Page 30 of Eye on the Ball

“We have to do something.”

“I just wish I knew what,” Jack said. “I have no idea what could cause this.”

“I think?—”

But I never finished that sentence, because a familiar silvery oval formed in the middle of the field not ten yards away.

“Is that the portal to Atlantis?”

Jack studied it. “Similar, but different.”

“Danger?”

“Could be.” He tried to nudge me behind him, but I wasn’t having it. I moved to stand between Lorraine and the portal. Nobody was going to hurt her when I was around.

It wasn’t danger, though.

It was an FBI agent and his extremely pregnant wife.

Alejandro and Rose had come to town.

Rose Cardinal, a powerful witch from a prominent witch family, made a hissing sound and grimaced as soon as she stepped through the portal. She scanned the field and then looked at Jack.

“Who put the bad-luck charm in your dugout?”

13

Tess

We all stood, frozen, as a beautiful, very pregnant witch stalked across the field toward the dugout, her extraordinarily blue eyes snapping and her long golden hair streaming behind her. Alejandro, all black-haired, copper-skinned deadliness, dropped the small leather duffel he held and strode next to his wife, his hand on a gun holstered at his waist.

Jack started after them, and I followed, ignoring his upraised hand. He should know better than to try to make me stay behind by now, anyway.

Rose brushed past Lorraine, who was scowling at her. As she passed my friend, Rose murmured something and waved one hand gracefully. Instantly, Lorraine gasped and then stumbled. Alejandro caught her arm and steadied her, and then Jack reached them and put an arm around Lorraine.

“What happened?” She had a dazed expression on her face. “We started practice, and suddenly I was looking at everyone through a red haze …”

I took her hands in mine. “Are you okay? Rose said there was a bad-luck charm. I was so worried about you.”

She blinked back tears. “Tess. Oh, honey. I was mean to you. I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t even worry about it. It wasn’t you.” I hugged her, my throat suddenly tight. Weirdly, I was grateful for the bad-luck charm. I hated the thought that Lorraine could be so angry with me.

Rose, Jack, and Alejandro were all inside the dugout now. Rose pointed at something but stopped Alejandro from touching it.

“No. Jack will have more natural immunity to it.”

Jack lifted the paper bag and walked it out to a sturdy metal trash can near the dugout. When he tossed it in, Rose lifted her arms and spoke an incantation, and the paper bag exploded into a ball of fire, sending flaming bits of popcorn everywhere.

“Popcornwas the bad-luck charm?” I shook my head, stunned.

Lorraine looked around at our teammates, all of whom had come in from the field and stood around us in a loose semi-circle. “Who brought the popcorn?”

Everybody shook their heads and looked at everyone else. Turned out, nobody brought the popcorn.

“How did it get into the dugout?” Jack asked.

Nobody knew that, either.