Witch and Wizard - James Patterson [28]
“Where is Junior Informant Swain?” the Matron demanded.
“I’m sorry, but he left, Matron,” I said, forcing myself to sound respectful. “He only stayed a minute. Read us the abridged riot act, though. He’s tough.”
“You’re lying!” Her cavernous nostrils flared wide, making white lines on either side of her formidable nose. The next thing I knew, she lunged forward, jabbing the stun gun against the small of my back.
Chapter 47
Whit
I FROZE—fully expecting to drop with excruciating pain as I had before, maybe pass out—but all I felt was a little… tickling sensation.
At first I thought maybe she hadn’t charged the stun gun properly, but I looked down and saw the evil blue sparks and smelled the ozone, just like before, yet there was no terrible pain. Nada.
The Matron glared, waiting for me to fall down, so I obligingly groaned and sank to my knees, dragging my hands along the wall as if I didn’t have the strength to keep upright. I flashed a quick wink at Wisty so she’d know I was faking.
In the meantime, the guards took their posts just outside the door while the Matron scrutinized the tiny air-shaft window. It was clearly too small for us to have thrown Byron out of, at least in his former shape.
She investigated the bathroom for what seemed like an eternity, like maybe we had flushed him down the john and she’d find his hair gel for evidence.
Then it hit me that the Matron and her lackeys had left the door to the hallway open. I glanced at Wisty and saw she’d noticed too. We started to slink toward it, but we could see the guards’ arms outside, holding stun guns at the ready. Was there any way we could take them? Maybe Wisty could turn them into toads?
I saw something dart into the room then. A shadow. It instantly blended with the deep gloom along the far wall. Wisty’s eyes widened—she’d seen it too. We exchanged puzzled, worried glances.
The Matron glared at us suspiciously. “I’ll be back.” Then she stomped out.
As she was passing one of the guards, she had a last-minute idea and tapped her stun gun against his chest. Instantly “Joe” screamed and dropped like a sack of hot potatoes. We all stared at his muscular body, twitching on the ground like a monster eel.
The Matron looked at him, looked at the stun gun, then slammed our door, locking it.
“So,” Wisty asked, “stun guns not so effective on you any longer?”
I couldn’t help chuckling. “Apparently not,” I said, peering into the shadows again. I was sure I had seen something moving….
“Either I’ve developed some serious tolerance, or our powers are growing—”
I broke off as I saw one shadow separating from another. A person-shaped shadow. It moved toward us.
“Oh my God, Whit,” Wisty said. “Now I’m seeing fairies.”
Chapter 48
Whit
“NOT EXACTLY,” it said in a voice that just about stopped me from breathing.
As the shadow moved closer to the meager light, it became more three-dimensional. Right before our eyes, the shape… filled in, until it—she—looked incredibly real. And beautiful.
“Celia,” I whispered. “You came.”
“Celia!” confirmed Wisty. “You came from where?”
She smiled at us both, what little light there was raking across her face. She didn’t seem as pale now, and I took that as a good sign. Hopeful.
“Hi, Wisty,” said Celia, giving her sweetest smile. She’d always been supernice to Wisty. And everybody else, for that matter—geeks, jocks, Goths, little kids—it made no difference to Celia. She found the best in people—especially me.
“B-but… how?” Wisty stammered as Celia moved toward us without a sound. And suddenly I noticed that something else was different—she had no scent. She’d always worn this wild-rose perfume, and every time I smelled it, my heart thudded a little and my blood seemed to pump faster. But now when I breathed deep, all I could smell was the dank Hospital.
“Can I… hold you?” I asked.
“I don’t think so, but we can try,” Celia said, getting more emotional. “Oh, Whit… please try. I need