06 - Eye of the Fortuneteller (5 page)

But someone grabbed her.

“Let go!” she screamed, squirming to break free.

“Where are you going?” Drew asked, holding fast.

“Into the water,” she shrieked. “I have to get these horseflies off me.”

Drew didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. His expression told Kelsey everything
she needed to know.

There were no horseflies on her.

Not a single one.

Kelsey collapsed into the sand.

The burning and stinging stopped.

“This stupid amulet didn’t work,” she uttered hopelessly. “Now what am I
going to do?”

“Let’s go back to the sand castle. We’ll think of something,” Drew suggested.

He helped her up, and they headed back to their spot on the beach.

“Oh, no!” Kelsey gasped as their sand castle came into view. She pointed a
shaky finger at the top of one of its towers.

Drew followed her gaze. And moaned.

“How could this be?” she wailed.

Sticking out of the very top, fluttering in the breeze, was the Fool
card—with a bright red
X
drawn on its face.

“The curse isn’t broken!” Kelsey screamed. “It’s driving me crazy!” Then she
snatched up the card and stomped off.

“Hey! Wait up!” Drew yelled. “Where are you going?”

“Back to the Amazing Zandra,” she hollered.

Kelsey broke into a run. Drew chased after her. But she didn’t stop until she
burst through the door of the Amazing Zandra’s shack.

Zandra was sitting behind the table with her feet propped up, nipping through
a fashion magazine.

She wore a gypsy dress. But it was hiked up so high that Kelsey could see her
cutoff jeans underneath it.

And she didn’t have long, dark hair anymore. It was short and blond. The long, dark hair was a wig—and without it, Zandra looked
even younger. She didn’t look much older than Kelsey.

“You’re a fake!” Kelsey shouted at her.

“We’ve got the card to prove it,” Drew added.

Kelsey flung the card down in front of the Amazing Zandra. “Look,” she said.
“It even has the red
X
you drew on it. How do you explain that?”

Zandra stared at the card. “Where did you get this?” she asked suspiciously.

“It just appeared,” Kelsey told her. “Right after I was attacked by a swarm
of horseflies.”

“What kind of trick are you two trying to pull on me?” she asked.

“Us?” Kelsey shot back. “You’re the one who ripped me off. You said you
removed the curse. But you didn’t. I was nearly eaten alive by those horseflies!
You didn’t remove that stupid curse—and this card proves it!”

“That,” Zandra declared, “is a different card. The one you brought to me is
safely locked inside this box.” Then she reached for the metal box and placed it
on the table.

“Really?” Kelsey smirked. “Then show it to me.”

“No problem,” Zandra replied. “I will.” She dipped her hand into the pocket
of her dress and pulled out the key. She slipped it into the lock and turned it.

Zandra hesitated only for a moment before she lifted the lid.

“Oh, no!” She gasped, staring down into the box. “How can this be?”

Kelsey’s eyes were glued to the box. She knew exactly what they would find
inside.

Nothing.

Zandra tilted it so that Kelsey and Drew could take a look.

But the box wasn’t empty.

And Kelsey shrieked when she spotted what was inside.

“Oh, no!” Kelsey cried. “I don’t believe this!”

Inside the box was a picture of Kelsey. And there, scrawled across the front,
was a big, red
X.
A big red
X
right through Kelsey’s face.

The Amazing Zandra studied the Fool card that Kelsey had returned. Then she
peered into the box at Kelsey’s picture. Then back at the card.

“How did you do this?” Zandra demanded.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Kelsey shouted. “I didn’t do
anything. The card keeps coming back all by itself. Because I’m under a curse!
That’s why I paid you ten dollars in the first place. Remember? To take the
curse off!”

“Whoa! This is totally freaky,” Zandra said. “It sounds to me like you really
are
under a curse.”

“That’s what we’ve been telling you all along!” Drew yelled. “Now, can you do
anything to help, or not?”

“I don’t know,” Zandra shrugged. “I think you probably ought to talk to the
gypsy who put the curse on you and ask her to remove it.”

“But—but,” Kelsey sputtered, “I tried that already. The only time I ever saw
her was in here. And you told me that was impossible—that there was no other
gypsy!”

“I
am
the only gypsy here,” Zandra stated. “What was this other
gypsy’s name? Did she tell you?”

