Post by StoryGirl83 on May 4, 2011 16:39:08 GMT -5
Chapter Sixteen – Striking Out on Their Own
Ladybug picked up the paper in her hand and scrunched it into a ball. “This is hopeless.” She threw the ball across the room.
Hope walked over and picked it up. She opened it and read the words on it. “This isn’t that bad, actually.”
“The fact that my ten-year-old sister had to tell me that . . .” Ladybug trailed off. “Oh, forget it.”
Hope shrugged. “I take it’s that mom’s lessons on spells never really stuck with you.”
Ladybug laughed. “I tried, but . . .” she shook her head. “I nearly flunked English twice while in high school, too.”
Hope giggled. “Do Mom and Dad know?”
Ladybug wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Oh, yeah, they know. Many parent teacher conferences with my English teachers.”
Hope giggled even harder. “I can’t believe I never heard about this.”
Ladybug scowled. “I have never been too interested in airing my faults. What did you do to make me talk?”
Hope was laughing so hard she had to gasp for breath. “Me? You volunteered that all on your own. Sounds to me like you need to talk.”
Ladybug looked at her and after a moment, she smiled. “Maybe so.”
Behind them red and white hearts turned into Cilly and Chris.
Hope turned around at the sound and grinned. “Welcome back. Did you find anything?”
Cilly sat down on the couch between her two sisters. “Unfortunately, it does not appear that there was a lot to find up there. We did not actually go farther than the entrance.”
“Then, how do you know there wasn’t anything to find,” Ladybug wanted to know.
“We talked to a cupid whom I believe holds a sincere regard for both Mom and Dad,” Cilly informed them. “He told us that they never showed.”
Ladybug groaned. “But we saw them leave.”
Hope nodded in agreement. “Dad talked to someone and then he got Mom and they left. They were going to their vacation, directly there. How did they not make it?”
Cilly sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Did he give you some sort of clue where to look?” Ladybug asked hopefully.
Chris shook his head. “Not for your parents anyway. He did make some interesting comments about some other topics, but I don’t think he had any idea where to look for your parents.”
“He did seem to think that some of the cupid where glad they didn’t make it,” Cilly informed them.
“Yeah,” Chris agreed reluctantly, “but he either was protecting them or he didn’t think anyone would talk to us, because he sent us away.”
“He thinks someone tried to do something to them,” Ladybug asked in disbelief, “someone from up there.”
“Maybe,” Chris agreed.
“There was something,” Cilly offered. She glanced down at her ring. “It’s something I’ll have to check on my own though.”
“Can’t we help?” Hope asked, standing to give Chris a quick hug. She looked down at Cilly with a questioning look.
Cilly shook her head. “No, I’m afraid this is something I have to do on my own.” She turned to look at Chris. “I appreciate you trying.”
He sighed. “I just wish I could have been of more use.”
“Well, you made me smile,” Hope informed him. Without waiting for a response she headed over to the window with a frown on her face.
“You were in the middle of something when I showed up,” Ladybug commented to Chris in remembrance. “I’m sorry for taking you away.”
“I’m sure that Wyatt can handle it,” Chris informed her.
Ladybug shrugged. “That could be, but sometimes it helps to have someone to work with, someone who thinks differently and who has different strengths. Cilly says she has to take this next step on her own and I can’t like that, but I don’t think we need your help for whatever it is, so help your brother while I try and help my sister.”
“I think someone is next door,” Hope commented, sounding confused.
“It’s probably Irena,” Ladybug responded without paying much attention.
Hope shook her head. “No, they are visiting Leonard and Michelle.”
Chris raised an eyebrow.
“Do you mean someone broke into their house?” Cilly asked, concerned.
“Maybe,” Hope replied, hesitantly. “Do you feel anything from over there?”
Cilly walked over to the window and closed her eyes. She concentrated and her eyes popped open. “A blocking potion.”
“You feel a blocking potion?” Hope looked at her confused.
Cilly shook her head. “I feel enough to tell someone is there, but not enough to know what they are feeling or anything like that, so I must conclude that whomever is over there has used a blocking potion.”
“Makes sense,” Chris agreed. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Chris orbed out.
When he reappeared her was in the room across from the window his cousins where looking out. He saw nothing. He looked around for a minute, but still found no sign of anyone. He shrugged and orbed back.
As soon as Chris had reappeared in the room Hope was next to him. “Did you find someone?”
Chris shook his head. “Nothing.”
“You weren’t there long,” Ladybug commented.
Chris shrugged. “The room was pretty empty. No one was hiding behind the few pieces of furniture.”
“And was anyone invisible?” Cilly asked, teasingly.
Chris scowled at her. “Well, if anyone was, they should have been using it when Hope thought she saw them earlier. And if there was someone, they are long gone.”
Ladybug turned to her sisters. “We should let him go. I pulled him away from something and I think we need to figure out what to next on our own. Mom and Dad have to be alive. They just have to.”
Cilly sighed. “There’s nothing he can do anyway. You’re right. We have to do this on our own.”
Hope looked at her two sisters and then walked over to Chris. “Thanks for the help,” she told him as she give him a quick hug. She held up his cell phone, which she had slipped out of his pocket. “You know I’m kind of surprised to find this on you, but give Wy a call and let him know you’re on your way.”
Chris gave her a wry grin and took his cell phone. “I won’t ask how you got that without my feeling it.” He flipped open the phone. “Wyatt.”
After several seconds he heard his brother’s voice on the other end, “Chris?”
“Hey, Wy,” Chris smiled at the sound of disbelief in his brother’s voice. “I can keep track of my phone, you know.”
“Sure,” Wyatt agreed, not sounding at all sure. “How are things with Ladybug?”
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Chris informed him, “but for now, I was thinking I could join you and Seth. Are you still at the apartment?”
“Hardly,” Wyatt retorted. “We’re actually at the home of one of Toby’s friends. He left just after you. I think he was annoyed at us.”
“Did you find anything useful?” Chris asked, not sure he liked the sound of that.
“Not really,” Wyatt admitted. “Well, I found out that Seth knows how to irritate someone on the first meeting.”
“Strange, he’s usually quite amicable.”
“Yeah, well, I think it’s a mutual annoyance, because I don’t think Seth is too fond of this guy either.”
“The friend whose house you are at?”
Wyatt chuckled. “Not likely. I think she might have a temper, but right now, I think she’s using the home front advantage to keep her calm. No this guy is . . . well, he’s full demon if I’m understanding them . . . hey! Knock it off.”
“Wy, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” Wyatt assured him. “Toby’s demon friend objected to the moniker.”
“Aren’t they all demons?” Chris asked, confused.
“Not Brianna,” Wyatt informed him. “So why are you calling?”
“Like I said, I was thinking of meeting you. Are you up to it?”
“Sure,” Wyatt replied after a moment. “Do you need an address?”
Chris closed his eyes and focused on his brother. “No, I can sense where you are.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a minute.”
“Bye,” Chris said just before he flipped closed his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. “Good luck.”
“It’s like that cupid said,” Cilly assured him. “We’ll find them.”
It wasn’t exactly what he’d said, but Chris didn’t comment. He gave his cousins hugs and said good-bye before he orbed out leaving them behind to continue the search for the parents.