“Marcus!”
Theo ran up to us along with Kayla, who was still wearing her princess costume. The two were holding hands.
“Oh man, thank God you’re okay,” Theo said.
“What happened, Theo?” I asked.
He knew exactly what I was going for.
“I know, I know,” he answered quickly. “It was chaos, Marcus. Kids were running around and fire engines were screaming up and, oh yeah, the gym was falling apart. I looked away for five seconds, that’s all. And Ainsley was gone. We looked everywhere, but it was like she just disappeared and…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “She’s safe. We’re all safe.”
Kayla went to Ainsley and held her hands. Their familiar roles were reversed. Where Ainsley looked incredibly fragile, Kayla was confident and solid.
“Are you all right?” Kayla asked softly.
The look on Ainsley’s face was priceless. Her mouth fell open in shock.
“You…you talked” was all she managed to say.
“You don’t remember me talking to you inside?” Kayla asked.
Tears came to Ainsley’s eyes and she shook her head. “I don’t even remember being inside.”
Theo shot me a questioning look. I shrugged as if to say, Yeah, it’s true.
“Why?” Ainsley asked. “I mean, why are you talking now?”
Kayla gave her a tiny smile. “I guess I never felt as though I had anything worth saying, until you needed help.”
“I wish I could remember,” Ainsley said, crying.
“Maybe it’s better you don’t,” Kayla said.
The two hugged. Hopefully they’d be able to rely on each other to make some sense out of what had happened. Or at least to help each other get over it.
Theo pulled me away from the two and spoke in a strained whisper. “They all think it was an earthquake. The kids, the parents, everybody.”
“What are they saying about Ainsley being in the center of it?”
“Not a lot. I heard some rumblings about how they thought she was there to help clear the gym. You know, since she’s always the one in charge. Nobody thinks she had anything to do with it.”
“Good. That explanation makes a heck of a lot more sense than the truth.”
“What is the truth, Marcus?” Theo asked. “Is this over?”
I looked around at the chaotic scene—the frightened kids, the destroyed gym—and at the brilliant canopy of stars shining down on it all from above.
“I sure hope so.”
“Marcus!” Lu yelled.
She was on the back of Nate’s ATV, standing up in the saddle behind Nate as he tore up to us and skidded to a stop. Lu leapt off the bike and threw her arms around me.
“I thought you were trapped down there!”
“We were,” I said. “Ainsley got us to the tunnel back to the school. But she doesn’t remember any of it.”
“You’re lucky, O’Mara,” Nate said. “The whole deal collapsed. All those big boulders? Gone. They sank underground. Whatever was down there ain’t anymore. That clearing is now flat and empty like nothing was ever there.”
Lu said, “We looked to see if the opening to the cavern was still there, but it’s totally sealed off. What happened to the witches?”
“Buried. Along with their broken altar,” I said. “I think whatever hold they had over Ainsley was snapped when the altar went down, just like in the other stories.”
“Mr. Christmas!” came an angry voice.
It was the sour woman from the office. She strode up boldly, still wearing the Cat in the Hat hat, which looked even sillier given the circumstances.
“You have been suspended from this school and all of its functions. Do I need to call a police officer to escort you from—”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “Call them over!”
“What!” Nate shouted in surprise. “What’re you doing?”
“I want to make sure you get what you deserve,” I said.
“Are you kiddin’ me?” Nate exclaimed, furious. “I helped you!”
“I know,” I said. “And I want to make sure you get the credit.”
“Uh, you do?” he asked, totally confused.
“Absolutely!” I turned to the annoying lady and said, “Nate’s a hero. As soon as the earthquake hit, he risked his life to get kids out. Ainsley was in there trying to do the same thing, but she got trapped. If not for Nate, she might not have made it out alive.”
“Is that true?” Ainsley said as she walked over to join us. “You saved me, Nate? I don’t remember a thing.”
Nate was thrown. “Uhhh, hey, don’t listen to me. O’Mara knows what happened.”
“If Nate hadn’t been here, this disaster would have been far worse,” I said. “He saved a whole lot of lives tonight.”
I may have fudged some of the details. Okay, a lot of the details. But the bottom line was the absolute truth: Nate had saved a lot of people, including Ainsley and me.
Ainsley went right to Nate and gave him a big hug.
“Thank you,” she said.
Nate was about as shocked as I’d ever seen anyone, ever. He wasn’t sure how to react but then relaxed, gave in, and hugged her back.
“Hey, no problem,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Theo and Lu did their best not to burst out laughing.
The cranky lady in the hat looked almost as confused as Nate did. Seeing Nate and Ainsley together must have been like a glimpse through the looking glass for her.
“Oh, I see,” she said with disappointment. “That’s very commendable, Mr. Christmas. Well done.”
The woman backed off awkwardly and left. Her thunder was completely gone. She really wanted to bust Nate for something.
Nate got off his bike, took Lu and me by the arms, and led us away from the others.
“You gonna tell me exactly what happened?” he asked.
