by KD Blakely
We were definitely back in Santa Ramona.
I remembered being hot and tired and lost in Chimera. Of being scared that we’d never find the road again. Of hearing howls and trees splintering around us.
I’d never really understood why Dorothy wanted to leave Oz so much. Tonight I thought of the famous last line from that movie and finally got it.
There’s no place like home.
Chapter 20
So, Is No News Really Good News?
That night I lay awake, unable to sleep.
The broken blisters on my heels and the soles of my feet throbbed. My nose and shoulders blazed from sunburn. The scratches on my legs stung and my muscles ached.
My parents yelled a lot when I got home, an hour past my curfew. Even worse than their anger, I could tell they’d been really worried. I’d never been more than a couple minutes late before.
Mom grounded me for the rest of the weekend. “Give me your phone. You are not allowed to use it or your computer this weekend. Don’t try to contact your friends. You can wait for school to talk to them. And if you ever put me through something like that again, you’ll be grounded until next year!”
I was glad we hadn’t planned to meet Ronny until after school on Monday. Hopefully, the others weren’t grounded.
The weekend took for-ev-er. I couldn’t wait for school on Monday so I could finally see my friends. I did not want my phone taken away ever again.
You know things are bad when you actually like doing your History homework, just to have something to do.
When I got to school, I cornered the others. “Is everyone going to Ronny’s after school?”
Olivia grinned. “Since we’re helping your sister-in-law, and we promised before we got in so much trouble, Mom said I could go for one hour before I have to go home.” Her grin slid into a pout. “Then I’m grounded for the rest of the week.”
Faith said, “Bad news — I’m grounded for the next three Saturdays, and more bad news — I’ll be ungrounded by the time Chimera opens again.” Olivia and I both laughed at the sour expression on her face.
There was no way to miss the buzz in the halls between classes. Who knew you could miss so much being out of touch for one measly weekend. Everyone was talking about Ray and the others. How they’d shown up on Main Street at midnight. How they were all scratched and sunburned. How their clothes were torn.
How the Police Chief had been preparing to search for them when they showed up, claiming to have been lost in the hills south of town.
I couldn’t believe it. They didn’t get back home until five hours after we did? Were they lost that whole time?
During lunch Olivia said, “Dad said the Fire Department was on alert — they were going to help search. Dad’s totally glad I’m not friends with Polly — he thinks she’s on drugs.”
“Drugs?” Faith’s eyes looked ready to pop out of her head. “Why would he think that?”
“Polly tried to tell everyone she was late because she got lost in another world after going through a tree.” While the rest of us looked horrified, Olivia started laughing. “Dad said Ray and Andrew got really mad! They kept telling her to shut up, and to stop making up stupid stories. Who’s ever going to believe a word she says now!”
“The rumor I heard makes total sense now,” Faith said, grinning. “Polly’s grounded — not like the rest of us, ’cause she was late — but for embarrassing her mom by telling stupid stories to the cops.”
I really enjoyed my lunch after that.
When school let out that afternoon, I limped to the house where Ronny and Chris lived. I knew the others thought I was slow because my feet still hurt. But that wasn’t it. Or, at least not all of it. I was nervous.
What’s Ronny going to do when I say we had to turn back?
And did we really need to meet at that house? What would my friends think of it? The thought made me cringe. It was like some weird new age place, not a regular house.
I remembered the first time I saw it. There’d been sun catchers in the windows, crystals scattered on end tables, and incense burning in every room. Now I knew Ronny was some sort of witch, maybe it made sense, but it still looked weird.
I watched the other’s faces as we entered the house and felt something inside relax. Everyone was gazing around, looking interested, not all freakified. Olivia actually let out her breath in a pleased ‘ahhhh’ sound.
Who knew?
I looked around, trying to see what Olivia was seeing. The sun catchers filled the living room with sparkles of light. The pictures of fairies and elves adorning the walls shimmered and glowed where the sparkles touched them. It actually looked…magical.
Ronny came in and placed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table, then took a seat on the recliner.
After grabbing a cookie, the others took seats on the long green couch. It took up one whole wall, covered with dozens of colorful pillows and blankets. Doug kept crossing and uncrossing his legs, perched carefully on the edge. Faith moved a few of the pillows out of her way and sat back, her hands held primly in her lap. Olivia was the only one who seemed relaxed. She leaned back against the pillows, her legs tucked up next to her.
I sat cross-legged on the area rug near Ronny’s chair. She leaned forward and patted me on the head. I couldn’t imagine why I was getting the puppy dog treatment until she said, “I heard you got home late and were grounded. You need to be more careful. Chris and I do not want you to get into trouble on my account.”
I was proud of how calm I sounded. “We’ll be more careful in the future.” I thought about how much I’d hated being grounded. “Seriously, we’ll be much more careful!”
That had come out a bit too fervent. I cleared my throat and started again. “I’m really sorry we didn’t make it to the cave like we promised. The Rejects followed us. We took a side road to get away from them.”
