Alex shot her a look so clear Cam didn't need mindreading skills. Put a cork in it, it said. We're finally getting somewhere.
"Did you get her autograph?" Alex continued. "Can I see it?"
From under her pillow, Jenny retrieved a napkin, crumpled now, and offered it to Alex. "'To Jenny. I'm so happy to meet you!'" Alex read aloud. "'I love your freckles. Stay smiling. Love, Marleigh.'"
Chapter 28 — Music & So Much More
Their first stop after Jenny's house was Music & More. It was, Cam realized, one of the last surviving CD stores around—most people just downloaded whatever music they wanted. She wondered how Music & More could even stay in business.
They parked their bikes—Alex had borrowed Dylan's—in the rack outside the store. "Okay, I'll do the talking," Alex announced, heading inside.
Cam scurried after her. "Not okay. You just got here—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. While you're the teen queen of Marbled Brains. But in this case, being an outsider might be helpful. Trust me, Cami."
"Trust you? Why? Because you were so successful getting Jenny to open up all by yourself?" Cam allowed herself a tiny smirk.
"Harsh," Alex mocked. "Just watch me and learn." Before Cam could respond, she hurried up to the register, where the lone clerk was playing with a palm-sized video game.
Propping her elbows on the counter, Alex batted her eyes at the boy. "I was looking for Kevin," she crooned. "But you're way cuter." He looked up, gasped faintly, dropped the game with a clatter, and clutched the pencil protector in the shirt pocket over his heart.
"Kevin doesn't work here anymore," he reported, his voice cracking. "Can I help you?"
"Hope so," Alex purred.
Behind her, Cam made a gagging sound.
"Wow, is that the computer they traced Marleigh's fan mail to?" Running her fingers lovingly along the edge of the PC on the counter, Alex beamed at the boy.
"Uh, no. The FBI took that one." Blushing, he noticed Cam, making faces behind Alex's back. "Oh, you guys are twins—"
"I never saw her before in my life," Cam snapped, turning away to study a rack of CDs. "This ploy is so doomed," she muttered.
Alex shot the clerk a big smile. "Will you excuse me?" she asked sweetly. Her smile frosted as she glared over her shoulder at Cam. "Put a sock in the mock, Barnes. Five minutes. That's all I need."
Five minutes got her only so far. Got the M & M man to tell them that the computer the FBI had seized used to be in the back room that only employees had access to. And that Kevin Bullock, the ex-clerk who wore the skull earring, had gone AWOL just days before the Marleigh tragedy. Which was probably why the cops at the very least suspected him of being involved; at most, thought he might be the kind of stalker-fan who saw an opportunity to seize her.
But they were way off base, the new clerk had assured Alex—because Kevin was borderline illiterate. It was doubtful he'd ever sent an email in his life. And, well, yeah, if he'd really wanted to, he could have maybe gotten someone to help him...
"But, hey," he said as three kids charged into the store, laughing and punching one another, "I'd better get back to work—"
"Just a few more minutes, please," Alex urged.
"Look, I'm really sorry, but I could get canned if the boss walked in now. I'm not even supposed to talk about this stuff—" he started toward the rowdy boys.
"Wait." Cam spun around suddenly. "She—I mean, we—" she said in a silky soft voice, "just need a teeny bit more of your time."
The clerk turned to glance at her. Cam flashed her eyes at him. "Blunder and stumble," she recited. "Um, let the fun begin."
She had him! She could feel it, feel her eyes begin to sting. See the boy's surprised stare—a second before he tripped, and like Lindsay at the soccer finals, keeled forward with a bang.
"What did you just do?!" Alex demanded, helping the stunned clerk to his feet.
"Bought us a bonus round," Cam said.
Which was how they learned that, yeah, there was this kid who was always buying Kevin stuff, and who used to hang out at the store. With Kevin—who, by the way, was definitely not your "Devoted" fan of anything Marleigh Cooper—especially not her bubblegum brand of music. The only thing Kevin was devoted to was bragging.
"What'd he have bragging rights to, exactly?" Alex asked.
"Nothing real. Just this dumb little fantasy, about how as soon as he got enough money, he was gonna get himself a motorcycle, move out of his parents' place, and live on his own..."
The clerk kept going, but Cam had tuned out. She could hear him speaking but couldn't make out the words. Then her vision went blurry again. And her head started to pound. And she saw a narrow, no-lane, dirt road, winding around a curve. It seemed to be in some untended wooded area, overgrown. Just beyond the curve there was something, a building, a sign, but Cam couldn't make it out. Her vision sharpened. For a split second, she saw what looked like... a rusty, old gas station pump... a boarded-up bunker in the woods... and a sign. END— Then the mirage shattered.
End... of what?
"So what'd the rich guy look like?" Alex was asking the dazed clerk. "You know, the one who hung out with Kevin in the back room—"
"Wasn't a guy. It was a girl," the boy answered. "Kinda chunky kid. Looked a lot like the one who's supposed to have brought Marleigh to the game. You know who I mean? That girl who's always crying on TV..."
