"Really? I mean, yeah. That would be great."

"And you're coming to the game tomorrow, aren't you?" He gazed down at her hopefully.

"Sure. Kelli's picking me and Felicity up so you don't have to worry about me getting there."

Greg nodded. He leaned forward and gave her another kiss on the lips. "See you tomorrow." He waved when he reached the car and then climbed inside and drove away.

Mercy sighed and stepped inside. She wasn't looking forward to the baseball game, mainly because she did not look forward to the next encounter with Lindy and her evil crew. She flipped on the light switch.

"Early evening?" Alistair asked. He was curled up in Gran's overstuffed chair.

Mercy snorted. "Yeah." She twirled around to display her dress.

"Tie-dye party?" He stretched lazily. "I was under the impression that you were going to a ball."

"Smart Alec." She went into the bathroom and changed out of the dress. She hung it on a hook behind the bathroom door and stepped into the shower. So much for my gorgeous dress. It's ruined. As she stepped into the water, she couldn't stop the tears. She sobbed as long and as loud as possible, hoping that she could rid herself of all the pain and anger filling her soul. She turned off the water and dried herself with a towel, then wrapped up in her terry cloth robe.

She gazed at herself in the mirror, her face puffy from crying. She saw the locket hanging around her neck and touched the deep blue jewel. My mother's birthstone. I wish I could see her one more time. I wish she was here to hold me.

She turned away to keep a new flood of tears from drowning her. No sense in wallowing in self-pity tonight.

Mercy eyed the dress hanging on the hook. The bright pink of the punch clashed with the delicate peach. She wondered if she might be able to wash it out, but when she checked the label it advised dry clean only. I might as well throw it away. She hung it back on the hook and slipped out of the bathroom.

She wasn't tired, but she felt decidedly confused. On the one hand, she was angry with Lindy, Becca and Amy. On the other hand, she was hurt by the way they had humiliated her at the dance. And on yet the other hand, she was happy over the way Greg had stood by her. She recalled his kisses. Sweet! Then he had asked her to the movies next weekend and she would see him at the game tomorrow. This boyfriend thing just gets better and better.

Mercy frowned. Tomorrow she would have to see Lindy and her friends. They would taunt her no doubt. She pressed her lips together in a firm line. She vowed not to let them know how much they had hurt her. She would ignore them no matter what. She would show them how totally unimportant they were in the overall scheme of things.

And Greg...She would be there for him. She would stand up and cheer if he made any hits. On that thought, she slipped into her pajamas and climbed into bed.

CHAPTER SIX.

The next morning she awoke feeling better. She was still angry over the events of the previous night, but she had gone to sleep thinking of Greg's kisses and that he'd said she was beautiful.

Yeah, right! She threw off the quilt and set her bare feet on the floor. Time to get my beautiful self up out of bed. Her gaze fell on the mirror and the purple candle. Without any hesitation, she crossed the room and struck a match. The candle flickered and then settled into a soft glow. The aroma of lavender and lilacs scented the air.

"Gran?" she called tentatively. "Are you there?"

"Of course, dear." Her grandmother sounded slightly out of breath. "I can hear you whenever you call."

"I didn't mean for you to rush," Mercy said. "I don't mind waiting."

Gran peered at her over the top of her gla.s.ses. "Dear me. You look upset. What's wrong?"

Mercy felt the tears p.r.i.c.kling again and she blinked to keep them at bay. "Nothing, really..." But with Gran's encouragement, she poured out the entire story. Gran made little clucking noises with her tongue and said *there, there' and *oh, my' a few times, but in the end, Mercy felt much better for having told her. "I really loved that dress." She heaved a sigh.

"Well, hang it up in your closet. It should be dry by now."

She didn't correct her grandmother by telling her that the dress had dried quickly...with all the stains set in. "Yes, Gran. I'll do that right away."

"Have a good time at the baseball game." And with a little wave, Gran began to fade.

