Love Struck Page 8

  Luckily, he wasn’t as good a whisperer as he thought.

  “Down by the Apple store. It’s like the craziest thing,” Reid explained. “This girl started talking to me. Then all of a sudden a guy butted in. He wanted me to get lost. It wasn’t like I was doing anything. I like Lana, but he was all jealous, anyway. So he said he’d make it worth my while if I left. That he could grant me a wish. I didn’t believe it. But I figured why not. So I wished for a magic bag—for anything I want to show up right in my backpack. And it actually worked!”

  No, no, no, no! Reid must have run into Lou and my mother.

  “No way,” D.L. said. “A magic bag? Get real.”

  “I’m serious,” Reid said. “It works.”

  D.L. shook his head and tossed the ball back at Reid. “Dude, you’ve been played. There’s no such thing as a magic bag. I can’t believe you fell for something like that. Did they sell you the Empire State Building, too?”

  “This is real,” Reid said. “This bag can give me anything I want. Well, anything that fits inside it.”

  D.L. crossed his arms in front of him. “Then prove it.”

  “All right,” Reid said, his eyes lighting up. He reminded me of one of the guys on those early morning infomercials that try to sell you their amazing steak knives.

  “A pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, presto.” Reid pulled out a container from his bag. “Gold coins, alakazam.” He reached in and came out with a handful of gold coins. “Games for my Wii, abracadabra!” And suddenly he was holding Wii Sports Resort and the new Super Mario Bros. game.

  “No way,” D.L. said, grabbing the bag.

  “It’s true,” Reid said.

  “I want signed baseball cards,” D.L. said. He looked inside the bag. “See, I knew it wouldn’t work.”

  “Of course not for you,” Reid said. “It’s my magic bag.” Reid closed his eyes. “Signed baseball cards,” he intoned. Seconds later, he reached inside and pulled them out.

  D.L.’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

  I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Don’t tell me, you got the bag from a guy with big dimples, right? Did you have to sign anything? Make a trade? People don’t give you stuff for nothing.” It sounded like Lou just didn’t want Reid flirting with Mom, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason. Young Lou wanted to control the world. What better way than collecting tons of souls?

  “Wasn’t talking to you,” Reid said.

  “She does have a point,” D.L. interjected. He was still examining the backpack, looking for a reasonable explanation for Reid’s magic bag. “What did it cost?”

  “That’s the best part! Absolutely nothing.”

  “And you believed that?” I asked.

  He sneered at me. “I’m not stupid. The guy said I’d be helping him with his documentary, Sold Out, about giving away his fortune and making people’s dreams come true. I just had to sign a waiver.”

  “Did you even read it?” I yelled. The idiot had probably just traded away his soul and didn’t even realize it. Chances were it wasn’t a waiver to be in a documentary. It was a waiver of any rights he had to his life. A written agreement to spend eternity in the underworld. I had a feeling Lou’s fake documentary wasn’t called Sold Out, but rather Souled Out. Meaning he was getting people to sell him their souls.

  “You need to give back the wish.”

  Reid’s eyebrows furrowed. “No way. Do you see this? It’s the real deal. And I was smart. I didn’t just get one thing,” he said, tapping his head. “I made it so I can get unlimited gifts. Cash, a new baseball glove, an iPad, anything that fits in my backpack is mine.” He then opened his bag and proceeded to pull out cash, a baseball glove, and an iPad.

  “Maybe we should check out what this wish thing is all about,” D.L. said, still keeping a hand on Reid’s bag. “Then I won’t need a stupid autograph. I can make Courtney crazy for me without i—”

  “No!” I interrupted, and pulled D.L.’s hand off Reid’s bag. “Love spells are awful. You don’t want someone to like you because of that. Trust me.”

  “How would you know?” D.L. asked.

  “Umm,” I stammered. “It’s obvious. You’d never know for sure if the person really likes you.”

  There was no way I was letting D.L. make a deal with my father. The price was too high. Besides, Courtney certainly wasn’t risk-your-soul hot.

