Revived Spirits by Julia Watts Read Free Book Online Page A

way the two of us could go there by ourselves?”
    “No. It’s a rule that kids can only come when they’re with the adult relative of the prisoner.”
    So much for that, then. “Okay,” I say as the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. “I really do want to help you, but I need a little time to figure out how to go about it. Is it okay if I talk to Adam about this?”

Chapter Six
    “Doo dee doo doo , doo dee doo doo .” Adam and Abigail and I are singing along with the theme song of The Twilight Zone , which Adam has brought over for us to watch. Being the classic horror nerd he is, it’s hardly surprising that he has every episode of the show on DVD.
    “Do you want to watch another? This one called ‘The Eye of the Beholder’ is good,” Adam says, looking at the DVD’s menu. We have to watch DVDs on Adam’s laptop since my family has just barely worked its way up to having a VHS player. Adam says it’s still progress—at least we’re living like it’s the 1980s, not the 1880s.
    “I would watch another,” says Abigail, who’d be happy staring at moving pictures all night every night.
    “I would, too,” I say, “but I also want to talk to y’all about something.”
    “What’s that?” Adam grabs a handful of popcorn.
    “You remember Caylie from school, right?” I say.
    “Yeah. The girl who reminded me that appearances are deceiving.” He tosses up a piece of popcorn and catches it in his mouth.
    “ Caylie’s a girl our age who’s living with her grandparents,” I tell Abigail. I look over at Adam to include him in my next statement. “Her mom’s in jail, for supposedly making meth.”
    “Whoa,” Adam says, “that’s bad.”
    “Is it?” Abigail looks lost. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
    “Meth is short for methamphetamine,” Adam says. “It’s an illegal drug. It makes people really awake and active and happy-feeling. But it’s addictive and deadly. Dad sees meth-heads when he works in the clinic at the hospital. He says it’s like watching people poison themselves. Their teeth rot out, their skin is covered in sores, they’re skinny as skeletons and their hearts are damaged.”
    “This methamphetamine”—Abigail pronounces the word slowly— “does it come from a flower like opium? I once heard my papa talk about the opium dens in Chinatown in Boston.”
    “No,” Adam says. “It’s not natural. People make it out of all kinds of toxic chemicals and then sell it. I guess that’s what Caylie’s mom did.”
    “It’s what Caylie’s mom was put in jail for,” I say. “But she says she’s innocent. Caylie asked me if I’d go to the jail to see her so I can use the Sight to see if she’s telling the truth.”
    “Interesting,” Adam says. He’s gone from a reclining position to sitting straight up. “Are you going to do it?”
    “I don’t know. I’d like to, but I don’t know how to go about it. Caylie’s grandparents are strict Holiness, and they know me and my family by reputation. As witches.”
    “Would they know you if they saw you?” Adam asks.
    “I’m not sure. But they’d know I didn’t look like the kind of girl they want Caylie hanging around with.”
    “Unless you disguised yourself,” Adam says. “You know, made yourself look like the kind of girl they would want Caylie to hang out with.”
    “Oh, a disguise!” Abigail says, looking excited. “What kind of disguise would it be?”
    “Well,” I say, “Holiness girls dress very modestly. Long hair and long dresses that cover their knees and elbows.”
    Abigail rolls her eyes. “All that sounds terribly familiar. Really, when people can choose to be modern, why don’t they?”
    “Well, in this case, it’s because of their religious beliefs,” I say. “Which they have an absolute right to.”
    “Of course,” Abigail says. “But as someone who spent her summers sweltering in long-sleeved dresses, it’s hard to understand why someone who had the choice