by Matthew Cody
The only question now was how long had Theo Plunkett been watching? How much had he seen?
Chapter Thirteen
Stalled
The super-stink wore off before he got home, but Daniel’s problems were here to stay. The next day he phoned Theo, but no one picked up. He visited the house, but his knocks went unanswered and the windows were all shut with the curtains drawn. The new school year started, and when Clay and Bud bothered to show up at class at all, they stayed far away from Daniel. Now they were the ones who turned and walked the other way when they saw him coming down the hall. That, at least, was a relief.
But while Clay and Bud seemed to be out of the picture for the time being, a new problem had emerged—Louisa’s powers still hadn’t come back. When Eric had lost his flight and strength, they’d returned within a day. But Louisa had been powerless for weeks now. Whether her condition had something to do with the Shade creature that had attacked her, or whether this was something Daniel had done, he couldn’t be sure. But he was sure of one thing—it wouldn’t happen again. He wanted nothing to do with his new abilities, and so he went to great lengths not to find himself in a situation where he might accidentally steal from his friends. That meant he cut out after-school visits to the tree fort, and he kept to himself on the weekends. He didn’t want to so much as play catch with the Supers, just in case his new power suddenly decided it needed someone’s super-strength just to throw a ball.
Of all of them, only Eric knew about Daniel’s new powers, and he had his own problems to deal with. His home life was getting worse. Eric’s mother and her boyfriend, Bob, were fighting again, and Bob took it out on Eric when she wasn’t around. Although Eric couldn’t prove it, he suspected that Bob had sold his bike for beer money. But rather than escape when the arguments started, Eric toughed it out. He was afraid of what Bob might do to his mom if their fighting ever got out of hand, and so he stayed. His mom had her own personal superhero watching over her and didn’t even know it.
It was a reminder that the Shroud wasn’t the only monster in Noble’s Green.
Meanwhile, Daniel’s investigation had stalled. The days dragged on and he just couldn’t focus, he couldn’t see how the clues fit together. In fact, he couldn’t see the clues at all, if there were any. It was hard to chase a villain when you were afraid of becoming a villain yourself. His long days were full of worry, and his restless nights were filled with nightmares. The Shroud dreams got worse, more frequent. Most nights he woke up in a cold sweat, unable to get back to sleep. His parents grew worried at the ever-present bags under his eyes and tried to take him to see a doctor, but a doctor was the last thing Daniel wanted.
One day after school, as Daniel was drifting off with an unread book in his lap, Rohan popped his head into Daniel’s attic room. Daniel had taken to stealing his parents’ leftover coffee from the morning’s carafe, but even with that he must’ve been too tired to hear the front doorbell, if it had rung at all. Rohan had no qualms about letting himself in.
“Reading anything good?” asked Rohan, squinting at the book in Daniel’s hands.
“Not really. It’s Conan Doyle, but I like his Holmes stuff better. This one’s got dinosaurs living on some forgotten land. Not very believable.”
“This from the kid who hangs around with super-tweens,” said Rohan.
“All right, you’ve got a point.”
“You don’t look good,” said Rohan.
“Well, thanks. You look swell yourself.”
“Just saying. You should try to get more sleep. You look … puffy.”
Daniel grunted. Being this exhausted didn’t make it any easier to put up with Rohan’s characteristic lack of tact.
Rohan took the book from Daniel and looked at the cover. A T. rex chasing a bunch of old men.
“Hmm, The Lost World. Ever read Journey to the Center of the Earth? In that one the dinosaurs live in the earth’s core. Talk about unbelievable.”
He handed the book back to Daniel. “It’s got a good ending, though. Maybe you should give this one more of a try.”
Daniel set the book down on his desk next to his souvenir Holmes pipe and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
“So, what’s up?” Daniel asked with a yawn.
“A few of us are going over to the tree fort. Since you’re reading about jungle dinosaurs instead of doing your homework, I thought you might want to come along.”
