It was a wonder Charlene had lasted this long with a room the size of a cubby. Then again, she probably had no choice.
The eight-foot space between the wall and the door was just enough room to fit a bed, though it left little area for pacing.
Think, Gray. Think! It was lunch hour in France, which meant it was early morning back home—say, three. Ring any bells?
Mom must have sent Charlene away after she and Ryan purged Gray. But she was back. Ha! There was no getting rid of Graylee Perez.
What had summoned her this time? Another resurrection spell?
Or something else?
Why had she materialized on the day she’d died?
Gray rifled through the purse beside the bed. Wallet. Lipstick. Hairbrush. Virginia Slims. Passport. Where was Charlene’s cell phone? Once her fingers slipped out of the purse, Gray remained crouched on the floor and slowly turned her hands over. Both palms had faint scars etched into the skin. She stood up.
Across from the narrow bed, pushed against the wall, was a tall armoire. Gray lifted her finger to open the door, but nothing happened. Her eyes narrowed. She spun around and focused on a pair of boots in the corner. All attempts to levitate them failed.
Well, that wasn’t fair.
Fortunately, that meant the blocking spell had worked on Charlene. Unfortunately, since Gray shared her body and blood at the moment, it meant she was stuck on a ledge without a ladder or, in witch terms, without a broom.
Gray dug Charlene’s passport and wallet out of her purse. One hundred and twenty euros and a credit card—not bad at all. Gray stopped two feet from the door and turned around. She reached inside the purse and grabbed the pack of smokes. Deeper down, her fingers touched a lighter. Just a throwaway Bic, like Monique’s.
Gray cupped it in her palm and squeezed.
Raj probably thought she was dead. Gray didn’t want to think about the pain she’d caused him a second time. Hopefully he hadn’t given up hope that she could be brought back. Obviously her mother hadn’t.
She sprang for the door.
Gray needed to get home and she needed to do it before the switch.
Chapter Three
Lee laughed. She couldn’t help it. Raj looked ridiculous in Mr. Morehouse’s polo and slacks. The pants were a good eight inches too long and hung over Raj’s foot as he worked the gas pedal.
“I’m glad someone finds this amusing,” Raj said.
It was better than freaking out. All jokes aside, there was panic in Lee’s heart. As she’d slipped her own clothing back on each article had disappeared from sight as it covered her body. Again, not her doing.
“Maybe it’s revenge of Mrs. Pritchett.”
Last year, Lee made herself invisible to sneak into English late, and then a few days later, Raj burst open the teacher’s blouse after she humiliated him in front of the class.
“Doubtful,” Raj said. “The only ability Mrs. Pritchett has is to make people cringe.”
“Hey!” Lee said. “You just went through a red light.”
Raj grinned. “I call that a rosy green. It was yellow when I entered the intersection.”
“Somehow I don’t think a cop would see it that way.”
“Yeah, and what would he think if he saw me naked? Who knows how long before these clothes rip apart.”
Lee looked at the striped polo—definitely not Raj’s style.
“The sooner I get home the better,” Raj said.
“Do you think your mom will know what’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but at least she might know what to do.” Raj slammed down the brake. This time, the light in front of them was a little too rosy. “You know, it would really help if you turned the lights green.”
“Don’t think I haven’t tried. My powers are useless at the moment.”
As they waited for the light to change, a speck of white drifted in front of the windshield. Silence settled over the car. More flakes descended.
“Is that…” Raj leaned forward. “…snow?”
Lee swallowed.
“I didn’t think it was that cold out. Did you? Lee?” Raj tried to find her eyes. “Lee, what’s the matter?”
Lee’s voice was a whisper, nearly as faint as her physical presence. “It snowed the day before I died.”
“It doesn’t mean a thing,” Raj said.
To Lee it meant everything.
The door to Raj’s house opened before they reached it. Raj’s mother stood there. Puffy red blotches marred Mrs. McKenna’s bare arms and had transformed her usually clear complexion into a hideous display of red welts and open sores. Lee was grateful Mrs. McKenna missed her lips as they curled back.
“Mom, what happened to you?” Raj grasped his mother’s splotchy hand.
