Chapter 1

“Hey princess, you want to stop daydreaming and listen to what I’m saying?” Foster snapped, pulling Liona from her thoughts.
She shook her head. “I was listening. You want to start a band.”
Foster raised an eyebrow, fumbling with the guitar he held in his hand. “Seriously, Lilly, you know me better than that. I was joking.”
“You could learn guitar.” She said, shrugging and looking over at the other instruments in the music store.
Grimacing, Foster replied “Just because my dear cousin is musically inclined does not mean that I am.”
“I got all the good genes.” Kali said from behind them, startling both Liona and Foster. “His Dad is a nitwit and my Mom is brilliant.”
Foster made a face and said mockingly, “Your Mom is a hypercritical, scary woman who still seems to think I wet my bed.”
“Do you?” Kali said, flashing him a half smile.
Foster rolled his eyes. “You know, you’re not funny.”
“Neither are you.” Kali shot back, turning towards Liona. “Lilly, I need your help, I don’t know which reeds I should pick.”
Foster groaned. “Oh, here we go…”
Ignoring him, Liona shrugged. “I play flute, Kali, I’m not going to be any help.”
“She is not yours to steal, Kailyn, at the very least let me have some company while you take three hours to figure out what reeds you want.”
Kali pursed her lips. “Don’t call me by my real name, or I’ll tell Lilly when you really stopped wetting the bed.”
“Shut up, guys.” Liona said, rolling her eyes. “Kali, you usually get Vandoren reeds even though you always say that you should try something different, but you never do. Tweak, get over yourself today and just wait until Kali finishes so we can go to this carnival thing in peace.”
Kali frowned. “What’s wrong, Lilly? You’re not usually this grumpy.”
“I don’t know.” Liona said, frowning. “Things are just so…average. We do this every month, you know. It’s like the exact same thing.”
“We do not go to a carnival every month.” Foster protested. “You wanted to shake it up, we’re shaking it up. After Kali here gets her reeds.”
Kali rolled her eyes. “Vandoren it is. Happy?”
Foster put down the guitar he’d been coddling and grinned. “It’s a miracle!”

