"The advantages of being a Time Keeper."
"Except you aren"t anymore." Frankie sounded dead calm. "Your memories have been stripped, due to misconduct."
"Even if they weren"t," Cliff gritted. "It would still be cheating."
"Semantics." Wendell cracked a smug smile.
"You won"t get away with it," Evelina informed him flatly.
"Is that so?" Wendell"s voice hardened. "Well, I"m sorry you feel that way."
The Dirty Diaper Gang snickered.
"Get them!" Wendell commanded.
Ronny and Donny charged.
Wendell pulled two stun guns from his pockets like six shooters, incapacitating Frankie and Cliff in seconds.
Ronny and Donny grabbed Abby.
Evelina sank to her knees to help Frankie, who writhed beside Cliff in the sand, moaning in pain.
Wendell jerked her to her feet, dragging her away. "He"ll live."
"He"d better!" Evelina choked, attempting to twist away. "Or you won"t."
"There, there!" Wendell dragged her toward the beach. "Sorry." Wendell shoved her down beside the war canoe. He trailed one finger down her cheek. "But, I"m afraid I can"t have you running around smearing my good name."
Evelina flinched away.
"Ha!" Abby didn"t bother to disguise her disdain, as Ronny and Donny wrestled her down beside the war canoe. "Since when?"
Wendell"s eyes narrowed. "Since always!"
"How can you feel good if you cheated?" Evelina blurted, hoping to buy some time. "Isn"t it better to win fair and square?"
"No." The Dirty Diaper Gang chimed.
"Hurry up!" Wendell shouted. "Tie them up. I"ll deal with the other two."
Evelina"s mouth went dry.
That didn"t sound good.
Chapter Twelve.
The tide was rising fast.
Evelina writhed and wriggled, and jerked, pulling on the ropes, but couldn"t pry her wrists free.
Abby growled and snarled like a rabid dog, attempting to gnaw the gag from her mouth.
Frankie and Cliff were no help-buried up to their necks in the sand-knocked out cold.
Evelina couldn"t even call to them to wake them up with the gag in her mouth. The Swamp Hog"s shack was in the next bay. No one could hear them over the rush of the surf and wind, even if they were inclined to help them.
Every minute the ocean inched closer.
Evelina"s panic grew.
It was already lapping at their necks.
The black fin of a shark appeared and disappeared beyond the frothy breakers.
She had to get loose and dig them out.
Fast!
Frankie moaned.
Evelina thrashed and pulled harder at the ropes.
If only she knew some untying spell. Or, a dissolving spell. Maybe something to eat the ropes. Or burn them.
Lightning would definitely be overkill.
The shark"s fin appeared above the water, circling closer.
A shiver raced over her scalp.
Think, think, think!
Abby snarled louder.
A spark lit in Evelina"s brain.
That"s it!
The transformation spell.
"Initio Infra!" She choked in m.u.f.fled gasps under the gag, wiggling her finger at Abby.
Razor sharp piranha teeth appeared in Abby"s mouth. Abby chewed through the gag like a shark through sushi. Seconds later she"d ripped off the ropes on her wrists. The spell began to fade just as she untied her ankles.
"How did you do that?" Abby gasped when the razor teeth disappeared and she could speak again.
"I don"t know." Evelina was a little shocked herself. "I just concentrated and it happened."
"We need to talk." Abby untied Evelina"s gag. "Seriously." She moved on to Evelina"s wrists. "I need to get more into this witch thing."
They worked together on the ropes at Evelina"s ankles.
Cliff began to sputter and choke.
The water had risen to his lips.
Evelina and Abby raced over.
Evelina slapped Frankie"s cheeks. "Wake up!"
"Come on, Cliff!" Abby pinched Cliff"s cheeks, pulled on his ears, then gave him a sound slap. "Snap out of it!"
The girls started digging.
But the faster they dug, the faster the ocean rushed in.
Frankie groaned.
Cliff made no sound, no doubt due to the huge welt on his noggin.
Frankie"s eyelids fluttered open.
"Frankie! Come on! Wake up!" Evelina shook him again. "Hurry up!"
His eyes went wide.
He must have heard Cliff choking.
In an instant, the sand began to whirl beneath Cliff, like batter in a mixer.
Abby jumped back.
Cliff rose up and up, landing with a splash on his b.u.t.t in the sand. His eyes popped open.
Evelina backed away from Frankie as the sand began to whirl under her feet.
Cliff groaned, putting a hand to his head.
"You"ll live." Abby slapped Cliff on the back.
"Barnes won"t when I get my hands on him," Cliff ground out, coming to his feet. "Where is he?"
"It"s almost morning." Frankie stretched and flexed his arms and shoulders before brushing off the sand. "They"re probably gone. Don"t worry," his tone turned dangerous, "We"ll get them."
Sure enough the shack was empty when they arrived-locked up tight. Keep out was scrawled in the center of a ma.s.sive shark"s jaw on the plank door. A putrid stench seeped from every nook and crack.
There wasn"t much to see through the grimy windows. A filthy mess of fish bones and dirty cutlery littered the wooden table. Fishing poles and nets leaned against the walls. Whatever twisted freak show they had going on was apparently on hold until Friday.
It was Monday morning. Everyone returned to their mortal existence. Which meant, they had a long day ahead. Evelina stifled a yawn behind her hand just thinking about it.
How would they keep their sales higher than the h.e.l.l Hut with two of them asleep on their feet?
Three hours toting a sandwich board up and down the beach and Evelina was p.o.o.ped. Sweat beaded on her upper lip. Her eyes were closing fast.
She felt like the walking dead.
Hopefully, this was drumming up more business.
The last thing she wanted was the h.e.l.l Hut to win. But, sales or not, she needed a rest before tackling any more thirsty tourists. The Coconut Shack would have to wait. She needed some shut-eye.
She sank down on the sand, then crawled under the giant cardboard snow cone to take a nap.
It seemed like she"d barely closed her eyes when she heard a familiar voice say, "It didn"t work!"
Psycho Sally?
What was she doing here? Making house calls? Meeting clients on the beach for a little stroll and a palm reading?
"You said you"d handle it," another woman said. She sounded angry.
"I thought I had." Sally"s voice turned hard. "She must have found it in time."
The voices grew distant.
Evelina peeked out from under the board, straining to hear what they were saying. Whatever they were up to, it didn"t sound good.
Psycho Sally and a tall blonde strolled further down the beach. The other woman looked vaguely familiar. If only she"d turn around.
Evelina picked up the sandwich board, then scurried up behind them, taking care to stay hidden.
They halted.
Evelina planted the board in the hot sand.
"As long as we are slowly eliminating the compet.i.tion, he"ll be happy," the other woman said in a cold voice.
"With each tribe down one, the Swamp Hogs will certainly win," Psycho Sally said. "Well played, Thoosa!"
Evelina"s mouth went dry in the silence that followed.