Double Dare

by Tia Mowry

  “So . . . ,” I said. “We have a grandmother. Another one, I mean.”

  Cassie glanced at me. “Yeah. Weird, right?”

  “Totally.” I sat up and hugged my knees. “Maybe now we’ll finally get some answers about what’s happening to us. Maybe Grandmother Lockwood can teach us to control our visions!”

  Cassie wrinkled her nose. “Grandmother Lockwood?” she said. “Do we really have to call her that?”

  “What else are we supposed to call her? That’s her name.”

  “Yeah, and Maw Maw Jean’s real name is Mrs. Jeanetta Robinson Waters. Doesn’t mean she wants us to call her that.”

  “True. But I can’t quite picture calling our new grandma, like, Mee Maw VeeVee or something, you know?”

  Cassie grinned. “I’d love to see her face if we did, though.”

  “No!” Half laughing and half horrified, I jumped up and hurried over to poke her in the arm. “Promise me you won’t. Seriously, Cass, if we make her mad she might decide to—”

  “Relax.” She cut me off with a snort. “I’m not that clueless, okay?”

  “Fine.” I slouched against the edge of her desk. “I just don’t want to mess this up, you know?” My hand wandered up to touch the talisman I was still wearing around my neck, tracing the intricate carving of a star on the top part. “I mean, maybe we’ll finally get to learn something about our dad!”

  “I know, right?” Cass reached over and squeezed my hand.

  Suddenly, everything was drowned out by loud buzzing in my head. The Cassie sitting in front of me shorted out, fading away behind a super-vivid image of a different Cassie. This one was in the school cafeteria. She was dancing wildly, waving her arms around. A bunch of her friends were standing around, staring at her intently.

  I guess she noticed what was happening. She yanked her hand away, and the vision was gone.

  “What?” she demanded. “Did you just have one?”

  I nodded, unable to speak for a second. My hand was still clutching the talisman.

  “Well?” Cassie looked impatient.

  I swallowed hard. “It—it was about you.”

  “Duh.” She rolled her eyes. Probably because that was how the visions worked—they were always about the person we were touching. “Was it something good?”

  She frowned slightly. Cassie has a chip on her shoulder about how our visions usually play out. It hadn’t taken us long to realize that Cassie mostly seems to see bad things happening to people, while I mostly see good stuff. Ever since, she acts like that’s my fault. Then again, she’s always had an attitude about the way I try to make the best of things. Probably because she’s more of a glass-half-empty girl herself.

  “I don’t really know if it was good or not,” I said slowly. Then I described what I’d seen.

  By the time I finished, Cassie looked as if she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or scowl. “Okay,” she said. “Did I have rhythm, at least?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, you know how it works, with the buzzing, so if there was music I . . .”

  “Chill, I’m just kidding.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I guess it’s a good thing we’ll be getting some answers tomorrow. If your vision is telling us I’m going to totally embarrass myself at school soon, maybe Queen Verity can help me figure out how to stop it from happening.”

  “You’re not going to call her that either, are you?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  She didn’t bother to respond. Instead she just said, “I’m bushed,” and headed toward her bed. “Better get some sleep before the big brunch.”

  “IS SHE HERE yet?” Cassie peered out the front window by the couch the next morning.

  “It’s only nine fifty-five,” I pointed out. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that it was my friend Liam calling.

  Liam O’Day had been one of the first people I’d met in Aura. We’d hit it off quickly, and I considered him one of my best friends. Cassie? Well, she considered him a classic nerd. Just another example of how different we were these days. She loved being part of the popular crowd, while I didn’t care about that at all.

  Even so, I almost hit ignore, since I knew Grandmother Lockwood would be there any minute. And I wasn’t sure I was up to telling him about her just yet. She was too wrapped up with the visions, and I definitely hadn’t told him about any of that. At first, when I’d thought it was just me seeing things, I hadn’t wanted my new friends to think I was crazy. Once I’d discovered that Cassie was having the visions, too, it hadn’t seemed right to share our secret without her permission. And since she hadn’t breathed a word about it to her friends, I knew she wouldn’t want me sharing with mine.

