Chapter Seventeen

Be Careful What You Wish For

Making the sign of the cross over her chest, Ava closed her eyes in despair. She then gave the fallen star one final kick, her big toe taking the brunt force. Hopping around yelping, “Pickles,” did nothing to alleviate the pain shimmying up her leg. The force hurled the rock into the silo’s wall again. Something other than her toe cracked, or at least she hoped it was something else. Curiosity trumped pain and silence beget the air.

With quick lopsided strides she hobbled to the edge of the wall praying the cement didn’t chip. Her dad had recently replaced the silo, and it cost them what he claimed to be his first-born child. Maybe he meant his second child since Ayden vanished.

Something pink peeped through a long crack in the star. The bigger question popped into her thoughts. Touch it? What if it had alien poison coating? That’s what Ayden would have thought. She bent over and picked up the object and walked to the tool bench where her dad kept all his farrier instruments to shoe the horses. A hoof pick used for cleaning out the gunk in the horseshoes would work nicely to pry the crystal shell off whatever was trapped inside. She knew she had to be gentle. She didn’t want to break anything. Archeologist always looked so dainty in sand pits when they unearthed treasures. After getting nowhere painstakingly picking and prying the star, Ava decided to treat the rock like a hardboiled egg and give it one more whack since plan A of being overly cautious backfired. Plan B in effect, she placed the crystal in a clear spot and grabbed a sledgehammer. The hammer had to weigh as much as she did. With a bit of oomph behind her, she hit the star head on.

Ava gave a little fist pump. The outer shell collapsed faster than a sandcastle being swept away during high tide. When she went to pick up her treasure, she scratched her head. How did a pink jewelry box get stuck inside all the crud? To open it or not to open it? What would Ayden do? A smile found her lips. She knew darned well he’d have opened the box long before now.

Background noise outside the barn intensified. She’d almost forgotten the ugliness ensuing. Wishing she could forget all together wouldn’t happen either. It was one thing to walk in on your parents when they were busy playing hide-n-seek, but seeing Harper naked? Bile rose in her throat. She hoped Harper’s dad grounded her. At her own home.

“Squirt?”

Ava grabbed the box and headed for the barn door. With a quick turn, she told Halo, “Be right back.” About to walk out a subtle fluttering of wings distracted her. A soft swoosh brushed over the top of her head making her crouch fast and nearly topple over backwards. Her owl landed between her and the exit. “Hi, Atty.” Down on one knee, Ava held her hand to the bird. The bird didn’t move.

“Ava?” That was her dad. Not talking to him today.

“Where are you Squirt? Got a present for you.”

“Harper?” Ava questioned. To the bird and horses, she babbled, “I think Harper got in trouble you guys. And quite frankly I hope she gets a whooping.” The owl slowly turned its head sideways, its huge gold eyes wide. Halo whinnied. Ava pushed herself into standing position and headed for the door. The owl spread her wings wide blocking Ava. “Atty, I’ll be right back. Move over, silly bird.”

Instead of moving out of her way the bird ran straight for her and knocked her down just as a blast of buckshot went sailing over Ava’s head. Chunks of wood tore away the backside of the barn leaving gaping holes. Petrified, Ava did what she did best… she screamed. Back on her knees and hands with her box in her grasp she crawled through hay, mud, and well she hoped it was mud, back into Halo’s stall where she hid behind the door. Around her, restless horses paced and snorted. “Atty,” she whispered, “come here. Get out of the way.” She prayed the bird understood. When she looked up the bird was back on the rafters hidden.

“Don’t be scared, Squirt. I won’t hurt you.”

Then why are you shooting at me? The door to the barn creaked and another shot rang out. “Ava?” Her dad screamed again, “Ava, where are you?”

“Harper, put the gun down.” Harper’s dad, Detective Noyse ordered.

Yup, whooping time neared.

Another blast ripped through the barn drilling a hole in a rain barrel that had been placed directly under a tiny hole in the ceiling. A steady stream turned into what her mother would have called a ‘freaking mess’.

