“Yeah, but the message reads loud and clear. I signed in red ink for Hobbi and I can’t send her back.” Skye sighed. “I like Hobbi. I really do, but she scares me. And I don’t want to be her boss forever.”

  “Forever is a long time. Still, Hobbi is magical. Think of all the possibilities.”

  “You think of the possibilities. Hobbi can make books float, talk to animals, and read minds. Sounds great, but remember she’s a fiend, designed to cause mischief.”

  Kristen frowned. “Could she read anyone’s mind?”

  “Sure. Nobody is safe … including you.”

  “What do you mean?” Kristen asked, gripping a desk corner and narrowing her gaze at Skye.

  “Hobbi could learn your magic secrets.”

  “Not my Fingertip Fireball trick!”

  Skye folded her arms and nodded. “Every trick you know. She could tell the whole world.”

  Kristen’s face paled. “All my dreams of becoming a famous magician would be ruined. Skye, we have to get rid of Hobbi!”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

  “So we need a plan to send Hobbi home. Do you know where Specter is?”

  “No, but I can check the maps in the school library.”

  “And I’ll search through my magic books for information about fiends,” Kristen said. “I have some very old books that belonged to my great-great grandfather. He lived alone near a Louisiana Bayou and some people called him a wizard. I’ve always been scared to try his magic spells, but dealing with a fiend calls for drastic actions.”

  “Very drastic,” Skye said in dead seriousness.

  “I’d also like to study your contract. Can I take it home with me?”

  “Sure. It gives me the creeps.”

  “If there’s a way to break this contract, I’ll find it,” Kristen promised. “And once I find it, Hobbi will be out of our lives. Forever.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As Skye snuggled underneath her covers that night, Hobbi entered the room. Hobbi wore a long flowing flannel night gown that had once belonged to Aunt Belle.

  “Skye,” Hobbi said, hesitating. “I know you are still mad at me. I am sorry about Sugarberry.”

  “It’s okay,” Skye lied, turning away from Hobbi and burying her face into her pillow. Without the sweet cooing of Sugarberry, the room seemed empty. She missed her pet bird more than she was willing to admit.

  Hobbi shook her head. “I have failed you and I feel bad.”

  “Just go to bed, Hobbi. It’s late and I’m tired.”

  “But I can’t sleep knowing you are mad. Will you forgive me if I give you a wish?”

  “What if I wished for Sugarberry back?”

  Hobbi sounded sad as she begged, “Please, make a different wish. You ordered a fiend who loves animals, and I love all animals very much. I can’t bear to see an unhappily animal. Sugarberry is with her family now and is very happy.”

  Skye peaked at Hobbi through her covers. Hobbi looked so miserable and sincere that Skye’s anger melted away. “Are you sure Sugarberry is happy?”

  “Oh, yes!” Hobbi smiled. “She is flying with her mate and children.”

  The pain in Skye’s heart eased as she imagined Sugarberry soaring above tree tops and through clouds. “Forget the wish, Hobbi. Sugarberry’s happiness is what’s important.”

  Hobbi’s golden braids spun. “You are no longer sad. You love your bird enough to let her go.”

  “I guess so.” Skye scrunched up her pillow and rested against it. “Only Hobbi, stop reading my mind. I mean it.”

  “I will obey you.”

  Skye had heard that before, but Hobbi sounded like she really meant it this time. Skye hoped so. If Hobbi read her mind too often, she might discover that Skye and Kristen were planning to send Hobbi back to Specter. That would ruin everything.

  Since the first step of the plan was to locate Hobbi’s real home, Skye sat up in bed and asked, “Hobbi, where exactly is Specter?”

  “In California, Boss—I mean, Skye. Very north and near water.”

  Skye thought excitedly, We were getting close! So she probed deeper, “Near the ocean?”

  “No.” Skye shook her blond head. “Not near salt water, near fresh water. A large natural lake with mysterious hot water.”

  “Hot water?”

  “Yes. And it is near an island of vipers.”

  “Vipers?” Skye’s sleepy mind churned in confusion. “You mean, snakes?”

  Hobbi nodded. “We could fly there if you wish.”

  “On an airplane?”

  A sly smile curved on Hobbi’s lips. “Fiends do not need planes to travel. Only a wish.”

