“Oh, there’s more,” she said. “But some of them are so minor I didn’t include them.”
Where were the missing people? Were they all dead or was Karta kidnapping them? I hunched over Meredith’s shoulder and scrolled upward, searching for Karta’s name.
Karta. Goddess of fate and destiny.
“You don’t have much on Karta,” I said, disappointed.
“As much as I could find,” she said, sounding defensive.
Why couldn’t anything be easy? “Okay. Let’s look at the Facebook account.” I had chewed my nail down to the quick, and now I started on the other hand. I fought the feeling that this was a waste of time; we needed to be taking action. What, though?
She logged out of her own account. “All yours.”
I leaned over and logged Michael in. The profile picture of Stephen playing lacrosse popped up.
Meredith giggled.
“I just needed a picture of a cute guy, okay?” I said.
“Yeah, of course. And Stephen definitely is that. You talked to him lately?”
“No,” I said, pretending like looking for Karta took all my attention. “Not in a few days.”
“Hmm. Haven’t seen him at school, either.”
I paused in my clicking, trying to remember if I’d passed him in the hallways or seen him in class. I couldn’t recall. I’d been so busy worrying about my own issues and trying to prove my loyalty to Aaron that I hadn’t really paid attention to Stephen. “I’m sure he’s been around.”
“Sure,” she agreed.
But my inner voice nagged at me, and suddenly all my concerns for him rose to the surface. He was vulnerable right now. It was one of the reasons I’d allowed myself to get close to him. “I should check on him.”
Meredith made an impatient noise in the back of her throat. “You do know how to search for people, don’t you?” She took the mouse from me and opened a search bar, and then typed in Samantha’s name. She’d barely hit “search” before the tiny cartoon avatar popped up.
“That was fast.”
“Yeah. You should spend more time on here.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and edged closer to the computer, forcing me to vacate my spot. Samantha’s profile filled the computer screen.
I sneaked a peek at my phone and texted Stephen, just a quick, How are you?
“Well, she hasn’t accepted your Friend request,” Meredith said, pulling my attention back to the computer.
“Um, what?”
“Facebook. Samantha. It’s a dead end. We’ve got nothing.”
“Hm,” I said, reading Laima’s message again. In danger. Don’t leave Ragana.
“She lives in Laurel,” I murmured. I gave a short laugh. “We need to get to Karta, Meredith. That’s all that matters right now.”
She swiveled around in her chair. “What are you not telling me, Jayne?”
“We’re going to Maryland.” I hadn’t realized it until the words were spoken, hanging in the air between us. But I knew, suddenly, that it was the right thing.
Meredith blinked. “Now?”
I glanced at my watch. It was almost seven. Laurel was only three hours away. “Yep.”
“And do what? Have a midnight pow-wow?”
She was right. By the time we got there, all we’d want to do was sleep. “Fine. First thing in the morning, we take off.”
“What’s going on, Jayne?”
End of the world stuff. Opening my phone again, I sent off another message. Need Karta’s address. And what’s Ragana? Lifting my eyes to Meredith, I asked, “Can I see another one of your poems?”
“Why?”
“Just to try it out. I just want to see.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that.”
“Tell you what. You write a poem to clear the feelings all your other poems create. Kind of like a blank slate. Can you do that?”
Slowly she nodded. “I think so.”
I retreated to the bed while she sat at the desk and drafted a poem. I opened my phone, checked it, closed it, opened it again.
Meredith looked up from her notebook. “It’s just a few couplets, but it should do the trick.”
“Great.” I put my phone down. “Will you read it to me?”
“Sure.” She cleared her throat and started reading.
I froze as each word washed over me like a giant eraser, leaving a white patch of emptiness in its wake. Erasing my thoughts. Erasing me. “Stop,” I said. “Stop!”
She broke off and stared at me. “What, Jayne?”
I sat down hard on the floor. “Jayne,” I murmured. “I’m Jayne Lockwood. I’m Dekla. I’m Jayne Lockwood.” The words anchored me, and I felt my sense of self stabilizing.
“Are you okay?” Meredith whispered.
I lifted my head. “Meredith,” I said, “there is more power in your words than you realize.”
“What happened?” She stared at me, her eyes huge.
I wasn’t too sure myself. “I thought I was being erased, like I would cease to exist if you kept reading.” I shuddered at the memory.
She gripped the paper between two hands. “I need to destroy all of these.”
“No!” I stopped her before she could shred it. “They’re valuable. But you only need a line or two. You have to be so careful with this.”
She pressed her lips together, her face whiter than usual. “This is dangerous,” she whispered. “My poems are having effects I never intended. And it might be different for every person.”
I nodded. “The same poem could have multiple meanings, depending on who reads it.”
Horror bloomed across her face. “And each person might have a different reaction. Like depression—”
“Or suicide,” I breathed.
We fell into an uneasy silence. Then I shook myself.
“We should go to bed. I want to leave super early tomorrow.”
“And just, what? Drive to Maryland? We don’t even know where to go.”
“We will.” I was certain I could track Karta down, even if all I had was gut instinct.
Meredith turned out the lights and hunkered down on the floor next to me.
