“I did more than stand-in for Leah and Sharayah. I improved their lives.”
“Not without complications. You were lucky.”
Lucky? Is that what Grammy really thought? Sure, I’d made mistakes (knowingly and unknowingly) during my assignments, but they’d been successful nevertheless. I’d thought Grammy was proud of me … but maybe I was wrong. Was this assignment Grammy’s way of giving me another chance to prove myself?
“Tell me more about my assignment,” I asked in my most businesslike tone.
“You’ll find everything you need in there.” She pointed to the glove box.
“Huh?” I raised my brows.
“Look inside.”
I popped the glove box open, expecting to find stuff like a car manual, maps, and Mom’s cell phone. Those things were there, but so was something small and wonderful that made me give a shout-out for joy.
“The GEM! Thank you, Grammy!”
“Not just any GEM.” She smiled. “The same one from your last assignment.”
Almost reverently, I picked up the palm-sized book otherwise known as a Guidance Evaluation Manual. The plain gold book appeared boring, but it was a communicator to the other side with audio, video, and text connections. All I had to do was ask a question and the book would create its own answer.
“Go ahead. Ask it anything,” Grammy told me.
Eagerly, I opened the GEM to the first page. It was blank, but I expected that and knew what to do next.
“Why was Alyce inside a coffin?” I asked the tiny book.
A spot of black ink spread and stretched into words across the page.
Not very informative since I’d guessed that already. While the GEM was helpful, it also had a habit of giving annoying answers that led to more questions.
“Why was she at the mortuary?” I tried again.
“Searching for what?”
“That doesn’t tell me anything,” I griped.
While I was deciding what to ask next, pages flipped wildly as if caught up in a sudden storm. Then the book snapped shut like a slap in my face. When I tried to pry it open, the pages stubbornly stayed closed.
“Open!” I ordered, shaking it.
“It has a mind of its own,” Grammy said. “You can’t force it.”
“Stupid book is giving me attitude.”
“Don’t take it personally. The GEM is only a tool and not designed to solve your Host Soul’s problems. Personally, I find them annoying and won’t use one for my assignment.”
“But your assignment is easy.” I glared at my traitorous GEM, then banished it inside the front pocket on Monkey Bag. “You already know all about me. And Mom is your daughter, so you know everything about her, too.”
“Do you know everything about her?”
I shrugged. “Mom is Mom. What else is there to know?”
“I’m not really sure … yet,” Grammy said, with an odd expression that made me wonder what she was thinking.
Before I could ask, she slammed the brakes and I was jerked forward, then back, like a crash test dummy until we came to a stop on the curb in front of a brown, L-shaped corner house that I knew too well.
But the view through Alyce’s eyes distorted the familiar, so that everything I saw seemed different. It was as if I’d entered a foreign country with no knowledge of customs or language. Shadows were deepening with the setting sun, turning the ordinary into the ominous. The sprawling oak I’d climbed countless times to sneak into Alyce’s bedroom window stood there, starkly forbidding, its trunk a twisted grimace of pain, its limp leaves drooping like shadowy tears. A chilly breeze shivered its bony branches, which looked like arms waving me away.
Grammy Greta came around to meet me as I stepped out of the passenger door. “Sorry to leave you like this, but I can’t stay.”
“I know … although I wish you could.” I bit my lip.
“You’ll be fine.”
“Of course, I’m always fine, but … ” I swallowed hard. “Drive safely … Amber.”
“I will … Alyce.” When she embraced me, I closed my eyes and, for a wonderful moment, I was hugging my silver-haired, soft, comfortable grandmother.
Then she drove away, and I was alone.
The sun was disappearing fast behind distant hills; it was the time most families prepared dinner. But there was no sound of voices from this house, only the soft jingle of a wind chime hanging over the front porch. The front yard was dark without a porch light, and the darkly draped windows were like eyes closed in sleep.
Resisting the impulse to turn around, I walked up the front porch steps.
Crimson flickered through slits in the drapes.
And I smelled smoke.
3
When I walked into the house, candles flamed from the coffee table, countertops, and shelves. The scent of hot wax and swirling smoke clouded the room in a surreal fog. There was no sound from the TV — unusual, since Mrs. Perfetti continually watched CNN and other news channels.
Then I saw her on the couch, lying motionless. I coughed, covering my mouth to block the smoke as I rushed over to her.
“Mrs. Perfetti!” I gasped. Kneeling by her side, I checked for a pulse and — thank God! — found one. But she seemed to be in a deep sleep and didn’t even stir at my touch.
I started blowing out candles, then heard a cough and rushed backed to Alyce’s mother. “Mrs. Per — I mean, Mom!” I cried, gently putting my hand under her shoulder. “What happened?”
“Alyce?” She stirred, her eyelids fluttering open.
“Do you need a doctor? I’ll call 911!”
“No, no, no.” By the third “no” her voice was stronger, and she started to push herself up. “I’m fine.”
“But you don’t look fine. And what’s with all these candles?”
“Nothing wrong with enjoying candlelight.” She stood, smoothing her tousled hair from her face. She had the same brown eyes as Alyce, a deep dark chocolate that I’d always admired. But Mrs. Perfetti’s hooded eyes were shrouded in secrets.
“You should see a doctor,” I insisted.
“I’ve told you how I feel about doctors.” She glared at me, defiantly. “I was only sleeping.”
“With enough candles burning to start a bonfire?” I retorted.
“Don’t use that condescending tone on me — it’s your fault.” She was shorter than Alyce by a few inches yet had a way of making me feel small. “You took so long to come home, I must have dozed off waiting for you. Where have you been? Why didn’t you call?”
Mrs. Perfetti folded her arms across her chest, narrowing her gaze with suspicion that made me squirm. Could she tell something was different about me? How was I going to fool her? I was glad for the dim lighting so she couldn’t read the panic on my face. I didn’t know why Alyce had gone to the mortuary, but I knew better than to share that visit with her mother.
“So where were you?” she repeated.
“With a friend.”
“Which means Amber Borden.” She brushed her pleated skirt with her hand as if an annoying best friend