“Yes,” Kelsey answered. “But I don’t remember what it was. It was something
weird.”

“Madame something,” Drew reminded her. “Madame… Madame…”

“Valda!” Kelsey blurted out.

“That’s it!” Drew agreed. “Madame Valda!”

Zandra’s jaw dropped.

“What’s wrong?” Kelsey asked.

“That can’t be,” Zandra said, shaking her head. “Madame Valda. Here? No,” she
answered her own question. “That just can’t be.”

“You know who Madame Valda is?” Drew asked.

“Of course,” Zandra answered. “Every gypsy in the world knows who Madame
Valda is.”

“Well, who is she?” Kelsey asked, planting her hands on her hips.

Zandra took a deep breath. “Madame Valda is the most powerful gypsy who ever
lived. And the most evil. But you could not possibly have seen Madame Valda,”
Zandra assured them.

“Why not?” Kelsey wanted to know.

“Because,” Zandra said, staring directly into her eyes, “Madame Valda has
been dead for more than a hundred years.”

“Madame Valda can’t be dead!” Kelsey shouted. “She was sitting right here!
Tell her, Drew!”

“She was,” Drew insisted.

“Maybe you’re thinking of a different Madame Valda,” Kelsey told Zandra.

But Zandra shook her head no. “There is only one Madame Valda,” she insisted.
“And I’m telling you that she has been dead for a really long time.”

“But we saw her!” Drew exclaimed. “So that’s impossible!”

“Well,” Zandra hesitated for a moment. “Not according to some of the old
gypsies, it isn’t. But I never believed them.”

“What do you mean?” Kelsey asked.

“Well, some of the older gypsies believe that Madame Valda can still
appear—even after death.”

“Yeah, well, you better believe it now,” Kelsey declared. “Because I’m
telling you—
she was here!”

“Oh, man.” Zandra cringed. “This is tooooo creepy.”

“Tell me about it!” Kelsey shot back. “I’m the one who’s been cursed by a
dead gypsy!”

“So what do we do now?” Drew asked Zandra.

Zandra shrugged. “You’ve got me.”

“Oh, that’s just great!” Kelsey huffed. “Just great!”

“Look, don’t panic,” Zandra told Kelsey. “I have an uncle. He knows all about
the old ways. He’s the one who told me about Madame Valda. I bet he can help
you.”

“Where is he?” Drew asked.

“How soon can we see him?” Kelsey added.

“You can see him right now,” Zandra answered as she stood up. “Just wait
here. I’ll go wake him up.”

Kelsey and Drew watched Zandra disappear through a curtain of beads that led
into a back room.

Kelsey started to pace nervously.

“Do you believe this!” Kelsey was talking more to herself than to Drew. “A
dead gypsy put a curse on me! I hope Zandra’s uncle is like Super-gypsy or
something. Otherwise, I’m doomed.”

“You’re not doomed,” Drew muttered. He didn’t sound very convincing.

Just then the beads parted and Zandra headed toward Kelsey and Drew. An old
man followed behind.

The man appeared to be as old as Madame Valda herself. Kelsey thought that
was a very good sign.

He wore all black. Black pants, black jacket. A worn black leather vest. On a
chain around his neck hung a large blue bead.

When Kelsey peered closer, she realized the bead was really a glass eye!

“This is my uncle, Gregor,” Zandra said as she approached them.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Gregor,” Kelsey said as politely as she could.
There was no way in the world she was going to insult another gypsy.

Gregor’s wrinkled old face showed no expression. He stood as still as a
statue and stared at Kelsey. “Zandra tells me that you think you have been
cursed by Madame Valda,” he finally said.

Gregor spoke in an accent much like Madame Valda’s. And Kelsey thought that
was an even better sign.

“I don’t
think
I’ve been cursed,” Kelsey told Gregor. “I
know
I’ve been cursed.”

Kelsey told Gregor about the Fool card and Madame Valda. She told him all about getting lost, and about the sand crabs.
The jellyfish. The horseflies.

Gregor listened without moving. Without even blinking. When she was finished,
he said, “I must tell you, this is most unusual.”

“No kidding,” Drew blurted out. “Especially since Madame Valda is dead!”

“Death is only a bend in the path for someone as powerful as Madame Valda,”
Gregor told him.

