Entwined (27 page)

“We still have ten minutes before class,” I protest. “Please let us enjoy it!”

“It’s not schoolwork.” He opens the file. “It’s research.” His eyes are bright with excitement. “When you first realised you were telepathic, I decided to set aside a file to store information on the supernatural. I’ve been doing research on everything that has come up in our discussions – telepathy, telekinesis, premonitions, bewitched objects, sangomas, mind control – everything.”

Lebz’s eyes widen and she turns to me. I shrug – I’m just as surprised as she is. I haven’t paid close attention to Wiki’s thoughts or Lebz’s since they made it clear they don’t appreciate the intrusion. Both of us lean over to peer at the file. It’s almost half full already, with drawings and charts as well as typed text.

“Wiki!” I whisper in awe. “You did all this work by yourself?”

“Of course,” he says, a little offended. “I have back-up files on my computer and on a memory stick. I didn’t want to say anything yet, because I wasn’t sure I would find anything we could use. And of course I had to verify all my information. A lot of this material was found online, and you know you can’t trust the internet. But I’ve checked and re-checked, and although almost all this material is based in mythology and isn’t exactly scientific, I think we can use it.”

I stare at him, amazed that this thoughtful genius is actually my friend. “Wiki, you’re a superstar.”

He grins. “Thank you, Connie. I do my best. There are a lot of interesting things in here, but recently I found something that I think you’ll really like.” He turns to the middle of the book, where the most recent entries are. “It’s about sorcerers.”

Lebz and I lean closer.

“I looked up the different skills a sorcerer might have,” Wiki explains. “Most of the material referred to European sorcerers, Merlin-type people, but I did find some information on sangomas. There’s a lot written about these people possessing the power to control lesser beings, like
thokolosi
, and a bit about controlling humans. Then I found this.” He taps a paragraph near the middle of the page. “A legend about a sangoma who could steal power from the gifted. And you’ll never guess how he did it.”

“Bewitched objects,” I gasp.

“Bewitched
jewellery
,” says Wiki. “You see, it had to be something that was in constant contact with the victim’s skin. The moment it’s not touching the victim, the power of the object weakens. The sangoma in the story used cultural rings and bracelets, the kind that were never taken off.”

“Wow,” I breathe. “But the Puppetmaster isn’t interested in stealing powers. He can’t be – Ma-fourteen aren’t freaks.”

“You mean they aren’t gifted,” Wiki says with a raised eyebrow, as if I care about being politically correct. “Whatever he’s doing must increase his own power somehow. Why else would he do it? We have to find out exactly what the girls do for him before we can understand. Hopefully your grandfather’s analysis of the necklace will turn up something. Then we have to find out who helped the Puppetmaster find the girls.”

“Helped him?” Lebz frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it.” Wiki closes the file. “How is a foreign sangoma, new in town, going to meet a girl like Amantle? He must have met her through someone else.”

“I never even thought of that,” I admit.

The bell rings, and students start moving in waves towards the classrooms.

“Here.” Wiki hands me the file. “Take a look at it; maybe it’ll give you some ideas. Let’s talk again at break.”

I slip the file into my bag and we go our separate ways. I spot Thuli and his buddies across the schoolyard, but he doesn’t see me. I clutch my bag closer, wondering how long it will be before he makes his next move. I have enough to worry about without dealing with him, too.

“The number you have dialled is not available. Please try –”

I hang up in disgust. “He’s still not answering!”

“He’s probably working,” says Rakwena. “Give him some time.”

We’re sitting in my living room four days after finding Rose’s necklace, pretending to study as usual.

I scowl. “He’s had ages to work on the necklace – he must have found something by now. He just doesn’t want me to have any information I can use to find the Puppetmaster.”

“He only wants to protect you.” Rakwena takes a bite out of the piece of chicken in his hands.

“Blah blah.” I lean back in the sofa and toss my phone onto the coffee table. “Fine. Let him be difficult. I’ll figure this out without him. Wiki’s working on it – maybe he’ll find something.” I glance towards the door, sensing an agitated presence, and get up to open it.

Lebz is running down the street towards the house, waving a newspaper. “Connie! Oh my God, you have to see this.” She lifts the latch and runs into the yard, leaving the gate wide open behind her. I consider making her go back to close it, but she’s far too excited.

“What’s up, Lebz?” I step aside and she zooms into the house.