  My finger hovered over the ignore button, then hit the one to answer instead. Cassie was still staring outside looking impatient, so I figured I had time. “Hi, Liam,” I said.

  “Hi, Caitlyn,” Liam’s cheerful voice greeted me. “I’m just calling to say thanks for inviting me to the party yesterday. I had a great time.”

  “Oh! You’re welcome.” Leave it to Liam to be Mr. Polite. “Thanks for coming and thanks for the books, too. They look really good; I already started one of them.”

  That was a little white lie. Yesterday after the party, things had gotten intense fast, what with Grandmother Lockwood’s unexpected arrival. I’d almost forgotten about the birthday gifts Liam and my other friends had given me. But I figured he didn’t need to know that.

  “Cool, I hope you like them,” he said. “So what’s on the agenda for your first full day as an official twelve-year-old?”

  “Oh, this and that,” I said. Just then Cassie spun around from her position at the window, gesturing excitedly. “Um, actually Mom is taking Cass and me to brunch over in Six Oaks.” At least part of that wasn’t a lie, I told myself. I already felt bad that I wasn’t able to tell him about the visions. He was exactly the kind of person who would have found something like that super interesting—and the type who’d never judge us for it, either.

  “That sounds fun,” Liam said. “When are you going?”

  “Right now, actually. Sorry, I’d better hang up—Cassie gets cranky if you make her wait for her bacon.” Ignoring the face my sister was making at me, I added, “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

  As I stuck the phone back in my pocket, Mom came charging out of the kitchen. “Is she here?” she demanded. Not waiting for a response, she pointed at me and Cass. “Stay,” she ordered in her best Officer Waters voice. “I need to talk to your grandmother alone for a moment before we go.”

  “Okay,” I said. Not that it mattered. Mom was already on her way outside.

  Cassie took a couple of steps toward the door. “No way,” she said. “We can’t let her talk Granny L into leaving or something.”

  I grabbed her arm. “Stop,” I said. “Just let them talk. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  She gave me the stink eye. “Thanks, Susie Sunshine,” she said. “Somehow I’m not so sure. Mom can be very persuasive, you know. And she obviously doesn’t want our grandmother here.”

  “So?” I shrugged. “Grandmother Lockwood doesn’t exactly seem like a pushover. Mom tried to get her to leave yesterday, and you saw how well that worked.”

  “Hmm.” Cassie still sounded dubious as she returned to her spot at the window. “Whoa, check it out—she must’ve rented a limo.”

  I joined her, peering out at the big, shiny black car at the curb. “I’m not surprised,” I said with a smile. “She doesn’t really seem like the yellow cab type.”

  We watched as Mom and Grandmother Lockwood talked by the car. In Mom’s case, that involved plenty of gesturing, though our grandmother mostly just stood there with her arms crossed.

  “This is making me nervous,” Cass said after a few minutes. “I’m going out there.”

  “Cassie, no!” I exclaimed. “Look, I think they’re finished anyway. See?
”

  Mom was striding back toward the house. Grandmother Lockwood stayed where she was, watching her go. I held my breath. Was Cassie right? Had Mom actually talked our grandmother into changing plans?

  A second later the front door swung open. “Time to go, girls,” Mom called briskly.

  “You mean you didn’t scare her off?” Cassie muttered.

  I winced. Luckily Mom had already turned to head back toward the limo, so she didn’t hear her.

  “Cool it, okay?” I told Cassie as I grabbed a sweater. “If you get all rude and pushy, Mom might pull the plug on this whole deal for real. Just try to chill.”

  “No promises.” She hurried outside.

  With a sigh, I followed. The limo driver had climbed out to open the passenger-side door for Grandmother Lockwood. When he saw us coming, he smiled and bowed.

  “Ladies, right this way,” he called, stepping over to open the back door. He was a stout man in his fifties with a big, crooked nose and a pronounced Texas drawl. “My name is Al, and I have the honor of being your chauffeur today.”

