The Book of Lost Souls

by Michelle Muto

  “For what?” her mother called after her.

  “For not grounding me after I stormed out of here tonight,” she called back.

  “If you don’t catch Spike soon, I just might,” her Mother said, trying to sound authoritative.

  Later, as Ivy opened The Rise of the Dark Curse, she wondered if her mother would still have thought she wasn’t a dark witch. The black tendrils of mist swirling out of the book did not deter her this time. This time, she didn’t feel nearly as afraid. Ivy turned the pages, curiously noting how the drawings shifted and moved about. Spiders scurried up the margins, spinning webs around letters. Bulges appeared from behind the pages as though something, or someone was on the verge of escaping from them. People shifted and turned to stare at her. Words whispered up from the musty pages.

  She knows... she sees...

  Devlin, let out a low grumble. She supposed he’d had enough of her magic for one evening.

  “Five minutes,” she promised him. “Remind me.”

  He lay down to watch her.

  The Rise of the Dark Curse had a lot of dark secrets. But Ivy knew the answer to one of them—her father had absolutely been the one to take the books from Helen Skinner and bury them in the graveyard. Had the books affected him, too? Were they what turned him? If he was the dark wizard everyone thought, then why had he gone and left them behind?

  What was stranger yet was that someone had strategically left the other two books for her to find.

  CHAPTER 18

  When Ivy arrived at her locker the next morning, she found Shayde waiting for her. Shayde was leaning against the locker, arms folded tightly around her books. She gave Ivy a rather lackluster smile. In all the years they’d been friends, this meant one thing: Shayde wanted to talk and was very uncomfortable about it. After dwelling over her dad’s involvement half the night, this wasn’t the conversation Ivy planned on having.

  “Uh-oh,” Ivy said. “I know that look.”

  Shayde hung her head. “Don’t kill me for this, okay?”

  Ivy opened her locker with a quick charm. “Promise. I won’t even turn you in Malibu Zombie like I did Tara. Witch’s honor.”

  The joke only got another small smile from Shayde. “And that’s the other thing I want to talk about. You’d never have hexed Tara like you did if it wasn’t for that book you keep carrying around. Get rid of it! This whole thing is really creeping me out.”

  “And have someone else find it? Or worse, know I’ve hidden it? No way! Someone meant for me to have this book. That guy who was there in the graveyard wanted me to find it.”

  Shayde cringed a little. “You’re scaring me, you know that? Listen, I’ll help you. Whatever it takes to put this whole thing behind you and get rid of that book. I’m just afraid it has to be real soon. I swear, if I see you getting any weirder, it’s intervention time, 'kay?”

  Ivy smiled. Shayde was a true friend. Always had been. Ivy stuffed her jacket into her locker. “Sure.”

  “There’s more,” Shayde said, sheepishly. “I want to talk about you and Nick.”

  Ivy shook her head. “Shayde, just drop it.”

  Shayde raised her eyes to Ivy’s. “When are you going to stop doing this to yourself?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Pretending you don’t feel anything for Nick. Pretending you’re over the hurt when your dad left.”

  Ivy frowned. “I AM over it. And I don’t think that way about Nick.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Alright. He’s cute, but that’s all. Nothing else.”

  Shayde was determined to get the most use out of whatever soapbox she’d gotten up on today. “No. You’re not over it! And how could you be? You loved your dad more than almost anyone else in this world. He felt the same about you, Ivy. At one time, he did. You don’t just get over that, and it’s affecting the way you think about Nick.”

  Ivy started to walk away. She’d had enough of this. “I don’t want to get into this, Shayde. We’ll be late.”

  Shayde wasn’t deterred. She blocked Ivy from leaving. “I’m your friend, and before you sabotage yourself, I’m going to tell you this and you’re going to listen!”

  Ivy sighed heavily.

  “Everyone can see it except you. There’s definite chemistry between you and Nick. You won’t give him a chance all because of this foolishness that his dad and yours were friends—”

  “That’s not the whole reason,” Ivy interrupted.

  “And because you’re afraid to feel, Ivy. You’re afraid to fall for someone. You’re afraid to take a chance.”

  Ivy blinked. “That’s, not true. I’m taking a chance on Dean. I like Dean.”

  Shayde tapped her foot, clearly irritated.

  Good, Ivy thought. We’re bonding. A real share the experience kind of thing.

  “Are you even listening to yourself? You know perfectly well Dean will go back to Tara. You know that all you really want is a few days, maybe a kiss or two. You’re just trying to see where you fit in—”

  “Jeez, you sound like my mother.”

  “Oh! I forgot! Little Miss Stubborn. So determined to prove she can’t be wrong. Well, you’re wrong about Dean. You’re wrong about your feelings toward Nick. Speaking of...”

  If Ivy hadn’t been ready to walk away before, she was now. Only one problem. Her feet wouldn’t move. Sauntering down the hallway was Nick.

