06 - Eye of the Fortuneteller (6 page)

Later that afternoon Kelsey started step one of removing the curse: gathering
her fears.

The map was easy. She found it in the glove compartment of her mother’s car.

Finding a sand crab. That was no problem, either. There were dozens of them
crawling around the beach.

But Kelsey couldn’t stand to actually touch them. The thought of those
creepy, pinchy legs made her skin crawl. So she found a jar in the kitchen and used it to scoop up the
icky creature.

Next came the horsefly. She got a second jar for that. Catching that was
harder. It wasn’t that she couldn’t find one. The problem was that there were
too many! They swarmed the beach.

Kelsey took a deep breath and ran right into a horde of them.

They landed on her skin. They buzzed in her ears. And they stung her.

When she finally clamped the lid on her jar, she had managed to trap three
horseflies.

That left only one more fear.

A jellyfish.

Yuck.

Kelsey swam in the ocean searching for a jellyfish until her lips turned
purple and her skin shriveled like a raisin.

But she still didn’t have one when her parents called her in for dinner.

By the time she and Drew finished eating and headed back out, the sun was
going down. And the beach was totally deserted.

“It’s pretty weird being out here all alone,” Kelsey commented. Then she
thought about how weird it would be going out at midnight—when it was totally
black outside. And a shiver ran down her spine.

“Yeah, it is creepy,” Drew agreed. “Let’s just hope our parents don’t catch us down here. If they do, Madame Valda’s curse is
going to be the last thing we have to worry about.”

But Madame Valda’s curse was the
only
thing that Kelsey was worried
about. And if she didn’t find a jellyfish, she was going to have to worry about
it for the rest of her life.

Kelsey headed into the water.

Drew started to follow.

“You stay on the beach,” she ordered. “Where you can see me.”

“I think I should go with you,” Drew argued.

“You can’t,” Kelsey reminded him. “I have to get the jellyfish myself.”

Kelsey started walking out into the ocean. She scanned every inch of the
water around her.

No jellyfish—anywhere.

She waded in farther and farther. The water grew deeper. And darker. And
colder.

It’s really scary out here, she thought as the water rose up to her
shoulders.

She turned around to look for Drew. But she couldn’t spot him.

She took a few more steps into the ocean—and suddenly the ocean floor dropped
beneath her feet.

She plunged down. Down. Down.

Her arms shot up, out of the water. But her head remained beneath the
surface.

The current pulled her down—deeper and deeper.

Kelsey struggled to break the water’s surface. Struggled to breathe.

She kicked as hard as she could.

Her legs ached. Her lungs burned.

She needed air. She desperately needed air.

Coughing, gasping for breath, she finally burst free.

She gulped the cool night air, filling her lungs. Then she began to swim to
shore.

But the water around her grew rough. She lost her rhythm and began to flail.

Concentrate!
she told herself.
Concentrate!

She kicked, hard. Her arms cut through the water.

She swam and swam.

I must be close,
she thought, panting.
I must be.

But when she lifted her head, she froze.

She couldn’t see the shore.

She couldn’t see anything.

She was lost in a sea of darkness.

“Drew!” Kelsey screamed. “Drew!” But her cries were drowned by the crashing
waves.

Kelsey’s eyes darted around her. Trying to focus. Trying to spot a twinkle of
light—any clue to show her the way to the shore.

But it was completely dark. So dark that she didn’t see the wave forming
behind her. The huge wave.

It crested and broke, catching her in a cyclone of foam.

It spun her upside down.

Then it whipped her out of the water.

And she spotted it—the shore. The giant wave had carried her closer to the
beach.

“Drew!” Kelsey tried to scream. But a wave washed over her, and she swallowed a mouthful of the salty sea.

Where was he?
Her chest tightened.

Why couldn’t she see him? Did he go for help?

Kelsey began to swim again. She was surprised to feel her strokes propel her
easily through the water. And as the shore line grew closer, she began to feel
better. The tightness in her chest eased.

And then the current changed.

Now it thrashed against her, propelling her sideways.

Directly in the path of a huge stone jetty!