A trip to the tree fort actually sounded great. Daniel was tired of being indoors. October had arrived and it brought with it a cold snap, but Daniel still longed for some fresh air. He just didn’t trust himself around his friends.
“You know, I think I might go ahead and give this book another try,” he said. “You guys have fun without me.”
“Uh-huh,” said Rohan. “I thought you’d say something like that.”
“What? What do you mean?” But Daniel knew exactly what he meant. He’d seen this conversation coming.
“I mean that lately you always come up with an excuse not to hang out with us,” said Rohan. “You’re perfectly fine at school, but you’re missing in action the rest of the time. Can’t even interest you in a game of basketball.”
“You’re terrible at basketball.”
“Right—I’m the only one you can actually beat, and I can’t even get you to do that. It’s your only chance to play jock.”
Despite Rohan’s playful teasing, Daniel felt himself squirm under his friend’s stare. Because of Rohan’s sensory powers, the boy was often distracted, focused on things only he could see. But when a problem caught his attention, he was relentless. He never gave up and he focused all his considerable powers on solving it. This was a quality that Daniel admired, and it had made the two of them good friends.
It also meant that he was nearly impossible to lie to. Daniel had to be very careful now. Rohan could be listening to Daniel’s heartbeat, trying to detect a nervous pulse that might indicate that Daniel wasn’t telling the truth. Or he might spy the tiny beads of sweat appearing on Daniel’s upper lip. Or then again Rohan might be listening to a family of field mice burrowing a new tunnel beneath the house. With Rohan you never could tell.
“Look,” began Daniel, careful to keep his composure. Nice, easy breaths. “The truth is that I’ve just been a little down. You know, with what happened to Louisa. And the Shroud back in town.”
Good. So far, nothing Daniel had said had been a lie. He was just selectively editing the truth.
“Yeah,” answered Rohan. “Everyone’s freaked out. But we’re helping each other through it. Safety in numbers.”
Rohan walked over to the bookshelf and looked at the rows of hardback books there. Daniel’s mom believed in what she called “substantial books.” Paperbacks were rare in the Corrigan house.
“You know,” said Rohan, absently fingering a faded copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, “Louisa’s taking it kind of personally. She thinks you’re avoiding her in particular. I think you hurt her feelings.”
“What? Why would I …?” Daniel didn’t finish. In truth he did feel guilty about Louisa, and he was avoiding her. But then, he was avoiding them all.
“Daniel, I’m not saying that she’s right, but you know she’s always had a little thing for you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Come off it—it’s obvious. And it’s not like you need to be her boyfriend or anything, but you could make an effort to … I don’t know … be nice. She’s going through a hard time, and I just thought you might be able to help her with it.”
“You mean because I’m the only one of you who knows what it’s like to be powerless?”
Rohan shrugged, but he didn’t try to deny it.
Louisa had been confusing to start with, even before she’d lost her powers. Daniel didn’t really know how he felt about her. At least he didn’t have to worry about Rohan catching him lying—he was so flustered and ashamed that Rohan was probably experiencing sensory overload.
&n
bsp; “Look, Rohan, I’m not avoiding anyone, especially not Louisa.… I’m just …”
“A stupid boy?” said a new voice. Mollie Lee.
She was hovering just outside his window, her arms crossed disapprovingly across her chest. Daniel knew that look. He knew it well.
“What are you doing?” said Daniel. “Someone will see you flying outside my window!”
“Relax, will you?” said Mollie as she drifted inside. “I made sure the coast was clear.”
Rohan shook his head. “You said you’d be coming by to back me up; you didn’t mention you’d be levitating.”
“I don’t see the big deal,” she said.
“You’re too careless,” said Rohan. “You and Eric both. People have eyes, you know.”
“And you’re an old woman,” said Mollie.
“All right, cut it out, both of you,” said Daniel. “And what’s all this about Mollie being your backup? Is this some kind of intervention?”