  Skye knew better than to trust Hobbi’s wishes. “Let’s talk about Specter another time.” Skye yawned and pulled her covers over her shoulders. “Good night, Hobbi.”

  “Good night, Boss.”

  Then Hobbi switched off the overhead light and left the room. As Skye drifted to sleep, she thought in frustration, Hobbi disobeyed me again. She didn’t call me Skye, she called me Boss .

  *

  The invitations were pink with fancy gold printing. Viera acted like a princess as she pranced from desk to desk, bestowing lovely envelopes to every girl in the class.

  Well, almost every girl.

  Guess who was excluded? You got it: Weird Skye Jones.

  Even Hobbi received a pink invitation to Viera’s party—which hurt Skye deeply. Skye felt tears prickling her eyes, but she refused to cry. Who cared about a dumb horseback riding party anyway?

  Me, that’s who, Skye thought.

  “Yo, Viera,” Tyrone called out. “Invite some guys to your party.”

  “Yeah, we can ride horses, too,” Brian added. He stood up in the aisle and pretended to gallop in place. He waved an imaginary cowboy hat and shouted, “Yee Haw! Bronco Brian rules!”

  Laughter scattered across the room. Even Mr. Reuben, who hunched over a piled of papers, couldn’t resist a grin.

  Of course, Skye didn’t grin. She was trying too hard not to cry. She adored horses, and had always wanted one of her own. Her aunts had lots of farm animals, but not one horse.

  Viera lifted her chin in a royal manner. “Hang up your spurs, Brian. My party is for girls only. It’ll be the best party ever. My grandparents own Silver Spurs Riding Academy, and they’ll provide horses for everyone.”

  Skye wondered if Hobbi was excited about the invitation, so she glanced at her fiend friend. Oh, no! Hobbi’s braids were moving. Not in big spinning circles, but enough so Skye knew someone’s thoughts were being read. Probably Skye’s.

  Hobbi stood and waved her pink invitation. “I will not attend. I do not party with enemies.”

  “Enemies?” Viera gasped.

  Kristen, who had a desk in the back of the room, also stood up. She pulled out her pink envelope and then purposely ripped it in half. “Count me out, too. I’ve got better things to do than attend childish parties.”

  “Childish! Of all the-” Viera’s dark eyes glittered furiously. “Fine! Who needs you anyway!”

  Priscilla put her arm around Viera. “We sure don’t. We’ll have a great time without them. It’s their loss.”

  “And our choice,” Kristen said proudly.

  Mr. Reuben stood and announced a geography test, so the party debate ended.

  Skye leaned over and whispered to Hobbi, “Thanks, Hobbi. I know why you turned down Viera, and I appreciate it.”

  “Viera was cruel to you. She hurt your feelings. She is our enemy.”

  Skye said wistfully, “She may be a snob, but she throws fantastic parties. Everyone raves about them. I wouldn’t blame you if you decided to go.”

  “You are my friend, Skye. I will not forget that.”

  Hobbi’s lavender eyes had never looked more beautiful or more kind. Skye realized with sadness that she would really miss Hobbi when her fiendish friend returned to Specter.

  Skye smiled sadly. “And I’ll never forget you, Hobbi.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  At lunch break, Kristen and Skye met underneath the willow tree. Hobbi would join them after she finished a short spelling tutoring session with Mr. Reuben. Fiends were good at science, math, and geography, but they were terrible at spelling.

  “Let’s have a plotting powwow,” Kristen said, spreading out her bagged lunch of dill pickles, a boiled egg, wheat crackers, and pineapple punch.

  Skye made a face at Kristen’s lunch selection and reached for her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “I asked Hobbi about Specter last night, but her answers were confusing.”

  “What’d she say?”

  “That Specter was near a California lake and an island of vipers. I spent an hour studying a map this morning and I couldn’t find Specter anywhere. I scored a zero in finding Specter, but I scored a 93 on our geography quiz.”

  “I’m glad you did well on the quiz, but bummed you couldn’t find Specter. I’ve never heard of it before,” Kristen said.

  “I’ll check out a map in the library. Now what about your part of the plan? Have you found a spell to break my contract?”