That part always made Mercy sad. "Bye, Gran." She sighed again and blew out the candle. Might as well do as her grandmother had instructed and hang the dress on a hanger. Maybe Gran could dye it whenever she returned. Mercy opened the bathroom door and took the dress off the hook. Her heart took a tumble and she almost dropped it. Staring in amazement, she then turned on the lights for a closer look. The stains were gone. The beautiful peach dress was entirely peach again with no sign that it had ever been damaged.

She spun around, hugging the dress to her. "A hanger. I need a hanger," she sang out when she went to her bedroom.

Alistair opened his sleepy eyes to follow her progress. "You sound much more chipper this morning," he said.

"Hey, Alistair, the stains are gone. Like magic, they're just gone." Mercy stopped in her tracks. Like magic. "Oh, my! Gran must have done it. I was telling her about it a few minutes ago and now it's perfect again." She displayed the dress for him to see.

"There are so very few perfect things in this world," he commented.

Mercy gave him a second look. "Alistair, sometimes you say the wisest things."

He purred loudly and looked extremely pleased with himself.

She hung the dress in her closet and pulled out a tee shirt and jeans to wear. She made breakfast for herself and Alistair and contemplated what she would be dressed in later for the game.

The ringing of the phone startled her. It was Felicity calling to ask why she and Greg had left the dance so early. Mercy was relieved that none of her friends has witnessed her humiliation at the hands of her enemies. She related the story and heard the outrage in Felicity's voice.

"I hate them!" Felicity proclaimed. "Honestly! Tannersville would be a better place without all three of them."

"Well, we can't kick them out of town," Mercy said. "I just wish they would get what they deserve for once."

"Becca is a complete sheep. She follows whatever Lindy does, without question. And Amy is such a chicken. She's afraid not to do what Queen Lindy orders."

Mercy considered for a moment. "Yeah, I remember when Amy was a nice girl, but that was before she fell in with Lindy."

"So, how did things turn out with Greg? Tell me all the juicy details. Was he all b.u.mmed out?"

"No, he was pretty cool about it." She paused to recall his kisses. Not going to tell Felicity about that little detail. "He asked me to go to the movies next weekend." She held the receiver away from her head to protect her eardrums from Felicity's piercing squeals.

Mercy thought a quick change of subject was in order. "You were dancing with Arthur when I left. Did you like him?" She hoped that her witching practice had paid off.

Felicity sighed. "Arthur is just the dreamiest boy ever. We were dancing and then we just sat and talked forever. He was a little shy at first, but he really knows how to talk to a girl."

Mercy gave herself a mental Atta Girl.

"Isn't it great that we're both dating baseball players?" Felicity giggled.

Mercy opened her mouth to speak, but the words got stuck in her throat. Dating? When did that happen? "Yeah, it's great." She hung up with Felicity and did a few of the tasks she usually did on Sat.u.r.day. She watered Gran's garden and picked some of the ripe vegetables. She gathered the eggs and washed them before putting them in the fridge.

By the time Kelli pulled up, Mercy was dressed and ready. She ran out to meet them and climbed into the back seat. The girls were in a great mood. Mercy suspected it was because of the dance and their new a.s.sociation with the elite baseball team who were held in high esteem among the other students. How fortunate that Kelli and Felicity had saved a table.

Felicity must have filled Kelli in on the cause of Mercy and Greg's early departure and she was properly irate. But even that couldn't dampen their spirits. Mercy caught the excitement and by the time the car pulled into the parking lot by the baseball field, she was fairly bubbling with antic.i.p.ation. Kelli swerved into a designated s.p.a.ce and killed the motor.

The last thing Mercy wanted was a repeat of the previous evening's confrontation. A feeling of dread washed over her as she reached for the door handle. She feared the inevitable conflict that would occur when she came face-to-face with Lindy again. Resolutely, she wrested open the door and stepped out. I will not let her beat me down.

