Witch Ball - BK 3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

pulled into the parking lot. He could be
sarcastic and annoying, but he was one of the few
people who would understand this situation.
    A strong smell of diesel hung in the chilled air
as he shut off his engine and stepped out of his
truck.
    "Am I glad to see you," I told him.
    "You are? That's a first," he said with a wry
smile. Pocketing his keys, he gestured toward the
bag in my arms. "What's in there?"
    "Trouble." I lifted the bag.
    "A gift for me?" he asked lightly. Then his smile
died when he peeked in the bag. "Why are you carrying this around? You were supposed to put it
away.
    "I did. But it didn't stay."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Penny-Love mistook it for the crystal ball I
bought for Manny's fortune-telling booth and gave
it to Manny. Then things got really weird ..." I
paused, not wanting to talk about the prediction Manny gave me, as if that would make it would
real. "Anyway, I was going to take the ball home,
only I don't have a ride."

    "You do now," he said.
    "Thanks. That's half of my problem solved.
Now if I could just figure out what to do with this
ball."
    "I'll take it."
    "And do what?" I asked uneasily.
    His hands tightened to fists. "Smash it."
    A tremor shuddered through me. Was destroying the ball the right thing to do? I wasn't sure, and
felt an odd reluctance to give him the ball. I opened
the bag, gazing down at dazzling rainbows spun in
glass. It would be a crime to destroy such a beautiful
antique. I held the bag closer, enjoying a pleasant
warmth. I had a mental image of the ball hanging
high in a window, shining sunlight into colorful
prisms.
    When I glanced up, Dominic was watching me
with a concern. My emotions lurched. I remembered the kiss we shared-the thrill of his touch, the
sweet taste of his lips, and how safe I'd felt in his
strong arms. It never should have happened, yet
we'd been caught up in powerful feelings that hadn't been our own. Still it felt so real ... and the memory lingered. I found myself leaning closer to Dominic, lifting my arms and reaching for-

    "No!" I jumped back, hot all over.
    "No what?" His brows arched with questions.
    "No, we shouldn't do anything dumb ..." I
knew I was blushing. "With the ball, I mean."
    "So what do you want to do," he hesitated,
"with the ball?"
    "We need to understand it better."
    "If that's what you want."
    "I-I don't know what I want." That was the
problem, I thought. Everything felt so confusing.
And instead of getting rid of the ball, I was hugging the bag like it was a prized treasure. I shoved
it at Dominic. "Here. You'd better take it."
    "Are you sure?"
    No! I thought while I answered, "Yes."
    "I know just where to put it for now." Dominic
locked it inside a metal container in the back of his
truck.
    "Is that safe?" I asked, my arms feeling strangely
empty.
    "Trust me, it's secure." He pointed up at the
sky where a large red-brown bird circled, then at Dominic's whistle, the bird fluttered down to perch
on the hood of the truck. He stroked the bird's silky
feathers, then ordered, "Dagger. Guard."

    I knew Dominic had an uncanny way with
wild creatures, still it was freaky to watch him having a conversation with a bird.
    "All done," he said. "Let's go."
    Then he took my hand and led me back to the
carnival.

    I was not in a carnival mood. I mean, I'd just been
told I had less than a week to live-not that I believed that weird prediction-but it was hard to
act like everything was fine. Why didn't I let Dominic smash the ball? Was I crazy or something? It
was just a chunk of glass. Smashing it seemed the
logical thing to do. I still wasn't sure why I stopped
Dominic.
    To my surprise, Amy and Dominic hit it off,
discovering a shared passion for reading. They were
discussing J.R.R. Tolkien as they headed for booths.
I slipped back into the itchy, ugly costume. At least
dodging Velcro balls kept me too busy to dwell on
problems. Well, almost too busy. Between hits I worried about Josh, Nona,