“We’re running out of time ya rotten little tattletale.”

Fear teemed from Ava’s skin like she’d just gone through the ice into the pond on a frigid winter’s day. She’d seen enough scary movies to stay put and remain as quiet as possible. She wasn’t some little kid about to get dowsed with ketchup and act scared. Right here and now she’d earned the Oscar.

Looking for a way out or a weapon to defend herself she hid the pink box inside the bib in her overalls. With the horses still making all kinds of noise Ava managed to crawl under the gate and get a good grip on the sledgehammer without being heard and drag it back into the stall. She held the handle really close to the base of the instrument, and with all her might heaved it up onto a barrel of oats in the corner. That dumb God, Thor made it look so easy, she thought as her breath came out in a huff. If anyone came into Halo’s stall, she planned to bean them, if she didn’t drop the ten-ton hunk of steel on her feet in the process.

“Ava?” Detective Bradshaw’s voice vibrated off the walls.

“Father, get your hands off me.” Definitely Harper again. Good. Maybe the gunshots would stop.

“Arrest the SOB, Bradshaw. She’s underage.” Harper’s dad, Detective Noyse demanded. He sounded plenty mad.

Yes! A smile found Ava’s lips for a moment.

Harper’s enraged voice filled the barn. “Father! Did you forget I turned twenty last month? I’m not a baby anymore. And Christian is only twenty-five.”

Then another chunk of Ava’s world chipped away hearing, “You can’t arrest me. What’s going to happen to Ava? She’s all I have left.”

He probably should have thought about this before now. Ava didn’t run out to see what the commotion was. Couldn’t stand up and yell for help coz then she’d give her position away. What if dear old Annie Oakley’s ill-begotten clone still had control of the gun?

With everything Ava had going on right now, her dad outside getting new silver bracelets and anklets, Harper taking potluck shots at her, Ava took another moment to pray. Prayed for all she was worth that this star fell to the ground for a reason. For a good reason because right now she needed a miracle. She couldn’t live through another crummy thing happening to her. With a balancing act between the sledgehammer, she tugged the box from her overalls. A glimmering little sword locked the container. She jerked the small crystal sword back through the clasp of the box and held it out in front of her. The tiny sword-shaped crystal looked exactly like a diamond. The tiny grommet went into her pocket on the off chance she found a real jewel.

Please be a miracle. Once the box opened, a bright light flashed the barn. An odor from inside the container seeped out and Ava gagged. This smelled so much worse than Whizz’s stall ever did. Through teary eyes and a runny nose, she saw something move in the box.

She wiped her eyes. And again. There was just no way. Her eyes and brain were playing tricks on her. “Holy cow! Aliens?”

Something blew past her faster than the bullets Harper shot at her.

The tiny creature buzzed her with the tenacity of an angry bee. Both hands occupied she couldn’t even shoo it away. Couldn’t do anything other than jerk her head from side to side and front to back like a busted bobble head doll. “Elf?”

“Bite your tongue, kid.” The tiny creature scorned, “It’s pixy. Pixy Queen Tia to be precise, little girl.”

Still shuffling side to side and vying for a good look at it, Ava whispered, “Me little? I think you have that backwards.”

Queen Tia hovered within an inch of Ava’s nose and made a “Shoosh!” sound.

It worked. Her mind turned into an electrical junction box. An influx of information trying to be processed and distributed overloaded her circuits. She had a storm of people she needed to tell this to. People she could show this imp to. People who would believe her. Her heart sank. The only people she wanted to share this with were either dead, missing, or being fitted for an orange jumpsuit. The pixy remained eyelevel to her, her wings going so fast Ava couldn’t detect movement.

“Ava?”

“Hide,” Ava managed to whisper to the pixy.