“What happened is you’re a hero,” I said. “Yeah, I made up some stuff, but what you really did was way bigger than that. You saved a lot of lives.”
Nate looked baffled. He was wrestling with pride, fear, joy, and total confusion.
“So what were those people? I mean, they weren’t human.”
“Sometimes things happen that can’t be explained,” I said. “This is one of those times. But it’s over. Martin and Tomac won’t be coming back to school. And I don’t think there are going to be any more weird accidents either. You did a good thing tonight, Nate. Better you just let it go and don’t try to understand.”
Nate looked sick. He backed away toward his bike.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he said. “I’m getting outta here before anything else happens.”
“Good idea,” I said.
“Just one more thing,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know who you guys are, but I’ll ride with you anytime.”
“I’ll remember that,” I said.
He was about to get on his bike when he thought of something else. He walked over to Kayla, who was standing with Theo. As he approached, Kayla moved a little closer to Theo for protection. Theo puffed up his chest and stood tall to protect her.
“Easy, Poindexter,” Nate said to Theo dismissively. “Don’t get all twitchy.”
Theo backed off, relieved that he didn’t have to protect Kayla from the bully.
Nate turned to Kayla.
“Look, uh, Kayla,” he said awkwardly, “I’ve been kind of a jerk to you. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Kayla smiled sweetly and said, “Thanks.”
Nate perked up with surprise. “Hey, you talked! Did everybody hear that? I got her to talk! I did it! I win the bet! Yeah!”
We all reacted with blank stares. Nate got the message and calmed down.
“Uh, oh, never mind,” he said, embarrassed. “I get it. Not cool. Sorry.”
He skulked off toward his bike, but Ainsley got in his way. Nate
froze. The two stood staring at one another. Everybody was ready for Ainsley to tee off on him. Including Nate.
Ainsley smiled and said, “Could you give me a ride home? I’m really tired.”
Nate brightened.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Hop on!”
“Wait one second,” she said to him, and then came over to me and Lu.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure why, but I feel like I should thank you guys.”
“No worries,” Lu said. “We’re just happy everybody’s okay.”
“There’s more to this than you’re saying, isn’t there?” Ainsley asked.
“Maybe,” I said with a chuckle. “But it’s over now. The story’s finished.”
Ainsley gave me a confused look, then nodded thoughtfully. I wondered if she would ever have any memories of her brief reign as high priestess of the Black Moon Circle. I sure hope not.
She backed toward Nate’s bike and said, “See you guys on Monday? Big cleanup to do here. Everybody’s gotta pitch in!”
She was back to her old self. That didn’t take long.
“Yeah, good luck with that,” I said.
“Bye, Ainsley,” Lu added.
Ainsley gave us a quick wave and hopped on the back of Nate’s bike. Nate fired up the engine, gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up. With a roar, the two took off and rode into the night.
“I guess stranger things than that have happened,” Theo said as he walked up with Kayla.
“Gee, you think?” Lu said.
“Ainsley has no memory of what she almost did,” Kayla said.
“Hopefully she never will,” I added. “She was being controlled by some very bad people. But they won’t bother her anymore.”
“I’m not so sure I want to know who they were,” Kayla said.
“You don’t,” Theo said with authority. “It’s best you try to forget the whole thing. I know I’m going to.”
“You saved her, Kayla,” Lu said. “You saved everyone.”
“I was just trying to help her,” she said. “Ainsley’s always been so nice to me.”
“Things are going to get a lot better around here,” I said. “For everybody.”
“Kayla!” someone shouted.
A guy stood on the edge of the parking lot waving to her. He looked pretty worried. No big surprise.
“My dad,” Kayla said. “See you guys on Monday?”
We all exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
“No,” Theo finally said, taking the bullet. “We came here to try and put things right. Now we’ve got to go home.”
We all looked to Kayla, wondering how she would react to that. She thought about it and nodded as if she understood. Or maybe she didn’t really want to understand, but she accepted it.
“I knew you guys were a little different,” she said. “Different is good.”
“I always thought so,” Lu said with a smile.
After a few quick hugs, with Theo getting the longest along with a quick kiss on the cheek, Kayla ran off to her father. She looked every bit like a princess running home from the ball.
A very strange and exciting ball.
I reached around my neck and pulled out the Paradox key.
“Ready to go home?” I said.
“Absolutely,” Theo replied.
“Can’t wait,” Lu added.
The three of us walked past random kids and emergency personnel, headed for the school and the first door we could find.
“Hey,” Lu said, “it’s Halloween. What are we going to go as?”
“A hibernating bear,” Theo replied without hesitation. “I need a nap.”
“What about you, Marcus?” Lu asked.
“I’m done with Halloween. As far as I’m concerned, from now on it’s a straight shot from summer to Thanksgiving. No stops in between.”
I inserted the Paradox key into a door that wasn’t visible from the parking lot and opened it to reveal the Library. Holding the door open, I let Lu and Theo enter first. Before going in myself, I took one last look at Coppell Middle School, then lifted my gaze to the sky, where the stars seemed a little less bright.