  “Not yet, but I still have two more magic books to look through.” Kristen sipped her punch, and grinned. “I did find a spell for removing annoying warts. We could use it on Viera. She’s awfully annoying.”

  Skye giggled. “I wanted to gag at her Miss Princess attitude earlier. Like each pink envelope was a crown jewel. I loved it when you tore up her invitation. You were great!”

  “A party wouldn’t be any fun without you.”

  Skye felt warm with pleasure. “Thanks, Kristen. I wouldn’t want to go to a party without you either.”

  They didn’t say anything for a moment. Skye guessed they were both kind of embarrassed. Finally, Skye broke the silence by asking, “So tell me about your magic books?”

  “They’re fascinating.” Kristen bit into a juicy pickle, then wiped her lips with her hand. “I mixed a few basic potions and I’m dying to try them. One is a love potion. Know anyone I could try it on?”

  Mr. Reuben’s handsome face, complete with cute dimples, flashed in Skye’s mind. She blushed and shook her head. “No one. How about you?”

  “Promise you won’t laugh,” Kristen said.

  “Sure.” Skye grinned. “Who is he?”

  “Brian Howton.”

  Skye broke her promise and laughed. “Not Bronco Brian the goof-ball? The only thing you two have in common is red hair.”

  “You laughed,” Kristen accused, giggling some herself. “That’s the last time I confess my heart’s desire.”

  “But Brian? He’s such a clown!” Skye almost choked on her sandwich.

  “We’re supposed to be plotting, not cracking up. Did I tell you there’s a whole chapter on fiends in Simple Sorcery ?”

  Skye’s laughter stopped. “Really?”

  “Yeah. That’s one of the magic books I haven’t read yet, but it looks promising. I’ll show it to you next time I come over.”

  Skye leaned forward and asked eagerly, “When will that be?”

  “How about tonight?”

  “Sounds great!” She paused and added, “But I have to work on my science project.”

  “I’ll help you. I had fun at your house yesterday. Your aunts are so cool. Not like regular grown-ups who ask dumb questions like ‘what do you want to be when you grow-up?’ And Hobbi is fun, too.” Kristen lifted her gaze and suddenly pointed. “Oh, look. There she is now.”

  Skye stood to call Hobbi over, but stopped when she saw that Hobbi was going in the opposite direction.

  “Where’s she’d headed?” Kristen asked.

  “I don’t know,” Skye answered nervously. “But we’d better go after her.”

  “I haven’t finished my lunch yet.”

  “Okay. You stay here. I’ll get Hobbi.”

  Skye frowned and wondered what mischief Hobbi was up to now. In the distance, Skye could see Hobbi watching three girls play jump rope. Hobbi stood as still as a statue and stared at a black-haired girl. Viera Galvez.

  Major trouble was brewing, and Skye hoped she could stop Hobbi before something terrible happened.

  Hobbi lifted her right hand and pointed her colorful fingernails at Viera. The jump rope glowed with electric fire and flew up in the air as if it had been struck by lightening. Then it seemed to change shape. Skye gasped as the simple rope transformed into a wicked, writhing snake. The brown-spotted snake slithered on a breeze and aimed its poisonous tongue at Viera.

  Viera screamed and backed away, but the snake followed. Other kids cried out as Viera shrieked.

  Skye ran even faster, mentally commanding Hobbi to stop causing trouble.

  “Go away!” Viera screamed. “Help!”

  Skye ran frantically to the edge of the blacktop where Viera had backed into a fence. Viera was trapped, and the large snake twisted forward, hissing, and arching as if ready to strike.

  “NO!” Skye hollered. She reached for the snake and grabbed it by the tail. She was passed being afraid. Besides, she knew Hobbi’s magic couldn’t hurt her.

  Instantly, the electric snake changed back into a coarse rope. Relief filled Skye as a harmless rope dangled from her fingers.

  “It’s okay now,” she told Viera.

  “But it … it was a snake.” Viera gasped. “A … deadly snake.”

  Skye held out the rope. “It’s just a jump rope.”

  Viera’s black eyes were wide and fearful. “I don’t understand. It wanted … wanted to kill me. It almost did.”

  Priscilla appeared at Viera’s side. “Oh, Viera. What happened? Why were you running and screaming?”