“Hi, Lizard.” She holds the paper about two centimetres from my face. “Look!”

I take a step back so I can actually see. “Lebz!” I groan, turning away before my integrity is compromised. “You can’t expect me to read the
GC Chronicle
. I have to preserve what brain cells I have left.”

She makes an exasperated sound in her throat. “Stop being such a snob and
look
!”

I swallow my pride. The headline screams: “DIRTY OLD MAN! MP caught with prepubescent lover”. Beneath the caption is a huge photo of the infamous black Jaguar belonging to a highly-respected member of parliament, alongside a pixelated insert of him in the backseat with a young girl. His hand appears to be sliding under her skin-tight top. I wrinkle my nose in distaste. “Ugh, I’m going to vomit.”

“Look at that girl,” Lebz persists. “See anything you recognise?”

I squint at the photo but it’s difficult to make anything out. The girl’s face has been blurred. Even the MP’s face is out of focus, and the only reason I recognise him is because of that potato-shaped head and the flashy car. “I’m lost,” I confess.

“Look at her necklace,” says Rakwena, who has materialised behind me.

The minute he says it I get a chill. Oh, no. I lean closer and study the necklace. I can’t quite tell if it’s gold or silver. There’s a pendant which is hard to see against the background of the girl’s top, but on closer inspection it looks… like a flower with five petals. “Oh, God, no,” I groan.

My stomach turns. I push the paper away, disgusted and angry. I never imagined that this would be what the Puppetmaster was up to. Is he some kind of paedophile pimp? I turn back to my friends, my body trembling.

“It’s worse than we thought,” says Lebz. “What are we going to do?”

“Kill him,” I growl.

“Hold on – there are still a lot of unanswered questions.” That’s Rakwena, the voice of reason as always.

“We don’t need answers,” I snap. “We need to find this bastard and destroy him!”

“Agreed,” says Lebz, nodding firmly. “This can’t go on. I mean, it’s one thing to use witchcraft to make people steal for you, but this is disgusting!”

“Of course it’s disgusting, but let’s not forget what a complex situation this is,” says Rakwena. “Everything we’ve seen so far tells us the Puppetmaster’s not some idiot looking for a quick buck. There’s more to this.”

I’m still angry, but I see the sense in his words. “You’re right. I don’t think the Puppetmaster is your average pimp. So what’s this picture about?”

“The question is, how did it get in the paper?” asks Rakwena.

“Maybe a reporter…” Lebz begins, but Rakwena shakes his head.

“He’s way too smart to get caught by reporters. Either the Puppetmaster wanted this photo in the paper, or someone’s keeping tabs on him without attracting attention.”

“I’m going with the first one,” I declare after a moment’s thought. “So now we have to figure out why he would want the world to see this picture. I can’t think of any good reason.”

“Neither can I,” Rakwena admits. “But it’s there. We’ll find it.” He gestures at my phone. “Try your grandfather again. If this doesn’t push the traditional doctors to take action, nothing will.”

Ntatemogolo is still not answering his phone. I take another look at the horrible tabloid article, now partially hidden under Lebz’s arm. We have to do something to stop the Puppetmaster. But what?

Lebz is still glued to the tabloid on Friday.

I grimace as I sit next to her on the bench. “It can’t be that interesting.”

“That’s what you think,” she mumbles, engrossed in a love triangle between a cop, a nurse and a truck driver.

I sense Rose’s thoughts before I see her come through the school gates. She’s agitated, and she’s looking for me. “Put that thing away – Rose is coming!”

“Hmm?” Lebz glances up, sees Rose and hurriedly stuffs the paper into her bag. “She looks upset. Do you think she’s seen the story already?”

“I hope not.” I plaster a bright smile on my face. “Hey, Rose!”

“Hi.” She sinks onto the bench with a weary sigh. “How are you guys?”

“Great,” we chirp, with forced cheer. “How are you?”

“Not good.” She turns her big, innocent eyes on me. “People have been acting very strangely around me. Staring, whispering. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Looks like I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad news. “Rose, do you read the
GC Chronicle
?”

She shakes her head. “My mother doesn’t let me read that stuff.”

“That’s good. But um… ah…”

“There’s a story in the paper,” says Lebz, coming to my rescue. “With a picture of a girl wearing a necklace that looks like the one you used to wear.”

