Alice 1 Read Free Page B

outside the Purple Onion the Shirley Temple
look-a-like from the courtroom, ran up, jumped in my arms, and gave
me a big kiss.
    “Hello Alice, you’re so pretty. We’re going to
have such fun together in Sedaria.” Jumped down and started to run
away.
    “ Hey! What’s your name? And where is
Sedaria?”

    “ Ashara,” and disappeared around the
corner.
    Who the hell is Ashara? Linda and Molly never
saw her before and never heard of Sedaria.
    ____________________
    Santa looked worried when we told him about
Betty Bradenton. “Alice, you must control your temper, you must. We
will not harm you, but others will”.
    “What others?”
    “It’s late and you’ve had a long day.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you about a visit from John the Baptist.”
     

CHAPTER 5
    The next morning we went out to the veranda with
our coffee, tea, scrambled eggs, and waffles smothered with real
Vermont maple syrup. The fog had rolled back out to sea and the sun
was warm and lovely.
    “About a year ago an old man came to the door.
He said he was John the Baptist so I figured I had a nut case. But
then he touched my shoulder with his Shadow hand and said we need
to talk. He’s from the Dancers, who make sure groups like ours
don’t go crazy. Few believe Shadow hands exist and the Dancers want
to keep it that way. Back in 1857 in Hangtown, a couple of guys
were using their Shadow hands to steal gold from the other miners.
They got greedy and were warned, but kept on stealing so the
Dancers sent in their assassin.
    “They are very concerned about Alice Shannon, a
young girl they’ve been watching for a long time. She’s
self-centered, immature, and uses her Shadow hands to get even with
people. But they’re reluctant to get rid of her. She’s highly
intelligent with enormous potential. Would our group take her in
and see if we can grow her up? I said we’d take a look and let him
know.”
    “So you were telling the truth the first time. I
am being tested to see if I live or die. Are the rest of you in on
this little secret? Linda? Molly?”
    “No they aren’t, and I’m not sure I made the
right decision. I was afraid knowing your life really was in danger
would put too much strain on everybody. I care for you Alice, and
I’ve been worried how you’d react when you found out the
truth.”
    “Damn straight you should be worried. Except.
Except. If you care, I can take all the lies and games you can
throw at me.”
    And in the warmth of the sun, the sound of the
sea, the fresh ocean breeze, and a few sand fleas, we had a lovely
group hug. Yeah, yeah, I know. Too soupy for some of you.
    Wanna kiss my pretty kitty?
    “We’ve always known we must not be the only ones
with the Gift,” Johnny said, “but I don’t like the idea we can be
killed anytime the Dancers decide our behavior is unacceptable.
Maybe the guy was just spinning a story. It’s pretty far out to
think the Dancers were in California during the gold rush and sent
an assassin to Hangtown to do in some greedy miners. What do you
think?”
    ”He was very convincing, but that doesn’t mean
he was telling the truth.”
    “The hell of it is,” Johnny continued, “we have
no idea what kind of threat we’re dealing with or how to protect
ourselves. If he’s telling the truth, the Dancers know a whole lot
more about Shadow hands than we do.”
    “He left a phone number to call when we feel
Alice is no longer a danger. We can ask a few questions when he
comes to check her out.
    “I’m ready now. Call him.”
    They looked so worried, but didn’t say anything.
“Look. Ten foster homes taught me how to survive. Call him!”
    They still looked worried. “Ok, ok, you doubt
I’m ready but don’t want to say so. It’s my life. I take
responsibility. Call him .”
    Santa called him. John the Baptist will come
this Friday evening, and bring a woman with him.
    ____________________
    Molly and I were in the kitchen getting
refreshments ready as the minute hand moved closer