“A what?” Kelsey’s eyes opened wide.

“A bend in the path,” Zandra repeated. “It means that death can’t stop Madame
Valda. It just slows her down for a while.”

Kelsey turned to Drew in time to see his jaw drop.

“I told you Madame Valda was the most powerful gypsy who ever lived,” Zandra
said, as if Kelsey needed to be reminded.

“Yes,” Gregor agreed. “She was the most powerful gypsy who ever lived. Only
she was evil to the bone. And she used her powers in ways that were
unthinkable.”

“Like how unthinkable?” Kelsey asked, not really wanting to know.

Gregor just shook his head. He didn’t answer Kelsey’s question. But he
continued with his story.

“Madame Valda was so evil that the other gypsies feared her. They feared her
for her power. But they also feared that her evil would cause terrible misfortune for all the other
gypsies.

“So, secretly, the other gypsies—her own people—decided to kill her. They
selected a young boy and a young girl to sneak into her tent and poison her
wine.”

“Oh, wow!” Zandra exclaimed. Then she sat down and began fanning herself with
her fashion magazine.

Gregor went on.

“How the boy and girl managed to trick her—no one knows. But Valda died. Her
dead body was thrown into the sea.

“But Valda did not stay in the sea. She has been seen many times and in many
places for over one hundred years. And each time she comes back, it is with evil
in her heart.”

Neither Kelsey nor Drew could speak after Gregor finished his story. But
finally Kelsey managed to break the thick silence. “What happened to the boy and
girl who poisoned her?”

“Madame Valda cursed them and eventually they went crazy.”

“So do you know how to break Madame Valda’s curse?” Zandra asked.

Kelsey held her breath, waiting for the answer.

Gregor nodded yes. “But I must warn you, it will not be easy. It will not be
easy at all.”

Gregor inched closer to Kelsey. She stared at the blue eye dangling from his
neck as he spoke in a deep whisper.

“I can remove the curse,” he stated. “But removing it will be terrifying—so
terrifying that you may think it is
worse
than the curse itself!”

Kelsey shivered. She tried to speak in a normal tone, but her voice came out
in a squeak. “I have no choice. I want to break the curse.”

“Then you must do exactly as I tell you,” Gregor said.

“Fine,” Kelsey agreed. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Gregor’s wrinkly old face finally cracked into a smile. In fact, he started
to laugh. “But you are not ready yet,” he told her.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she insisted.

“No,” Gregor said. “You are not. There are many things you must do before we
can begin. And we can not begin until midnight.”

“How come we can’t begin right away?” Kelsey asked.

“You must not ask any questions,” Gregor told her. “To remove the curse, I
must have your trust.”

Trust? I don’t trust you at all, Kelsey thought. But she knew there was no
point in arguing. “Okay,” she said. “No questions.”

“Good,” Gregor declared. “Now listen to me carefully. The first thing you
must do is gather up your fears.”

“Ask him what that’s supposed to mean,” Kelsey whispered to Drew—so she
wouldn’t break Gregor’s rules.

“What exactly does that mean?” Drew asked.

Gregor ignored him. “You will bring me a map,” he told Kelsey. “And on it you
will circle the street where your beach house is located. Understand?”

Kelsey nodded. At least she really did understand that part, even though she
had no idea why Gregor needed a map.

“And you will bring me a sand crab,” Gregor continued. “One that is still
alive.”

“Ewwww, gross,” Zandra chimed in.

“Hush, Zandra,” Gregor scolded. “You must also bring me a big, buzzing
horsefly,” he continued. “And a lumpy, fat jellyfish. The boy may assist you in
finding these things. But you alone must be the one to catch them.”

Thinking about touching the crabs and the jellyfish made Kelsey itch all
over.

“When you have everything you need, you will come to the gypsy camp. It is
under the boardwalk. You must be there by the stroke of midnight,” Gregor
instructed.

“Don’t worry,” Kelsey assured him. “We’ll be there.”

“Good,” Gregor said, standing up. “Oh, yes,” he added, “there is just one
more thing you will need to bring.”

“What?” Drew asked.

This time Gregor didn’t seem to mind answering Drew’s question. “Twenty
dollars,” he told Drew. “The cost of removing the curse.”

And with that, Gregor and Zandra disappeared behind the beads.