  Viera pointed at the rope. “It was chasing me … a horrible snake.”

  Priscilla looked puzzled. “Huh? Are you okay?”

  Viera nodded. “Yeah. Now I am, thanks to Skye. She saved my life.”

  “From a rope?” Priscilla put her arm gently around her friend. “I think you need to rest. Let’s go back in the classroom.”

  “After I talk to Skye.” Viera turned to look at Skye. “I don’t know what just happened, but I know what I saw. And you did rescue me from … something .”

  “Just forget about it,” Skye said, glancing over at Hobbi who serenely smiled. The fiendish brat!

  “I can’t forget,” Viera insisted. “You did something nice for me when I’ve never done anything nice for you.”

  “Yeah. Well.” Skye shrugged, unsure what to say.

  “You’re a hero—a heroine. I know how to reward you.” Viera’s royal tone was back. “This is short notice, but here.”

  Viera reached into her pocket and withdrew a lovely pink envelope with gold printing.

  Then she dropped the invitation into Skye’s hand.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The impossible had happened, and Skye felt like Cinderella as she stared at the pretty pink invitation. She didn’t care about meeting Prince Charming, but she did care about being popular. An invitation from Viera was like winning a ticket into the “popular” crowd.

  When the bell announced recess, Viera called out, “Skye, we’re going to play foot tag. Wanna come?”

  “Sure!” Skye answered, stuffing a spelling list in her backpack.

  “Meet you on the blacktop.” Viera flung her satiny hair over her shoulder and bounced out of the room.

  Skye was so excited, she could barely think straight. And she didn’t even know how to play foot tag.

  But her excitement fizzled when she turned and saw the hostile look on Hobbi’s face. Hobbi’s lavender eyes were almost steaming with anger.

  “I wasn’t forgetting about you, Hobbi,” Skye said quickly. “You can play foot tag, too.”

  “No.” Hobbi folded her arms across her chest, and tapped one foot against the linoleum floor.

  “We can learn how to play foot tag together. I’m sure Viera won’t mind if you come with me.”

  “I mind.”

  “But why? Hobbi, is something wrong?”

  “Yes.” The golden braids twirled. “You will betray true friendship if you go with Viera. Ignore the invitation and stay away from Viera Galvez. She is not your friend.”

  “She wants to be,” Skye insisted, annoyed by Hobbi’s behavior. Just when everything was going right, her fiendish friend tried to ruin everything. Well, Skye wasn’t going to let her. Just because Skye signed a lifetime contract didn’t mean Hobbi could run her life.

  “Do not go with Enemy Number One,” Hobbi stated flatly.

  “I’ll do what I want.”

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Kristen interrupted, stepping around a desk to come between Skye and Hobbi.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Skye said with relief. “Help me convince Hobbi that Viera’s okay. Then we can all go outside and play foot tag.”

  “With Miss Snob Queen?” Kristen asked sharply. “Forget it. Just because she invited you to her party doesn’t mean you can trust her.”

  “Why not?”

  “Get real!” Kristen’s cheeks reddened to match her hair. “Next you’ll be telling me you’re actually going to Viera’s party.”

  Skye lowered her gaze, reaching in her skirt pocket to caress the precious envelope. “I-I haven’t decided,” she answered evasively.

  “You are serious!” Kristen exclaimed. “You don’t have anything in common with Viera’s crowd. You’d be bored in two minutes.”

  “No, I won’t. Horseback riding will be super. Why don’t you and Hobbi go to the party with me?”

  “This is crazy!” Kristen ran her fingers through her smooth auburn hair. “Hobbi and I refused the party because of you. I even ripped my envelope to show my support for you. And now you’re going to the party! I thought you were my friend.”

  Skye sighed. “I am.”

  “Then act like it,” Kristen huffed, then turned to Hobbi. “Come on. If Skye wants to hang out with the snobs, that’s her business. Let’s go sit under the willow tree.”

  Hobbi gave Skye a miserable look, then slowly nodded at Kristen. “I will go with you.”

  “Don’t leave me!” Skye felt like a piece of taffy being pulled in different directions. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and yet she felt guilty. It shouldn’t matter if she went to a party or played a simple game at recess. Kristen and Hobbi were being unfair. Absolutely monstrous!

 

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