“He thought you might need some convincing, so I told him I’d come over and reason with you.”
“She promised to beat you up if you didn’t come out with us,” said Rohan.
“I offered,” said Mollie. “I didn’t promise.”
If Daniel let them, Rohan and Mollie would go on and on like this. Their banter was like a Ping-Pong game—that is, until Mollie tired of the back-and-forth and decided to start swinging.
“Fine,” said Daniel. “So you two came here together to force me to get out and have some fun. On threat of pain.”
“Seriously, what’s up with you?” asked Mollie. “Rohan thinks you’re just scared of the Shroud.”
“Mol!” said Rohan.
“Well, you do!”
They thought he was hiding from the Shroud. Louisa thought he was somehow repulsed by her, and these two thought he was hiding from the bogeyman like some scared little baby.
For a moment, just a moment, he considered telling both of them the truth. They were two of his best friends, and they would normally support him through anything. But things were different. The Shroud had returned, and how would they look at him now, knowing that he was practically a Shroud himself? That was the ugly truth of it all: if the Shroud didn’t get them, Daniel would.
He had to find a way to stop it, but he had to do it on his own. He wouldn’t put his friends in any more danger than they were already in.
“I’m just as scared of the Shroud as anybody else,” said Daniel. “But I’m not hiding from him. Honestly, guys. I know that Louisa thinks I’m avoiding her and you both think that I’m a coward …”
“We don’t think that,” said Rohan.
“But I’m not avoiding anyone. I’m just … I don’t feel like going out to the fort today. Seriously. I’ll be up for it this weekend.”
“Are you sure?” asked Mollie. “You sure you’re all right?”
“I’m positive,” said Daniel. “No worries.”
Daniel didn’t look at Rohan, because that last part was a lie, a big fat one. He hoped it went unnoticed.
The three of them said their goodbyes, with Mollie disappearing out the window. It was like she’d forgotten what front doors were for.
Once he was alone, Daniel put his copy of The Lost World back on his bookshelf. And for a moment he let his hand linger near the top, only inches away from the black ring’s hiding place. Just the tips of his fingers brushed the spine of the ring’s hollowed-out book. Just the tips and only for a second, but it was enough for the dream to come crashing back to him. His hand burning away. The Shroud’s voice calling his name.
His friends were worried about him. The Shroud had everyone in a state of panic, and Daniel was hurting and confusing them even more. Eric and the other Supers, Daniel, and Theo—even Clay and Bud—they were all living in fear.
The Shroud was out there and Daniel was going to find him.
But first he owed someone an apology.
Chapter Fourteen
Louisa
Louisa and Rose lived in a little white house that looked less like a real house than like someone’s picture-perfect dream of what a house should be. The yard was so deeply green as to look unnatural—Astroturf green. The house was ringed on all sides by a flower bed of rich, black soil and a bright painter’s palette of flowers. Everything about it was immaculately cared for and lovely, just like the sisters themselves. The only hints of chaos visible were the pair of bikes carelessly leaned against the garage and a lone soccer ball forgotten in the garden—a little reassurance that there were children around to upset the perfectly dull order.
Daniel always grew self-conscious when he came near that house. His day-to-day appearance was anything but lovely. He had a cowlick on the back of his head that had proven comb-proof for as long as he’d had hair. His new pair of sneakers just didn’t feel as good as the ones he was wearing now, the well-ventilated pair with the hole near the left big toe. All the things that made Daniel Daniel also made him stick out like a sore thumb next to that house.
He paused at the front door to check his shoes for mud and tried to smooth down his cowlick by licking his palm and patting it down, but he merely succeeded in making the rest of his hair flat. The cowlick only looked worse. At least he had on a mostly clean shirt.
The girls’ mother answered the door, with Rose popping up behind her wearing a wide, toothy grin. Because she was only in the first grade, Daniel hadn’t seen Louisa’s little sister in weeks, not since he’d started avoiding the tree fort. When she saw him, she squealed and did a little dance. Rose was nothing if not enthusiastic.
“Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!” she shouted as she spun in a little pirouette.
“Hi, Rose,” said Daniel. “Hi, Mrs. Rodriguez. Is Louisa home?”
Louisa’s mother smiled politely at Daniel the way she might smile at a mangy puppy her daughters had brought home. It was cute to look at, maybe deserving of a scratch behind the ears, but she didn’t want it on the carpet.
Daniel self-consciously patted at his cowlick again.
“It’s nice to see you, Daniel,” answered Mrs. Rodriguez. “Louisa’s in her room. I’ll go get her.”
Louisa’s mother left Rose with him at the door. At least someone was glad to see him.
“So, long time, Rose, huh?”
“For-eeeever! Where have you been?”
“Oh, I’ve been busy,” Daniel said. “Just real busy.”
“Oh! Have you been looking for … him?” she asked in a loud, conspiratorial whisper, followed with a wink. The Shroud was serious—she understood the threat—but like everything in life, he was also a bit of a game to Rose.
“I’m working on it, Rose,” said Daniel. “I’m working on it.”
“I know you’ll do it. I told everyone! I said Daniel got rid of him the last time and Daniel will do it again. I told them so.”
Daniel smiled but said nothing. Poor Rose. She was waiting for him to make the bad guy go away. Like waiting for her father to check for monsters under the bed. If only it was that simple.
“Are you just here to see Louisa?” Rose asked.
“Well, I came to see you both.”
“Are you going to make me go and play by myself? Because Louisa always makes me go and play by myself when boys are around.”
Daniel remembered the kiss, that little kiss that Louisa had given him in Herman Plunkett’s study just before the attack. He was suddenly very keen to have Rose with them at all times. His purpose here today had nothing to do with kisses.
“Of course you can stay,” said Daniel, grateful for her presence.
Louisa was also happy to see Daniel, and she greeted him with a smile and an awkward hug. But the tension between them was very real. There was nothing flirtatious about her now—she was all self-consciousness, embarrassment even. Daniel tried to break the tension with a few corny jokes that earned big laughs from Rose, but Louisa was a tougher audience.
The three of them ended up in the girls’ backyard, whe
re Daniel and Louisa twirled around on a pair of swings while Rose showed off by doing cartwheels and handstands.
“So how are you doing?” Daniel asked. “Without … without the powers?”
Louisa shrugged as she chewed on a piece of her hair. That was a new habit.
“I try not to think about it too much,” she said. “But it’s hard with Rose. She’s so sure that I’ll get better.”
“You will get better, Louisa!” shouted Rose as she twirled into a hand plant. “Look at me! Look at me!”
“Maybe she’s right,” said Louisa, clapping for her sister’s acrobatics. “But if I don’t get better … you know, well, I’m okay with it. I really am. I don’t feel like a freak or anything.”
“I understand,” said Daniel.
Louisa looked at Daniel, realizing what she’d just said. “Oh! Daniel, I didn’t mean that you … I mean you’ve always been that way, so it’s totally different.”
“It’s all right, Louisa. I know what you meant.”
“Geez, I’m not making things any better, Daniel.”
“What? Look, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I haven’t been around much outside of school, and I know how you need your friends right now. All of them.”
Louisa continued to chew on her hair, gently kicking back and forth on the swing. Daniel could tell that he’d been right—she’d needed him and he hadn’t been there.
“I came by today to tell you that I am your friend, Louisa.”
“Hey, guys!” called Rose. “Left-handed cartwheels! Left-handed cartwheels are real hard!”
Louisa and Daniel clapped again for Rose, if somewhat less enthusiastically than before.
“Thanks, Daniel,” Louisa said.
“And I came by to tell you that I am going to fix this as best I can. I’ll get the Shroud.”
Louisa stopped swinging. “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.”
“But isn’t that what you want? Look, we stopped him once before, and we can do it again!”
