Chapter Two

Bright Lights

Audrey opened her eyes to a fierce ray of sunlight directly in her face. With a low groan, she rolled onto her stomach and jammed a pillow over her head, trying desperately to block out the strong light, and noticed a gentle hum from somewhere in her room. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she poked her head out and began searching for the source of the hum.

She traced it back to the book she'd brought home from the library, and gazed at it from her vantage point on the bed. It looked perfectly innocent, lying open on the floor where she'd left it last night.

Wait…

Open?

I could have sworn I closed it… she thought. Swinging herself out of bed for the second time that day, she glanced leisurely at the clock and discovered, to her shock, that it was nearly noon.

Oh, crud.

She was supposed to meet the rest of her school's Key Club at the local Chevron station for the car wash… in eight minutes.

Horrified, she glanced down at her clothes, and immediately decided to change. She had no desire to be caught in a white t-shirt at a car wash.

Three minutes later, she was out of her room and down the stairs without even a backward glance at the manual.

Unfortunately for her, it just might have been better if she had taken a moment to look at the page it was currently on.

Under RODRIGUEZ, ABEL, an entry in the manual shimmered and winked out at the empty room.

RODRIGUEZ, Audrey M. Novice rating

1185 Myra Avenue. (RL 8.9/ - 0.3)

Cypress, CA 90630 On Ordeal: no calls

(714) 555-8406

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She made it to the Chevron station in the nick of time. The first in a small line of cars, mostly parents and friends of those in Key Club, was just pulling in. Audrey flashed a grin at a tall, dark-haired girl who was currently wielding a hose and nozzle like her life depended on it. The girl grinned back at her and flicked a meaningful glance over her shoulder. "Ryan's over there…"

Audrey struggled to hide a blush and sauntered over to where Ryan Travers was scrubbing at a stubborn spot on the Suburban's hood. He glanced up at her and gave her a smile that left her heart pounding in her chest.

"Hey, Audrey. What's up?"

Um…

"Nothing much… you?"

"Well, now, what does it look like…?"

He grinned at her, though not in a spiteful way, and she felt herself blushing.

Oh no, not now…

She grabbed a sponge to hide her embarrassment and started furiously on a mud splash on the right front fender, inches away from the spot Ryan was currently scrubbing. The splash cleaned off easily, and Audrey reluctantly moved on.

The tall Asian girl knelt beside her on the pretext of scrubbing at the SUV's wheels and muttered, "You really are focused on him, huh?"

Audrey rolled her eyes and flicked her hair over one shoulder in airy annoyance. "I dunno what you mean, Mindy…"

Mindy grinned evilly at her. "Your face is, like, pretty much a nice shade of red right now. What'd he do, like, look at you?" She grinned and ducked the wet rag Audrey hurled at her, coming up chuckling. "What? It's not, like, he's your secret crush or anything…"

Audrey sneaked a glance over her shoulder to see if Ryan had heard any of this, noticed with some relief that he was still working on the stubborn spot, and turned back to Mindy, who was turning red, but with suppressed laughter.

"You are dead, you know that?"

Mindy shrugged and resumed her enthusiastic hosing down of the behemoth SUV.

Ryan noticed with some satisfaction that the spot was definitely coming off, and glanced over at Audrey and… her friend… what was her name? Mandy or something like that. They were chatting animatedly, and as Ryan scrubbed, he casually eavesdropped on their conversation.

He heard the other girl say in a rather loud voice, "It's not, like, he's your secret crush or anything…"

Still scrubbing away at the spot, which by now was nearly gone, he heard Audrey mutter something that sounded dangerously like a threat, and their conversation halted.

The driver of the Suburban returned, and Ryan and the others backed away as the SUV pulled out, and was immediately replaced by a Chevy Cavalier.

He sighed and got to work.

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As six PM rolled around, the line of cars abruptly halted, rush hour being over, and everyone at home for the day.

Ryan collapsed into a lawn chair and heaved a sigh, sipping a Coke he'd bought from the convenience store.

He couldn't help but notice the small circle of girls giggling and talking to Audrey about something. The fact that they kept throwing glances over their shoulders at him, then grinning and ducking back down into the circle was a bit disconcerting. The dark-haired boy by his shoulder watched his friend with a bit of sympathy.

"It's okay, Ryan. They're not exactly sane…"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say, Raghav. You're not the one being talked about in that little circle over there."

Raghav grinned. "Yeah… you're right." He clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Good luck, man. You're gonna need it."

