Dead Is Not an Option

by Marlene Perez

  Everyone laughed at that.

  While Sam spent the rest of the time arbitrarily assigning people to the tasks for yearbook, I had fun. My only job was to make sure there was enough food to go around.

  A couple of people even asked me for the recipe for my buttermilk chicken bites.

  When the meeting ended, Lilah came up to me as I was picking up soda cans to put in the recycling bin. She glanced over her shoulder, which meant that she didn't want to be overheard.

  "Hey, Daisy, is Samantha okay?"

  "A little bossy sometimes, but she has a good heart," I tossed out without thinking.

  "No, I mean about her father," she said.

  "What about her father?"

  "I didn't want to say anything," she said.

  "You're worried or you wouldn't say anything," I replied. Lilah wasn't the type to spread gossip.

  "I heard there's some issue with his tenure at the university. And that his publisher didn't buy his new book," she said. "They even canceled his book tour."

  "That can't be true," I said. "He's gone all the time."

  "Well, whatever he's doing, he's not touring," she said.

  If Mr. Devereaux wasn't off doing publicity, what was he up to? And why was he lying about it to everyone?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It was only Tuesday, but I already felt like the week had gone on forever. I was ready for a quiet evening at home involving homework, a little light reading, and then bed. My evening didn't turn out that way.

  "I heard Elise is coming home," Ryan said when we met in front of the vending machines after third period. "There's going to be a little welcome home party at the Wilders' tonight."

  "What time?" I said. "I could bake a cake."

  Ryan looked at his feet. "I'm sorry, Daisy," he said. "This is a shifters-only party."

  I stared at him, unable to believe what I'd just heard. "What? Are you serious?"

  He burst out laughing. "I was just kidding!"

  "It's not funny," I said. "There's been enough of that kind of stuff going on."

  He stopped laughing. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

  "Well, you did," I said. The tension in Nightshade was getting to me, and I was taking it out on Ryan. I took a deep, calming breath. "Now, do I have time to bake a cake or not?" I asked.

  "It's not until seven," he said. "You have plenty of time. I can take you to the store right after school if you need me to."

  I couldn't stay mad at him. "I think I already have everything I need at home, but thanks for the offer."

  When I got home, I whipped up a quick three-layer cake and started the frosting while the cake baked. After the layers had cooled, I used fresh raspberries and whipping cream as a filling and topped it off with Grandma's coconut frosting.

  The party was being held in the Wilders' private quarters. When Ryan and I arrived, Bianca was putting up a welcome home banner in the living room, which was huge. There was a large stone fireplace at one end and a baby grand piano at the other. A group of kids from Nightshade High were milling around, and I noticed a few people I'd worked with when I'd had cooking lessons from Circe.

  Elise came in with Mrs. Wilder a few minutes later, and a bunch of kids immediately surrounded her.

  "Let her sit down first," Bianca said. She took Elise's arm and guided her to an overstuffed chair. Mrs. Wilder sat on a spindly little gilded chair that looked uncomfortable, but it was next to her granddaughter, so she seemed happy.

  An antique buffet was lined with china and gold cutlery, and another table held chafing dishes full of delicious-smelling food.

  I saw Pierre and remembered that he was a world-class pastry chef. I immediately felt foolish that I had brought a cake from home.

  But he made me feel better when he rushed over and took the cake container from me. "Daisy, how thoughtful of you. I can't wait to have a piece of your handiwork." He put the cake on the table and removed the cover.

  I squirmed as he observed the cake from all angles. "Very nice," he said. "And the frosting? You made it yourself?"

  I nodded. "It's an old family recipe."

  "Very nice," he repeated.

  "Thanks." Pierre was making me blush.

  "Don't forget about my pastry class," he said. "The first class is at the end of June."

  "I won't," I promised.

  Chief Mendez and Officer Denton stopped by, but they didn't stay long. They said hello to Elise and Mrs. Wilder and then went into a corner and conversed briefly with Bane.

  I nudged Ryan. "What was that all about?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "I didn't know Dad was going to be here either. Probably something to do with the case."