I was nearly asleep when my phone buzzed again. I lifted one eyelid and flopped my hand over so I could peer at it.
You found Ragana. She will magnify both your powers. Shield her from Karta.
Pulling the phone up to my face, I texted while squinting, one eye still closed. Who’s Ragana?
The reply came instantly.
Ragana is persuasion. She alters individual will and changes fate where I cannot.
Persuasion. Alter individual will. I bolted upright. “Meredith!”
“What? What?” She sat up on the floor.
I was already texting Laima, searching for confirmation. Meredith! Meredith is Ragana?
Laima answered, Ragana’s powers of prophecy linger around Dekla and Karta, eventually coalescing inside a person, one who already demonstrates a propensity for persuasion.
“What is it, Jayne?” Meredith asked again, but I was too busy to answer.
So does Karta have a Ragana also?
No. Ragana does not appear for everyone. Karta will try to take yours. Beware. Sides are being chosen.
I panicked. What sides? How could I fight? Was this to be a figurative battle or a literal one, all Homer and Odysseus style? What do I do?
2121 Hickory. Do not lose Ragana.
I stared at the last message for a good five seconds before realizing what she’d given me: an address.
“Jayne?” Meredith ventured.
“Meredith,” I whispered, “you’re a goddess.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Meredith and I hovered over the computer screen. So much for an early night.
“Ragana’s not a goddess,” Meredith said, settling back on her heels. “She’s a demon. Don’t you remember the spreadsheet? A witch. One of the troublemakers sent to plague humans.”
“Yes, but obviously that’s not yo
u,” I said. “Historians didn’t always get it right, remember? You have power. That was probably scary for them.” I typed “Ragana Latvian mythology” into the search terms and clicked open the first link.
Ragana is an old-looking female or witch.
I giggled, and Meredith punched my arm.
“Not funny!”
“No, of course not,” I said, wiping the smile from my face. But it was.
Mostly has dark intentions and powers to control forces of nature.
“I don’t have dark intentions!” she exclaimed.
“Calm down,” I said, putting a hand on her arm. “These are outsiders writing. Imagine how it would look to them if they saw the effect your poems have on people.”
She considered that. “Like dark intentions, I guess.”
“Exactly.”
My phone dinged, and I glanced down to see a text from Aaron.
Where are you?
Criminy, I’d forgotten to text him. I quickly responded, At Meredith’s. Perfectly safe.
Can you talk?
I rolled my eyes. Our last conversation had been so lovely. I didn’t have the energy to deal with it tonight. I’m so tired. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?
I shut my phone and turned back to Meredith. I focused on reassuring her. “You’re Dekla’s helper. We’re a team.”
She cast her eyes my direction, uncertainty all over her face. “How did I get to be Ragana?”
I exhaled. “From what I understand, it happened because you already had a predisposition toward manipulating emotions. After I became Dekla—remember, I wasn’t always her—then Ragana’s powers found you. They chose you.”
“What else did Laima say? What’s going on?”
I steeled myself. “Karta’s on a power trip.” I swiveled back to my search engines.
“That’s a creepy picture,” Meredith said as the search pulled up another image. It showed a fat, haggard old woman climbing over a fence.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “This says a Ragana craved milk and would try to steal her neighbors’. How do you feel about milk?”
She shrugged. “I’m partial to ice-cream.”
“Who isn’t?”
“Maybe Karta tracked me down because my powers are evil.”
Something about the way she said that alarmed me. “That’s not what Laima said. And she has no reason to distort the truth.”
“Ask her again.”
“She won’t answer,” I grumbled. But I texted, Is Ragana primarily an evil being or a good one?
I opened another website. “Here, look at this. Ragana is a prophetess who reveals the future. She has supernatural powers. ‘Christianity distorted Ragana, calling her a gypsy and a witch intent on stealing her neighbors’ milk and riches.’ See?” I glanced at her. “Ragana was never supposed to be a witch.”
“Gypsy.” A slow smile spread across her face. “I can be that.”
I suppressed a smile. “Let’s definitely go with that definition.”
Finally satisfied, we turned off the computer and climbed into our beds. Within minutes I heard Meredith’s breathing deepen, but my mind wouldn't shut off so easily. Every time I started to close my eyes, another thought would dash through my head, and my eyes would snap open while my heart pounded in trepidation. What would happen when we found Karta? Would we find the missing people? Would she fight us?
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it, disappointed to see it was after one a.m. But the message was from Laima. I opened it.
Ragana is neither evil nor good. She uses her powers as she sees fit.
I tucked my phone under my pillow, glad Meredith had fallen asleep before Laima’s response came in. I needed her to believe she was one of the good guys.
*~*
“Jayne.”
Someone shook my shoulder.
“Jayne.”
“Hmm? What?” I startled awake, blinking my eyes and straightening. It took a split second to realize I was in a car, and Meredith was leaning over the armrest, shaking me.
“We’re almost to the address. I stopped to get gas.” She settled back in her seat. “I thought maybe you’d want to be conscious when we get there. You know, just in case she tries to knock you out with some creepy goddess spell or something.”