  “Fine,” D.L. said. “Then forget the love spell. There are tons of other things I could wish for. I wouldn’t mind my own magic bag.”

  “This whole thing doesn’t sound too good to be true to you?” I asked. “Don’t you think there’s a catch?”

  “Sorry,” Reid said to D.L. “I’m outta here. I’ve had enough. She”—he pointed to me—“is such a downer. I can’t stand to be around her. Just the sight of her makes me wish I had asked for an Angel-free world.”

  Which reminded me . . . I had a real angel I needed to get to.

  “But did you see all that stuff he had?” D.L. gestured to Reid as he walked off. “That bag was empty and he pulled out an iPad. You can’t fake that.”

  “Yes, you can. Haven’t you ever heard of the magic of Hollywood?” I argued. “There could have been an extra compartment in his bag that you never found. Or maybe Reid is a great magician and used sleight of hand to make it look like those things came from the bag. They were probably under his sweater. This could all be a big setup. A documentary on how people are gullible—and Reid is in on it. Now, are we getting the autograph for Courtney or do you want to go make a joke of yourself? I’m sure your girlfriend won’t want to see you made a fool of on some show.”

  “All right,” D.L. said, giving in. “Let’s go.”

  It was about time!

  chapter 24

  We got to the stage area, and everyone was gone. Everyone but security. The concert was over.

  “Ready?” I asked D.L.

  “Ready,” he answered.

  And just like that D.L. ran up to the guards and tried to push his way into the backstage area. It felt like we were in a movie. One where we were about to save the world. James Bond, watch out.

  “You can’t go in there,” the bigger guard told him.

  “Try and stop me,” D.L. answered.

  The skinny one tried to do just that. He reached for D.L.’s arm, but D.L. ran. The guy was fast. He raced around the corner with the first guard chasing him. A second later D.L. was back at the door trying to get inside again. This time the second guard tried to catch him. Before I knew it, D.L. had both men following him, and when he turned the corner, the coast was clear for me to get backstage. I booked it to the door before the guards could make it back.

  Once I made it inside, I kept my eyes glued on the door to make sure I wasn’t followed. But when you’re looking backward, you can’t really see what’s in front of you. And that’s how I smashed right into Lance Gold.

  “You again,” he said, backing up from me. He ended up wedging himself against the wall where Clothes Therapy used to keep the shoes. Which worked for me. I had him cornered.

  The best part was that I didn’t see his mother. That was a good sign. Hopefully, she would stay wherever she was for a long, long time.

  “Yup. It’s me. The one who tried to fix you up with the world’s most amazing girl. But that’s not why I’m here now.”

  I didn’t care that he didn’t look excited to see me. I delved right into my plea. “I need your help,” I said in an almost whisper out of the side of my mouth. “I made a mess of things and now the devil is out there hurting innocent people.”

  Lance didn’t say anything. “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I know who you really are. I know you have powers.”

  “What?” he asked, looking at me like I’d escaped from the insane asylum. “What do you mean powers? I played a superhero in one of my movies, but that was make-believe. It’s called acting.”

  “It’s okay—your secret’s safe with me. I’v
e got powers, too,” I told him.

  Just then, his mother threw open the office door. “Lance,” she said, joining him, “go wait in the back room.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone with her,” he said. “She might be dangerous.”

  Oh my gosh. He thought I was like my father. That I’d actually hurt his mom. “I won’t hurt her. I’m not the devil.”

  Lance looked kind of frightened.

  “LANCE. NOW!” his mother said.

  “But—,” he protested.

  “GO!”

  He did as he was told. It was just me and Harmony Gold face-to-face. Again.

  “I told you to leave us alone.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t want to cause any trouble. I just need help. And I thought maybe Lance would be more understanding than you. He’s always doing stuff for others. And what I’m asking would help tons of innocent people.”

  “Keep my son out of this.” She tried to usher me out, but I wouldn’t let her.