“Don’t worry about me. We must help your sister.”
Raj dropped his mom’s hand. “What’s wrong with Aahana?”
“She won’t wake up.” Mrs. McKenna’s eyes darted to Raj’s side when Lee gasped. “Lee?”
“I’m here, Mrs. McKenna. I’m invisible. Not by choice.”
“Not by choice. I don’t understand.” She looked at Raj.
“Neither of us has control of our powers at the moment,” he said. “In fact, our powers seem to be working against us.”
“Come inside quickly,” Mrs. McKenna said. “Stay with your sister while I search through my amulets.”
Raj was already hurrying down the hall to his little sister’s room. When Lee walked inside, Raj was seated on the bed beside Aahana, stroking her long dark hair. The preteen lay on top of the covers, fully clothed. Her chest rose and fell gently.
“Aahana,” Raj said softly. He repeated her name over and over.
Lee approached the bed. “She’s going to be okay, Raj. Whatever’s causing this—it can’t last long.”
Raj nodded without taking his eyes off his sister. He said her name several more times, then became very still. The gaze Raj held over his sister was so intense, Lee almost expected her forehead to open up the way it had with Stacey Morehouse—the real Stacey Morehouse—the time Raj tried to communicate with her when she was in a coma.
Lee quickly turned away and began studying Aahana’s bookshelf. Back-to-back titles on spirituality and the healing arts neatly lined each shelf. One might think Aahana had a great interest in the subject, but Lee knew better. Aahana loved anything vampire or paranormal. Her favorite books were stored, unseen, in the Kindle lying on the nightstand beside her.
Lee felt a sudden urge to slide the Kindle awake and read to Aahana. Before she could make it three steps, Mrs. McKenna entered the room. She held something up.
Raj let out a breath. “A nazar. Good thinking.”
Hanging from a cord in Mrs. McKenna’s fingers was a round blue glass amulet with an eye painted in the middle. Before Lee could ask more about it, Mrs. McKenna slipped it over Aahana’s head.
The girl’s eyes opened and she sat up. “What’s going on? Why’s everyone in my room?”
“Calm down, Aahana,” Mrs. McKenna chided as though she hadn’t been fretting moments earlier.
Aahana looked from her mother to Raj then back to her mom. “Why’s your skin all blotchy, Mom?” Her eyes moved back to Raj. “And what are those ridiculous clothes you’re wearing?”
“Yes, Raj, you didn’t explain those,” Mrs. McKenna said.
All three women stared at him. Lee chuckled.
Aahana ducked down. “What was that?”
“Nothing. It’s Lee. She’s invisible,” Raj said, glaring in the entirely wrong direction.
This caused Lee to laugh again.
“Lee, why are you invisible?” Aahana asked.
“Because I don’t have control over my powers,” Lee said. “None of us do. At the moment, our powers seem to be controlling us. That’s why you’ve been asleep.”
Aahana’s face fell. “I’ve been asleep?”
Mrs. McKenna nodded.
“How long?”
“Not long. I found you ten minutes ago,” Mrs. McKenna said. “When these marks appeared on my skin I cried out. I thought it odd that you didn’t come out of your room to check on me, so I came in and saw you on the floor. I thought you’d passed out, but you were sleeping. No matter how hard I tried, you wouldn’t wake.”
Aahana chewed on her lower lip as she listened to her mother. “Then how did you wake me just now?”
Raj nodded at her neck. “Mom put a nazar on you.”
Aahana looked down and touched the amulet at her chest. “This is the only thing keeping me awake at the moment?”
Mrs. McKenna took a seat on the bed and began stroking Aahana’s hair. “I wasn’t certain it would work.”
“What’s a nazar?” Lee asked.
This time, Raj located her voice and stared in her general direction. “It’s a Turkish amulet believed to protect against the evil eye.”
“Is that what we’re up against? The evil eye?”
Raj shook his head. “It’s folklore, an ancient belief, mostly caused by envy. Some people believe a curse is cast by one malevolent gaze—sometimes unintentionally. Whatever’s at work now seems targeted at witches and warlocks.” Raj turned to his mom. “How did you know the nazar would work on Aahana?”
