W.i.t.c.h.: The Last Tear

Adapted by Elizabeth Lenhard
Published by Volo
May 2004; $4.99US/$6.99CAN; 0-7868-1732-1

The magic of friendship has transforming results!

Even though things appear to be calm in Heatherfield, Cedric and his army are growing stronger. They will stop at nothing to keep the Guardians of the Veil from fulfilling their destinies. When the Guardians find an enchanted painting and a mysterious artist, they uncover Meridian's complex history. Before Cedric can destroy the city, the girls must dry the last tear of Meridian and end an ancient curse.

Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from the book W.i.t.c.h.: The Last Tear - Book #5

Adapted by Elizabeth Lenhard

Published by Volo; May 2004; $4.99US/$6.99CAN; 0-7868-1732-1

Copyright © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

One

Irma Lair gaped at her mother.

As usual, Mrs. Lair had her fists planted on her hips, and she was glaring at her daughter.

Also as usual, Irma was responding with a glare of her own. Irma didn't have to look at a mirror to know which expression she was wearing. It was her tried-and-true Mask of Horror, with added touches of incredulity and scorn. It was tailor-made for Mom.

It was also the only expression Irma could muster at that particularly terrible moment.

My mother, Irma thought desperately, has just ordered me to do the unthinkable. She is making me leave my cozy, quiet bedroom . . .

Here, Irma paused and looked around her bedroom. Okay, so it wasn't exactly quiet, what with the stereo blaring and her pet turtle, Leafy, loudly gnawing on a carrot in his bowl. And cozy? Well, if you call a heap of somewhat fragrant laundry on the floor and a vanity table piled high with unfinished homework cozy, then cozy was exactly what Irma's room was.

The point, Irma thought with a shrug, is that my mother is throwing me out of the sanctuary of our home. She's making me go . . . on a date!

Irma realized immediately that this sounded odd. After all, she was a normal teenage girl. She went to school. She loved shopping, body-surfing at the beach, talking to her girlfriends on the phone, and dating. I like dating boys -- cute, sporty, stylish ones, Irma thought. This date is with a total nerd! He is, in fact, the most unbearable dweeb at the Sheffield Institute -- the skinny, bespectacled Martin Tubbs!

"Irma," Mom scolded. She stepped through Irma's bedroom door threateningly. "You promised!"

"Promised?" Irma squeaked. "When would I have promised anything like that?"

"Irma!" Mom repeated. Her blue eyes narrowed to slits and her forehead scrunched into a field of angry furrows. "If you don't leave this bedroom immediately, I will get very, very angry."

Irma looked around her bedroom desperately. Her eyes fell on the stack of schoolbooks lying on top of her vanity table. Homework! Homework trumped everything! Irma dived toward the desk and scooped up a couple of textbooks.

"I want to do my homework!" she wailed. "I have to study. Send Leafy instead of me!" Irma pointed to her pet turtle.

"Your turtle is not going on a date with Martin Tubbs!" Mom sputtered. "You are! Now come on! You're acting like a little girl!"

Mom grabbed Irma by the wrist and began dragging her into the hallway.

This is child abuse! Irma thought. But she knew not to play that card with her mom, who, after all, was usually quite the softie. She was always baking cookies and helping Irma and her brother, Christopher, with their homework and stuff like that.

That's it! Irma thought suddenly. I'll appeal to Mom's soft side.

"A mother cannot do this to her favorite daughter," she cried, grabbing on to the door as Mom tried to yank her down the stairs.

"You're my only daughter," Mom pointed out, through gritted teeth.

"Don't you have a heart?" Irma wailed. In a tragic gesture, Irma lifted her own hand to her chest. She gazed beseechingly at her Mom and let her lower lip tremble, just a bit.

"Please," Mom said, rolling her eyes.

Hey! Irma thought indignantly. That eye roll is my move! No fair!

"Don't make such a stink," Mom continued. "You made the date. And now, you'll keep it."

Mom grabbed Irma by both shoulders and began to march her down the stairs toward the living room. Irma sighed heavily. She was beaten. There was no getting out of it. And the worst part of this grievous miscarriage of justice? Irma really hadn't made the date.

It was my stupid astral drop who said yes when Martin asked her out, Irma thought with a groan.

Ah, the good old astral drop, she mused grumpily. She's been the most inconvenient part of being a Guardian of the Veil. Well, that and being attacked by slimy, scaly monsters every time I turn around . . .

Lately, Irma's normal, teenage life had been . . . not so normal after all.

Things had first started getting weird while Irma was soaking in a long, hot bath one day. She'd been lazily trailing her fingers through the steamy bathwater as she daydreamed about her fave TV show, Boy Comet. Then, suddenly, Irma had noticed something bizarre! In her fingers' wake, the bathwater had begun to do more than simply ripple and undulate. It had started floating! Big blobs of water had risen from the water and danced before Irma's incredulous eyes.

Then, with a flick of her finger, Irma had sent the water soaring around the bathroom like a fleet of flying saucers!

Over the next few days, Irma had discovered that she could coax ocean waves to crash where she wanted; convince great geysers to rise out of the earth; even redirect rain!

And that wasn't all. Irma had also found she could predict pop-quiz questions, simply by making a wish.

Meanwhile, her best friends at school -- Cornelia, Hay Lin, Taranee, and Will -- had all started experiencing supernatural and bizarre moments of their own.

Copyright © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

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