  “No. If you won’t help me, maybe he will.” I was hoping I’d have better luck with someone closer to my age who understood what it was like dealing with a difficult parent.

  Harmony let out a long sigh. “Lance can’t help you undo anything,” she said, her hands on her hips. “You may know his secret, but he doesn’t. He has no clue that he comes from angels. And that’s exactly how I intend it to stay.”

  He didn’t know? No wonder he was so scared of me. I must have seemed like a lunatic to him. Okay, I could deal with this. It was just a minor curveball. “Then, please, can’t you help me?” I begged her. “I made it so Lou thinks he’s a teen again. And I think you know what happened during that point in his life.”

  Harmony closed her eyes for a second. She took a deep breath before speaking. “I do. But there’s a pact in place. I don’t mess with Lou. He doesn’t mess with me.”

  “But when did you make that? Probably not when he was all wicked and trying to take over the planet. And that’s where he is now. So the pact doesn’t count.”

  “Sorry, Angel. A deal is a deal.”

  Sorry? She was going to let the world suffer at the hands of Lucifer and all she could give me was sorry?

  “Fine,” I said. “If you don’t help me, then I’ll just tell Lance the truth about his identity.”

  Was I actually blackmailing an angel? I was going to need a serious karma-cleansing after this was over. “I bet Lance has powers, too,” I went on. “Even if he hasn’t activated them yet.” I looked her right in the eyes, daring her to test me.

  “You would never do that,” she said. “It’s not your place and you know it.”

  “All I know is that I need to stop Lou.”

  “But you won’t do it this way. You won’t tell Lance his true identity. Because you’re good. Truly good. And you understand that he needs to be told in the right way at the right time.”

  Wow. So Harmony Gold thought I was good. That was kind of a big deal. I mean, if anyone’s a good judge of character, it would have to be an angel. Still, good wasn’t enough to get the job done.

  “I can’t stop Lou myself. I wouldn’t ask for help if I didn’t need to.”

  She shook her head no.

  “But I have no one. Everyone’s under a stupid spell.”

  “Ahh,” she said, “that’s right. I sent your powers back at you. Some of my better work, I must say. It’s my ‘I’m Rubber, You’re Glue’ shield. I invented that one when I was about your age. I’ll tell you what, I’ll help you undo the love spell, since I did partially create that situation to begin with.”

  Sort of? Try definitely. But I wasn’t going to complain. At least she’d agreed to do something. Only I had already undone the love spell. For a whole chunk of people, anyway. “It’s a little more complicated now,” I confessed. “I tried to fix it myself and made a group of people feel hate for me instead.”

  She shook her head. “You need to sharpen your focus. You kids today, you’re just not ready for your powers. If it were up to me, you’d all wait until you were eighteen to find out about your special gifts . . . not just Lance.” She waved her arm in the air, as if swatting away a major annoyance—namely me. “All right, let’s undo both spells together.”

  I nodded. We took each other’s hands. I bet it would have looked weird to anyone who knew our secrets. An angel and the devil’s kid working together to fix a problem.

  “Now focus,” she said. “Concentrate on reversing the hate spell. I’ll concentrate on removing the love spell. Everyone will be back to normal in no time.”

  Except for anyone who dared cross my father’s path. But I blocked that out of my mind. One problem at a time.

  I did as Harmony instructed. Two minutes later she dropped my hands. “All fixed,” she said.

  But we both knew better. There was a lot more that needed to be repaired.

  chapter 25

  “’K, bye,” I said, heading toward the door.

  “Yeah, see ya,” she said, rather anxious to get rid of me.

  I knew she wanted me to go, and I wanted to go, but I couldn’t. My feet wouldn’t move. I was stuck there, frozen with fear.

  “I said good-bye, Angel.”

  “I know,” I answered, “I’m trying to go.”

  Apparently I wasn’t trying hard enough for her, because, the next thing I knew, she had lifted me up and had carried me to the exit. The woman was strong.

  She was literally shoving me out the door.