“Nooooooo!” Kelsey screamed at the sight of the jagged rocks.

The waves roared in her ears. Her heart thundered in her chest.

She tried to swim against the force. She cast a glance at the jetty.

She was so close to it now.

So close to being pounded against its pointed, rough rocks.

And then she spotted Drew. Running along the jetty. Jumping from rock to
rock.

The waves crashed around her, tossing her body. Tossing her inches from the
craggy wall.

“Kelsey!” Drew shouted down. “I’ll get help!”

“No!” she cried. “No time!”

A huge wave broke, thrusting her into one of the rocks that jutted out. And a sharp pain shot through her leg.

I can’t hold out any longer, Kelsey thought. She could feel the strength seep
from her arms. Her legs.

Drew had to help her—now. In another moment she’d be smashed against the
jetty.

She lifted her face to call to him one more time.

But he turned—and walked away.

The tide pelted Kelsey.

She threw her arms out—to soften the crash against the rough stones.

“Kelsey! Kelsey! Grab this!”

Drew!

He held out a pole—a pole with a red flag on the end. The kind lifeguards use
to warn about rough seas.

Kelsey reached out. Stretching.

Grasping—grasping for the pole.

Drew held it out as far as he could.

Her fingertips grazed the end. She almost had it—but a wave broke over her,
and the pole slipped from her hand.

She tried again—gripping it tightly this time. And Drew pulled her out of the
churning sea.

As she sat on the jetty, gasping for breath, her fingers brushed against
something. Something slimy.

She snatched her hand away.

A jellyfish.

She finally had her jellyfish.

“Drew,” Kelsey whispered. “Drew, wake up. It’s time to go.”

Kelsey stood in the doorway of his room. She was wearing black jeans and a
black hooded sweatshirt.

Drew sprang out of bed. “I’m up! I’m up!”

He was already dressed, in black jeans and a black sweatshirt too. He even
had his sneakers on.

“Come on,” Kelsey said as she tugged him out of bed. “It’s almost a quarter
to twelve. We have to move fast.”

“Okay, okay,” he muttered. “Do you have everything?”

“Uh-huh,” Kelsey told him, patting her backpack. “Right here.”

“Is everyone asleep?” he asked.

“Yep.” Kelsey headed for the door. “So be quiet.”

Kelsey tiptoed down the stairs to the front door. Drew followed.

She opened the door slowly so that it wouldn’t make a sound. Then she and Drew stepped out into the chilly night air.

“Make sure you leave it unlocked,” Drew told her. “We need to get back in.”

Kelsey nodded as she pulled the door closed behind them. “Let’s go!” she
cried, and the two started to run.

They didn’t stop until they reached the boardwalk. “The gypsy camp must be
this way.” Kelsey turned to the left.

“Are you sure?” Drew asked.

“Well, it’s probably near Gregor’s fortunetelling place, right?”

“I guess,” Drew said. “You should have asked him.”

“No,” Kelsey snapped. “
You
should have asked him.
I
wasn’t
allowed to ask any questions, remember?”

A flicker of light suddenly caught Kelsey’s eye.

“Look.” She pointed. “I was right!”

“Okay, okay,” Drew admitted. “We’d better hurry.”

Kelsey glanced at her watch. “Oh, no! It’s three minutes to twelve! Let’s—”

Drew grabbed Kelsey’s arm and tugged her back into the shadows. A dark figure
approached.

As it neared, Kelsey could see it was an old gypsy man—dressed in colorful,
ragged clothing.

Kelsey stepped forward. She forced a smile. “We’re looking for Gregor.” Her
voice squeaked.

“Then you must come quickly, child,” he replied. He was missing almost all of
his teeth, and his breath practically knocked Kelsey over. “Gregor is waiting
for you. Come.” The old man beckoned her with a spindly finger.

Kelsey wasn’t so sure she wanted to follow him. But time was running out.

The old man led them under the boardwalk.

Kelsey had never been under the boardwalk. She felt as if she were in a huge
cove. It was damp and dark—very dark. She could barely see the wooden planks
high above her head.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Her stomach lurched as the
stench of dead fish filled her nostrils.

