cards, and shuffled through them quickly, hating the feel of them, until I found a red card. It had a tissue-thin paper backing on one side; the other side was silky-slick and etched with curious black markings. I shoved the rest of the cards back into Wyatt’s pocket.
“Okay,” he said. “Pull the paper off the back of the card, and—Where’re you going?” He looked frantic, as though I were abandoning him.
I held up the tissue backing I’d removed. “I’m going to put this paper in the trash.”
“Never mind the goddamn trash! Put the sticky side of the card on the lure, but
don’t touch the lure!
”
I noticed then that Wyatt was wearing black rubber gloves, from which the color was fading even as I watched, fading only to reappear in thick black swirls within the struggling lure in his grip.
“Do it!”
I did it, and after I settled the card on the lure, Wyatt released it, and it immediately snapped back into the window, invisible except for the card stuck to it. But the lure didn’t remain invisible for long. The red rectangle quickly lost its shape, growing and altering, until it filled in the pinwheel shape of the lure, exposing it.
And the others.
The red color infesting Wyatt’s lure spread like licks of flame until the entire stretch of rattling glass was full of bloody-colored pinwheels throbbing like sick, misshapen hearts. The same inexplicable hallucination I’d seen before … but Wyatt could see it too.
He hustled me to the other side of the counter, and as soonas he pulled me to the floor, a loud, jangling explosion blitzed the office.
Red shards of glass fell all around us like hellish rain.
I ignored the glass and watched Wyatt instead, panting and warm beside me; a trickle of sweat rolled past his ear, such a fantastically normal sight after what I’d just seen.
Normal until Wyatt turned and smashed his hands against the counter at our backs. The gloves encasing his hands had turned to glass and shattered easily against the wood, freeing his fingers.
He hopped to his feet and hurried to the other end of the room, where he banged on the frosted glass door of the principal’s office and let the staff hiding within know the coast was clear.
They all came out, Ms. Eldridge the principal in the lead, with Cowboy right behind her. They took in the destroyed windows, the glass glittering on every surface.
“You got them all?” Ms. Eldridge asked, the girlish hope sparkling in her eyes at odds with her black power suit.
“Every single one.”
Who knew that five grown-ups could make such a racket? Cowboy even danced a jig.
“I’m going to make an announcement right away,” Ms. Eldridge began happily.
“No,”
Wyatt snapped, as bossy as that green woman had been. “You know how the Mortmaine feel about me doing favors. The last thing I need is you crowing about what happened here. Like I’m dancing all over their rules.”
“Of course not,” said Ms. Eldridge, abashed. “Tell me what you want me to say.”
“Tell the kids they don’t need earplugs anymore; just don’t tell ’em why.”
I peered over the counter to see for myself that the pinwheeling lure were really gone. The only view that greeted my shell-shocked eyes was broken window and cloudy sky, so I stood and retrieved my records from the counter where I’d left them. Shook the red glass off. Handed them to Cowboy.
It was like my first day of school all over again, with everyone gawking at me.
“
She
was here?” Ms. Eldridge asked.
“The whole time?” Cowboy added.
“Unfortunately,” said Wyatt.
Obnoxious beast of a boy.
I kicked some red glass aside so I could close in on him.“Unfortunately? Really? Because you’d never have defeated those lure without me, and you know it.”
Everyone turned to Wyatt for confirmation.
He swiped his hand over his face as though he had to manually wipe away his peevish expression. He looked much better for the effort, more like the high-minded person
“Okay,” he said. “Pull the paper off the back of the card, and—Where’re you going?” He looked frantic, as though I were abandoning him.
I held up the tissue backing I’d removed. “I’m going to put this paper in the trash.”
“Never mind the goddamn trash! Put the sticky side of the card on the lure, but
don’t touch the lure!
”
I noticed then that Wyatt was wearing black rubber gloves, from which the color was fading even as I watched, fading only to reappear in thick black swirls within the struggling lure in his grip.
“Do it!”
I did it, and after I settled the card on the lure, Wyatt released it, and it immediately snapped back into the window, invisible except for the card stuck to it. But the lure didn’t remain invisible for long. The red rectangle quickly lost its shape, growing and altering, until it filled in the pinwheel shape of the lure, exposing it.
And the others.
The red color infesting Wyatt’s lure spread like licks of flame until the entire stretch of rattling glass was full of bloody-colored pinwheels throbbing like sick, misshapen hearts. The same inexplicable hallucination I’d seen before … but Wyatt could see it too.
He hustled me to the other side of the counter, and as soonas he pulled me to the floor, a loud, jangling explosion blitzed the office.
Red shards of glass fell all around us like hellish rain.
I ignored the glass and watched Wyatt instead, panting and warm beside me; a trickle of sweat rolled past his ear, such a fantastically normal sight after what I’d just seen.
Normal until Wyatt turned and smashed his hands against the counter at our backs. The gloves encasing his hands had turned to glass and shattered easily against the wood, freeing his fingers.
He hopped to his feet and hurried to the other end of the room, where he banged on the frosted glass door of the principal’s office and let the staff hiding within know the coast was clear.
They all came out, Ms. Eldridge the principal in the lead, with Cowboy right behind her. They took in the destroyed windows, the glass glittering on every surface.
“You got them all?” Ms. Eldridge asked, the girlish hope sparkling in her eyes at odds with her black power suit.
“Every single one.”
Who knew that five grown-ups could make such a racket? Cowboy even danced a jig.
“I’m going to make an announcement right away,” Ms. Eldridge began happily.
“No,”
Wyatt snapped, as bossy as that green woman had been. “You know how the Mortmaine feel about me doing favors. The last thing I need is you crowing about what happened here. Like I’m dancing all over their rules.”
“Of course not,” said Ms. Eldridge, abashed. “Tell me what you want me to say.”
“Tell the kids they don’t need earplugs anymore; just don’t tell ’em why.”
I peered over the counter to see for myself that the pinwheeling lure were really gone. The only view that greeted my shell-shocked eyes was broken window and cloudy sky, so I stood and retrieved my records from the counter where I’d left them. Shook the red glass off. Handed them to Cowboy.
It was like my first day of school all over again, with everyone gawking at me.
“
She
was here?” Ms. Eldridge asked.
“The whole time?” Cowboy added.
“Unfortunately,” said Wyatt.
Obnoxious beast of a boy.
I kicked some red glass aside so I could close in on him.“Unfortunately? Really? Because you’d never have defeated those lure without me, and you know it.”
Everyone turned to Wyatt for confirmation.
He swiped his hand over his face as though he had to manually wipe away his peevish expression. He looked much better for the effort, more like the high-minded person
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