A Karma Girl Christmas Read Online Free

he was.  
    But I didn’t see any waves—no blacks, no reds, no blues, no greens. There was simply too much stuff in the department store for me to easily zoom in on the mystery person’s location.
    So I decided to go about things the old-fashioned way. I closed my eyes and listened—really listened—to the tapping, trying to determine exactly where the sound was coming from. Then, I opened my eyes, slid into the shadows cast out by the racks of clothes, and headed in that direction.  
    I crept through the clothes, careful not to brush them as I passed. Up head, the tap-tap-tapping grew louder, and I spotted a figure weaving through the glass makeup counters. I picked up my pace, moving at an angle and getting ahead of the figure. I stopped beside the last makeup counter and slid behind an oversized, smiling cardboard cutout of Swifte, Bigtime’s speediest and most flamboyant superhero. Apparently, Swifte had come out with his own cologne just in time for the holidays—Eau de Swifte.  
    The cardboard cutout had been spritzed with the cologne, which smelled fresh, like pine needles mixed with a faint citrus note. It made my nose twitch, but it was far more restrained than what I’d expected, given Swifte’s boisterous, showboat nature and rampant love of publicity. I shook my head, held back a sneeze, and focused.  
    My plan was simple. As soon as the mystery figure walked by my hiding spot, I’d sucker-punch whoever it was, grab her psychic energy, and use it against her. When I had the ubervillain secure, I’d fish my cell phone out of my boot and call the cops to come haul the evildoer off to jail.
    I let out a breath and flexed my gloved fingers a few times, before curling them into a tight fist. I didn’t have superstrength like Fiera did, but I’d been working out, and I could throw a punch when necessary. Besides, the element of surprise was the key thing here. You could take almost anyone down—superhero and ubervillain alike—as long as you had that.
    The tap-tap-tapping grew louder. I frowned, and my inner voice chattered at me again, but not in warning this time. No, for some reason, that sound seemed … familiar to me now.  
    But I didn’t have time to figure out where I’d heard it before, because a shadow appeared on the floor, creeping closer and closer to me as the mystery figure neared my location. I sucked in a breath, drew back my fist, and got ready to strike—
    A second later, a woman stepped into view—one I recognized.  
    High-end, Fiona Fine jeans and a red pullover made by Bella Bulluci covered her slender body. She also sported colorful streaks in her black, spiky hair. Normally, the streaks were blue, but she’d dyed them red back during Thanksgiving in honor of the holiday season.  
    I was so shocked by her appearance that I just stood there, mouth open and fist hovering in mid-air.  
    She must have sensed me hiding there, waiting to punch her, because she glanced over at me, cursed, and stumbled back in surprise. Her feet got tangled up in her cane, which slipped out of her hand, and she barely managed to grab one of the makeup counters and catch herself before she hit the floor. The backpack that she’d had looped over one shoulder fell off and went sliding across the floor, along with her cane.
    I stepped out from behind the perfumed Swifte cutout and stared at the woman in front of me. Why was she here? More importantly, how had she gotten into the store past all the security?
    Lulu Lo looked up and gave me a sheepish grin. “Hi, there, Sister Carmen.”
    #
    “Lulu?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
    Lulu grinned, her dark eyes gleaming in her face. “Why, backing you up, Sister Carmen. Henry told me you were on toy duty tonight, so I thought I’d come by and keep you company.”
    I just stared at her, my mouth still open. Some superhero I was—I’d almost punched one of my best friends.  
    Because she was a computer whiz, hacker, and all-around