Free Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway

up, J.B.,” Holly said. “I don’t think we’ve been on this section of the path before.”
    Something tightened around my ankle, and I was swept upside-down. I looked at Holly and realized I was dangling from a tree, caught up in some sort of rope netting.
    “Are you all right?” Noelle asked.
    “I’m fine. The thieves must have placed traps along the trail so no one would find their camp.” I struggled to sit up in the netting. The rope was rough, and it dug into my arms and legs.
    “Garret mentioned something about traps when he caught us earlier,” Holly said. “How are we going to get you down from there?”
    “We need something to cut the rope. Look for a sharp rock.”
    Holly searched the ground, feeling along the grass and dirt. “It’s still kind of dark. I can’t really see well, but I don’t think there are any sharp—” Holly screamed and grabbed Noelle’s arm.
    I watched helplessly as they both were scooped up into another net. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was anywhere other than dangling from the trees with no way to get free.

Chapter Twelve
     
    It was bad enough that I’d gotten caught in a net, but I didn’t think things could get any worse now that Holly and Noelle were dangling beside me. If I’d had even a little luck, Holly would’ve found a sharp rock before she reached headfirst into the trap. Or, at least she wouldn’t have pulled Noelle into the trap with her so one of us would’ve been free.
    “Ow! That’s my foot!” Holly whined.
    “At least you’re not upside-down!” Noelle said, squirming in the net.
    “Would you two knock it off?” I was sick of their arguing.
    “Quit moving around!” Holly yelled.
    “I wouldn’t be stuck up here if you hadn’t grabbed me! So lay off!” Noelle said.
    The only time they’d gotten along was when Garret told Noelle about her dad. Holly must have forgotten all about that because she was back to her usual self. “Fighting isn’t helping. We need to find a way out of here.”
    They stopped squirming. Holly blew a few strands of hair out of her face. “How do you suggest we get down from here, big brother?”
    “I don’t think getting down is going to be a problem,” Noelle said.
    “Did you think of a way to get out of these nets?” I asked.
    “Yeah.” Noelle’s voice shook. “I’m pretty sure he’ll cut us down.” She pointed down the path.
    I shifted my weight and saw a shadowy figure walking our way. “Please be Dad,” I muttered. Deep down, I knew the person walking toward us wasn’t my dad. The panic in Noelle’s voice meant she knew it, too.
    “Garret,” I mumbled as he walked up to the traps.
    “You? How did you get away from Trent?” Garret asked. His face twisted in a combination of confusion and anger.
    “I guess we were clever enough to escape again!” Holly said, using Garret’s words against him.
    “Wait until I cut you down from there!”
    “You can’t hurt us. You can’t do anything without your father’s orders,” I said, hoping it was true.
    “Not a problem. I’m dying to see what he has planned for you.” Garret yanked the knife from his belt loop and swung it at the rope tied around the tree trunk.
    I landed hard on my back. “Ouch!” I thrashed around for a minute, trying to get out of the net, but I couldn’t find an opening anywhere. I looked up at Garret, and the smirk on his face said it all. He hadn’t cut us free. He’d only cut the nets down from the tree. “How are we supposed to go back to the camp if we’re stuck in these ropes?” I asked.
    “Simple.” Garret grabbed hold of the two nets and dragged them behind him.
    “Ow!” Holly winced. “Great, where was that sharp rock when I needed it earlier?”
    “What was that about not being able to hurt you?” Garret asked. He laughed like a crazy person as he dragged us back to camp. He struggled to pull our weight, but apparently causing us pain was worth the struggle.
    Luckily, we hadn’t