Read The Crystal's Curse for Free Online Page A

grandfather isn’t home. He’s out of town at the moment.” When Joshua shivered, she said, “Goodness, please come in, you must be freezing. Why are you dressed like that? Don’t you have a coat?”
    “No, the airline lost my luggage.” It was the first thing that came to mind.
    Craning her neck to look around him, she asked, “Are your parents with you?”
    “No, I came alone.” He decided to try to answer any questions as accurately as possible.
    She gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything. She showed him into the living room where she lit the fire, and then went out into the hallway to fetch a blanket for him.
    Spying a newspaper, Joshua quickly grabbed it and scanned the headlines for the date, January 25 th , same day, same year. Judging from the clock he’d past in the hall, and calculating the time difference between Boston and Guatemala, almost no time had elapsed between the time he left the dig and arriving in the park in Boston. Joshua expelled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
    When Mrs. Stewart returned with the blanket, he wrapped it around his shoulders and stood in front of the fire . He surveyed the room. Everything looked exactly as he remembered it. It was a large room with big oversized leather chairs. A sofa faced the fireplace. It always reminded him of one of the men’s clubs his father had taken him to in London. An oil painting hung over the fireplace, but the rest of the room contained no family pictures or any of the feminine homey touches that older people’s homes usually have.
    Joshua had not known his grandmother. She’d died when his father was a teenager. His grandfather had never remarried, seeming satisfied to live alone with only Mrs. Stewart to come in every day to cook and clean for him. Joshua knew his grandfather was still very involved in running the bank and served on the executive boards of several other companies.
    Mrs. Stewart asked, “Was your grandfather expecting you? He didn’t mention it to me,”
    “No, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. You said he was out of town. How long will he be gone?”
    “I expect him back tomorrow.”
    Joshua hesitated, but then because he had no other options, he said, “All my money was in the luggage, I don’t have any place else to go. Do you think it would be all right if I stayed here?”
    She smiled. “Of course, your grandfather would want you to stay. You can use your father’s old room.” Looking at the summer clothes he was wearing, she said, “I think there may still be some of his old clothes stored in there. They won’t be stylish, but they should fit you. Why don’t you go up, take a shower, get changed and I’ll fix you something to eat.”
    Walking up the stairs, Joshua heaved a big sigh of relief. He was warm, with a place to stay and food to eat. Best of all, he had until tomorrow to decide what he was going to say to his grandfather. Maybe after a good night’s sleep, he’d know what to do. Wouldn’t it be great if he could really stay and start college as he planned? First, he would have to find a way to get in touch with his parents to let them know he was safe. They must be really worried by now.
    At the top of the stairs, Joshua paused. His grandfather’s room was the first door on the left. The guest room where his parents stayed was next and at the end of the hall was his father’s old room. He walked down the hallway and opened the door. It looked exactly the same. He used to think it strange that a kid’s room had a double bed, until his father told him that when Sam was a teenager he grew so tall that they couldn’t find a single bed long enough for him. Grandfather had bought a double bed so Sam could lie crosswise and his feet wouldn’t hang off the end. When Joshua was little, it had seemed huge; now it seemed perfect. A wingback chair stood under the window and a writing desk next to the closet. Discarding the blanket, he headed for the bathroom