Craft by Lynnie Purcell Page A

her the directions, but she held the upper
hand. She had him tied up, and he did not know what she was capable
of. Her escape from his attack would make him fear her more. Ellie
could use his freedom as a bargaining chip. He did not have to know
that she would never hurt him. He just had to think she was capable
of it. With a little luck, she could see town before the night was
through.
    The boy woke up a couple of times
during the day. Ellie kept a book handy to knock him out whenever
that happened. She ignored her chores around the house to watch
over him, knowing she would pay for it later. With the circling
drama of the fight on everyone’s mind, and the business of crafting
the wards, she was all but invisible for the time being. It would
only be later when Neveah would realize the chores had not been
completed. By then, Ellie’s adventure to town would be over. She
would take her punishment without complaint. The risk was worth
it.
    Finally, the sun set on her house. She
peeked outside to make sure she was alone. Careen and Neveah had
left to have Sunday dinner at Cousin’s house. The rest of the
family was gone. Everything was quiet. The crickets and bullfrogs
were the loudest sounds in the night. Their songs were a strange
counter-harmony to Ellie’s racing heart. The only people for miles
were Ellie and her prisoner. There would never be another perfect
moment. It was now or never.
    Ellie turned back to the sleeping boy.
With a wave of her hand, she pulled the boy after her. His head
slumped to the side as he ghosted on invisible strings behind her.
She kept a constant eye out for any surprise visitors, not that she
really thought anyone would come back when Neveah and Careen were
gone. No one ever came just to see her.
    Ellie did not have far to go. The ward
surrounding the property began at the woods directly behind her
shack. She could feel them shimmering in the air, though it was an
invisible line to most. It hummed with energy as breathtaking as
the craft it had taken to form it. It would work well to keep out
the Coopers. They would not be able to break the craft easily. She
also knew it would keep a Cooper inside the property. Hopefully,
the boy would feel the power of the ward as well. If not, Ellie
hoped he would trust her threat.
    Ellie took a deep breath at the
boldness of the leap she was about to make. It was the first
overtly rebellious thing she had ever done. Did she really want to
cross Neveah? Would the grandparents be brought in if her adventure
was found out? She shut her eyes and focused on the adventure she
had waiting in front of her. She imagined a town that sparkled and
shone in the sunlight. She imagined a place that held the mysteries
of the unknown, instead of a house that never changed. The
adventure of town was worth the risk of her family’s retribution,
if the boy did not kill her first.
    Ellie took off the boy’s blindfold and
gag with a wave of her hand. He did not move with the craft. Her
last hit with the book had put him out for a couple of hours. She
crafted water out of the air above his head and let it drop down on
his face. He gasped awake and immediately started struggling
against the ropes. His eyes moved to Ellie’s face as he
struggled.
    “Untie me!” he commanded.
    “You better lower your voice,” Ellie
warned. “If you don’t, someone from my family might come to
investigate. They're not as nice as I am.”
    “You don’t scare me!” he said, though
he said it in a much quieter voice.
    Ellie ignored him. She crossed her
arms menacingly and looked down at him with an expression borrowed
from Neveah. It was a look of steel.
    “I gotta deal I wanna make with you,”
Ellie said. “I know I can’t really trust a Cooper, but I think you
can be reasonable. You can, right?”
    His eyes widened when she mentioned a
‘deal’ then narrowed suspiciously at her question. “What is it?” he
asked.
    “We got wards around the property,”
Ellie said.
    “I know.