Cam could barely hide her glee as the girls left the store. "Whoo-hoo! I am good! I totally got him. All I had to do was dazzle him. Just stare him down and think really hard."
Alex frowned. "Want to back it up there? Who got him to open up? In spite of you grunting and gagging every five seconds."
"Whatever." Cam threw her head back, brushing a hank of auburn hair out of her eyes. "So maybe you did the talking—if that's what you want to call it…"
Alex sniffed. "Watch it, Camryn, your snob is showing. A clerk's not cool enough for you? Doesn't hold a candle to pizza-boy, right? And what was that crack when he asked if we were twins? You said you'd never seen me before. That was believable."
"It wasn't that much of a stretch." Cam laughed. "I've never seen you act like that before. Anyway, we better go home now."
"Back to your house? Are you nuts? After everything we just found out?"
"Look, maybe you don't care, but my parents are gonna be worried. We didn't even leave a note; they have no idea where we are."
Impatiently, Alex snapped, "So call them. Where's that famous smart phone when you need it? Don't you get it? We're on to something here. We can't just go home now."
Cam strolled over to the bike rack. "Maybe I used up my mojo in M & M, but right at this moment, I don't know what you're thinking—"
"Come on, use a grain of brain." Alex sighed. "The kid said, yeah, maybe Kevin-the-missing got someone to help him. Okay, he couldn't use the back-room computer. But maybe he let a friend—a friend, who, I don't know, has tons of money and might've shared a bit with him every once in a while? You know, for his motorcycle-fantasy fund. Maybe he let this customer, this moneyed pal of his, use it." She paused. "You know as well as I do, Camryn, it's time we paid a visit to too-strange Tonya."
Chapter 29 — The Council
"May the wisdom and the courage of our forbearers be with us this day. The Coventry Island Unity Council will now come to order."
The short, stout woman with her cocoa complexion and wiry—some would say unruly—mass of steel-gray hair stood dead center on the floor of the amphitheater. Her ample mulberry robe billowed as she spun around, clapping her dimpled hands, demanding the attention of everyone in the circular arena.
Her name was Rhianna; her title, Exalted Elder. Today, she was presiding over a hastily called emergency meeting of the Coventry Island Unity Council.
It was a meeting Ileana had insisted upon.
And Karsh had reluctantly agreed to.
Once he'd admitted to Ileana that the twins were together, Ileana demanded to be informed
of their every move.
"Come see for yourself," Karsh had invited her, but the hot-tempered young witch had waved him off. "Tracking them is your job," she'd insisted. "As is reporting to me."
And so Karsh did.
With unmasked pride, he'd told her how the girls seemed to fit together as seamlessly as their baby necklaces; how Camryn's protector, Dave, had sensed that the one called Alex was as his own daughter and had welcomed her into their home; how Alex was grieving the loss of Sara; and how both girls, in time-honored fashion, were drawn toward helping others and had become involved in trying to solve a mysterious disappearance.
That last bit, Karsh realized too late, was probably what the kids called the EMI or TMI—Too Much Info—for Ileana had arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow and demanded details.
Which was when Karsh had foolishly told her about the gummy princess, or was it the chewing-gum diva—some such phrase—who'd been snatched practically before Camryn's eyes. By herself, the accomplished child had been helpless to prevent it. But now that Alex was with her, the twins were using their combined powers to search out and save the singer.
That's when Ileana exploded. Normally the self-absorbed witch couldn't be bothered with news of the outside world. But she'd recently come from Los Angeles, where the showbiz snatching had been Topic A outside the spell-casting seminar.
"They're involved in the Marleigh Cooper debacle?" Ileana had raged. "Every news crew in the world is covering that case. Could you find a more high-profile event for them to be mixed up in? What's your next brilliant plan, Karsh? To send an engraved invitation to Thantos?"
Ileana's thundering rant had concluded with, "I demand you remove Artemis from Apolla's home at once."
Karsh's protest about how difficult that would be right now fell on deaf ears. Ileana's second order—arbitration. A calling together of the Coventry Island Unity Council, the forum designed to settle community disputes and reduce endless rounds of magical showdowns.
Tonight's counsel, which had begun at the stroke of midnight, just might, the wizened trickster knew, seal Artemis's and Apolla's fate. It was at such a tribunal fourteen years ago that a decision about their birth mother had been made. It had been, Karsh reminded himself, the right decision. He could only hope the Council would make as wise a choice today.
He was apprehensive but grateful for the chance to put his and Ileana's conflict before an impartial, wise, and learned group. It was his best shot. For, as much as it pleased him that the vain young witch was growing more powerful, she was still unpredictable. And could stoop to gravely misusing her magick. Had she not already nearly turned him into a frog?
Karsh wanted to believe that Ileana's heart was in the right place, that she truly felt separating Artemis and Apolla meant keeping them safe. Still, he was just as sure, had actually always known, there was no way to keep them apart. It was their birthright to be together, their destiny. And their best chance of survival. He only hoped he could make his argument strong enough so that the Council would agree with him.