  "Maybe," I said. But what was so important that they had to track Bane down at Elise's welcome home party?

  "I'm going to go say hi to my dad before he leaves," Ryan said.

  "I'll go say hi to Elise," I said. "It looks like the crowd has dwindled a bit."

  I lucked out. She was alone when I crossed over to her.

  "Hi, Elise," I said. "Welcome home."

  "Daisy, thank you so much," she said. "You saved me. If I can ever repay you, just say the word."

  "You don't need to repay me," I told her. "But you could clear something up for me. I thought I heard you say 'vamps' when I found you."

  She shook her head and then gestured for me to lean in. "The chief asked me not to say anything, but I can tell you. I was trying to say something else entirely."

  "What were you trying to say?"

  "Trap," she said. "I was trying to say it was a trap."

  "What? I can't believe I was so far off."

  "I can't believe I fell for the lost-kitten routine," she replied.

  "You mean, some guy came up to you and asked you for your help finding a kitten?"

  She nodded.

  "Elise, that's the oldest trick in the book," I said. "Creepy guys have tried that for ages."

  "I know," she said. "But it wasn't a guy. And it wasn't a vampire. It was a woman."

  "Have you ever seen her before?" I asked.

  "No, but she had this scar or something on her face."

  "Could it have been a birthmark?" I wondered if it could possibly be the woman who had shown up at the Devereaux's door.

  She nodded again. "Maybe." She put one hand to her throat.

  "Let me get you some tea," I said. There was about every option under the sun for beverages. When I went to the buffet line, I found hot water and about fifty gourmet tea bags. I fixed her tea and headed straight back to her.

  "This should help soothe your throat a little," I said. Elise was wearing a high-necked shirt that covered most of her injury, but I couldn't help wondering how bad the scar was.

  "One last thing. I could use a little information about your grandmothers sister Lily."

  When she frowned, I said, "I've kept my promise not to bother your grandmother with this, but I think I know where Lily is. I just need a couple of questions answered."

  She nodded.

  "Do you know if your grandmother has anything of Lily's that might have been a gift from her fiancé?"

  "He was the heir to a big department store," she said. "Grandmother said he gave Lily lots of gifts."

  That didn't narrow it down much.

  "Is there anything specific you can think of?"

  She shook her head. "Sorry."

  "I borrowed a dress for the Nightshade Through the Ages ball," I said. "Your grandmother said it belonged to Lily. Do you mind if I borrow it again? Just for a day or two?"

  "It's in storage," she said. "Go ahead and take it. Bianca can help you find it." She waved to Bianca and gave her instructions.

  When I came back with the dress, I ran into Bane in the hallway.

  "Hi, Bane," I said.

  He hesitated when he saw me. "Daisy," he said.

  His clothes looked like he'd slept in them, and there was three days' growth of hair on his face, which for a Were was a conside
rable amount.

  "Is everything okay?" I asked, alarmed by his appearance.

  "I'm fine," he said. "I just haven't been sleeping much. I'll catch up on my sleep now that Elise is home."

  "How's Wolfgang? He wasn't in school last week. This week either."

  "Uh, yeah," he said. "He's sick."

  "Is that why he isn't here?" I asked.

  I was picking up a weird vibe from Bane.

  "I could come by with tomorrow's homework," I said.

  "No!" Bane said. "He's, uh, still contagious."

  I met his eyes. "If Wolfgang is in some sort of trouble, I can help."

  That got are action, I was sure of it. But Bane still didn't tell me what was really going on.

  "Listen, I can't talk right now," he replied. "I need to get back to Elise."

  He took off, practically running to get away from my questions. Interesting.

  Bane was lying to me about Wolfgang. But why? He didn't want me to go to their house? Why? Because Wolfgang wasn't there? Then where was he?

  The idea of adding a lost Were to my list of mysteries to solve didn't exactly thrill me, but I couldn't ignore my intuition. Wolfie was in trouble. He was a pain, but he was our pain.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  That Saturday night, Ryan and I had the house to ourselves, but even kissing my boyfriend didn't distract me.