As she and her friends made their way to the stands, Mercy glanced around, hoping that Lindy wasn't glaring at her but, to her surprise; neither Lindy nor her two cohorts were in evidence.

She thought this was odd because Lindy was known to be a baseball groupie. Maybe she wanted to make a late entrance. Maybe she planned to dump hot dogs and soda on her at the concession stand. Mercy stifled a little shiver. At least she was wearing wash and wear.

She squared her shoulders and tried to hold her head a little higher. She followed Kelli into the stands with Felicity trooping along behind. The stands filled up with enthusiastic fans, mostly parents and students. They were laughing and talking, but when a recorded version of Take Me Out to The Ball Game blared over the loud speakers, people settled into their seats and gazed onto the field expectantly. Then the flag team marched onto the field bearing the flag and the noise hushed as everyone stood to sing the national anthem.

The announcer's voice was m.u.f.fled, but Mercy could understand the name of the visiting team and the home team. She cheered when the home team took the field, her heart floated in her chest when she saw how hot Greg looked in his uniform. He stopped and glanced over the stands. Mercy stood up and waved with both arms flailing wildly. He waved back, his face splitting into a big grin before he ran to join his teammates. She felt a rush of excitement when she realized that he really cared that she was there.

The game was exciting, though Mercy could not have described herself as being a baseball fan before now. She cheered for the home team and yelled herself hoa.r.s.e when Greg scored a home run. She felt a flush of pride as his team members cheered him to home plate, pounding him on the back and b.u.mping chests with him.

When Mercy and her friends went to the concession stand, they lined up behind a group of girls who were all talking at once. Mercy noticed one who appeared to be weeping into her hands, but when she looked up, there was no evidence of tears.

"Drama Queens!" Kelli mouthed and did an eye roll. "A complete waste of oxygen," she whispered.

Mercy laughed and ordered a chili dog and soft drink and turned back to her friends.

Felicity's face registered shock. "Did you hear what they said? Lindy, Amy and Becca are missing."

Mercy reached for her food, but paused halfway. "Missing?" The lady behind the counter waggled her chili dog impatiently. Mercy reached for it, but her attention was riveted on the drama queens. "What about Lindy?" she asked.

"Well," one of the DQ's said with a theatrical pause to guarantee full effect. "She never made it home from the dance last night." She lowered her voice. "The three of them just disappeared."

Mercy's stomach did a tumble and roll. "Dis-disappeared?"

Drama Queen Number One nodded, importantly. "The sheriff and his deputies are searching everywhere. They're going to question all of the people who were at the dance to see if anyone noticed anything weird."

"They must have been kidnapped," Drama Queen Number Two whispered.

Felicity stood with her mouth agape.

"Hmpf!" Kelli snorted. "They probably ran away just for attention."

There was a babble of voices, one talking over another.

Mercy stepped away, the smell of the chili dog suddenly less appealing. She followed Kelli and Felicity into the stands, but couldn't focus on the game. The pictures rolling through her head of Lindy, sneering and smug, with Becca following her lead and Amy going along with whatever the others plotted.

Why would anyone kidnap three obnoxious teens? They seemed to live for the sole purpose of making her life miserable. If Lindy was involved there had to be some major manipulation going on. Mercy took a bite of her chili dog. At least for the moment Lindy wasn't around to torment her, so she thought she might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Kelli and Felicity buzzed about the missing girls, but Mercy felt nothing but relief. When they get tired of their game they'll come home. Maybe I'll have a couple of days of peace.

Greg was up at bat and hit the ball to left field.

"Yes!" she screamed and rose to her feet. "C'mon Greg!" A rush of excitement swept through her. At least for this afternoon, she didn't have to look around to see if Lindy was censuring her every move. Wherever Lindy was hiding out, she was probably making someone else's life miserable. Mercy jumped and squealed as Greg made it to third base.