I was embarrassed to feel my hands start to shake and clasped them tightly in my lap. “So we, um, cut across this field? To get away? We were just going to cut back over to the main road. But we got lost. For a long, long time. I…I wasn’t sure we were going to get back. We—”
The expression on Ronny’s face made me stop. “You went off the road? Oh Great Creator! I did not warn you. I never thought you would leave the road.” She leaned forward and placed her hand on my shoulder. It felt like her hands were shaking as much as mine.
She continued, “You cannot leave the roads in Chimera. Ever. You will always get lost. It was enchanted that way, accidentally, hundreds of years ago. A spell went wrong and none have been able to fix it.”
She shuddered. “It can take a long time for most to find their way out, even with magick. Some never do.” She gently shook my shoulder. “Promise you will not do that again.”
“I’m not sure I’m going back,” Faith said. “I thought we’d never get out. Even if something didn’t kill us first.”
“Kill you first? What was going to kill you?”
“Something started howling and crashing through the trees near us. It was horrible.”
“We didn’t actually see anything,” I told Ronny. “I can’t tell you what it was, but it was coming toward us through the woods. It was howling and breaking trees. Actually, I think there was more than one. I was really scared.”
“So. Howling and breaking trees sounds like ogres or trolls, but these are creatures that avoid people. They should have avoided you.” Ronny shook her head. “This does not make sense. At least, no more sense than anything else happening in Chimera. What is wrong with my home?”
“What do trolls do?” I asked her hesitantly. “If they catch someone.”
Ronny was clearly distracted as she answered, “They eat them.” She didn’t seem to notice Faith’s horrified gasp as she continued, “I do not understand why they should be the only creatures you have encountered. Other than your strange familiars of course.”
F
aith had practically chewed a hole through her lip while Ronny was speaking. She said, “I’m not okay with getting eaten. No way am I going back there!”
Ronny smiled at her. “I would not be okay with you being eaten either. But you do not need to worry. You cannot be hurt by anything in Chimera as long as you stay on the roads. The roads are enchanted — I promise you will be safe.”
She continued in a low intense voice, “I am of course grateful, but I am curious how you were able to find your way back to the road. How did this happen?”
“You’re not gonna believe it.” I grinned at her puzzled look. “I wished for a sign. And our familiars, which you say shouldn’t exist, led us back to the road.” I laughed at the expression on Ronny’s face.
“This is very puzzling, but I am thankful you are well. You could have been lost for days. Or worse. Much worse. I never want you to risk your safety for me. Promise to be careful.”
She looked at us, an apology clear in her eyes as she said, “I fear I have put you at risk, and I will think hard whether there are other things you must know. I take everything in Chimera so much for granted. I may not think of everything I should tell you.”
She looked back at Faith. ”And if you decide you cannot continue, I will understand.”
I believe Ronny meant that, but her relief was obvious when first Faith, then the rest of us, told her we’d continue.
Chris came in then. He walked over to Ronny and placed his hand on her shoulder. I watched as she reached up and touched his hand. There was nothing sappy about it, but I had to turn away. It looked…private.
Chris said, “Sorry again, Kitty-Kat.” I ground my teeth at the hated nickname. “I didn’t tell you about everything because I didn’t want to risk having you forced to live in Chimera.”
I sighed, “I know. I told you I forgave you.”
“I just wanted to make sure we were okay before I left.”
“You’re leaving again?”
“Yeah. Ronny will stay here until we know what has happened to her mother.”
That made me sad. I knew Chris had been looking forward to traveling with Ronny. They both had been excited about it. Ronny looked at him, and her smile looked brave and sad at the same time. This time, when he stroked her cheek and bent to kiss her, all of us looked away. That is, all of us except Olivia. I saw her watching them, looking wistful, like when she read those stupid romance novels she liked now.
Her mom would kill her if she knew about them. Well, not literally, but she really wouldn’t like it.
Chapter 21
Well, What Do You Know…
Over the next few weeks, Ray, Andrew and Polly made it clear how mad they were. Only Carly hung back.
“Why are they so ticked off? They’ve always been mean, but now it’s like they hate us,” Olivia complained.
We’d had to duck into the girl’s bathroom to get away from Ray and Andrew three times that week. Today, one of them actually shoved at the door like they planned to follow us in. It took the three of us leaning all our weight on the other side to keep the door closed. We finally relaxed when Mrs. Adams reminded them the boy’s bathroom was farther down the hall. Andrew gave her a lame story about joking around with Ray’s cousin Carly.
“Well, you need to stop playing in the halls and get to class.” Mrs. Adams told them. I ground my teeth at the indulgent “boys will be boys” sound in her voice.
After that, we stuck together at school and around town. Doug refused to join us most of the time. He said he’d feel like a sissy. The rest of us weren’t too surprised when Doug showed up at school on Wednesday, a week before Chimera would open, with a black eye.
“That looks bad. What happened?” I said, feeling my heart beat faster.
“Don’t fuss, Kat.” Doug flushed red and he wouldn’t meet my eyes. He sounded irritated. “I’m fine. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Doug! We need to know what to watch out for.” I hadn’t been making a fuss. Why was he mad at me?
