Spell Struck Read Online Free PDF Page B

hackles on a cat.
    "Young man! Over here!"
    The voice had a grandmotherly quiver, a trick Magdalena used to lull treasure hunters into spilling their secrets. I pulled in my aura to form an invisible armor. Act casual. Act like you weren't about to trespass. I brushed a leaf from the gate as if I had happened to notice it and had stopped. Then I angled toward the caller, forcing my shoulders to relax, and readied an alibi.
    An Asian woman, probably in her late fifties, regarded me from beneath a knitted cap. Tiny paw prints muddied her sky-blue ski pants below the knee. A mangy Yorkshire terrier with a ragged ear blinked at me from a baby carrier strapped to the woman's sternum.
    "Have you seen Artemis?"
    "Artemis?" I asked.
    "My fourteen-year old Yorkie. She got tired of being in the carrier with Mitzi and insisted on walking ahead. I can't find her."
    My gut unclenched. "I haven't seen her. But I'll keep an eye out."
    "Thanks." She halved the distance between us. "I got Artemis from the shelter a few weeks ago, just before my son took off for college. No empty nest for me. No sir. Then the rescue club called me about Mitzi." She pointed to the dog in the cloth pack. The creature was so pathetic it was cute in a moist-eyed, half-bald kind of way.
    "I'm June. I live three doors down. Just look for the broken step."
    "I'll let you know if I spot your dog."
    "Thanks. Nice to meet you."
    "You too." I watched her cross the street and walk to the end of the block before I lifted the gate latch and slipped into the yard. The lawn needed mowing, but at least the rain had kept it green. The scraggly boxwoods and a shrub with pink bell-shaped flowers needed pruning. One of the window screens had been torn off and left on the ground.
    I'd seen worse. Much worse. At least vandals hadn't stripped the place. From the outside it still appeared as though someone lived here, someone legit. The former owners must have believed in feng shui . The front door had been painted red for protection. Guess it hadn't worked so well against the bank.
    I knocked three times and waited.
    "Nico." Papo loomed in the doorway. We're the same height, five-foot-nine, but his mean streak made him seem bigger. We have the same dusky skin, wiry build, and raven hair. No wonder strangers think he's my father.
    "Hey."
    "You're late. The light is fading. You try to work now, you'll go blind."
    "Don't worry. I started a new piece in art class. By Saturday I'll have an appointment with the owner of the local New Age store."
    Papo's chin jerked up. "Remember, you don't work on consignment. The owner has to buy the pieces. "
    "I know." I considered asking Papo for a ride so I wouldn't have to haul my carved boxes and altars on the bus. But then he'd follow me into the store and hover, throwing off my pitch and making me look like some kid. Besides, Papo made merchants nervous. Better I bring a few samples. Whatever will fit into my bag.
    "Good. Just make sure you have enough to sell at the Crystal Faire. Business first. School second." His hand swept toward my face. I flinched before I could stop myself. Papo laughed and ruffled my hair, as if I were a dog or something.
    "On Saturday, I may hang around town for a while. Scavenge."
    He grunted in approval. "Find us some more matches while you're at it."
    "Sure." I knew the drill. Go into the nicer restaurants, pretend to look for someone, and then casually lift some matches from the bowl before you leave. Except we were in northern California now, and not too many people smoked. At least not in the ritzy areas. We wouldn't need so many matches if we lived in a real home with electric lights instead of candles, and a stove instead of a little grill, which was useless in the rain.
    Bone-aching cold permeated the house. I headed for the family room where someone, Kali probably, had lit a fire in the fireplace. The heat raised the temperature from about fifty-two degrees to fifty-five. I hoped none of the neighbors noticed