  “Wait,” I said, holding on to the doorframe as she tried to pry my fingers away. “What am I going to do to stop Lou?”

  “You know how. It’s within you.”

  Wait a minute. That was it? That was her big advice? That didn’t help me at all. If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked! She was just trying to get rid of me. “You have to give me more than that.” I held on to the doorframe for dear life.

  “Now I wouldn’t be a very good guardian angel if I just went around giving out answers, would I?” she asked. She kept pushing me out of the room. But I was strong, too. “I’m supposed to guide people to figure out their own solutions, not give them answers.”

  We weren’t talking small everyday problems, like whether to use toothpaste or pimple cream to get rid of a zit. Or what shirt makes muffin tops look less noticeable. We were talking huge, possible destruction-of-life-as-we-know-it problems. I thought she’d make an exception.

  “But this is major. I’m not trying to get my allowance raised, I’m trying—”

  She didn’t let me get any further. “I told you, I’m not getting involved with the devil. This is your problem to solve. Now don’t even try coming back here. Once you leave, I’m putting a protective spell around this area. No one will be able to break inside. No powers, either. And I’m leaving it up until you can get through to Lou.”

  “And what if I can’t?” Only two of my fingers were left clutching the door. I couldn’t hold on much longer. But I didn’t want to go out there. Not alone. Not without her backing me up.

  “Just trust in yourself, Angel.”

  That was one thing I couldn’t do. This was way over my head. How could I go up against my own father? I was a newbie. I wasn’t equipped to battle the king of all things evil. “Lou against me is the same as a giant going up against an ant.”

  “Ants are stronger than you think.” And on that note she gave one final shove, pushing me completely outside. Then she slammed the door shut. I certainly didn’t feel very strong.

  I wandered a few yards. And there, sitting at a table with security, was D.L.! I had forgotten all about him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Did you get the autograph?”

  I had completely forgotten. I hadn’t even asked.

  “You,” a guard I hadn’t seen before said to me, saving me from D.L.’s question. “You need to leave.”

  “But what about him?”

  “Don’t worry about him.”

 
I had to do something.

  “I just came out of there,” I said. “You had to have seen me! I left my phone inside. I just need it back. Please!”

  He didn’t say anything.

  I tugged at his sleeve. “If I lose that phone my parents will kill me. It will just be a second. I promise.”

  “Fine,” he said and knocked on the door.

  Finally something was going my way. I’d get D.L. off the hook, get him his photo, and then deal with the real issues.

  Only no one answered the knock. And when the guard tried to open the door, it wouldn’t budge. Harmony’s protection power. There was no way in. Not until I took care of Lou.

  D.L. was going to have to wait.

  chapter 26

  A loud blast went off at the other side of the mall, followed by screams. Dozens of them!

  I followed the shouts, and, for the umpteenth time that day, I ran across the mall.

  I pictured Lou doing awful things—engulfing people in flames, chaining them to gumball machines, making them clean the floor with their tongues. But that wasn’t what I found at all. In fact, it was the opposite. People were screaming out of excitement. Hundred-dollar bills were shooting out from a hole in the ceiling. All the shoppers were fighting to grab as many of the bills as they could. And standing right in the middle of the cash-covered floor were Lou and my mother.

  “What’s going on here?” I asked them.

  Lou looked away and Mom chuckled. “Well, it seems,” she said, playing with a button on Lou’s shirt, “that he’ll do just about anything to make sure no one talks to me.”

  “Not true,” Lou said. But the blush rising in his cheeks told me it was. “They were just annoying me. All here to see stupid Lance Gold. So I gave them something better. Money.”

  “Well, I still want to meet Lance,” Mom said. “That’s why I picked coming to the mall in the first place.” My mother was totally boy-crazed.

  “You don’t need to meet him,” Lou said. “Look,” he waved his arm and everyone around us froze. “Isn’t this better? Peace and quiet. The whole mall is yours. How often does that happen? You can shop for as long as you want. Have whatever you want.”