelsea couldn’t come, then the plan wouldn’t work. We needed her temporary affinity with magic to accomplish what was necessary.
Timeless (Transcend Time, #2) Page 8
