Wish (16 page)

      I glanced at Keith. He shook his head on one side as if
he had water trapped in his ear.

      “Keith gave me the necklace. He’s not going to take it
from me.”

“Keith will take it. Trust me.”

Keith shook his head on the other side, but looked as
confused as I felt.

“Keith,” Dad said. “Take the jewels. You know you want them.
She’ll forgive you. A Witch never really gets over her Sentry. Remember that,
Keith. It will serve you well.”

My eyes stayed on Keith.

“I would never let down Sydney. Never.” His face showed the
conflicting emotions swirling inside him.

“Don’t be so sure, my son. Imagine. Anything you want. Just
wish. Of course, there are limitations. But almost everything you’ve ever
dreamed of. Materials. People. You name it.”

“He can’t have my powers.” I didn’t know why, but I knew I
could never, ever turn my powers over to Keith, no matter how much I trusted
him.

“I don’t want them, Sydney, I swear,” Keith said. He glared
at my dad. “I would never take something from her that doesn’t belong to me.”

“Don’t be so sure.” Dad smiled at me, contorting Jenny’s face
into an evil mask. “Sentries give, take and borrow powers amongst each other
all the time once we get a taste. But first we must get them from our witch.
Keith will take your powers. He’s one of us. Mark my words.”

“You’re wrong, Sir.” Keith looked up Jenny’s body and then
down. “Or should I say ma’am, since you couldn’t even bother to show up in your
own body.” He shifted from foot to foot.

Dad grinned. ”I didn’t want to alarm Sydney. I’ve been
protecting her, just as I protected your mother. I loved her, you know. I did
what was best for her.”

“Don’t you dare say that.” The rage inside me boiled up as if
a switch had flicked it back on. The sirens sounded even closer, racing towards
us. My mind threatened to overload. I suspected my Dad was doing this on
purpose, distracting us to keep us from running, but I couldn’t help defending
my mom. “Stealing her powers and deserting her with two children was best for
her?”

“You don’t understand,” my father said with a wave of Jenny’s
hand.

“No. I guess I don’t. I would never do something like that to
my family. Neither would Mom.”

I stared at the direction the police sirens approached us
from. If only they could help. God I wanted this Dad thing to go away and never
come back. I could have gone for the next sixteen years not seeing the father I
never knew, wearing a skirt.

“No? So why did she leave you alone for the last year?”

Boom. I winced as his words hit the target. “She abandoned
you, Sydney. Lied to you. She wanted to keep your powers from you, just like
me. We want the same thing. We’re your parents. We want the same thing.”

I shook my head. Confused. I remembered times when I’d really
wished for my father. Before I had the ability to make my wishes come true. A
normal kid, who just wanted a daddy.

“He’s lying. He’s never been around for you,” Keith said and
then he gasped as if he’d been punched. “Only when you got your powers, Sydney.”
He said with gritted teeth. “That’s all he cares about. Your powers. He didn’t
bother to come around any time before that.” Keith’s hand went to his forehead
and he groaned again.

Dad turned a furious gaze on Keith. Keith stepped backwards
and stumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

“Too bad,” I said, willing Keith to fight. “He can’t have
them.

“You don’t want the same thing as my Mom. Oh My God. You are
such a liar. You’ve done nothing to protect my family. You’re not a Sentry.
You’re a vampire. A power sucking vampire.”

“Vampire is such an ugly word. And not appropriate in this
case. I didn’t suck out your mother’s life force. Just her powers.” He waved a
hand in the air. “She didn’t even want them anyhow. I practically did her a
favor.”

Dad glanced at Keith and winked. Keith massaged his forehead.

“I’m a Sentry. I did my job. I sheltered my witch from
herself. Your mom is better off. A better mother. Look at you all. You’ve led a
normal life. You and Cody. No witchcraft. No complications.”

“No father,” I snapped, before I could stop myself.

