Magic Street Page 0,117

late to stop Nathaniel Brady from waking up in midair, having dreamed that he was flying. But Ceese phoned to waken his parents, who found Nathaniel lying on the driveway, suffering from a severe concussion and several broken bones. The paramedics assured them that he would not have wakened on his own and probably would have been dead by the time anybody found him in the morning. "What, did he think he was Superman?" asked a paramedic.

And when Dwight Majors found himself in the midst of making love to Kim Hiatt, Miz Smitcher was at the Hiatts' door and was able to calm everybody down and reassure them that it wasn't rape.

It took more than a little tearful conversation before it emerged that it wasn't Dwight who had been wishing for Kim - Dwight was happily married. It was Kim whose wish brought her high school flame to her as he was making love to his wife. In fact, it was Michelle Majors who took the most persuading, even though she had seen her husband simply vanish.

Madeline Tucker was able to borrow a really huge brassiere from Estelle Woener so that thirteen-year-old Felicia Danes could deal with the enormous breasts she had grown during the night.

Grand Harrison and Ophelia McCallister helped soothe a hysterical Andre and Monique Simpson after they found the desiccated corpse of their six-month-dead baby between them in their bed.

"We knew about the wishes last night," said Andre, when he could talk. "We tried not to wish for our baby to be with us."

"I don't think you can tell yourself what to wish, deep down," said Ophelia. "Because I didn't wish to be with my husband, not consciously. I thought I was waiting to see him again in heaven."

Aaron Graves, Alonzo's little brother, was returned by the firefighters who found him in his pajamas, straddling a firehose at the top of a crane that was working on saving the top story of a four-story apartment building.

And Mack performed CPR on Denise Johnston until she revived. He wouldn't tell her who had wished her dead, or why.

It was after eleven at night before all the wishes had been dealt with, as much as possible, and about seventy adults were gathered in front of Yolanda White's house. This time they weren't a mob.

They were frightened - more than ever - but Mack and Yolanda and Ceese had the only explanation that fit all the facts, and they were disposed to listen.

"It's going to go on like this," said Yolanda. "Night after night. Every time Oberon, bless his heart, uses his power in this world, your wishes are going to be set loose to break hearts and cause havoc."

"But we don't wish for these things," Ophelia McCallister insisted.

"Your wishes get twisted. And you can't stop them. They're already stored up."

Mack was grateful that she didn't explain exactly where they were stored.

"So we can't do anything?" demanded Myron Graves. "Both my boys tonight - we're lucky social services didn't come and take them away because we're negligent parents and don't watch them at night."

"Why is it happening now?" asked Denise Johnston. "And can the same wish be granted again? I have a right to know who's wishing death on me."

"No, you don't," said Mack sharply. "The person who had that wish never would have acted on it. It was malice but not murder. And I don't think it'll happen again to anybody. Except maybe for the little kids, because they didn't understand their danger so they still wish for the same things."

A lot of people wanted to know who it was, but Yolanda refused to tell. "He doesn't know that Oberon is using him as a tool. He's a good man and it would tear him apart to know what's happening. And it wouldn't change a thing because Oberon will get his way, as long as he's imprisoned and has to work through a pony here in your world."

"It's a horse?" asked Miz Smitcher.

"He rides a human being like a pony. His power is irresistible."

"So we can't stop him," said Grand.

"Not by talking to the poor tool he's using. But yes, I think we can stop him. And by 'we' I mean all of us. All of you."

They promised that they were willing.

"Oh, you're willing now," said Yolanda. "We'll see what you think when I tell you how it's got to go."

"What can we do anyway?" said Romaine Tyler. "I'll do anything if it can undo the damage that's been done."

"It