Cattywampus by Ash Van Otterloo

Author:Ash Van Otterloo [Van Otterloo, Ash]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2020-09-01T16:00:00+00:00

DELPHA’S ANGER SPUN LIKE A TOP. SHE COUNTED back from ten, trying to keep her mind straight. “What in the name of creepin’ black mold are you doing here, Nimble?”

Tyler coughed and grimaced at the disaster that was Katybird Hearn’s kitchen. Fair enough. It was a mess. Feathers still floated through Delpha’s vision, and in the corner a naked Fatso mewled with a traumatized glow in his yellow eyes. Slivers of glass crunched and squished together with bits of exploded fruit under Delpha’s boots. Tyler frowned and righted himself.

“Cows,” he croaked between panting breaths. “And stone, and, and—”

“Do what now? Start at the start.”

Tyler wrestled an inhaler from his pocket and took two long puffs. “I thought y’all might change your mind about needing help. And on my way over, I heard somethin’ out in the field between my woods an’ Katy’s. A real loud screech. I went out to see what it was, an’ I saw these … people. They were cacklin’ and walkin’ funny, which seemed weird, so I hid. An’ then”—Tyler paused to remove his glasses and dry his swollen eyes—“an’ then, one of ’em pulled out a wand like yours. It put a hex on this poor mama cow. They turned it to stone, Delpha. It’s just standin’ out there like a cement lawn ornament. It’s … dead, I think.”

“A wand?” Katy said, sniffing and wiping her nose on her sleeve. “No one in the Hollow but Delpha has a wand.”

Delpha’s stomach began to churn.

Tyler shook his head, chin wobbling. “As they left, I got a good look at ’em in the sunlight. They looked like mummies. It was your zombies from the graveyard.”

“What?” Delpha screeched, reaching across him to deadbolt the door and pull down the shade. “Why didn’t you say that in th’ first place??”

“The ‘Stayeth Put’ spell must not’ve lasted long,” Katy groaned, settling into a chair shakily.

Delpha winced, her insides tying themselves into knots. They were in trouble. “The book said they’ll murder anyone who gets in the way of their war.”

“They can turn animals to stone,” Tyler mumbled to himself. He almost looked angry. “If they can do it to a cow, they can do it to people. That ain’t cool. Couldn’t y’all just … undo whatever you did?”

His words were obvious, but the look on Tyler’s face cut Delpha to the quick. Tyler Nimble was judging Delpha for screwing up badly, and, worse, he wasn’t wrong. She’d been flat-out reckless and lost control of the situation. Delpha shot Katybird a meaningful look. Not a nice one, either. She knew Katy couldn’t keep her magic from going haywire, but Delpha’s fear kept souring to anger. If Katybird had just left Delpha’s book alone in the first place …

Katy bit her lip and studied her fingernails. “I … I can’t do my half of the Reverse-Curse. My magic’s kinda messed up.”

Tyler’s face softened. “What about your mama? Can she help fix it?”

“No,” the girls said in unison.

Tyler frowned. “O-kaaaay. How can I help, then?”

Delpha rocked on her heels.

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