She wanted to turn back. But then she caught sight of a blazing fire up
ahead.

As the three moved toward it, she could see gypsies—a crowd of
gypsies—sitting in a circle around the crackling flames.

Their colorful clothing and golden jewelry glowed in the fire’s light.

Inside the circle stood Gregor. His face flushed from the heat of the flames.

“So, you are here,” he said as Kelsey and Drew approached. “Just in time.”

All the gypsies rose and turned to stare at Kelsey and Drew. Kelsey didn’t like the feeling of all those eyes on her.

“Did you bring everything I commanded?” Gregor asked.

“Yes,” Kelsey told him. “I’ve got them right here.”

“Good,” Gregor said. “Very good. Come then.” He extended his hand. The
gypsies parted, allowing Kelsey and Drew to step inside the circle.

Then Gregor clapped his hands together twice—and all the gypsies began to
dance.

They danced around the fire, singing an eerie tune—in a language that Kelsey
did not understand.

Kelsey didn’t know what she was supposed to do. So she stood there and
watched. Watched the gypsies whirl around her.

Kelsey recognized Zandra. She was dressed in her gypsy costume, wearing her
long, dark wig. And as she danced with the others in the circle, she looked
every bit as serious as the rest of them.

When Gregor clapped his hands again, the dancing and singing came to an
abrupt stop. And everyone sat.

Gregor reached for an old leather-bound book lying close to the edge of the
fire. “May I have all the items, please,” he addressed Kelsey.

Kelsey reached into her backpack. First she pulled out the jar with the
horseflies. She handed it to Gregor.

He took it without saying a word.

Then she gave him the jar that held the sand crab. He took that, too.

Kelsey had put the jellyfish in a plastic bag. But she still hated touching
it. She tossed it over to Gregor quickly.

The last thing Kelsey pulled out of her backpack was the map.

Gregor spread all the items before him.

He turned the tattered pages of his book, searching for the proper chant.

Then he began, chanting in the same strange language Kelsey had heard before.
And he rocked back and forth—in a deep, deep trance.

Kelsey wondered what Gregor was saying. But she didn’t dare interrupt him.

“Is it over?” she whispered hopefully when Gregor finally stopped his strange
song.

“Not yet,” he answered. “For the curse to be broken, you must swallow your
fears.”

“What do you mean?” Kelsey asked.

Gregor nodded at the items on the ground in front of him. “You must swallow
your fears,” he repeated.

“Are you telling me that I have to eat those things?” Kelsey shrieked.

“Yes,” Gregor told her. “It is the only way to break the curse.”

“No way!” Kelsey said.

Touching sand crabs and jellyfish was disgusting enough. Eating them was out
of the question!

“We do not
have
to go on,” Gregor declared.

“Yes, yes, we do,” Kelsey moaned.

Gregor smiled. “Very well.” Then he reached for the jar with the horsefly.

“You’re going to do it?” Drew cried.

“I—I have to do it,” Kelsey stammered. “I’m not letting that witch beat
me
.”

“Are you ready to begin?” Gregor asked.

A hush fell over the bonfire.

Kelsey could hear the sounds of crashing waves in the distance. The crackling of the flames before her. And the pounding of her
heart.

“Yes,” Kelsey forced herself to reply. “Only—couldn’t we maybe start with
the map first?”

Gregor nodded as he placed the jar down and picked up the map.

He tore a piece out of the map, right where Kelsey had circled her street.
“Open your mouth.”

Kelsey did, and Gregor placed the tiny piece of paper on her tongue. Then he
began to chant.

Swallowing the map was really easy. It clung to the back of her throat for a
only second. Then she managed to choke it down.

But as Gregor reached for the jar of horseflies, Kelsey’s stomach heaved.

When he opened the jar, two of the horseflies escaped. Gregor plucked one of
the wings from the horsefly lying in the bottom of the jar and held it out in
front of Kelsey.

At least I don’t have to swallow the whole thing.
She sighed.

She stared at the wing, trying to convince herself that it wasn’t going to be
as terrible as she thought.