  “Hi, Al, nice to meet you,” I said with a smile. Cassie just muttered a quick “hi” and hopped into the backseat after Mom and Grandmother Lockwood.

  When I followed them in, I looked around with interest. I’d never ridden in a limo before.

  “Nice car,” Cassie told our grandmother, who was buckling herself in beside Mom in the seat across from us.

  “Yes, well, I’ll need a way to get around while I’m in the States,” she replied. “And I’m certainly not going to try driving on the wrong side of the road at my age.” Glancing over her shoulder at Al, she added, “The hotel, please, Mr. Simpson.”

  “Sure thing, Miz Lockwood.” Al started the car. “Beautiful day for a drive, isn’t it, ladies?”

  “Yes, lovely.” Mom sounded tense as she answered.

  I glanced at Cassie. She looked tense, too. Her hands were clutched in her lap, and she was staring at our grandmother. I guessed she was dying to start bombarding her with questions. I just hoped she could control herself, or Driver Al was going to get an earful.

  Good thing Six Oaks is only, like, twenty minutes away, I thought, leaning back and doing my best to enjoy the ride.

  3

  CASSIE

  THE SIX OAKS Plaza was surprisingly swanky for small-town Central Texas. At least six stories tall, with a gold-pillared entrance and huge potted palms on either side of the door, it wouldn’t have seemed out of place in Dallas or LA.

  “Nice place,” I murmured, glad I’d decided to wear a skirt.

  We climbed out of the limo and a uniformed doorman ushered us inside. Grandmother Lockwood thanked him with a nod, then gestured for us to follow her across the hushed, carpeted lobby.

  The hotel restaurant was just as fancy as the rest of the place. Soft music was playing, and the servers all wore three-piece suits. Yeah, even the women.

  Soon we were seated in a plush booth in the corner. I couldn’t help noticing that we were separated from the other diners by an empty table. Had Grandmother Lockwood arranged that so we’d be able to talk without anyone hearing? Good, because we had a lot to talk about.

  Not wanting to waste any time with stupid questions about school or other small talk, I decided to dive right in. “So, Grandmother,” I said as soon as the server had taken our orders. “Can you see the future, too? Or just us?”

  “Cassie!” Caitlyn widened her eyes at me, and Mom frowned but didn’t say anything.

  Grandmother Lockwood took a sip of her water, unfazed by my questions. “No, I married into the Lockwood family. It was my brother-in-law who had the Sight in my generation.”

  “Okay,” I said. “So then did—”

  “Wait,” she cut me off sternly. “There’s a lot to cover. Perhaps I’d better give you the important information, and then if there’s time, you may ask questions.”

  I don’t like being told to sit down and shut up and I almost told her so. Almost. But I decided maybe she was right. Caitlyn and I had been feeling our way along so far, but we still barely knew what was going on. Maybe we didn’t even know what questions to ask.

  Anyway, my grandmother was already talking again. “Nobody knows how long the Sight has run in the Lockwood family,” she said. “At least a dozen generations, probably more.”

  “Wow,” Caitlyn murmured.

  “Nobody knows where it came from, or exactly how it works,” she continued. “In the past, people didn’t talk about such things in public.”

  “As opposed to now, when we blab about it to anyone who’ll listen,” I said sarcastically.

  “Cassandra,” Mom said warningly.

  Just then the server reappeared carrying a huge tray loaded with food. For a moment, we were all busy sorting out our orders.

  “As I was saying,” Grandmother Lockwood continued once the server disappeared again, “at certain times in history, speaking of the Sight might have resulted in hanging or decapitation, most likely preceded by torture and shaming.”

  Mom cleared her throat. “Verity, is it really necessary to—”

  “The girls must know what the dangers are,” Grandmother Lockwood cut her off sharply. “And why it’s so important to keep the family secrets.”

  Again, interrupting Mom? Speaking of danger . . .

  Mom glowered, and for a second I thought she was about to let the old woman have it. Instead, she sighed and started picking at her omelet.

  Grandmother Lockwood continued as if the interruption had never happened. The lady was cool as a cucumber in January, that was for sure.