  "Doesn't the council care about Lily? She's stuck in the jukebox forever unless we find a way to break that spell."

  Impatient, I decided to find Circe myself and confront her.

  Ryan tried to talk me out of it.

  "How are you going to find her?" he said.

  "Your dad didn't mention where she is staying?" I asked him.

  "Nope," he replied. "I've told you everything I know."

  Poppy walked in as I was ranting. "What's wrong?" she asked. "You look mad."

  "I am mad," I said. "I still haven't freed Lily, and the council is just letting Circe walk right back into Nightshade like she didn't do a thing wrong. I want to confront Circe."

  Poppy hesitated for a second. "Liam would kill me if he knew I was telling you this—"

  "Then don't," I said. "I don't want to lose a sister."

  She laughed at me. "Not literally," she said."Liam wouldn't hurt a fly. You've got to get past the whole vampire thing."

  "I'll try," I said. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

  "I know." She gave me a little hug. "But you're in greater danger than I am of getting hurt if you're going to confront Circe. Although, I know the count will try to keep her under control. Liam and I saw him earlier, and he told us he's having a late dinner with Circe tonight."

  "Where?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know, but the count is renting out the old Mason place from Natalie. Start there."

  I knew exactly where the Mason house was, but I hadn't known it had been rented out. After her grandmother died, Natalie moved in with Slim, but she still tended to her grandma's garden. I'd just bought a pumpkin from her there in the fall.

  "I won't be home too late," I said. "But just in case, can you—"

  "Cover for you? Sure."

  Ryan followed me out to the car.

  "I'm going with or without you," I warned him.

  "C'mon, I'll drive," he said. He opened the passenger door of his car and waited for me to get settled before he got in and fired up the engine.

  Ryan parked across the street from the Mason house, about a block down from it, and killed the engine.

  I must have fallen asleep, because I woke with a start to the sound of someone's car starting. An expensive black sports car pulled out of the driveway. We followed Count Dracul as he sped toward San Carlos.

  We stayed as far back as we could and hoped that he wouldn't spot us. With one look at the clock, I kissed my curfew goodbye and we continued to follow him.

  Count Dracul eventually pulled into San Carlos's only five-star hotel, which only confirmed Poppy's tip that he was meeting Circe. She had expensive tastes. He left his car with the valet, while Ryan parked on the main street.

  As I watched the count enter the hotel, my cell buzzed and I jumped. It was a text from Poppy checking to see if I was okay. I sent a quick message back.

  Circe was keeping a low profile, but for a criminal, she was pretty easy to find.

  Ryan and I followed the count, but when he got on the elevator, we were stymied for a few seconds.

  "What now?" Ryan said.

  "Watch the light. He was the only one in the elevator. Maybe we can tell what floor the elevator stops at."

  "Twelve," Ryan said. "He got off on twelve."

  We took the next elevator and got off on the twelfth floor.

  The hallway was deserted.

  "We can't knock on every door," Ryan pointed out.

  "Maybe we won't have to," I said. I stopped and closed my eyes. After about a minute, I couldn't pick up any thoughts, but I was pretty sure I could hear the count's voice. He sounded aggravated. He had to be talking to Circe.

  I moved along the hallway until I came to the door where the voices were the loudest.

  "I think this is it," I told Ryan.

  He knocked on the door.

  I heard Wolfgang Paxton on the other side. "Finally! Room service. I'm starving."

  But it was Circe who opened the door. Her eyes gleamed like green glass, and I remembered that I was confronting a powerful sorceress. "Daisy Giordano," she said. She said my name the way other people said "snake" or "spider" or maybe "shower scum."

  "Let them in," Count Dracul said. "And quickly, before anyone sees."

  We stepped into a large suite decorated in a modern style, all hard edges and black and white with splashes of red. A long red couch faced what I assumed were the windows, but it was hard to tell, because the drapes were closed tight. The count and Circe were seated at a small table. Circe had her pet pig with her, of course. An older woman and a younger girl were seated on the red couch but Wolfie was nowhere to be seen.