Ryan didn't reply, just settled for glaring at his friend and burying his head in his hands.

A bluish-green Accord rolled into the station, and Raghav sighed. "That's my mom… gotta go. See ya… don't let 'em get to you, okay?"

Ryan waved, then returned his face to his hands as another bout of giggling from the assembled circle of girls reached his ears.

Oh, Lord, shut them up, shut them up, shut them up…

Wonder if he likes me back.

Ryan blinked. That certainly wasn't his thought… was it? Oh, God, he was turning delusional… the noxious gas fumes were getting to him.

But the thought… it had been in a strangely familiar voice.

Female, definitely female.

Audrey…?

Yup.

Wait a minute… she's a wizard? When did she take the Oath?

He made a mental note to ask her when she left, and resigned himself to trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

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It was nearly five o'clock when the last of Audrey's friends left, and she sighed, stretched, and started toward the corner.

"Hey… hey! Audrey! Wait up…"

She froze, and, to her horror, a hot blush began to creep up her cheeks.

Ryan caught up to her, and he flashed her a smile. "Some day, huh?"

Audrey nodded mutely and, stumbling slightly, resumed walking.

Ryan's smile faded. "Listen, Audrey… I need to ask you something."

She froze again, and, of course, blushed furiously. "Go ahead," she said, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"You're a wizard, right?"

Audrey stared dumbly at him. How did he know? "Yeah… yeah, I am."

He stared at her, then sighed. "Do you have any idea what the status thing means when it says 'On Ordeal'?"

She nodded. "Yeah… I guess it's, like, a kind of test… it's to prove you know how to handle your power or something like that."

Ryan sighed. "Oh. Shouldn't be too bad, then… mind if I walk you home?"

Audrey blushed furiously. She was about to say yes, she minded, but a small voice in the back of her head stopped her.

You're not in elementary school any more. Cooties are a thing of the past… I hope. You're in junior high… it's about time. Why not?

So she shook her head mutely and blushed even further.

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The walk home was completed in relative silence, and they were so lost in their own thoughts that neither of them noticed the very expensive-looking black Mercedes-Benz purring along behind them, following their every step.

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Audrey sighed and flopped facefirst onto her bed, letting the sounds of a summer afternoon wash over her. One of her neighbors was mowing the lawn, and the distinct odor of cut grass drifted through her open window. Her calico cat, Pacifica, leapt lightly onto the bed, slipped, and, clawing desperately at the covers, fell ungracefully off the bed.

With an indignant mew, Pacifica jumped back up, this time gaining enough footage to curl up beside Audrey and fall asleep in a matter of seconds.

Stroking the cat's silky head, Audrey reached up beside her pillow, her eyes still closed, and fumbled for the book she had been reading. Something by Agatha Christie. And Then There Were None?

She grabbed it and brought it up to her face. Yup.

Heaving another sigh, she flipped the book open to where her bookmark was wedged solidly between the pages and began to read.

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Audrey groaned as she clambered back into bed in her favorite pajamas, picking up the novel where she'd left off.

She got so into the novel that she lost all track of time, and the next thing she knew, it was nearly 2 AM, and she was dead tired.

Rubbing her eyes, she glanced blearily at the clock.

"Uhhhhnnnn… crap… two AM…?"

Yawning widely, she flicked the light switch off and fell back onto her pillow, where dreams quickly enveloped her.

She was standing in the middle of a two-lane blacktop, facing the setting sun. She closed her eyes as a gentle breeze caressed her face, feeling the sun beat down on her face. It was a pleasant situation, and she couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather be.

Audrey was just thinking Hey, I might wanna move here… when the black Mercedes roared over the hill and toward her.

There was no time to react, and Audrey merely watched in horror as the Mercedes barreled toward her.

Her last thought before the Mercedes slammed into her was I wonder if Ryan knows where this is…

She woke in a cold sweat, winded and wide-eyed. Her heart racing wildly, she rolled laboriously onto her stomach and checked her alarm clock.

4:25 AM.

Her heart still pounding, she heaved herself out of bed and stumbled downstairs. Grabbing a cup from the cabinet where her mom kept them, she poured herself a glass of water and downed it in a few gulps. As she put the cup down, four headlights swept slowly past the window, and she froze as a black Mercedes-Benz coupe rolled ominously past her house, its engine purring sinisterly. Audrey's heart rate tripled as the Mercedes slowed to a stop at the end of her block, then turned left and disappeared, the taillights leaving a faint reddish glow as they disappeared into the early-morning fog.