Rose shakes her head. “Well, it’s not me. I would know if someone took a photo of me for a paper.”

“Not if you were under the Puppetmaster’s control,” I point out. “I know you don’t remember most of what happened, but is there any chance… I mean…” I clear my throat. “Is it possible that he made you girls… um… do things… with men?”

Rose’s expression changes from puzzled to mortified. “Oh! I wouldn’t… we wouldn’t. I’d remember that, wouldn’t I?” She shrinks into herself, clutching her bag to her chest. “The picture in the paper – was the girl in a car?”

I nod.

Rose’s face pales. “Do you have a copy?”

Lebz looks at me and I nod once. She reaches into her bag and pulls out the slightly crumpled paper. She hands it to Rose, who takes it as if she’s afraid it might blow up. She unrolls it slowly and gasps.

“It’s not –” I can’t even say it.

“No, not me,” says Rose weakly. “I’m sure Amantle’s telling people it’s me, but those clothes look like Refilwe’s. I’m just trying to think… where were the rest of us? In other cars, doing the same thing?” She drops the paper, looking exhausted. “This is never going to go away, even if I move. I’m still going to have to live with whatever I did.”

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She picks up the paper again. “You know, this photo looks familiar. I think I’ve seen it before.”

“Where?” asks Lebz.

“I don’t know.” Rose thinks for a long moment, then gives up with a shake of her head. “I don’t remember.”

“Never mind.” I take the paper from her. “Forget about the
Chronicle
and the gossip. We’re going to get the bottom of this, one way or another. We’ll get the Puppetmaster, and when we do, he’s going to wish he’d never set foot in this country.”

Rose smiles. “I believe you. After everything you’ve done, I don’t think anything is impossible for you.”

I cringe inwardly. No pressure, right? “How’s the studying going? Lebz and I haven’t even started yet.”

Rose’s eyes widen in horror. “What?” For some reason she seems more disturbed by this than by anything else I’ve said. “No, that’s very bad! You guys have to take your exams seriously – you’re in Form Four!”

Lebz and I exchange glances and try not to giggle. Poor thing. Like Wiki, she’s under the impression that long weeks of hard slogging is what gets people through the exams, when the truth is nothing works as well as some serious last-minute cramming.

“Don’t worry – we’ll start soon,” I assure her. “Rakwena’s already helping me.”

She smiles shyly. “He’s so cool. You’re lucky to have such an amazing boyfriend.”

Lebz titters.

“Oh, no, he’s not my boyfriend,” I protest, feeling my face burn with embarrassment. “He’s my… um… friend. Like Lebz.”

Lebz mumbles under her breath.

“Oh.” Rose is disappointed by this news. She’s one of the many people who think Rakwena and I should be making out behind the toilets. “I just assumed…”

“Wow, five minutes before class.” I glance at my phone.

“Really?” Rose jumps up with a hurried goodbye and dashes off.

“I told you,” says Lebz. Even without my telepathy, she’s predictable. “The chemistry between you and Lizard is so obvious. Oh, here he comes. Is your heart racing?”

“Shut up,” I grumble as Rakwena approaches.

“Hello, ladies.” He’s in a good mood.

The bell clangs. I sigh.

“You OK?” he asks, leaning close to me.

“She’s fine,” says Lebz. “Now that you’re here.” She throws us a knowing look. “See you later.”

Arggh! If I didn’t love her so much I would throttle her.

“What was that?” asks Rakwena.

“Nothing. Got to go.” And I make my escape, trying not to notice the bemused smile on his face as he watches me leave.

Ntatemogolo pages me on Friday. I take it as a summons and after school Rakwena drops me off in Bontleng.

“You can stay,” I tell him.

He shakes his head. “I have a few things to take care of. Call me and let me know what he says, OK?”

The house is quiet and the front door is ajar. I push it open. Ntatemogolo is sitting in the living room. He looks much better than the last time I saw him; more like his usual self. He smiles and waves me towards a chair.

“How are things, my girl?”

“Fine. How are you?”

He sighs. “I’ve been better. I am sure you want to know about the necklace. Well, you’re going to be disappointed. I have removed the spell, but I didn’t learn anything about the Puppetmaster beyond the fact that he is a very powerful, dangerous man. His magic is complex, with many layers.” He stops to light a cigarette. “I haven’t seen anything like him for a long time. Methodical, strategic. Very well-prepared.”