  I reached over and petted Balthazar. "I know who he really is, you know," I said. "And I have the dress." I knew the dress wasn't the key to freeing Lily and Balthazar. I was fishing for information.

  "A dress?" Circe scoffed. "That's the best you could come up with? Hardly a symbol of true love."

  "What item did you use?" I persisted.

  Circe laughed in my face. For quite some time. When she finally stopped cackling, she said, "Do not meddle in things of which you know nothing, little Giordano," she said. "Or I might not be so pleasant next time."

  Only a healthy sense of self-preservation prevented my reply.

  Ryan's pacing brought him near the two strangers, and the older woman jumped to her feet.

  I knew I'd heard Wolfie's voice, and there was something about the way the woman moved. Like he wasn't used to walking in heels.

  "Wolfie, is that you?" I asked. It was hard to tell, because most of his body was covered by a long blond wig, a flowing caftan thing he'd probably borrowed from Circe, and copious amounts of costume jewelry.

  "I'm afraid you have the wrong person, young lady," he said in a high, thin voice.

  "Wolfie, I know it's you," I said. "I'd recognize that obnoxious tone anywhere."

  "I'm afraid you are quite mistaken," Circe said from behind me. "This is my cousin Mildred." There was a blast of cold air at my back, which told me she was in danger of losing her temper.

  "So sorry," I said. I wasn't sorry at all. I could see Wolfgang's pleading eyes under the disguise.

  The younger woman snickered and then stood. She was dressed like a dowdy tourist in shorts, longs socks with sandals, and an I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANSCISCO T-shirt. A dingy blond wig covered her hair, and she had on a load of tan pancake makeup in an effort to make her look human, but I recognized her eyes. It was Claudia. "You might as well stop pretending," she said. "She knows it's you."

  What was going on? Why was Wolfgang masquerading as a middle-aged spinste
r? And more important, why was he with Circe?

  I was more confused than ever.

  There was a knock at the door.

  "That has to be room service this time," Wolfie said. He made a beeline for the door.

  "Don't answer that," Circe and I said at the same time, but it was too late.

  Before anyone could react, a woman with a birthmark pushed her way into the room and opened fire. Two men appeared behind her, carrying crosses. She shot Circe in the chest and then pointed the gun at Wolfie. The crosses forced Count Dracul and Claudia to hang back. The count ran to Circe as she fell to the floor.

  I concentrated and gave a mental push. It propelled the shooter out into the hallway, where she hit the wall with a dull thud. The two men backed out of the room.

  "Trinity's down!" one of them said. I concentrated again and slammed the door shut and locked it.

  Ryan was already dialing 911. He stayed on the phone, but he said, "I need towels. Cover her up." He barked orders as we tried to help Circe until the paramedics arrived.

  There was blood everywhere, and I noticed that Count Dracul and Claudia were restraining themselves, but there were beads of blood forming on Claudia's forehead. She looked hungry.

  Wolfgang stood frozen, but when he noticed his girlfriend's distress, he finally took action and put his arm around her. "Don't look, Claudia," he said. "Think of something else."

  It seemed like forever, but I finally heard the wail of sirens in the distance. They loaded Circe onto a gurney, and the count left with her.

  Ryan and I sat on the couch. "I'm calling Dad," Ryan said. He took out his cell phone and dialed, and then, after a brief conversation he hung up. "Dad's on his way. He's calling your parents."

  My parents. They'd be frantic by now.

  Wolfie paced, and Claudia licked her lips as she stared at a spot of blood on the wall.

  I felt sorry for her, but it was a crime scene. We couldn't exactly tidy up.

  "Why would anyone want to shoot Circe?" I said finally.

  "Who didn't want to shoot her?" Wolfgang replied.

  "Come on, Wolfie. Tell me what you know."

  Claudia stepped between us and took his hand. "Daisy saved your life, Wolfgang. We owe her the truth."