Audrey refused to believe this was coincidence.

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The sun beat down harshly on the tarmac as Audrey made her way toward Ryan's house, jumping every time a car came up behind her. After looking wildly around as a dark green Tercel passed by, she resigned to the decision that she was not going to be mowed down by a lunatic in a Mercedes, and merely sprinted the last few yards up to the front door, reluctantly glancing about all the while.

She pushed the doorbell, and glanced over her shoulder at the street as an Aerostar rattled by. The door creaked open, and her head swiveled around to look at the middle-aged woman standing in the doorway. The woman smiled tiredly at her.

"Hi…"

Audrey did her best to smile politely. "Hi, I'm here to see Ryan."

The woman stared pointedly at her. "Your name…?"

"I'm Audrey. Rodriguez."

"Oh, yeah, Ryan was talking about you… come on inside. He' s upstairs… go on up, second door to your left."

Audrey slipped out of her sandals and padded upstairs.

She found Ryan, as promised, at his computer in his room. He swiveled around at her knock and smiled at her. Fighting a blush, she dropped onto his bed, and he leaned back in the desk chair he was sitting in.

"So…" Audrey began, a little uncertainly. "You wanted to talk to me?"

He nodded. "Yeah. When, exactly, did you take the Oath?"

"Umm… two days ago… why?"

Ryan pulled the manual out of a desk drawer and opened it to the wizard listings.

TRAVERS, Ryan A. Novice rating

8366 Hanover Street. (RL 8.6/ - 0.3)

Cypress, CA 90630 On Ordeal: no calls

(714) 555-8519 Partnership: pending; see RODRIGUEZ, Audrey M.

He looked up at her. "That's why."

Slamming the manual shut in frustration, he put his chin in his hand and sighed angrily. "I don't get it. We're not supposed to be partnered unless it's for something really important… and I don't see anything important as of right now."

Audrey bristled. "Are you saying that you don't want me as a partner? Or are you saying you think I'm an unimportant jerk who can't even walk straight?"

Ryan reddened and shook his head. "Sorry…" he mumbled, going even redder. "I didn't… didn't mean that…"

Audrey glared at him, her anger subsiding a bit. "Damn well shouldn't have…" she muttered.

Despite her anger, she couldn't help but notice how good he looked.

Fighting a blush back again, she turned her gaze to his room. It was much cleaner than hers, but still not spic-and-span. She was impressed, though she would never let him know that. With a sigh, she took in what hung on his walls: above his computer to the right, a large poster of a black number 3 Goodwrench Monte Carlo hung under a NASCAR banner.

To the upper left, two small marine life paintings hung above a Harry Potter calendar, and a fan perched on a shelf to the direct left of the monitor was blowing cool air into the room.

She liked it, and she was in the process of mentally rearranging her stuff in her room to match it when he jerked her out of her trance.

"Listen, Audrey… did you have a dream last night?"

Audrey stared at him. "Yeah… I did. What's it to you?"

He gazed back at her, then murmured, "If you put it like that, nothing."

Something about him made Audrey immediately feel guilty, and she muttered, "Sorry… why d'you ask?"

"Because I had one. And you were in it."

I was in one of his dreams? Is that good or bad…? Audrey wondered.

"Listen, did it involve a Mercedes?"

She nodded. "Yeah… it hit me… and then I woke up…"

"I was driving it."

What the heck? What, does he want to kill me or something?

"No, I don't."

"Huh?" she asked, bemused.

"I don't want to kill you at all. In fact, I felt like I had to puke after that dream… god, the look on your face was horrible."

Audrey stared at him, slightly intimidated by this.

"So… what does that mean?"

He shrugged. "Audrey, for all I know, it could mean the sky's gonna fall down on us."

She grinned. "You can call me Ree if you want," she said, feeling a little shy all of a sudden.

A smile spread across Ryan's freckled features. "Ree. Sure."

Audrey's stomach did a backflip, and, doing an excellent job of hiding her feeling, she sighed and inquired, "So what do we do… about this?"

A shrug. "I dunno… wait it out and see."

She nodded, and, getting to her feet, stretched.

"Okay… well, if you need me, come on over to my place… you know where it's at… and I guess I'll see you later…"

She was sorely tempted to say "Call me," but decided against it. Too much of a cliché.

As Ryan waved and turned back to his computer, Audrey vanished downstairs.

The door opened and shut, and silence descended over the Travers household once more.