“I didn’t, but it was worth a try.”
“Do you have any more amulets lying around?”
“Dozens, but that’s my only nazar.” Mrs. McKenna stood up. “I do have other protective amulets. Maybe they’d work.”
As soon as Raj’s mom left, Aahana stopped fingering the nazar and grinned wide. “So tell me about this new fashion statement.”
Raj got up and groaned. “I’ll be back.”
Aahana’s lower lip dropped. “Don’t leave me alone. What if I slip into slumber land again?”
“You’re not alone. Lee’s with you.”
Once Raj rushed out, Aahana turned over to her stomach and propped her chin on both hands. “Okay, spill. Why is my usually oh so suave brother dressed in khakis and a polo?”
Lee could see Aahana looking around for her so she grabbed a teddy bear from the armoire and held it against her. Aahana focused first on the bear before her eyes traveled up, stopping, uncannily, on Lee’s.
Lee’s lip trembled. She couldn’t keep it secret any longer. “His clothes burst off his body.”
Aahana erupted into a fit of laughter. Mrs. McKenna came racing into the room, a wood box under one arm. “Aahana, what is the matter?”
Aahana couldn’t stop laughing long enough to answer. Tears leaked down the sides of her cheeks.
“Aahana!”
“What? Nothing! Lee told me a joke.” Aahana pressed her lips together when Mrs. McKenna raised a dark brow.
“Much better,” Raj said as he entered Aahana’s room in a pair of dark blue jeans and a ribbed tee.
Laughter erupted from Aahana’s lips the moment her eyes landed on Raj. He frowned. “What?”
Mrs. McKenna set the wood box she held atop Aahana’s armoire with an abrupt tap. The giggling ceased. Lee set the teddy bear down. Mrs. McKenna pulled a pendant from the box and held it dangling in front of her. “The Star of David,” she said.
Mrs. McKenna fastened the clasp around her neck.
All eyes were on her arms. Nothing happened.
Raj’s mom breathed in and let out a long sigh. “It was worth a try. Maybe you have to be Jewish for it to work.”
Aahana had joined her mother’s side and was digging through the box. “Does that mean you have to be Irish for this Celtic one?” She unclasped it and Mrs. McKenna bent down for Aahana to loop it around her neck.
Mrs. McKenna placed a hand over the silver pendant. The hand was still blotchy.
“Do you mind?” Lee asked before reaching inside the box for a crystal. Together, she and Mrs. McKenna tried on every last pendant, but nothing worked.
“Of course it would be the ugly one that does any good,” Aahana said.
Raj lifted a brow. “I find the nazar quite becoming on you, little sister.”
“Ugh, I think it’s creepy. Like an alien eye staring out.”
“Better an alien eye to block out the evil eye.”
Lee cleared her throat. Raj tried to look at her.
“Um, sorry to interrupt, but I’m going to need a ride home. If Mr. Morehouse returns and I’m gone…”
Raj’s eyes flew to the clock on Aahana’s nightstand. “Oh, crap! What are we going to do?” As soon as the words tumbled past his lips he looked at Aahana. Her face dropped. “Sorry, kiddo, we’re going to need your alien eye.”
“Oh, no,” Lee protested. “I’m not taking the nazar.”
“Oh, yes you are,” Raj said. “What’s going to happen when Mr. Morehouse returns and he can’t find you anywhere? He’ll flip! He doesn’t know our world. You have to take it.” Raj stepped up to Aahana. His voice softened. “Sorry, little sister.”
Aahana’s shoulder rose then dropped abruptly when she sighed. She walked over to her bed and lay down. “Just don’t leave me here too long. You can always send a prince to kiss me awake.”
“Aahana…” Mrs. McKenna said in a warning voice.
“Maybe Jeremy Stanwood could break the spell.”
“Aahana!”
Aahana flopped to one side and propped her elbow on the bed. “Why can’t I have boils or exploding clothes? Slumber is so boring.”
Mrs. McKenna’s forehead wrinkled. “Exploding clothes?”
“I wonder if anyone else is being affected,” Lee said.
Raj and his mother exchanged looks. “Imagine the havoc that could cause,” Raj said.
