The Magnificent Lizzie Brown and the Mysterious Phantom by Vicki Lockwood Page A

Lizzie asked.
    â€œJust a guess,” Hari said. “If you saw her past, maybe you saw her future too. That’s how I’d expect it to look.”
    Nora gripped her arm excitedly. “The future ? What did you see?”
    â€œIt was her, in the tent, like she is now,” Lizzie said. “She had a rich man in there. She was stealing his watch.”
    Dru gave a low whistle, and Erin and Nora exchanged glances.
    â€œI didn’t mean to see it!” Lizzie protested. “I couldn’t help it!”
    Malachy rubbed his chin. “Old Aurora, a thief? I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.”
    That took Lizzie by surprise. “Really?”
    â€œCome on, have you seen how much gin she goes through? More than she could afford on a fortune-teller’s wages, I bet.”
    â€œShe’s a proper drunk,” Erin agreed, nodding.
    â€œGets into trouble all the time when she’s been drinking,” said Nora. “Remember the fight she had with the Amazon Queen?”
    â€œSavage, it was! Scratching and hair pulling! Rolling in the straw!”
    â€œIf Anita hadn’t knocked her cold with that tent peg, she’d have killed someone!” Nora laughed.
    Lizzie didn’t think it was funny. She was beginning to realize she’d made a dangerous enemy. If a drunken Madame Aurora could attack the huge Amazon Queen, then what chance did a skinny young girl have? “Forget it,” she mumbled. “It must have been my imagination.”
    â€œAnd when the rope broke, and I fell? Was that your imagination too?” Dru asked, speaking for the first time.
    â€œShe’s got the second sight,” Erin said, totally sure. “That proves it. Here. Do me next.”
    Lizzie squirmed away from Erin’s offered hand. “I don’t believe in none of that stuff.”
    Dru shrugged. “Seeing is believing.”
    Lizzie had never believed in anything supernatural — she wasn’t even afraid of ghosts, not like other children she knew. After all, Pa’s fists were more scary than any ghost could be. And now this.
    â€œBut this circus stuff ain’t real,” she said desperately. “It’s all just for show.”
    â€œSome of it is,” Malachy told her. “But it’s a big old world, Lizzie. There are a lot of strange things in it that you can’t easily explain.”
    â€œS’pose you’d know,” Lizzie said sullenly.
    Malachy grinned. “We’ve been to a lot of places, us circus folk. Seen things that would turn your hair white. You’re going to have to open your mind if you’re going to stay with us.”
    It was a lot to take in. Lizzie looked down at her own open hands, wondering if she really did have the power to see into people’s lives. Deep inside she suddenly believed she did. Whether she liked it or not, there wasn’t any other explanation. All through her life, she’d had premonitions. She’d dreamed of her mother’s death, and her brother’s, but she’d thought it was just coincidence — after all, people died all the time in Rat’s Castle.
    The only question now was what she should do with her powers. Well, they could help make money, for a start. If she could tell people about their past the way she had with Madame Aurora, they’d be more likely to part with their cash. She might even pick up on some forgotten happy times that customers would be glad to be reminded of.
    â€œLooking into the past is harmless enough, I reckon,” Lizzie said. “But do you really think I can see into the future?”
    â€œLike when you saw Aurora stealing?” Malachy rested his chin on his fist. “That vision was clearer than the rest, right?”
    â€œAll bright and shiny.” Lizzie nodded.
    â€œSo if that was the future, then perhaps she hasn’t stolen anything yet. . . .” A faraway look came over Malachy’s