Rhianna was speaking to the assembly. "You will now turn off all cellular phones, laptops, pagers, anything that beeps, burps, bounces, vibrates or involves your thumbs in any way." She stopped to take a breath.
"What's next, put your tray tables and seat-backs in their upright position?" Ileana snorted under her breath. "I hate this 'hocus-pocus-can-we-all-just-focus' stuff."
Ignoring the remark, though she had certainly heard it, Rhianna continued, "All herbs will now be tucked away, all candles snuffed, stones and crystals stuffed, all extrasensory powers suspended—" She stopped, and looked around the auditorium. "In other words, people, cease and desist the practice of all magick. Now."
With that, Rhianna settled herself on the plush, high-backed armchair in the center of the room, and motioned for Karsh and Ileana to take their seats.
As was customary in settling disputes, opposing parties sat facing each other on either side of the Exalted Elder. Council members took up the first several rows of the stadium. Interested onlookers filled the remaining seats. And today, the house was packed.
In front of each council member, a computer on which to cast their votes had been installed. Karsh had his doubts about decision-making by mouse, but the computers were gifts from a billionaire software warlock who lived in Silicon Valley. They were supposed to ensure quick and accurate balloting.
Though conflicts were settled by a majority vote of the council, an Exalted Elder always presided. The position rotated among the community's most esteemed and practiced members. It was the leader's responsibility to interpret the vote of the Council, and, if necessary, impose a course of action. At this phase of the moon, the Exalted Elder could have been one of two, Lord Grivveniss or Lady Rhianna.
Ileana, Karsh knew, had been banking on Grivveniss. And not just because of some unpleasant history between herself and the plump, frumpy Rhianna.
Karsh chuckled, remembering how the toddler Ileana had once described Rhianna as "the potato lady." He'd tried to shush her, but the willful child would not be quieted. "She's brown and round and has dimples just like a spud," Ileana had proclaimed, insisting Karsh agree with her.
Unfortunately, little Ileana had blurted that aloud in front of Rhianna, who'd never forgotten. Or quite forgiven her.
"For the council's consideration," Rhianna now announced, "I give you the topic at hand. Our esteemed tracker, Karsh"—a smile escaped her lips as she nodded in his direction—"and the guardian, Ileana"—now the smile was gone—"wish to bring a conflict of grave and immediate importance before the council. It is regarding the twins. Apolla and Artemis—or Camryn and Alex, as they are now known."
From the back of the theater, an angry voice bellowed, "They should never have left the island! Where are they, Karsh?"
Instantly, Lady Rhianna rose from her seat and glared at the heckler. He was young, for all his bluster. He was, Karsh realized, the boy who'd pursued him in the woods. His name was Sinon.
"I warn you," Rhianna was saying, "I am the only one in this room allowed to use her powers. I can mute you if I have to, or turn you into anything." She threw a sidelong glance at Ileana. "Even a potato," she noted sourly, then continued. "There will be no outbursts or interruptions. These proceedings will continue in an orderly and fair fashion."
As she spoke, Karsh looked around the auditorium. He wasn't surprised to see that every seat was filled.
Word of this emergency session had spread quickly and, through his spies, Thantos kept in close touch with what was happening on Coventry Island. He still had family and sympathizers here. In truth, no one really knew who sided with the powerful warlock. Although most witches, and particularly the ones living on the island, were exceedingly trustworthy, there were always some whose allegiances could be bought and sold.
Sinon, the boy who'd shouted, was apparently one of them.
Pity. Karsh rubbed his forehead. Surely he knew by now that Artemis had left Montana.
But did he really believe that Karsh would reveal her new location, that a mere boy could track or trick him into revealing the whereabouts of Aron's daughters?
It was bad enough that Thantos had found them at the theme park—and it was all Karsh could do to get rid of him there. He'd heard the dark warlock had made an appearance at Artemis's trailer, too. Imagine if he'd found the grieving child!
Luckily, Karsh had acted quickly and she was long gone by then.
Rhianna had finished reminding the Council of its responsibility. To Karsh and Ileana, she said, "I will now give each of you time to state your position and make your arguments. What is the root of the dispute?"
Karsh winced at the creaking noise his knee made as he slowly stood. "Exalted Elder, wise members of the Council, fellow witches and warlocks, let me assure you that both I and Lady Ileana have the best of intentions regarding Artemis and Apolla. We always have. We only differ now in how to best protect them." He cleared his throat. "In light of certain ne
w circumstances, that is."
As Karsh spoke, Ileana sat like a sulking child, arms folded, bee-stung lips firmly pressed together. Which didn't stop her from interrupting Karsh.
"He went behind my back," she accused. "He acted without regard for my wishes."
Karsh sighed loudly. "As I have explained, the situation was dire, and you, my dear, were not around."
"Then you should have waited until I was. I am their guardian."
"As I am yours," Karsh reminded her gently.
"Apolla and Artemis were separated as infants for their own well-being, for their protection," Ileana loudly announced. "They were dispatched to safe homes, homes with protectors—"
T*Witches: The Power of Two Page 16