“Look at the havoc it’s already causing on just the four of us,” Lee said. Then a thought occurred to her. “My mom! What if something happens while she’s out with Mr. Morehouse?”
Raj turned his back to Lee’s voice and went to Aahana’s bedside. Aahana sighed again and repositioned herself on her back. “Go on, then.”
“Aahana, I’m so sorry,” Lee said.
“Don’t be. If Mr. Morehouse finds you missing he won’t let you come over anymore and then I’d really be sorry. I know you guys will figure this out… or at the very least, locate some more nazars.”
Raj removed the amulet from Aahana’s neck and kissed her on the forehead. Once more, she was asleep. He stood motionless, staring down, before turning and holding out the nazar. “Lee?”
Lee took it and attached it around her neck. She reappeared.
Raj forced a smile. “Now let’s get you home.”
“In the meantime, I’ll call Mr. Holloway,” Mrs. McKenna said.
Raj’s eyes met Lee’s. A jolt went through her body, but Raj betrayed nothing. Ten months ago, they’d broken into their coven chapter president’s home and stolen an amulet, one of three blocking the powers of Adrian Hedrick Montez, otherwise known as Adrian the Avenger. They’d needed to break the spell so Adrian could perform a body transfer for Lee. As it turned out, she’d managed the transfer herself, but not before Stacey, her host, made her relive the harrowing last moments of her conscious life before slipping into a coma. With Lee’s entrance, Stacey had been released to find peace in the great beyond.
Mr. Holloway should have been asleep the night Lee and Raj came for the amulet. Mr. Phillips and Mr. Curry had been. With time running out, they had been forced to storm through Mr. Holloway’s front door, invisible, and freeze Kent’s head warlock in place in order to snatch the amulet.
Lee placed a hand over the pendants at her breast.
The one she always wore, the vial, now contained her twin sister, Charlene’s, blood—Charlene, who’d been sent off to boarding school in France after completing junior year.
Charlene had her suspicions about Lee. None of which had ever been confirmed.
Mom talked to her every weekend. She said Charlene seemed calmer, content. France agreed with her. It was an opportunity for her to start anew… and get the heck out of Lee’s life once and for all.
Chapter Four
Lee sat in the living room skimming over the secrets of Machu Picchu in National Geographic while she waited for Mom and Mr. Morehouse to return from their date. Thanks to Mr. Morehouse’s inability to leave Lee’s sight for more than three hours, the wait wasn’t long. Only one thing managed to put Mr. Morehouse at ease.
A car pulled into the drive, doors opened and closed, and laughter filled the air. It traveled along the windows to the front door. Inside, Mr. Morehouse tossed his keys onto the hall table without looking; they fell to the floor with a chink. This made him chuckle louder, though it was muffled when he pulled Lee’s mom in for a kiss. Forget a respectable peck on the cheek; this was full-on “I’m hot for you, babe” maneuvering.
What kind of spell did Lee’s mom have him under? Whatever it was, it was working like a charm.
“Hello?” Lee called out, irritably. The tone of her voice startled her. It sounded so Stacey Morehouse.
Her mom and Mr. Morehouse instantly broke apart. Mom moved her lips to speak, then stopped herself. She did that a lot in Mr. Morehouse’s presence.
“Stace, what are you doing down here?” Mr. Morehouse pulled at his collar. His eyes darted to the side.
Mom cleared her throat. “Did Raj go home?”
Suddenly Mr. Morehouse was looking at Lee again.
“Yeah, his sister wasn’t feeling good.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Lee tossed the magazine onto the coffee table. “Um, Ms. Perez, can I speak with you a moment?”
Mom straightened. “Of course, Stacey.”
Mr. Morehouse cleared his throat. “Well then, um, I’ll let you two have some girl time.” He bent down for his keys and set them carefully on the hall table before disappearing down the hall.
“Let’s go to my room, shall we?” It was more of a statement than a question. Lee led the way. It was still uncanny speaking to her mom as though she was an outsider, imposing on her and her father’s cozy life.
“Is Aahana all right?” Mom asked once they were closed inside Lee’s room.
Duplicity (Spellbound #2) Page 2