He shuffled his feet and muttered, “Ray cornered me after school. He blames us for the trouble he’s in. For getting home so late last time. His story about getting lost in the hills didn’t go over with his dad. He—”
Faith interrupted hotly, “That’s so unfair. If they didn’t keep following us all the time, they wouldn’t have gotten lost. It’s their fault! Why don’t they just leave us alone?”
“Why don’t you go ask them,” Doug snapped, and then took a deep breath. It looked like he was counting. “Look, it’s not just Ray. Andrew’s parents grounded him, Polly’s in trouble for lying, and Ray’s mad at Carly because she didn’t get in trouble. Her parents told her she had to stay with her cousin, so they’re mad at Ray too.”
“But why are they angry with us?” I asked. I closed my eyes and felt my shoulders slump. The Rejects had been bad enough before. What were they going to be like now?
“They all blame us. They think we got them lost on purpose. To get them in trouble.”
“But we didn’t—” Faith began.
I grabbed her hand. “Faith, think about it. It’s something they’d do. They probably think everyone would be like that.”
“Yeah, that totally sounds like them,” Olivia said, sounding disgustedehH.
Doug didn’t say so, but I thought Ray had scared him this time. I asked again what happened.
“Look, I’m okay. I got a few bruises, that’s all. Just forget it.”
“Fine,” I told him curtly. I turned my nose in the air and stomped away. He might not always get sarcasm, but no way could he miss that I wasn’t happy!
I asked Ronny if we could stop by after school. It hadn’t taken much to convince the others we needed more information about Chimera.
When we got there, Ronny welcomed us in. As we were seated she said, “I have been giving much thought to this. I am afraid I may have forgotten something important, but I will tell you what I can.”
She sat forward and looked at me intently. “First, remember to stay always on the road.”
She shifted her gaze to Olivia. “Second, never go into the center of Chimera.”
Olivia looked startled, “How will we know we’re near the center?”
“It is covered by a thick gray mist.” Her eyes became distant. “I should explain that most inhabitants believe the center holds the source of our magick. It must never be entered. No one — not even beings of great magick — have come back once they enter the mist.”
“Let me tell you about Chimera as I know it. There are many hundreds of us living there, so Chimera is always busy. It is enchanted so that the air smells of flowers and the sun shines every day. Rain happens only at night, and then just enough to keep the plants strong.”
She fell silent for a moment, and I thought she was remembering the home she’d given up to be with my brother. She rubbed her arms absently, and then continued, “I grew up in our village, called Mystic. It is filled with thatched cottages and houses made of stone. Like something from your stories. There are even areas that would be very attractive to your paranormal investigators. Did I say that right? Like Chris?”
When I nodded, she continued, “The abandoned farm and the mansion in the south are both said to be haunted. I have not told Chris. He would have wanted me to find him a way in. That I cannot do since I am banished.” She shuddered, then smiled weakly. “But I will get to see much of your world. Chris has great plans to travel to haunted locations.”
I could see the effort it took for her to keep the sadness off her face. It sounded like a fairy tale when she first told us how she’d left her home, knowing she could never go back, in order to be with the person she loved. Even if that person was my brother.
But now, seeing how sad talking about her home made her, it didn’t seem like some happily-ever-after fairy tale anymore. It felt too real. I knew how I’d feel if I had to move away from my home and family. Knowing I’d never be able to go back.
<
br /> My thoughts must have shown all over my face. Ronny grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Do not feel sad for me, Kat. I love your brother and will never regret my decision. I just miss my home.”
She glanced around the room. “Let me start over again. Stay on the roads. Do not go across the fields or near the center. You can tell where that is because of the fog.”
She looked at Doug. “I also recommend you avoid the swamp. It is filled with dangerous paths to nowhere. And will-o-the-wisps will lead you to drown.” In the short pause Ronny took, I could actually hear the sound of Faith swallowing.
Ronny continued, “The right half of the forest should be safe, but the left half has always attracted beings of evil. I do not know what kind of spells may exist in there. Please remember, you may have enough magic to trigger spells, so think before you wish for anything.”
She gave an encouraging smile to Faith. “Ghalynn should be able to help if anything has changed. That is all I can think of.”
Each of us thanked her, with varying levels of enthusiasm, as we agreed to meet again after our next visit to Chimera.
“The thought of will-of-the-wisp things and evil creatures living in the forests makes me more nervous.” Faith chewed on her lip. “Who knows which of those creatures are still roaming around in there.”
“You heard Ronny,” Doug scowled at her, clearly impatient. “We stay on the roads and we stay safe. I’ve gotta go now. See ya tomorrow.” He gave a quick wave, then hurried ahead as the light changed.
Faith mimicked in a high nasal voice, “Stay on the roads and stay safe.” Her voice dropped to normal. “Yeah, right.”
Time passed slowly the last week in May. Why does waiting for something good make time take longer?
One week before the full moon, I sat alone in my bedroom, thoroughly bored. Olivia had to watch her sisters and couldn’t have company, Faith was at soccer practice and Doug was at Math Club. It seemed like we were doing more and more stuff separately these days, and I didn’t like it.
