Witch Ball - BK 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

have your fortune
told?"
    "Me? You have to be kidding."
    "Even doctors must have checkups and teachers need to go to school. It's about time the psychic
gets a reading. And I am just the mystic to do it!"
    "It's too dark in here," I complained, feeling
around for a chair and then sitting across from him.
    "Mood lighting. Now sit quietly, my dear, while
I consult the crystal ball."
    "Usually you just consult me." It had been
easy coming up with predictions for him. All I had
to do was concentrate on a name and I just knew
things. Like Lizette's boyfriend had gotten a speeding ticket, Manuel's male cat was actually female
and pregnant, and Mr. Blankenship needed to replace his car battery.
    "Mystic Manny knows all," he declared.

    "Your accent is pathetic. Is it supposed to be
German or Russian?"
    He held up his palm. "Silence while I summon the spirits."
    I shrugged, deciding this could be amusing.
Manny would probably say something self-serving
like I was destined to work extra hours on the
newspaper.
    My eyes began to adjust to the dark as Manny
waved his hands over the crystal ball and he chanted
strange words. The ball flashed like a blazing moon,
and I smelled a strong scent of vanilla. A silver-gray
aura swirled, making me dizzy.
    "You have angered a powerful force," Manny
spoke in a raspy voice. "I see much darkness ahead."
    So get more candles, I was going to joke, only
my throat tightened and I couldn't speak.
    "Dire events are churning in motion." He
stared deep into the ball, taking his mystic role too
far. He even looked like a different person; as if a
withered, pale mask floated over his face.
    "Nothing earthbound or spirit guided will protect you from the dark journey ahead," he droned
ominously. "Destiny is unavoidable."

    What destiny? I wanted to shout, but I couldn't
even open my mouth. A heavy pressure pushed me
down, trapping me spellbound in my chair. Stop it,
Manny! This is all wrong and scary. You're not acting
like yourself.
    But his mouth twisted in an angry line and his
burning eyes bore into me. "Someone who loves you
will cause your death. In five days, you will die."

    The reddish glow faded from the glass ball and the
heavy gray aura lifted.
    "What happened?" Manny blinked as if waking from a long sleep. "Sabine, why are you looking at me like that?
    I rocked in the chair, wrapping my arms around
myself. My head throbbed. I felt both chilled and
hot all over.

    Manny stood up and drew back the curtain,
shining bright light into the tent. "Beany, are you
sick?"
    Five days, five days ... the words echoed in my
head.
    "Say something already. What just happened?"
    "Don't you remember?" I whispered hoarsely.
"Those things you said ..."
    "I haven't said anything yet." He furrowed his
brow. "You only just got here and I was getting
ready to read your fortune."
    "But you already did."
    "No, I didn't. I was going to, but then I ...
well what the hell? That's weird, I usually have a
great memory. I don't understand."
    "Neither do I." The makeshift fortune-telling
tent looked ordinary-until my gaze fell on the
table and I gasped. "That crystal ball! Where did
you get it?"
    "Penny-Love brought it from your house. She
said it was sitting on your dresser right where you
told her. I was expecting something plastic and
cheap, yet this is-"
    "The wrong ball!" I finished.
    "How could that happen?"

    I shook my head, wondering the same thing. I'd
duct-taped the witch ball inside a sturdy box and
hidden it deep inside my closet. Glass balls can't
open doors. So how had it gotten from a duct-taped
box in my closet to the carnival? I'd have to talk with
Penny-Love, but right now there was a more serious
issue.
    "You can not use this," I snatched the ball from
Manny, then found a paper bag and dumped it
inside.
    "Why not?"
    "Because it might be . . . " I lowered my voice
so no one could overhear. "Haunted."
    "Seriously?" His black eyes widened. "Like
with a