  “As best we know, the Sight is passed down in the blood or genes,” she said. “But only one person per generation inherits it.” She paused to look down her nose at Cait and me. “Until now, anyway.”

  “So how did you know we were the ones?” Caitlyn asked, leaning forward so far that her hair almost touched her waffles. “I mean, if your husband’s brother had it, wouldn’t it be more likely to pass down to one of his kids—and grandkids?”

  I waited for Grandmother Lockwood to tell her to be quiet. But the old woman just shook her head. “It doesn’t always work that way.” Grandmother Lockwood fiddled with the stem of her water goblet, then shot Mom a quick glance.

  “Your father had the Sight,” Mom put in grimly.

  I gasped. “What? And you’re just telling us this now?”

  Mom shrugged. “It wasn’t my idea to tell you at all.”

  No kidding. I glared at her briefly, but Grandmother Lockwood was talking again.

  “Yes, your father had the gift,” she said softly, a faraway look in her gray eyes. “For all the good it did him.”

  What was that supposed to mean? I was kind of afraid to ask. Was that why our father had died so young? Had the Sight caused it somehow? Or at least failed to warn him so he could stop it? I shivered, and it wasn’t from the air-conditioning.

  Caitlyn was chewing her lower lip in that way she does when she’s thinking hard. “Wow,” she said. “So our dad had it. And his uncle had it.”

  “That’s correct.” Grandmother Lockwood nodded. “It’s not always passed down directly. So there’s always a bit of a guessing game when the new generation comes along. You two have several cousins in the UK, and—”

  “Several?” I blurted out, a little overwhelmed by all this new info. “How many is several?”

  “We can get into that later if there’s time.” She sipped her water. “The point is, the youngest of those cousins is several years older than you two.”

  Again with the several! But Caitlyn was nodding.

  “So our cousins all turned twelve already,” she said, putting the pieces together. “And they don’t have the Sight.”

  “Correct. That’s how we knew it had to be you.” She glanced from Cait to me and back again. “Of course, we initially assumed it would be only one of you.”

  “Okay, back to our dad for a sec,” I said. “Did the Sight have some
thing to do with why he died? I mean, you said it could be dangerous, and . . .”

  “All in due time,” Grandmother Lockwood said.

  “Due time?” I dropped my fork, fed up with her non-answers. “Come on! You came all this way—enough with the secrets!”

  Grandmother Lockwood traded a look with Mom. “I understand that you want to know more about John.”

  At our blank looks, Mom added, “Your father. John Thompson Lockwood.”

  John Thompson Lockwood. Caitlyn looked stunned, as if she hadn’t realized he’d had a name other than Dad. I knew how she felt. We’d always thought his name was John Thompson, which I guess it was, sort of. But somehow, I’d never thought about him that way. Just as “Dad” or “our father” or whatever.

  Once again, Grandmother Lockwood’s expression softened slightly. “I can tell you this—he was a wonderful person.”

  “True that,” Mom put in quietly, stabbing at her omelet.

  “Tell us more,” Caitlyn begged. “Please. What was he like?”

  “John was a delightful child, friendly and intelligent. I’d hoped the family gift might bypass him, but he had his first vision a few months before he turned twelve.” Grandmother Lockwood smiled wistfully. “He handed me a flower he’d picked for me, and saw me getting a surprise visit from an old friend.”

  “So he only saw good things?” Caitlyn asked.

  Our grandmother blinked. “What?”

  “Good things,” Cait said again. “Like me.”

  Mom and Grandmother Lockwood looked mystified. “What are you talking about?” Mom asked.

  I realized I hadn’t really gotten into that part when I’d told her about our visions the day before. “Yeah, it’s awesome,” I said with a snort. “Cait gets to see all the happy happy joy joy stuff that’s going to happen to people, and I only get the doom and gloom.”

  Grandmother Lockwood leaned forward, her eyes sharp. “Is this true?”

  “Sort of,” Cait admitted, shooting me a worried look. “I mean, we think so. We’re pretty sure.”