“Yes. Well. No plan is perfect. That couldn’t be helped. I
couldn’t very well stay after I took over her powers, could I? There were other
things I needed. Wanted. I told Tara, your Mom I mean, to find a mortal when I
left. Someone to love, settle down with.” He looked at Jenny’s hands, smiling.
“I guess I’m hard to replace.”

I gasped. How could he even say that? He may have supplied
the sperm, but he wasn’t a part of me. I wouldn’t let him hurt my Mom again.

“We have to go to her,” Keith said, as if reading my mind.
His voice weakened, as if in pain.

I peered down at Cody and Stevie lying on the ground.

“Use your powers, Sydney,” Keith gasped. “Make your dad go
away.”

I wanted to cry. “I can’t,” I whined. “I tried, but I can’t.
I’m too close to the Institute to use them properly.” I repeated my Dad’s own
words.

“He’s wrong. You can. You’re strong enough now.” Keith sucked
in a breath of air and stood straighter, fighting whatever caused his anguish.
“Sydney. You’re stronger than you think.”

I grabbed on to his words, needing to believe them. No one
was going to appear to make this go away It had to be me. I had to be strong.
Do something. I inhaled and grabbed onto the jewels around my neck. My tattoo
vibrated under my shirt so lively I suspected my shirt lifted and danced.

A vibration came not from the necklace, but from my own
fingers. I grinned, sensing my own mental muscle. “You know, Keith. You might
be right.”

“You can’t,” my dad taunted. “Don’t make this harder than it
has to be. You have no idea what you’re up against.” He sounded desperate, and
angry. “I’m your father,” he shouted. “You’ll listen to me. You’ll be sorry. It
will get worse.”

“Hmm. Let me think. My father. Hmm. Missed seeing you at my
school Christmas concerts. Oh. That’s right. Cause you weren’t there!” I shook
my head at his audacity, trying to use parental authority over me now. “I owe
you nothing. You missed my whole life and I’m truly seeing that as a very good
thing.” I closed my eyes tight. “I wish my father would leave Jenny’s body.
Now. Go away.”

Instantly, Jenny slumped to the ground. Her head collided
with the dirt with a thud. A cloud of dust rose up and drifted in the air
before settling on her face.

“Oh no,” I shouted and ran to make sure Jenny was still
breathing.

She opened her eyes. As soon as she looked at me, I knew my
father was gone. He’d left her body. Her eyes were all queen girl-like
appalled, and they grew wider as she looked around her.

“Oh my God.” She sat up and touched her dirt clumped hair.
“My hair,” she wailed. “What have you done to me? You freak. You’re a witch!”
Jenny screamed in horrified gasps and hurried to get up. “There was a man.
Inside me.” She screamed again.

Sirens intensified in volume, not far now.

“Help me, help me,” Jenny screeched scrambling to get up, her
eyes madly scanning the scene around her. “Oh my God. Did you kill them?” she
yelled looking at Cody and Stevie. “Your weird friend and your brother? Your
cute brother? So not his fault he has you for a sister. Oh my God. You killed
your brother and your best friend. Don’t kill me!” She opened her mouth and
screamed again.

I lifted my hand to calm her. “Be quiet. Quiet,” I yelled.

“My phone, my phone,” she screamed searching pockets on her
outfit for her lifeline. “I knew you did something to him. He’d never break up
with me. His parents even tried to ground him for breaking up with me.”

Keith ignored her, staring beyond the clearing. Sirens
approached. “The police are almost here. We have to go, Sydney. We have to get
to the forest before they stop us.”

Jenny pumped her scream to a higher volume that would have
made cheerleaders proud.

I put my hands on both ears, closing my eyes.

“I wish Jenny Truman would shut up and go to sleep.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Jenny slumped to the
ground. Silent.

“Oh my God, Keith.” I looked down at the three bodies spread
out on the ground. All of them oblivious. “What have I done?”

The police sirens got louder and louder. 

“Come on. They’re sleeping. They’ll be okay, right? Let’s go.
We have to go now, before the police get here. They’re going after your Mom.”

