The Collectors #2 Read online

  Maybe his time as part of that magical, hidden world was over.

  He turned his eyes to the sidewalk. Cigarette butts. A flattened straw. And peering out from behind a row of trash cans, a pair of glimmering eyes.

  “Hey,” whispered a voice.

  Van froze.

  “It’s not easy to get you alone,” the voice went on. “I’ve been chasing you back and forth through this city like a fool for the past two days.”

  A cat slipped out from between the trash cans.

  A long-haired gray cat with a disdainful look on its face.

  “Renata?” Van whispered.

  “I told you,” the cat snapped, “call me Chuck.” Mr. Falborg’s former pet padded closer, her plumy tail swishing behind her. “Renata is just the name Mr. Fancy-pants had engraved on my jeweled collar. A collar I refused to wear, by the way.”

  “Are you . . . are you living with Mr. Falborg again?” Van asked anxiously. “Is he in the city right now? Did he tell you to follow me?”

  “You think I’d obey him if he did?” the cat snorted. “I’m not a bloodhound.” She gave her whiskers a lazy stroke. “Of course not. Besides, Falborg’s city house is for sale. He won’t be coming back here anytime soon.”

  “Oh.” Van exhaled deeply. “Then . . . why are you following me?”

  “Well, I wasn’t just following you,” said the cat. “This neighborhood is one of my regular haunts. The stray cat act pays well, if you know how to work it.” She gave her whiskers a last pat. “As long as I was heading this way already, I agreed to do a favor for an old friend.”

  The cat turned and pawed a square of paper out from behind the trash cans.

  It was a postcard.

  On its front was a sketch of a small, dingy, gray office wedged between two other buildings. It was the kind of place that certainly didn’t belong on a postcard. It was the kind of place that most people wouldn’t give a second glance. It was the kind of place that only someone like Van would notice.

  “You mean, Pebble—” The joy swelling in Van’s chest almost cut off his breath. “She sent this to me? The Collectors haven’t forgotten about me?”

  The cat looked at Van with canny eyes. “How do you think you ended up back in this city, kid? A coincidence?” She tilted her head. “I’ve got to run. The Meyers had fish tonight, and they’ll be looking for someone small and pretty to feed the scraps to.”

  With a swish of her plumy gray tail, Chuck vanished into the shadows.

  Van picked up the postcard with shaking fingers. The light of a nearby streetlamp fell around him, its beam dotted by a falling whirl of leaves. He turned the postcard over. He read the words printed there, and then he read them again and again, smiling wider every time.

  WISH YOU WERE HERE.

  Acknowledgments

  I owe a world of thanks to all the hard of hearing and deaf students who spent time with me as I started work on these books: Austyn, Noah, Brian, Kennedy, Dalina, Gifty, Dexter, Amber V., Amber H., Ella, Cara, Nikki, and Maddie. Giant thanks also to expert readers Angela Dahlen and Linda Lytle for their time and their invaluable feedback, and to teachers Shanna Swenson, Angela Dahlen, and Amanda Kline. These stories wouldn’t exist without all of you. Thank you for letting me try to bottle a little bit of your light.

  A thousand thanks to my amazing editor, Martha Mihalick, for the time, the support, the vision, and the pushing when I’ve needed it. To Lois Adams, Laaren Brown, Virginia Duncan, Paul Zakris, Ann Dye, Robby Imfeld, Kris Kam, Haley George, Katie Heit, and everyone else at Greenwillow: thank you for shaping these books into what they’ve become.

  Danielle Chiotti, Michael Stearns, and everyone at Upstart Crow Literary: I can’t tell you just how grateful I am, but I’ll keep trying with every new book.

  My critique group—Anne Greenwood Brown, Connie Kingrey Anderson, Lauren Peck, and Jennifer Kaul—gets me out of my house and out of my head. Writing can be lonely work, but it’s a lot less lonely with all of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  Anne Ursu, Adam Gidwitz, Will Alexander, and Jonathan Auxier: your support means more than I can say. (And speaking of support, any writer who isn’t part of the Minnesota kid lit community is missing out. Just saying.)

  I’ll never stop feeling out-of-this-world lucky to see my books in readers’ hands. In my head, I’m thanking every single bookshop and bookseller who helps make this happen, but on paper, I’ll have to single out just a few local wonder-workers: Red Balloon in St. Paul: Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, Minnesota: Fox Den Books in River Falls, Wisconsin; and Fair Trade Books in Red Wing, Minnesota. Thanks also to all the book bloggers, bookstagrammers, librarians, book club facilitators, and teachers who connect stories with readers. You make the world magical.

  Thanks to all the music teachers, singers, coaches, and professors I’ve been lucky enough to learn from, and thanks to my favorite opera singer, Jack Swanson. (You know I steal little bits of your life for these stories, right?)

  Mom and Dad, Dan, Katy, Alex, and all the grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and in-laws who have supported me, helped me, and loved me: thank you forever.

  And most of all, thanks to Ryan and Beren. Life with you two is more wonderful than anything I could make up.

  About the Author

  JACQUELINE WEST is the author of the award-winning and bestselling Books of Elsewhere series, as well as The Collectors and two novels for teenagers. Her short fiction and poetry appear in a variety of publications. She is also a classically trained singer and an actress, and she still performs with local theatre troupes. She lives with her family in Red Wing, Minnesota.

  www.jacquelinewest.com

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  THE COLLECTORS #2: A STORM OF WISHES. Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline West. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  www.harpercollinschildrens.com

  Cover art © 2019 by Diana Sudyka

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: West, Jacqueline, author.

  Title: A storm of wishes / Jacqueline West.

  Description: New York, NY : Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2019. | Series: [Collectors ; 2] | Summary: “Eleven-year-old Van Markson embarks on a quest to rescue his best friend from a dangerous wish collector”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019012390 | ISBN 9780062691729 (hardback)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Wishes—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Collectors and collecting—Fiction. | Best friends—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Hearing impaired—Fiction. | People with disabilities—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.W51776 Stl 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019012390

  Digital Edition OCTOBER 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-269174-3

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-269172-9

  1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321

  FIRST EDITION

  About the Publisher

  Australia

 
; HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

  Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

  22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

  Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4E3

  www.harpercollins.ca

  India

  HarperCollins India

  A 75, Sector 57

  Noida

  Uttar Pradesh 201 301

  www.harpercollins.co.in

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

  Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive

  Rosedale 0632

  Auckland, New Zealand

  www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF, UK

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  www.harpercollins.com