Chapter Four - Justin

I was getting worried by the time Max came back. It was dark out. Not that my siblings couldn't take care of themselves…

Okay, there was absolutely no way I could trust them to take care of themselves. I just hoped they had remembered their cell phones for once.

Max came in around 8. He looked very pleased with himself. "You have no idea how great my day was."

"Did you follow Alex?" I asked him as I carried a tray behind the counter. The Sub Station was nearly dead by now, with only an elderly couple sitting near the window.

"I did. But then I got distracted. But then I found her again, and then she popped out and I didn't find her again. I did find out that pigeons can get really annoyed when you-" I cut him off.

"What did she do when you did follow her?" I asked. It was better than nothing.

"She went shopping. She was at a grocery store. Then she went underground to the art wall." He answered me. "Then she gave me a cupcake and popped away."

"Wait, she knew that you were following her?" I asked. Sometimes I had to wonder about Max.

"Good point." He said slowly. "Well, I did learn never to try and steal a pigeon's eggs. Those guys hate it when you try that."

I sighed again. "Do you have any homework for school?"

"No."

I looked at him.

"Alright, can you help me with it tonight?" Max looked down a bit sheepishly.

"Sure. I'll be waiting up for Alex anyway." He had tried to help me after all, sort of.

After that I spent the next hour pulling out class notes that I had saved from his grade and pouring over his textbooks with him. After that I called Harper to see if she knew where Alex was, no such luck. I waited, doing my own homework before I started reading. I kept an eye on the clock, and I felt more and more worried.

What was she shopping for? Why did she actually want a wizard memo? Does she plan on using the spell again? What exactly is she up to?

Of course, I didn't have any answers. This was always the part I hated the most. I knew I would have to be the one to swoop in and save my sister, but I couldn't make a plan until I knew what she had done.

At first I read, but that didn't take my mind off Alex. I looked through my folder of spells to fix Alex's messes, gathered up a small bag of undo dust, flipped through my scrapbook of the weather lady from Channel 9, read a comic, listened to music…

And I felt absolutely helpless. I wanted to go searching for Alex, but that wouldn't be smart. She could be on Mars, or back in time or anywhere at all. I just had to wait.

I sharpened the ten pencils in my binder. I checked that all my notes were in the correct order. I made sure Max was asleep. I called Zeke and Riley just to be sure she wasn't with them for some reason. I checked her bedroom every five minutes to make sure she hadn't snuck in.

Where are you?

And suddenly she came into the Sub Station through the door. There was a strange glint in her eye, and she hugged me. That was very unusual. This night was full of bad signs. That glint in her eye, it wasn't a normal Alex scheme glint. It was strange.

"Sorry I'm late. I need to borrow some stuff from the Lair. It shouldn't take long." And she stormed past me before I could even articulate a response.

"Alex! Where were you?" I hissed as I followed her into the Lair. "Why did you go grocery shopping? You never go shopping for anything practical."

"Ingredients for my scheme." She explained. "Anyway, nothing that you want to know about."

"Alex. I need to know about it. You have to tell me what's going on. This is weird, even for you. And that is saying something."

She smiled. "I brought you a cupcake. Same kind as I gave Max." She handed it to me. I looked at it. I sniffed it.

"Cinnamon, you know I am allergic to that. What's wrong with you tonight?"

"Nothing's wrong. Actually, I feel great, better than great, I feel alive." She laughed. "Much more alive than usual. Now, eat that cupcake."

"Alex. Have you been, um, doing something?" I sniffed, trying to smell if she had anything on her breath. All I caught was her perfume.

"Something like?" Alex grinned, making me say it.

"Have you been, well, intoxicating yourself?" I asked her. She smiled back innocently, delighted in making me broach the topic.

"No, nothing like that. Anyway, it's not really cinnamon. Please, just take a bite." Now she was pouting. And I didn't want to disappoint her. Still I wasn't stupid. This even felt a bit familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Is this your scheme, get me to eat something I'm allergic to?" I thought out loud. It didn't seem up to her usual standards, but she was acting very weird.

"No. I don't want to hurt you. I just need your help Justin. And I would really appreciate it if you took a bite. I found the cupcake just for you." I took another sniff. There was that cinnamon smell, and vanilla.

"Alex." I whispered, realizing what she meant. Vanilla, Juliet's perfume. Her scent, mixed in with mostly masked death and decay. Fortunately, Alex hadn't mixed any of that into the cupcake. "Why, what are you trying to do? Why are you trying to hurt me like this?

I knew it was going to be a very long night indeed.

"Since when have I needed a reason? You're my brother." The way she said it almost made me pause. She was being defensive now. I didn't get what was going on. Sure, Alex is evil, but she wouldn't strike a low blow like this.

That's when I noticed that I was chained up with a spell. "Sorry, but if you aren't going to help me I can't let you get in the way of my scheme." I stood there, furious as I plotted my next move.

She glared at me. "Justin, I'll be back soon." And she started rummaging through the Lair. What is she after?

There was only one option left, scream like a little girl and either Max or Harper would come running.

After she searched quickly and she grabbed something, and hid it from me. She walked out through the portal. And I was alone in the Lair for a minute. I heard footsteps outside, it sounded like Harper.

It was going to be a long night.