"I didn't know you were such a baseball fan," Felicity said.

Mercy grinned. "I didn't either."

After the game, Greg invited Mercy and her friends to join him and the other team members for a pizza party to celebrate their win. The girls were excited, Felicity's eyes shining at the prospect of spending time near Arthur. Kelli sat between two of the boys she had danced with the night before. Everyone appeared to be happy.

It was as though a huge black cloud had lifted and suddenly there was sunshine. Mercy knew she shouldn't be feeling so greatly relieved, but the absence of her three tormentors felt as though a giant weight had been lifted. They had to be playing some sort of game designed to bring attention to themselves. And when they returned, she was sure there would be a fantastic story to go along with their absence. She did wonder idly where they might be holed up. Perhaps with a friend or a relative. Probably on a pricey shopping trip in some exotic place. Maybe their moms had sprung for a spa weekend.

With a jolt, Mercy envisioned Mrs. Boyd's perpetually arrogant expression. She couldn't imagine Lindy's mother with a smile on her face. She seemed to think that her position as the mayor's wife ent.i.tled her to be the queen of the whole wide world...an att.i.tude she had pa.s.sed on to her daughter...Mrs. Boyd was also the president of the Tannersville Ladies Club.

A little shiver played around Mercy's spine.

In fact, all three girl's mothers were staunch members of the ladies club. But Lindy's mother had the most imposing air. She always seemed to be looking down her nose at everyone in her path, with her brows permanently fused together. Likewise, Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs. Mandrake seemed to have the same relationship with Mrs. Boyd that Becca and Amy had with Lindy. That is, they were followers who hung on her every word and laughed when she laughed and frowned when she frowned.

"Mercy, are you all right?" Kelli leaned toward her, peering into her face over her gla.s.ses.

Mercy nodded, trying to quell the queasy feeling in her stomach. She had the strangest feeling that something huge and horrible was hovering just outside her frame of knowledge. Some unseen monster was waiting to gobble her up if she didn't watch her step. What can it be?

She considered the recent changes in her life. Her grandmother was living on the other side of an antique mirror. Her guardian was a cat. She was lying to everyone about her living situation. She had become a Witch-in-Training and received witching lessons from a television hostess. She had gone to her first dance, which ended in disaster, but she had also experienced her first kisses and oh, by the way, she had a boyfriend. But today, the big change was that Lindy Boyd, her nemesis since grade school, had supposedly disappeared under mysterious circ.u.mstances and taken her two groupies with her.

Greg swiveled around to wink at her. He gave her the cute smile that almost made her forget about the unseen monster smacking its chops. Almost...

She reached for another slice of pizza. Might as well enjoy herself until Lindy returned to make her life miserable.

When Mercy and Felicity arrived at school the following Monday, they walked together under the archway and down the hall toward their first period cla.s.s. Mercy stopped by her locker and Greg came up behind her.

"Hey. Did you hear?"

She turned, expecting to see a smile on his face, but he wore a frown. "No, what's up?"

"The whole place is buzzing with the news. Lindy Boyd, Amy Hoffman and Becca Mandrake are really missing. Apparently it wasn't a hoax. They didn't make it home after the dance Friday night. They found Lindy's car abandoned a few blocks from school."

Mercy dropped her algebra book and she stooped to pick it up at the same time Greg did. Their hands grasped the book together. Greg relinquished it and they stood, staring into each other's eyes.

She swallowed hard. "But they were there when we left the dance."

He nodded. "None of the girls made it from Lindy's car to their own front doors. They just evaporated."

"Oh!" She couldn't stand Lindy and her friends, but she wouldn't want something really bad to happen to them. "Where could they have gone?"

Greg shrugged. "n.o.body knows, but the police are going around questioning all the kids who saw them last."

"T-that would be us."

The warning bell sounded and Felicity returned with her algebra book and homework in hand. "Have you heard the news? Lindy, Becca and Amy have really run away from home."