  “I’m interrupting again, aren’t I?” he asked.

  Shayde shook her head. “Nope. Actually, it’s good timing.” She gave Ivy a long stare before heading off to class.

  “Nick, look, I’m really late. I’d like to talk about last night, but I’ve gotta get going,” Ivy hooked a thumb over her shoulder.

  “Sure. Hey, you okay?” he asked.

  Ivy nodded. “Yeah, it’s Shayde. She...never mind. It’s not important.”

  “Hey, Ivy,” Dean called out behind them.

  Ivy wanted to groan. This whole morning couldn’t get much more awkward.

  Dean gave Nick a brief, dismissive nod. The muscles in Nick’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t budge. Dean shrugged as if to say, suit yourself, and turned to Ivy. “You want to get together later?” He flashed one of his winning smiles, then stole a sideways glance at Nick. “Unless you’ve got other plans.”

  Ivy wanted to run, to leave both of them standing there. Nick and Dean stared at her, waiting for a reply. If she said she had plans, which she didn’t, Dean would walk away. Again. If she said she didn’t have plans it was as good as accepting a date with Dean in front of Nick.

  “I—” she faltered, shifting her panicked gaze from Dean to Nick. This really was one hell of a morning.

  “See you around, Ivy,” Nick said and walked off in a huff. Several lockers rattled noisily, their dials spinning. The fluorescent lighting flickered and buzzed.

  “Wow. Such a temper!” Dean said in mock distaste. He brought his flawless face closer to Ivy’s, the smell of his cologne intoxicating. She backed up, bumping into the lockers.

  “Guess I’d be a sore loser, too, though.” Dean moved closer still. Ivy felt helpless to do anything except stare at his beautiful blue eyes. The whites really did look glacial in comparison.

  Without warning, he leaned down and kissed her.

  This was what she’d waited for, worked so hard for. She returned the kiss, letting her lips feel the warmth of his. It felt wonderful.

  And yet inexplicably and terribly wrong.

  Ivy pushed against him, resisting. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

  “Don’t tell me you’re hung up on Marcelli,” Dean murmured in her ear.

  Ivy squirmed out of his grasp. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t, but something stopped her. Doubt? Was Shayde right? “Are you still interested in dating Tara?”

  Dean seemed to think about this. “Well, yeah. Sort of. Don’t go getting all jealous on me, okay?”

  Ivy glanced at the clock on the wall. They were both lat
e for class.

  She should have been jealous, but she wasn’t. In fact, she wasn’t sure what to think. He’d been all she’d dreamed about, and now that Dean had become a reality, it wasn’t at all what she’d imagined.

  So much for Adonis. Along the way, somehow, she discovered that legends—Greek, Roman, or otherwise—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. It had been a really good kiss, but it had been missing something, some spark. Her thoughts went back to Nick.

  Damn it, Shayde! It’s your fault for putting that thought in my head and ruining what should have been a perfect kiss.

  But, hadn’t it been there all along?

  “I’m not jealous, Dean.”

  Dean looked puzzled. “You’re not?”

  Ivy backed away, already setting off for class. She shook her head, then turned and ran down the hall, fully aware Dean was staring after her.

  For once, she didn’t care.

  Ivy slipped into Chemistry a full five minutes late, pleased to see that Mr. Evans wasn’t there. She slid in next to Raven and quickly stowed her book bag under her chair as though she’d been in class the whole time. Mr. Evans seemed oddly temperamental lately and barely tolerated breathing in his class much less being late.

  Raven didn’t look up from doodling in her notebook. Her sketches were always complex and completely awesome. Ivy made a note to ask if it was a natural talent developed over the years or some vampire ability.

  “Matthews, or Marcelli?” Raven asked, still sketching.

  Ivy frowned.

  “The reason you’re late. You’re never late. So, which one was it?”

  Ivy let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just been one of those days. Nothing more.”

  Someone snickered in the back of the class.

  “That’s not what I overheard,” Raven said. “You’ve got two of the hottest guys in school on a string. That makes you Ms. Popularity. It’s totally pissing Tara off.” With this, Raven grinned.

  “Is nothing I do private?”

  “Nope.”

  “Nice,” Ivy said sarcastically. She turned away from Raven and thumbed through her book quickly, tearing one of the pages.

  “So. Which one ticked you off?” Raven asked, setting down her pen. “With your growing reputation as a dark witch, you’d think they’d know better.”

  “I’m not a dark witch,” Ivy snapped.

  “Just kidding there Ivy. Yeesh. One black magic spell and you lose all sense of humor. You’re getting as moody as Mr. Evans.”

  Ivy shot her a dark look, but considered Raven’s previous comment to be spot-on about one thing—one of them really had ticked her off. Nick. If he hadn’t... well, if it weren’t for Nick she’d be happy with Dean. It occurred to her that Nick was the one she was angry with instead of Shayde. She was not falling for Nick. She wouldn’t let it happen.