“Hey,” I asked as I followed them through, “when’s the next black moon on Halloween?”
“So is the Black Moon Circle done for good this time?” Lu asked. “Or will they just hang around until they find another victim, and try it again?”
Everett sat at the circulation desk reading through the red book that now held the rest of the story.
“I do believe this time they are finished,” he replied.
“What makes you think this time is any different from the others?” Theo asked while tugging thoughtfully on his ear.
“In all the other accounts of their shenanigans there was no mention of the agents from the Library destroying any of their totems or talismans. You not only demolished the altar, you also ruined the very powerful items they used to conjure their magic.”
“Yeah, and let’s not forget the whole ‘burying the entire coven under tons of rocks’ thing,” Lu added.
“Aye,” Everett said. “I’ll never say never to anything, but I’d be surprised if another story turned up about them. I’m thinking you put that coven out of business for good, which means there’s only one thing left to do.”
“What’s that?” Theo asked.
“A finished book needs a title,” Everett said with a wink.
All eyes went to me. I had actually given this a little thought.
“This was Ainsley’s story,” I said. “But there were a lot of players. Not all of them were good. Without them, Ainsley would never have been in danger. It was their hatred and anger that made it all happen. That’s what the story was really about.”
“So what do you want to call it?” Theo asked.
“Black Moon Rising.”
Theo and Lu smiled with delight.
“Yeah!” Lu exclaimed. “I’d read that book.”
“Read, yes,” Theo said. “I’d just as soon not have to live through it again.”
“Black Moon Rising it is,” Everett announced. “Now, one more piece of business.”
He slid the book over to me.
“Time for you to return the book,” he said as he opened the cover to the page where I had signed my name.
“What do I do?” I asked.
“Cross your name out, lad,” he said.
He handed me the same old-fashioned pen I had used to sign my name. Checking out the book was another little piece of Library magic that allowed us to become part of the story. Now the story was over. The book was finished. I took the pen and with one quick swipe put a dark line through my name.
“That’s it?” I asked.
Everett took the book from me and closed it.
“Aye. Now I find a spot for it with the other finished books. I believe I’ll be shelving it under Witchcraft.”
“And that means it’s time to get back to real life,” I said.
Theo, Lu, and I stood, ready to hit the exit.
“Real life,” Theo repeated, then looked to Lu. “Did you tell your parents about that C in science yet?”
Lu shrugged. “No, but I’m not sweating it anymore. It’s crazy to stress about not being perfect all the time.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Perfect isn’t good. You might have witches coming after you to try and make you their high priestess.”
“Exactly!” Lu said with a chuckle. “My parents’ll just have to accept that I’m always trying my best.”
“What about you, Marcus?” Everett asked. “Given any thought to what you might do for an extracurricular activity?”
“You mean being an agent for the Library isn’t enough?” Theo asked.
“It would be, if my parents knew,” I said. “So I’m going to tell them.”
The three of them stood up straight as if they’d been shocked by a jolt of electricity.
“Seriously?
” Theo exclaimed. “You’re going to tell them?”
“Bad idea, Marcus,” Lu said. “If you tell them they’ll tell my parents and they’ll tell Theo’s and then none of us will be allowed to come back.”
“Have you thought this through?” Everett asked, frowning.
“Absolutely,” I replied. “I’m going to tell my parents they’re absolutely right. I need to have other interests that’ll help me grow and meet new people, so I decided to volunteer at the library. The school library. They’re always looking for extra help.”
They all stared at me with their mouths open, as if they didn’t quite understand what I was saying.
“The school library?” Lu said, dumbfounded. “You mean like…at school?”
“Yeah. You didn’t think I was going to tell them about this place, did you? Are you crazy?”
There were relieved breaths let out all around.
“I figure it’s a good cover in case anybody hears us talking about the Library. Hopefully it’ll get my parents off my back until track season in the spring.”
Lu gave me a playful shove. “Dork.”
The three of us started for the door that would bring us back to my bedroom.
“Oh,” Everett called out, “almost forgot.”
We turned back to him as he tossed a jet-black book onto the circulation desk.
“I believe I found it,” he declared.
“Found what?” I asked.
“The stories you’ve been looking for. Turns out there aren’t two stories, only one.”
“What are you talking about?” Lu asked, confused.
“It’s a story about a young woman who’s gone missing,” he said.
Lu went rigid. “My cousin? That’s her story? Are you sure?”
“Jenny Feng’s her name?”
“Yes!” Lu exclaimed. “You found her?”
“I found her story,” Everett replied. “I’m afraid your fears are justified. She’s in the middle of a disruption.”
Lu grabbed for the book eagerly.
“Does it say what happened to her?” she asked.
“Up to a point. But she’s still missing. That story doesn’t say why; it only sets the stage.”
“What do you mean, there’s only one story?” Theo asked suspiciously.
“It seems Jenny’s story began when she had her fortune told by a machine at an amusement park.”