As we drove into the darkness, Amber began to shiver. Her dress was sleeveless, but the air in the backseat of the car wasn’t that cold. I found a blanket Michael kept on the floor and wrapped it around Amber, rubbing her arms in what I hoped was a soothing way. Her thoughts were running in quick sporadic bursts, followed by long, frightening blanks.
I leaned forward. “Michael, do you think we should take her to the hospital? What if she’s going into shock?”
“N-no,” Amber protested. “I just want to go home. If I have to explain to my parents—no. Please just take me home.”
Michael met my eyes in the mirror. “We could go out to the nursery, try to get her settled down. It’s still early enough, believe it or not. The dance won’t be ending for over an hour. What time were you supposed to be home, Amber?”
She shook harder. “Not-not tonight. I was supposed to spend the night at Nell’s. She said-she said we would have a slumber party.” Of course. That would have bought her some more time, hours during which no one would miss Amber. I shivered at how close she had come to succeeding.
“Do you want to go out to Michael’s house, Amber?” I asked her softly. “I promise you, it’s a safe place, and Michael’s parents won’t say anything to anyone. They’ll just help us take care of you. We can all settle down a little bit.”
She hesitated, and I knew she was overwhelmed. Twenty-four hours before, Michael and I were her enemies—or so she thought. Now she was clinging to us for dear life.
“Okay,” she finally answered. “But you’ll take me home afterward?”
“Definitely,” Michael affirmed.
We found Amber’s car where she had left it, and I got into the driver’s seat, bundling Amber into the seat next to me, still wrapped in the blanket. We followed Michael through the dark roads until I saw the familiar nursery sign.
The red taillights led me through the deserted nursery back to the cabin. Amber looked around as we climbed out of the car. She shot me a look of terror, and it struck me that coming back into the woods might not have been such a great idea for Amber. I patted her shoulder comfortingly.
“It’s really okay. Look, there’s Marly and Luke at the door.”
It was impossible to be with the Sawyers and feel ill at ease. Marly took over instantly, pulling Amber into the warm living room and putting a mug of hot tea into her hands. The lights were low, and a fire in the corner fireplace gave off a comforting glow.
I culled from Marly’s thoughts that when we had stopped at Amber’s car, Michael had called ahead to warn his parents that we were coming. Nobody brought up anything beyond the ordinary during the first half hour; Marly guided the conversation deftly, asking us about the dance, the decorations and fussing over both my dress and Amber’s.
“You girls are beautiful,” she smiled. “What a treat to be able to see you all dressed up after all. I thought I would have to wait for pictures.”
Michael shook his head with a smile. “That’s my mom, always looking for the bright side.”
We were quiet for a time, watching the dancing flames and each keeping our own counsel. My mind was exhausted, but I still picked up the occasional thought floating about. Michael was thinking very specifically, so that I knew he was actually speaking to me in his head.
I didn’t tell my parents any more than what they needed to know. I told them Nell had caused trouble, Amber needed to get some place safe to recover and that we were all pretty shaken up. What we choose to tell them now is entirely up to you.
I caught his eye and nodded to indicate I’d heard him and understood. Marly and Luke were controlling their curiosity, but I heard the questions that kept ringing in their minds. Amber was still trying to process everything.
“Amber,” I began softly, “I think we need to talk a little about what happened tonight.”
She looked at me dully. “You saved my life tonight, you and Michael. I still don’t get how you knew what was going to happen. Did the other girls tell you?”
“No,” Michael said. “I think Nell’s friends were out of the loop on this one.” He glanced at me. “Or they made a good show of it, anyway.”
“They didn’t know,” I answered with certainty. “They suspected, maybe, that Nell was up to something she hadn’t shared with them, but I don’t think any of them knew what it was. Or even guessed at what she really had in mind.”
Marly looked from Michael to me. “Which was…?”
Michael shot me a questioning glance before I answered his mother. “Nell was planning to kill Amber tonight.”
The room became completely still. Luke was the first one to speak.
“That’s a very serious accusation, Tasmyn. I know you wouldn’t make it lightly. What exactly happened?”
