A muffled voice came from the next room. “Carter?”
“Sadie.” I tried the door to her adjoining room, but it was locked too.
“We’re prisoners,” she said. “Do you think Amos...I mean, can we trust him?”
After all I’d seen today, I didn’t trust anything, but I could hear the fear in Sadie’s voice. It triggered an unfamiliar feeling in me, like I needed to reassure her. The idea seemed ridiculous. Sadie had always seemed so much braver than me—doing what she wanted, never caring about the consequences. I was the one who got scared. But right now, I felt like I needed to play a role I hadn’t played in a long, long time: big brother.
“It’ll be okay.” I tried to sound confident. “Look, if Amos wanted to hurt us, he could’ve done it by now. Try to get some sleep.”
“Carter?”
“Yeah?”
“It was magic, wasn’t it? What happened to Dad at the museum. Amos’s boat. This house. All of it’s magic.”
“I think so.”
I could hear her sigh. “Good. At least I’m not going mad.”
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” I called. And I realized I hadn’t said that to Sadie since we had lived together in Los Angeles, when Mom was still alive.
“I miss Dad,” she said. “I hardly ever saw him, I know, but...I miss him.”
My eyes got a little teary, but I took a deep breath. I was not going to go all weak. Sadie needed me. Dad needed us.
“We’ll find him,” I told her. “Pleasant dreams.”
I listened, but the only thing I heard was Muffin meowing and scampering around, exploring her new space. At least she didn’t seem unhappy.
I got ready for bed and crawled in. The covers were comfortable and warm, but the pillow was just too weird. It gave me neck cramps, so I put it on the floor and went to sleep without it.
My first big mistake.
C A R T E R
6. Breakfast with a Crocodile
HOW TO DESCRIBE IT? Not a nightmare. It was much more real and frightening.
As I slept, I felt myself go weightless. I drifted up, turned, and saw my own sleeping form below.
I’m dying, I thought. But that wasn’t it, either. I wasn’t a ghost. I had a new shimmering golden form with wings instead of arms. I was some kind of bird. [No, Sadie, not a chicken. Will you let me tell the story, please?]
I knew I wasn’t dreaming, because I don’t dream in color. I certainly don’t dream in all five senses. The room smelled faintly of jasmine. I could hear the carbonation bubbles pinging in the can of ginger ale I’d opened on my nightstand. I could feel a cold wind ruffling through my feathers, and I realized the windows were open. I didn’t want to leave, but a strong current pulled me out of the room like a leaf in a storm.
The lights of the mansion faded below me. The skyline of New York blurred and disappeared. I shot through the mist and darkness, strange voices whispering all around me. My stomach tingled as it had earlier that night on Amos’s barge. Then the mist cleared, and I was in a different place.
I floated above a barren mountain. Far below, a grid of city lights stretched across the valley floor. Definitely not New York. It was nighttime, but I could tell I was in the desert. The wind was so dry, the skin on my face was like paper. And I know that doesn’t make sense, but my face felt like my normal face, as if that part of me hadn’t transformed into a bird. [Fine
, Sadie. Call me the Carter-headed chicken. Happy?]
Below me on a ridge stood two figures. They didn’t seem to notice me, and I realized I wasn’t glowing anymore. In fact I was pretty much invisible, floating in the darkness. I couldn’t make out the two figures clearly, except to recognize that they weren’t human. Staring harder, I could see that one was short, squat, and hairless, with slimy skin that glistened in the starlight—like an amphibian standing on its hind legs. The other was tall and scarecrow skinny, with rooster claws instead of feet. I couldn’t see his face very well, but it looked red and moist and...well, let’s just say I was glad I couldn’t see it better.
“Where is he?” the toadie-looking one croaked nervously.
“Hasn’t taken a permanent host yet,” the rooster-footed guy chided. “He can only appear for a short time.”
“You’re sure this is the place?”