Free Luthier's Apprentice, The by Mayra Calvani Page B

important.’ Come on, I’ll walk you to your grandfather’s.”
    “Oh...” Emma was surprised yet thrilled at the prospect of spending more time with him. “It’s a long way.”
    “That’s okay,” he said. “I’m going in that direction to meet a friend.”
    “Um, sure.” Emma felt somewhat disappointed but tried to appear aloof. You stupid . Obviously he isn’t going all that way just for you.
    “Can I come, too?” Annika asked. “I don’t have anything else to do.”
    They started in the direction of the tram. During the ride back to Grandpa’s they talked about school, skateboarding, and about their plans for tonight. He’d already been invited to a friend’s party, but he said he’d love to drop by theirs afterwards. They also exchanged phone numbers and added them to their cell phones. Corey had a quick mind and a sharp sense of humor and Emma and Annika often laughed at his witty comebacks. By the time they reached Grandpa’s shop it was beginning to darken and already there were kids trick o’ treating down the street.
    “Thanks for walking me home,” Emma said.
    Corey shrugged. “Hey, no problem.” He turned to Annika. She was still wearing his jacket.
    “Oh!” Annika said. She started taking it off but he stopped her with a gesture.
    “That’s okay. If you’re cold, you can return it later.”
    “No, no. I’m warm now. Thanks.”
    “Okay.” He put on his jacket. Then his attention shifted to a man and a golden retriever walking down the street. His expression hardened.
    “Is something wrong?” Emma asked.
    Corey looked at Emma. “No, it’s just...I used to have a dog like that.”
    “Oh,” Emma said. “What happened?”
    “One day it simply…vanished.”
    “That’s terrible,” Annika said.
    “I’m sorry,” Emma said. When he didn’t say anything, she added, “I love dogs, but my mom won’t tolerate anything larger than a rabbit.”
    Corey exhaled a breath. “Yeah, well.” His face brightened somewhat and he smiled. “I guess I’ll see you later tonight.”
    Emma nodded, smiling back. She tried to contain her excitement. She turned to Annika. “You wanna come in?”
    Annika shook her head. “I better go home and start getting ready. I’ll meet you at the party.”
    Emma kissed Annika goodbye and watched her walk down the street with Corey. For a moment Emma just stood there, listening as they chatted. Again, she felt a twinge of jealousy. She knew she didn’t have any right to be jealous of Annika. After all, she’d just met the guy. But she couldn’t help it.
    Sighing, she pushed the door and went inside the shop. It was empty. She frowned. No sounds of hammering, sawing or scraping came from indoors. She walked into the workshop. It was empty, too. Curious, she switched the hallway light on and headed upstairs.
    From the landing, she glanced up at the attic door... just in time to see it closing.
    Emma froze as she watched iridescent purple light glowing through the crack beneath the closed attic door.

Chapter Sixteen
    G RANDPA!” EMMA CALLED. “GRANDPA!” BUT THERE was no answer. Not from the attic, not from the rest of the house.
    Turning fast, Emma raced down the stairs and darted into the street in search of Corey and Annika. To her relief, they hadn’t gone far—they were only about a block away.
    “Wait!” She ran after them. “Corey! Annika! Wait!”
    Surprised, they turned back and jogged in her direction.
    “What’s up?” Corey asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
    “You have to come back,” Emma said breathlessly. “The door. The attic door—it opened. I mean, I saw it as it was closing. And Grandpa’s gone.”
    “What do you mean, gone?” Corey asked.
    “Trust me. He’s gone.”
    “Calm down,” Corey said, holding her shoulders. “Maybe he’s gone to the attic. Maybe he’s there now.”
    Emma hated to admit it, but she was scared. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions, but she had a terrible feeling, a sense of urgency she