Dark Realms (30 page)

“Yeah, I found this bottle and was wondering
how much you’d sell it for?” I asked, holding it up.

She looked at the bottle and her face
darkened. “Tyler,” she said, turning towards him, “where did you
find this?”

“It was in a box on the floor.” His lips
thinned. “Kendra actually found it.”

Rebecca turned to me. “This potion isn’t
something to mess around with, young lady. It can get you into big
trouble if not handled properly.”

I smiled. “Okay, I’ll be extra careful, I
promise. Is it for sale?”

She sighed. “Although
something tells me I’m going to regret this, I
will
sell it to you, but
only
if you promise to
follow the directions exactly. We don’t want you losing too much
weight.”

I nodded vehemently. I still didn’t believe
a small bottle of liquid would really make me thin, but I was
really getting caught up in her sales technique. She was pretty
darn good.

“I promise. I will follow your directions to
a tee.”

She stared into my eyes for a few seconds.
“Okay, I’ll write them down. If you have any… complications with
the potion, though, call me immediately.”

“What do you mean by complications?” I
asked.

“Well, something more than the typical side
effects. Tyler, could you go help that customer over there?” she
said, pointing towards a young girl looking at charms.

“Sure,” he said, leaving the counter.

I narrowed my eyes. “What kinds of side
effects are typical?”

“Upset stomach, headaches, heartburn. Those
are typical. But if there is anything else, call me.”

“Okay, how much?”

“Well, how much do you have?” she asked.

I laughed. “Well, I have ten dollars.”

“That’s how much it is,” she answered,
holding out her hand.

I pulled out the money my mother had given
me and she rang up the sale. She then wrapped the bottle in tissue
paper and stared at me with concern. “I’m not sure why you want to
do this; you’re a lovely young girl.”

I lowered my voice. “No offense, but you’re
thin and probably don’t understand what it’s like when you look
like me.”

Her eyes softened. “Listen, Kendra, you are
a very pretty girl and I seriously don’t think you need to lose
weight,” she said.

“Thank you, but I’m getting really tired of
being teased at school about my weight,” I whispered. “And if this
bottle can help me, even a little…”

She sighed and pulled out a pen and paper.
“Okay, fine. Kids are cruel, I get that. Just, follow these
directions,” she replied, writing them down. “And don’t take any
more than what this says.”

“I will and… thanks.”

She folded the up the
directions and slid it into the bag. “You’re welcome. Just remember
to be
very
careful.”

I nodded. “I will.”

Smiling, she handed me the potion. “Well, it
was nice meeting you. I hope you’ll stop by after you’ve taken the
potion, so I can see the results.”

“I will, thanks,” I said, feeling giddy.

Just then another customer looking at old
books motioned for Rebecca. “Oh, I gotta go. Call the store if you
need me for anything,” she said, squeezing my shoulder as she
walked away.

“Goodbye.”

I waved to Tyler, who was still assisting
the young girl, who was now gazing at him like he was some kind of
celebrity. He excused himself and walked back over to me while she
watched him with open adoration.

“Looks like you’ve made an admirer,” I
teased.

He turned back towards the girl, who blushed
and looked away. He smiled and then turned to me. “So, my mom
cautioned you about the potion?”

“Yeah and I’ll be fine.”

Sighing, he walked me to the door. “You
know, I really wish you’d just believe it when I say you don’t need
to change. You look great now.”

My cheeks turned crimson, all this talk
about my weight was beginning to make me uncomfortable. “Um, well
thanks. I guess I’d better get going. So, see you on the bus?”

He nodded. “Sure, see you tomorrow.”

Who knows, maybe you’ll
see less of me by then
, I thought with a
little smile.

As I walked out of the store, I had this
crazy feeling that I was being watched. I stopped and looked
around, but didn’t notice anyone paying me any mind.

“Enchanter,” whispered a gentle breeze
against my ear.

I turned towards the sound of the voice, but
found myself still alone on the sidewalk.

