Page 80 of Sweet Nightmare

At the same time, there is no way I can let him see this tapestry. Jean-Claude has already proven he has no trouble beating up girls—the asshole has given me more than a few bruises through the years. No way am I about to let him do the same to Eva.

“I’ll get out of your way as soon as you let me look at that manticore rug of yours,” he tells me, arms crossed and snide look on his face.

“I already told you that’s not going to happen. And I have no idea what makes you think you have the right to order me to do anything, especially with something that is obviously school property.”

This time when I step forward, I knock him in the shoulder with my own. And then I keep going, keep moving forward until he has no choice but to step back or push back. Thankfully, he’s not nearly as brave alone as he is when the other Jean-Jerks are around, and he steps back. At first, it’s just a couple of steps, but then it’s several, and now I know I’ve won—whether he’s willing to acknowledge it or not.

And while I can see him psyching himself up to push me back—literally and figuratively—for once, the storm comes to our rescue. Lightning shoots through the sky, slamming into a tree that’s much too close to us for comfort as thunder shakes the ground beneath our feet.

Seconds later, an ominous crack sounds, and a huge branch comes crashing down.

I throw myself at Eva, knocking her out of the way just in time to keep the heavy branch from falling on her.

She’s okay—we all are—but in the middle of being knocked sideways by me, Eva loses her grip on the tapestry.

It flies through the air before crashing to the ground and unrolling, right at Jean-Claude’s feet.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

A SINGLE RUG IS WORTH

A THOUSAND WORDS

Eva and I exchange a look as Jean-Claude bends down to get a closer look at it through the streaming rain.

“Run!” I whisper to Eva as I prepare to fight Jean-Claude for the tapestry.

Common sense says I should let it go, but there’s something really odd and magical about the damn wall-hanging. The Jean-Jerks are the last people on the entire island that I want to be in charge of something with that much power. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to make sure I hold on to it.

“I’m not leaving you alone with him,” Eva snarls. And then we both move closer, looking for a way to yank the tapestry back from him.

But as I bend down to get it, I realize it’s changed again. Gone is the warning from earlier and in its place is a family of manticores, sitting around a table smoking cigars and playing poker.

Holy. Shit.

It heard me. It actually heard what I was saying and changed to help me out.

What kind of magic carpet is this thing?

Jean-Claude snarls when he gets his first good look at the tapestry. “Seriously? This is your family heirloom?”

“Hey, that sounded very judgmental,” Eva scolds him as she crouches down to help me roll the tapestry up. “Everyone’s family has their own special thing. Just because yours might not enjoy playing poker—”

She breaks off as another explosion of lightning splits the sky. “We should get out of here,” I say uneasily. “Before we all end up crushed under a falling tree.”

As if to back me up, the trees that line the path creak ominously.

Jean-Claude shoots the waving branches a worried look before backing up. “This isn’t over.”

“I kind of feel like it is,” I tell him as I pick the rug up and sling it over my shoulder. Once again, it weighs almost nothing, and we start back down the path to our cottage.

This time, he’s too busy booking it in the opposite direction to even think about stopping us.

“What the hell?” Eva says, shouting to be heard above the storm. “We almost got mugged for an old, enchanted tapestry.”

“Actually, I think we almost got mugged for something a lot more complicated than that,” I tell her. I still can’t believe the thing can listen to what goes on around it—and can change accordingly. “I just wish I knew what this thing actually was. What I do know is that something isn’t right.”

“Well, I don’t like the sound of that,” she shouts over the howl of the wind. Then she nearly gets knocked over as she picks my umbrella up from where I dropped it and tries to hand it to me.

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