“Are you my Sentry?” I demanded. “Is that why you’ve been
getting all these stupid feelings about forests and my Mom? You do have a part
in this whole thing.”

Keith’s shoulder lifted. “I don’t know.” He pushed me gently
to get me moving but I glared at him to stop.

“Does that mean you’re going to betray me?” I demanded.

Keith looked back towards the screeching sounds of the police
sirens. “For God sakes. Do you even have to ask?” He nodded his head towards
the trees. The green and black blur waiting to suck the life out of me again.

“I would never betray you,” Keith said. “Let’s go. We need to
get to your Mom before your Dad does.”

With his words, I didn’t hesitate going into the woods. We
ran inside the forest and the plant life sucked the breath right out of my
lungs again. I stopped to catch my breath. Keith tugged on my arm. “Come on. We
have to get a head start on police. We have to find your Mom.”

I followed close behind him as he pushed back branches and
plowed forward.

      “You can’t win, Sydney,” a male voice said behind me.

I swiveled around. No one was there. I swallowed, positive
the voice belonged to the man who’d supplied the sperm for my life. So Ew. But
I didn’t see him anywhere.

“Did you hear that?” I asked Keith. “My dad?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He grabbed my hand and kept running.
“Ignore him. Come on,” he said.

“It’s no use, Sydney. There’s too many of us,” the creepy
disembodied voice taunted us. “We’ll take the hundredth powers. One way or
another.”

I squeezed Keith’s hand so tight his fingers must have lost
circulation. “You’re wrong. I am the hundredth. And I am strong,” I said.
Chanting like a mantra. “Strong.” The beads around my neck pulsed as if to back
up my statement. Thank goodness. Frankly, I was bluffing.

“Don’t let go of my hand. I don’t want to lose you again.”
Keith yelled back as we tore through the forest. “We can’t afford any more
mistakes.”

All this freaking urgency already. Keith pulled me along,
running faster as he plunged past leaves and branches, holding them back as we
passed, but they scratched me any way. Fortunately as soon as they hurt, a
soothing sensation replaced it. Until the next branch struck. My skin was
having a healing party. A witchy festival.

“My skin keeps healing itself, I am so weird,” I said.

“Well. Don’t lose it now. You still have bigger things to
face.”

 “You know, Keith. A little less honesty might be appreciated
at about this point. My brain is pretty full.” I held on. “Are we there yet?” I
giggled and feared my insanity loomed. I’d remembered being in the car with
Cody and driving Mom and Nana bonkers with our continual question. Are we there
yet?

“Keep it together. We’re close. I can sense her.” Keith
stopped and I plowed right into his back.

“Whoa,” he said.

He turned to me and I glanced around him. The trees seemed to
have grown all together, branches tangled into each other, leaving no room,
impossible to pass. I ignored my temptation to shrug and go back in the
opposite direction.

Against my better judgment I pushed Keith aside, stepped in
front of him, and instinctively waved my hand in the air in some ancient but
familiar pattern and concentrated. A breeze wafted lifting up dead leaves and
swirling them in circles.

Creaking and crunching echoed in the air and then the trees
began parting, untangling the branches until a path was visible in front of me.

“Okay. I am so a witch.” Pumped by my newfound power I
scrambled ahead, down the path.

Keith shuffled behind me, moving fast to catch up. The air
changed as soon as we darted into the pathway. It felt lighter and cheerier.
Almost vibrating with energy. Breathing was easier in the dryer air, different
from the moist, musky oxygen in the deep forest.

I stopped in my track and Keith crashed into me this time. My
skin hurt from scratches but immediately regenerated and healed. Keith was
scratched up and scabby all over his arms and face. I would have felt worse
except my eyes opened wider staring at the apparition in front of us. Keith
looked as freaked out as me.

Several feet in front of us a clearing had been made, right
in the middle of the dense forest. It almost looked like a crop circle except
instead of crops; thick gnarly branches surrounded the clearing, protecting it
from being seen.