Witch and Wizard - James Patterson [61]
The Matron stared at the hideous creature, appalled.
“You’re next,” Wisty told her.
The Matron shot a glance at the security specialists, and they shook their heads. Whirling, they ran through the crowd as fast as they could. Jonathan too.
The last I saw of the Matron, she was lumbering away, shrieking like a banshee. She had gotten our message; now she would help spread it—right up to the Council of Ones. The fight is on!
Wisty’s eyes grew very large. “I think… we did it!” she said, her voice raspy and weak. Her eyes were turning back to blue again.
“Eww!” I heard a kid squeal. I looked down to see a large rat darting through everyone’s legs. Suddenly, it seized the roach—and bit off its head.
It struck me as being one of the top five grossest things I’d ever seen, but Wisty was having a laugh attack.
“What’s so funny?” I asked her.
“Now that’s justice!” she said as the rat skittered away with the rest of Ezekiel Unger’s roach body in its mouth.
“You know,” she continued, “I like rats much better when they’re not bigger than me. They’re almost cute, don’t you think?”
And then she fainted again.
Yeah, my sister’s weird.
Mostly in a good way.
Chapter 98
Whit
NOW HERE’S WHAT my sister missed: I turned and saw that several of the prison kids were crying, bawling their little eyes out, shivering, cowering.
The One Who Is The One had appeared—this time with no strong winds, no warning of any kind.
He stood directly over Wisty and declared, “She’s good. She’s very good, Whitford. You both are. Of course, you must know that I had no intention of letting either of you be seriously harmed. No, no, no.”
I finally found my voice. “I’ll bet you didn’t.”
“I absolutely didn’t. That isn’t one of the prophecies. Even I can’t change those.”
The One looked hard at me then, almost stared right through me. “You do know the prophecies about you and your sister, don’t you? That’s what all the fuss is about. Your parents didn’t tell you? You mean, no one has? You don’t know?”
I wished I could hurt him, but all I could do was dumbly mutter, “What prophecies?”
“Oh Whit, Whit, poor Whit…. All right then, I’ll have to be the bearer of legend and myth. Listen well.
“Prophecy One: a boy and girl, brother and sister, shall be born to Wiccans and shall achieve powers heretofore unrealized by any other Wiccans. That much is obviously true.
“Prophecy Two: the boy and girl shall lead an army of children to victory…. Well, look around. You won the Battle of the New Order Reformatory, didn’t you?
“Three: the brother and sister shall know great sadness, suffering, and terrible betrayal. Hope not. Think so.
“Four: they must visit all five Levels of Reality, which no one before them has done, and learn the lessons of each level. Sounds even worse than middle school and high school.
“Prophecy Five: well, I’ll come back to that one.
“Six: ultimately, the brother and sister shall combine with an even greater power for the goodness and prosperity of all. Sounds exciting, no?”
The One stared deeply into my eyes, and it was almost as if he were trying to know me better, to understand something about me.
“So, Whitford, what do you think of all this? Am I friend or foe—or a little of each? Are the important things in life black and white, or maybe a little gray? Do fairies, elves, and gremlins exist? And will you ever see Celia again? I leave you with those weighty thoughts and questions.
“And this one last prophecy, sweet prince: the Allgoods shall be executed. That is Prophecy Five. I’m sure that you and your sister will sort it all out. Give her my very best. Wake her gently.”
Chapter 99
Wisty
“WHAT HAPPENED?” I asked dreamily when I opened my eyes and caught sight of Whit.
“You just had a bad dream, Wisty. You’ve been sick for days. Mom and Dad and I have been really worried about you.”
This is what I hoped to hear, anyway.
Then I caught sight of Margo, Sasha, and Emmet in the background. There was a moment