“I don’t think any of this works that way,” I murmured. But what did I know? Nothing, really. I looked out the window at the gas pump beside us. “Oh, here, let me help pay.”
“Don’t worry, you’re paying on the way back.” She flashed me a grin. “Driving, too.”
“Yeah.” I must’ve fallen asleep an hour into our drive. My phone had died during the night, and I’d had to charge it in the car. I reached over and turned it on. “It’s almost noon. I need to eat.” We had not, of course, woken up at the break of dawn and left the house. In fact, it was almost nine when I’d finally opened my eyes.
We needed to hurry. My mom would definitely notice if I didn’t make it home for dinner.
“Done.” Meredith dropped a box of donuts in my lap. Not the warm, fresh kind, but the small, powdery, full-of-preservatives kind.
“Thanks.” I bit into one and tried to convince myself that it really was food.
My phone let out a series of alerts as several waiting text messages arrived. Three from Aaron. And a voicemail. I clicked open the first text and choked on my donut. “Oh, no.”
“What? What did she say?” Meredith clutched at the steering wheel.
“Not Laima. It’s Aaron. He went by my house looking for me this morning.”
“Is that bad?”
“Not necessarily. My mom knows I’m with you. She just doesn’t know we’re here.” And neither did Aaron.
I read through his texts, innocuous at first, saying he needed to run something by me and would meet me at my house. And then another asking where I was. And finally a sharper one, saying he’d called several times and left a voicemail and I could call him back when it was convenient.
I didn’t bother with the voicemail but quickly called him back. He didn’t answer, and I wondered if he was stewing, playing a game because I’d ignored his calls. I tried calling again.
This time he picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, sorry, my phone was dead,” I said, oozing sweetness. “What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you. It’s kind of important. Where are you?”
“I’m at Meredith’s. I can meet up with you later tonight.”
Dead silence met my words. I checked the phone to make sure we hadn’t been disconnected, then pressed it to my ear again. “Hello?”
“You’re at Meredith’s?”
I bristled slightly. “Yes, I told you last night I was with her. I spent the night.”
“That’s funny,” he said, his tone suddenly sarcastic, “because I'm at Meredith’s, too.”
The blood literally froze in my veins, my entire body going cold. Criminy, criminy, criminy. “You’re at Meredith’s? Are you sure?”
“Your mom gave me the address.”
Now it was my turn to fall silent. I had no idea what to say.
“Where are you?” he asked again.
My teeth chattered with alarm. I’d made a mistake in lying to him. I couldn’t undo that now. “Maryland.”
“Doing what? And if you dare lie to me, Jayne, I swear we are through.”
I felt the panic in my chest, the heat behind my eyes. Laima had told me not to involve him. But if I didn’t tell him, I’d lose him. My mind battled between keeping Aaron happy and keeping him safe. “I’m checking on Karta.”
“Come home.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my fingers tightening around the phone until I heard it creak in protest. “Aaron, I can’t right now. I promise, as soon as I get home, I’ll call you. Or come see you. We’ll talk.”
“I’m done talking. I don’t think this is something we can fix.”
“Of course we can!” I said, desperate to convince him.
“Stop,�
� he said. “We’re hitting the same keys over and over again. Let’s just stop.”
My breathing was coming in too fast. I’d thought Aaron and I were a forever thing, and now I could feel him slipping between my fingers. “Wait, wait, wait. Just wait.”
“I’ll wait until tonight.”
“I’ll come over.”
We hung up, but I just sat there, cradling the phone gently in my hands.
“Are you okay?” Meredith asked. “Sounded like a bad fight.”
“It was.” I tried to get my head in the game and waved my hand. “Onward. Let’s go knock on Karta’s door.” I said the sentence with all the enthusiasm and confidence I could muster.
“Are you sure?” Her hand played with the keys in the ignition, but her eyes stayed on me.
“Yes,” I said with a big exhale.
“Okay.” She turned the keys and pulled away from the gas station.
“I had a thought,” she said, parking the car at the curb in front of 2121 a few minutes later. “We know she knows your address, since she mailed you one of my poems. But what if she doesn’t know your face? Should we give you away?”
“It doesn't make any difference.” I got out of the car, forcing Meredith to exit as well. “I’m not letting you talk to her by yourself.”
The house was small and cute, though a bit unkempt. Some of the paint peeled from the picket fence, and spider webs decorated the eaves and corners. I stepped up and rang the doorbell. A dog immediately started barking, and I found myself relaxing. Somehow having a pet made Samantha seem more human.
The door opened, and a woman stood in front of us, roughly ten years older than me. Her straight black hair was combed into a French bun, and her dark eyes swept over me and Meredith, and then down to our car parked in the road.
“Yes?” she asked.
Was it her? I cast an unsure glance at Meredith. Suddenly this whole venture seemed completely foolhardy. What was I going to do? Attack her?
“Hi, Samantha, do you remember me?” Meredith asked.
“No,” Samantha said, blinking. “Have we met?”
“You came to my house looking for poetry.”
She narrowed her eyes, the door edging closer to the frame. “What did you say your name was again?”
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