* * * * *

The three teenagers looked odd indeed as they walked through the carnival set up by a small traveling company in the middle of July. Cousin’s Foster and Kali looked very much like brother and sister, with matching wispy, reddish-blonde hair and light eyes. The twin-like cousins stood on either end of their much shorter friend Liona, who stood out from the pair with her dark, curly hair and bright green eyes.
Screaming children and appetizing smells met the group as they approached a market setup of stands with tellers attempting to sell their products.
“Let’s just go to the games.” Foster complained. “These guys are going to rip you off.”
Kali shook her head. “Come on, Tweak, we just want to look at what they have. They have interesting things here.”
The three passed a stand full of jewelry and Kali instantly wandered towards it.
“Typical.” Foster said, looking over at Liona. “Come on, Lilly, let’s go check the weird stuff out.”
Sure enough, there was a small tent close to where Kali had gone that contained practical jokes and other odds and ends. Foster was immediately entertained, and Liona casually glanced at the items, quickly becoming lost in thought again.
“Lilly, what is with you today?” Foster said, holding up a rubber chicken. “I mean I know you like to day dream, but usually you can contain it for a few hours.”
Liona frowned. “Sorry, Foster. I guess today is just an off day.”
Foster put down the chicken and walked to where she stood to put his arm around her shoulder.
“Liona, I’ve known you since kindergarten and ever since all you can do is dream about the stuff we used to make up when we were five. I know today might be an off day, but at least pretend like you’re having fun?” He made a puppy face. “For me?”
Liona couldn’t help but smile. “You’re like the big brother I never had, Tweak, what would I do without you?”
“You wouldn’t have come up with that awful nickname, for one.” He said, smiling also.
Liona shrugged. “I didn’t come up with it, Kali did in fifth grade.”
“Right, when she moved here.” He said, his tone turning a little sour.
“Stop pretending like you don’t love her.” Liona said, rolling her eyes and moving his arm off her shoulder. “She keeps us balanced.”
Foster raised an eyebrow. “I never said I didn’t love her. It just gets a little inconvenient being best friends with someone you’re related to.”
Liona shrugged again. “I wouldn’t know. My cousins all live on the other side of the country and only visit once every two years or so. I don’t have any siblings.”
“Now that is something you should be thankful for.” Foster said, motioning for Liona to follow him to look for another tent to look at. “Ned is a monster and Delaney is cute, but much too energetic. Don’t even get me started on Kali’s siblings.”
“You Catholics have so many kids.” Liona said, grinning.
“Oh, as opposed to you Godless new-age Buddhists?” Foster said, elbowing her in the side.
“Jerk.” Liona said, laughing. “Don’t make fun of my mother.”
Foster only grinned back and suddenly pushed her into a tent. Liona squeaked at his sneak attack, but laughed as he followed her and the two were confronted by a strange setting. It was very dark in the tent, and a set of glowing lamps were the only sources of light illuminating the array of Wicca-like items. Immediately in awe, the pair stopped their laughter and took in their new surroundings. There were large tables with beads and herbs, and strange sculptures that looked eerily gothic. A sweet and smoky smell surrounded them, and Liona realized that there was incense burning.
“Where did you bring us?” Liona whispered.
Foster shrugged, motioning over to a small gypsy-looking lady with red hair sitting in a corner. The lady raised her eyebrow in amusement at the two teenagers.
“Can I help you two?” She said, her voice low and silky.
The pair exchanged glances and Foster said carefully. “We’re just looking.”
“Looking for what?” She asked, her crooked smile sending a chill through Liona’s body.
“Nothing in particular.” Foster said, seemingly unaffected. “This is an interesting set up you have.”
The woman glanced at him for a moment with her dark eyes, and her smile faded. “I wasn’t talking to you. I know what you want.”
There was a stunned silence in the room as all attention turned to Liona.
“I-I don’t want anything, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said, her voice cracking.
“What do you seek, Liona?” The woman asked, her dark eyes intently focused on Liona.
Foster found his voice again. “If you know what I want why don’t you know what she wants?”
The woman smiled. “I do know. She seeks adventure of a kind only found in fairytales, and a love that can only exist in fantasy. I do not ask you because you are not fully aware of what you want, though you do know. This girl in front of me wishes for adventure every day of her life.”
Liona’s jaw dropped and Foster was once again lost for words.
“How did she know that? Did we even tell her our names?” Liona whispered to him. “Is this a prank you and Kali set up?”
Foster slowly shook his head. “I don’t think my Priest would like this.”
“Come here, girl.” The woman said, ignoring Foster.
Liona stared at the woman for a moment before slowly walking towards her.
“What are you doing?” Foster said, forcefully grabbing her shoulder. “Lilly let’s get out of here.”
She shook her head. “Wait, Tweak, I want to hear what she has to say.”
Foster grudgingly let go of her and she walked up to the mystical woman, who greeted her with another chilling smile.
“You seek change, and adventure.” She repeated to Liona, who nodded. “And you would give nearly anything for your dreams to come true. Take this.”
The woman handed her a bundle, which smelled suspiciously of herbs.
“I don’t have any money.” Liona said quietly, still holding eye contact with the woman.
The woman only shook her head. “Keep it, Liona. Follow the instructions and you will know what to do. Do not forget what you seek and why you seek it.”
Liona nodded slowly, and felt Foster’s nervous hand tug at her shirt. She turned around to follow him out of the tent, but the lady quickly stopped them.
“Foster.” She said, and the pair turned to look at her. “Do not be afraid to follow your heart.”
Liona frowned and turned to look at Foster. For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of understanding, but he quickly shook his head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lady. Thanks for your time.”
With that he grabbed Liona’s arm and pulled her out of the tent and into the busy traffic of the market. Liona had never seen Foster quite so flustered, and the two teenagers did not speak until they found Kali at another jewelry stand.
“What’s wrong, Tweak? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Kali said, looking up from a table of necklaces.
Foster’s face did not change. “I want to get out of here. Let’s go to the games.”
Kali frowned, looking back and forth between Liona and Foster and said “Okay, let’s go.”
As the three headed towards a different part of the carnival, Liona carefully slipped the bundle into her bag, wondering to herself what was waiting for her inside.