The pixy didn’t have to be told twice. The little creature looked like a bottle rocket landing on the wood beam right next to the owl. Atty immediately pecked at her probably thinking lunch arrived. If hearing the pixy say, “Athena, we will finish this once home,” didn’t freak Ava out something from the jewelry box touched Ava’s fingers. The box got tossed in the air while another scream got muffled. Where was the spider that touched Ava’s hand? She glanced around seeing nothing and then picked up the box again, scratching her hand to alleviate the tingle. When she looked in the box again Ava felt her eyes nearly pop out of her head.

“Can you see me?” The doll-sized man pleaded.

Pretty certain words would fail her, under her breath she whispered, “Shut up.” This could not be happening. She’d lost her mind for sure.

The man’s voice bellowed while his arms raised, and little fists balled in angry knots. “This is the biggest punk of the millennium!”

Ava got her face right next to the box and whispered, “I’m thinking the same thing.”

The man continued to babble, “I’m officially screwed. My life is now in the hands of a toddler.”

“I’m six and stop whining. You sound like the babysitter.”

“How dare you. I do not whine.”

The look. Ava stared the mini man down. “You nailed it, Major Nelson. Did your genie shrink you down because you sound like a sissy?”

“You are not funny, tiny human. Release me this instant.”

“Hush!” Ava gave the little man her jut out jaw, tight-lipped look. “Tiny human? What is it with you two? The doctors told me some strange stuff could happen to me between the new medicine and my mom’s death and brother’s disappearance, but this? This takes the cake. Kids are known for really bizarre imaginations, but I can’t even make sense of me anymore. I’ve. Gone. Bonkers.” Her fist clenched to the point her knuckles were white just like his, one by one tears slipped past the strong façade she’d held onto the past weeks.

“Release me? Please? Just give me a quick kiss, tell me those three infamous little words everyone longs to hear, you love me, and set me free. It’s all I ask. We’ll call it a day. I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Ewh, you are so gross,” Ava groused.

“Not exactly the catch phrase I need, kid.”

Laughter bellowed. Ava went from crying to hysterics in the matter of a heartbeat. The stress of her caustic life finally eroded her thin grasp on reality.

Eyeballs peered over the top of the stall. “I see you. Today seems to be my lucky day.” Harper crowed.

“Well, I’m glad one of us is having a lucky day. You,” Ava directed to the man in the box, “I said shut up. I can’t believe I got a kid’s toy. A freaking whiney Jack in The Box? Sorry Mom for swearing. Really? I’m six, not three.” The lid got slammed shut and the box dropped in the pile of hay. Ava reclaimed a stranglehold on the hammer and swung with all her might yelling, “Assassin. Assassin,” as her assailant opened the gate. In all honesty Ava didn’t know what was worse: Harper with a gun all but shoved up her nose or the little doll asking her to kiss him… or her mind now the equivalent of a bag of marshmallow atop sweet potatoes left forgotten only to be reduced to ashes in the oven: Her mom’s signature dish.

The hefty hammer took a direct dive down and landed on the soon to be ex-babysitter’s foot. Harper dropped the shotgun shrieking. For the briefest of moments Ava thought about apologizing to the little genie in the box about his whining. Harper had the pitch perfected. In Ava’s next breath the pixy torpedoed the foul-mouthed girl with the precision of William Tells’s arrow and then hiked up her blue glittery gown and lambasted glittery stuff all over Harper. The babysitter went cross-eyed and fell. Detective Bradshaw blasted in the barn with his gun drawn, one foot in front of the other for balance, one hand under his other supporting his firearm.

The detective fired off a stream of questions. “Ava? Are you okay? What happened? Have you been shot? Did she hurt you?” He pointed to Harper, as he holstered his firearm. “Do I want to know?”

Beyond stunned, Ava looked at the Harper then slowly cranked her attention to the officer. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.” Not a second after she answered the detective the pixy dove from the rafter and circled in behind Ava and whispered, “It’s our secret.”

The detective asked, “Did you hit her with the sledgehammer?”

“I think someone hit me with one.” Ava’s knees buckled and down she went.