“Witchhh…”
the voice hissed into my other ear.

Okay, I’m going
crazy
, I thought, twisting back around
again.

Nobody.

With my heart hammering in my chest, I
clutched my bag tightly and hurried away.

Chapter Seven

I didn’t slow down until I was about two
blocks from home and I heard someone call my name.

I groaned.

Megan.

I’d forgotten all about her invitation.

She was sitting on her porch, drinking what
appeared to be tall glass of lemonade. She smiled and waved me
over.

“Hi. Where are the other girls?” I asked,
climbing the old wooden steps.

“Oh, they left a while ago.”

“Look, I’m sorry I’m late,” I said. “I
stopped by that new shop on Main Street, ‘Secrets’, and lost track
of time.”

“
Oh, I totally understand.
I’ve been there; it has some really cool things.”

I nodded.

“You didn’t happen to see Tyler there, did
you?”

“Yes, actually, his mother owns that
shop.”

“Fascinating,” she said, twirling a long
black strand of hair around her finger. With her large chocolate
eyes and perfect cheekbones, I knew I wouldn’t have much of a
chance against someone as pretty as her if she was setting her
sights on Tyler.

“Um, so I only have a little while,” I said,
wanting to get off the subject of Tyler.

“Come on then,” she said,
waving me inside of her house, which, honestly, looked like it had
been built in the eighteen hundreds and hadn’t been painted or
fixed up since then, either. It
was
kind of creepy-looking and I knew that some of the
younger children in the neighborhood were frightened of it, saying
that it looked haunted. To me, it just looked old and
worn.

“You have a massive home,” I said as we
walked inside.

She smiled. “Yeah. We inherited this
monstrosity from my grandmother. You can get lost inside of this
place if you’re not careful.”

“I bet,” I said. The house had to be over
four thousand square feet. “You must have had fun playing
hide-and-seek here as a child.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, oh, my God, it was a
blast! My cousins and I would hide and sometimes it would take over
an hour to find someone.”

I smiled. “Cool.”

We walked through several candlelit rooms
and I noticed that most of the furniture was covered with sheets,
which I thought was kind of odd, since they were living in the
house.

“It keeps the dust off,” she remarked,
noticing my confusion.

“Oh.”

“You know, it’s just me and my mother,
unless we have guests, then she takes the sheets off.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,”
I said. “A big house like this, I totally understand.”

“Yeah, it’s a bitch to clean, too,
especially that room,” she said as we passed a small, cluttered
library. “Thankfully I’m only responsible for my bedroom.”

“This place is so big, it would take forever
to dust and polish all of these floors,” I stated, noticing that
most of it was hardwood.

“Watch where you’re walking,” said Megan, as
two cats raced by, chasing each other. “My mother has ten cats
running around here somewhere.”

“Hi there,” I said to a tabby who’d brushed
up against my leg before taking off to follow the other two
cats.

“My room’s upstairs,” said Megan as we
neared the staircase.

“So, um, where’s your mom?” I asked.

“Oh, she’s probably around… somewhere.”

We went up the old winding stairway and down
two more hallways until we finally reached her room. “Come on in,”
she said, opening the door with a secretive smile.

I gasped when I entered her bedroom; it was
so different from the rest of the house.

She smiled at my shock. “I know, right?”

As I stepped onto her plush
cream carpeting, I stared in awe at all of the modern décor in a
room that was twice the size of mine. Basically, it was
the
coolest bedroom, I’d
ever seen.

“Pottery Barn,” she said, waving her hand in
the air. “Gotta love them.”

“This room is amazing,” I said, staring at
her large flat-screen television, which was bigger than the one in
our living room. “I’m so jealous.”

Even the walls were cool. One was the color
of sapphire, and as I stepped closer, I noticed that someone had
painted tiny, intricate stars that glittered almost… magically.

“Who painted your wall?” I asked, amazed at
the details of each of each star.

