Page 52 of Eye on the Ball

She wasn’t wrong. Ace’s skin was a shade of waxy gray I’d never seen on a live human in my life. His eyes were closed, his cheeks were sunken, and he was covered in a loose layer of dirt. Rose must have used her magic to counter the obfuscation spell that had kept us from seeing him, but that made me wonder how long Ace had been out here.

“I know. He looks dead. But I can hear his heart beating. It’s really, really slow, but it’s beating.”

I called Susan and thought, for the hundredth time since I moved back to Dead End, that the town really, really needed a health clinic or doctor’s office.Something.

Calling 911 and waiting for Orlando to respond could cost lives. Probably already had. Not everybody would have the resources to call in a chopper, like our federal agent friend, either, and Rose and the babies had needed the help urgently.

Not that Tess hadn’t stepped up brilliantly.

“You wereamazing.”

“What?” She was still staring at Ace.

I pulled her to her feet. “With Rose. Delivering the baby. You were a rock star. Have you delivered a baby before?”

“No. I’ve read about it, though,” she said absently. “Hey, there’s Aunt Ruby and Uncle Mike, finally. Please keep Shelley back. I don’t want her to see this, and I’m still dizzy from the magic Rose threw.”

But it was too late. Shelley raced across the field to us and skidded to a stop next to us, her little nose wrinkling. “Yuck! What is that smell?”

I didn’t smell anything. Ace was alive, so he didn’t have a death odor. “What smell?”

“The magic clinging to that guy. It smells awful.”

Tess put an arm around her sister. “Is it black magic, honey?”

She would know. The witch who’d tried to sacrifice Shelley to gain power had been a black magic witch.

Shelley thought for a moment, but then shook her head. “No. Not black magic, but maybe … gray? I don’t like it.” She huddled close to Tess.

Mike and Ruby quickly joined us, and they both stared at Ace in shock.

“What is going on? Shelley, please go back to the car. You don’t need to see this. That poor man.”

“He’s not dead,” Shelley and I said simultaneously.

“Jinx,” Shelley whispered.

“What? Of course he’s dead,” Mike said, frowning.

“He’s in magical stasis is my best guess,” I said.

Shelley nodded vehemently. “I can see the magical energy. It’s creepy. Sort of crawling all over him.”

She shuddered and took my hand. I squeezed hers in reassurance.

“Who do we call for not-dead-but-magical-stasis-of-a-kidnapped-Truckman?” Tess asked thoughtfully. Despite the situation, I had to fight not to laugh. It was a measure of the year we’d had that this question didn’t sound the least bit ludicrous.

“Susan’s on the way. I’m sure she’s called for all available help. Does he need a doctor? Or a witch?” I shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

“I wish we could ask Miss Rose,” Shelley said, and then she bounced up and down. “Wait! Miss Rose! What happened? Are the babies okay?”

“The babies are doing great,” I told her. “Your sister delivered the first baby! A girl.”

“Wow!”

Everybody had to hug and congratulate Tess, which was slightly odd given Ace’s body at our feet, but even in Dead End, we had to take the wins when they came.

Sirens came screaming up, and suddenly Sheriff Susan, Deputy Andy, and Deputy Lizzie were all racing across the field toward us.