This was the trickiest part. “I can tell you our part, but Amber knows more than we do,” I replied. “Michael and I suspected that Nell intended to do something to Amber, but we didn’t know it was going to be tonight. Then they both disappeared from the dance, and we got anxious. We convinced Liza to tell us where they usually met, and somehow we got there in time. Nell had attacked Amber. She had a knife with her—” this news elicited a gasp from Marly, “—but we don’t know where it went in the confusion of getting her under control.”
“Michael, why didn’t you call for help? You could have both—all—been badly hurt, if Nell was as out of control as you say.” Luke’s voice was rough with anxious concern.
“There wasn’t time, Dad. And in the beginning we didn’t have any proof. Turns out we still don’t. We had to just let Nell leave and get Amber out of there.”
“You did the right thing,” Marly interjected. “We can always call the police now.”
“And tell them what?” Michael asked. “Nell threatened to turn it all on us, and she’s right. We know her friends will back her up on anything she says. Unless we find that knife, there’s nothing we can do.”
“I’m a little confused about one thing,” Marly said slowly, and my heartbeat quickened. I knew what she was going to say, because it had been rolling around her head all during this conversation. I had a decision to make.
“How did you two know what Nell was going to do? If someone told you, that person could be a witness. Or if you overheard Nell telling someone else…”
Michael didn’t answer; he simply looked toward me. And I knew what I had to say. It was awkward with Amber here too, but I decided that after all we had been through, she deserved to know as well.
“Nell’s been planning this for a long time. She’s been thinking about it. And—” I took a deep breath. “I could hear her. I could hear her planning to do something horrible to Amber.”
Again the room was quiet. “What do you mean, you could hear her?” Marly queried.
“I mean, I could hear her thoughts. I can do that. I can hear what people are thinking. I try not to, most of the time, but sometimes I can’t help it.” I looked at both Luke and Marly, pleadingly. They were staring at me, blankly. In her chair in the corner, Amber looked bewildered.
“Mom, Dad, this doesn’t change who Tasmyn is. She just has a talent you didn’t know about. She’s still the same person you know and—”
“Michael, don’t be stupid.” Marly’s voice was impatient. “We know that. Just because we’re a little surprised doesn’t mean it changes how we love Tasmyn, not one iota.”
Relief flooded my heart. I hadn’t realized how much it mattered to me, what Luke and Marly thought.
“So…” Luke spoke. “You… heard… what Nell was planning, and you decided to try to stop her yourselves?”
Apparently we weren’t going to deal with my rather unusual gift just at this moment. Actually, I was kind of grateful that they seemed to be taking it so matter-of-factly.
“We didn’t know what else to do,” Michael answered his father. “We handled it the best way we could.”
“Tasmyn, do your parents know about this?” Marly wanted to know.
I hesitated, not sure of what she meant at first. Luckily I was still picking up thoughts, and I realized that she was referring to the Nell situation.
“No,” I replied. “My parents—well, I know Michael told you how protective they are. Now you know the biggest reason. They worry about people finding out about my gift and taking advantage of me.” I made a wry face. “If they find out about tonight, they won’t let me out of the house for the next century.”
Michael reached across the space between our chairs and took my hand. His parents exchanged glances.
“We can discuss that later,” Luke said. “What I’m more concerned with right now is where Nell went after she left you. And Amber, how are you doing?”
Amber hadn’t said a word during the entire conversation. Her eyes had widened at my revelation, and she had let the blanket fall from around her shoulders. Now, in response to Luke’s question, she nodded slowly. “I’m not so cold and shaky anymore. Thanks.” She turned to Michael and me. “I didn’t say this before, but thank you for being there tonight. It sounds so silly and stupid, but you saved my life, I know you did. Even if the knife wasn’t there—I swear she had it. It was the same athame that she used each time before, but she only drew the sacred circle with it then.”
“You used that word before—athame? What’s that?”
Amber closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “It’s a knife. A-a witch’s knife. But we never used it for anything —Marica said we had to—” She flushed red and dropped her chin.
“I think, if you feel up to it, you should probably start from the beginning and tell us everything, Amber. Tas and I only know what she’s heard from you and Nell, and that’s pretty sketchy,” Michael said.
Amber drew in a deep breath. “I can tell you what’s happened since Nell started talking to me. That was right after school began this year. But she and the other girls…” she trailed off, and then she squared her shoulders.
“Okay. I’ll tell you what I know.”