“One of my aunts did it. Gemma, she’s an
artist.”

“Awesome.”

Next to that wall was an enormous platform
bed with a velvety blue and black comforter. Plush pillows were
scattered all over it, along with a black cat, who eyed me
suspiciously.

“This is Willy,” she said, motioning towards
the cat. “He’s mine.”

“Hi, Willy,” I said, offering a friendly
smile.

He stood up, stretched his legs, and then
jumped off the bed and pressed up against my legs.

She raised her eyebrows.
“Wow, he likes you,” she said. “He doesn’t like
anyone
.”

I bent down and scratched his fur while he
purred happily.

“I’ve got to get me one of those,” I said,
admiring the plush white leather chaise that sat next to her
bedroom window.

“Go ahead, take her for a spin.”

“Thanks,” I said, sinking into the cool
leather. I closed my eyes and smiled. “Oh, wow, this is freaken’
amazing. I’m so jealous.”

“Sometimes I fall asleep in it and don’t
wake up until the next morning.”

“I bet.”

Willy jumped on my lap and made himself at
home.

“So,” she said, staring at
me as I pet her cat. “Did you find anything at
Secrets
?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t about to tell her
I’d purchased a bottle of potion to make myself thinner.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” she answered. “I’ve
purchased quite a few items since they’ve opened.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “Yes, one must be prepared for
anything, you know.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant but I
agreed.

“I saw your sister with Mark today,” she
said, getting onto her bed. She lay on her stomach and rested her
chin on her hands, watching me. “I was really surprised.”

“I know. I can’t stand him.”

She nodded. “That was one of the reasons why
I wanted to talk to you. Mark.”

“Oh?”

Her eyes hardened. “He’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“He’s into… witchcraft.”

I laughed. “What is all of this talk of
witchcraft today? It seems like everyone I talk to has something to
say about it.”

“You live in Bayport. What do you
expect?”

“So,” I said, watching her closely. “I heard
that you’re a witch.”

I expected her to burst out laughing but she
only shrugged. “Oh, who said that?”

“Some of the girls at school.”

She rolled her eyes. “God, I hate
gossipers.”

“You and me both,” I said.

She stared past me but didn’t answer.

“So,” I said, changing the subject. “Mark is
dangerous, huh?”

“Definitely. He has a bad aura about
him.”

“What’s an aura?”

“Basically, it’s the energy
he produces, and it’s connected to his personality. Mark’s is
black.
Really
black.”

“Oh,” I said. “I’m assuming that’s pretty
bad.”

“Yes,” she said, sitting up. “So, if you
care about your sister, keep her away from him.”

There was a soft knock on the door. “Megan,”
called a woman’s voice.

Megan rolled her eyes again. “What,
mother?”

Megan’s mother walked into the bedroom. She
was an older version of Megan, but with permanent worry lines on
her forehead. “Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t know you had a guest.”

“Well,” I said. “I really have to be leaving
anyway.”

“How’s your mother doing?” asked Megan’s
mother.

“Um, good I guess,” I said, surprised that
she’d asked about her.

She smiled at me. “Could you please tell her
that Adele says ‘hello’?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thank you.”

I nodded and turned back to Megan. “I should
probably get going now. It’s getting late and my mom’s going to get
worried. Sorry I couldn’t stay very long.”

Megan stood up. “Another time maybe?”

I smiled. “Definitely.”

She walked me back through the house to the
front door and handed me something.

“It’s my phone number,” she said. “If you
ever run into any problems with Mark, call me. Seriously.”

“Uh, okay, thanks,” I said.

She closed the door behind me, and as I
walked away, I glanced back towards the house. Staring down at me
from one of the windows above, was Adele. Before I could raise my
hand to wave goodbye, she vanished into thin air.

I’m losing
it
, I thought, as I turned on my heel and
walked home.

Chapter Eight

“Where’ve you been?” asked my sister as I
walked in the door. It was almost six o’clock.