  “At least you’re not the only one late.” Raven motioned to Kevin, a dark-haired Regular who strolled in and took the empty seat behind Ivy.

  “I don’t think Mr. Evans will be here anytime soon,” Kevin said. “And neither will Kim. Looks like the Kindred are in the spotlight again. There’s been another murder.”

  Ivy spun around in her seat.

  “Yeah,” Kevin said, leaning forward. A lock of hair fell over one eye. The entire class was perfectly quiet, everyone tuned in to the conversation at the back of the class. “Kim’s sister, Angela, was found murdered this morning.”

  For a moment, Ivy couldn’t breath. It was happening. Again. Another murder. “She’s dead? Are you sure?” Ivy asked, although there wasn’t any need to doubt Kevin. His dad was a cop. Kevin wouldn’t joke about something like this, either. No one would.

  “Not just dead. Murdered. “In the hotel on Walnut. They found Angela next to a tub filled with blood. Her blood from the sounds of it.”

  Raven’s eyes went wide. “Blood? Someone drained her in the tub?”

  Kevin brushed back the lock of hair, his eyes meeting Raven’s. He spoke louder to compensate for the ongoing murmurs of their classmates. “She wasn’t drained in the tub. Just over it, then she was dumped on the floor, hands and feet bound. But, from what I overheard my dad say, someone bathed in her blood. Pretty freakin’ gross, huh? There was a washcloth in the tub.”

  “Was it the same guy that attacked Mr. Nash?” Ivy asked.

  “Nope,” Kevin replied. “Not a dude at all. From the bloody hand and footprints prints they found in the bathroom, and a single eyewitness who saw the murderer leave, it was a woman dressed in costume, just like that other guy was. Well, not like the other guy, since the woman was wearing a gown and that’d be really weird if they’d both dressed alike. Still, I bet they’re in on it together.”

  “Let me get this straight,” Raven said. “A woman in costume kidnapped Kim’s sister, bled her out over a hotel tub, then bathed in her blood with the body growing cold on the floor next to her? Man. That’s brutal.”

  “So. It’s a vampire, right?” Kevin asked.

  Raven gave Kevin a hard stare and ran her tongue over an incisor.

  “Or not.” Kevin nervously retrieved his things and moved to Kim’s empty seat.

  The class grew noisy with talk. Ivy scribbled down a name on a piece of paper and slid it over to Raven.

  Countess Elizabeth Báthory

  Raven frowned.

  Ivy leaned closer, whispering into Raven’s ear. “From The Book of Lost Souls! It’s got to be the Blood Countess! Reportedly, she bathed in the blood of young maidens thinking it’d keep her from ever growing old.”

  Raven let out a sigh. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “Relief?”

  “Yeah,” Raven replied. “The killer isn’t a vampire. Just a vampire wannabe.”

  CHAPTER 19

  It was nearly an hour before Ivy could pry herself free from a small group of admirers who Shayde and Bane had started to refer to as the Ivy league. Life before popularity had been so much easier. Before school let out, she’d turned down an invite to go to the mall in Burlington from one of the girls on the cheerleading squad and another from a group of sophomore witches who had started their own spell casting practice club and wanted Ivy for their president.

  Ivy called Nick on his cell phone once she reached the school’s parking lot, which was now mostly empty. He had to know what had happened to Angela. She dismissed the idea that it would also be a good excuse to see him. After the third ring, she thought she’d have to leave a message, but then Nick answered.

  “Nick, hey, it’s me—”

  “I’m a little busy,” came his curt reply. He sounded angry, but Ivy also detected that he was hurt. She wondered if he knew Dean had kissed her, and that she’d kissed him back.

  “I need to talk to you about what happened today.” She considered the significance of her choice of words and added, “About the book. I know who else has been brought back from the dead.”

  “Oh.” His voice seemed less distant now, but the anguished undertone was still detectable.

  Why did he make this so hard? Why did he make everything so difficult? His continued silence made it all the worse.

  “You still there? Can I meet you someplace?” Ivy could hear people talking in the background. No answer. “Nick, I need to see you,” she pleaded. “Where are you?”

  “Are you bringing Dean?”

  “No.” She’d answered so quickly that there had hardly been a pause after his question.

  “I don’t know, can we talk about it tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Don’t be like this. Please? Where are you?”

  There was a long pause, then Nick sighed. “I’m at Saludo’s.”

  “I’m on my way,” Ivy said enthusiastically, and snapped her cell phone shut. The restaurant was just around the corner. She slid behind the VW Bug’s wheel and the engine came to life. It’d been months since she’d actually turned the keys in the ignition. How had she ever managed life before mastering automation spells?

&nb
sp; A few minutes later, Ivy walked into Saludo’s. She spotted Nick and his uncle sitting with one of the waitresses—and Phoebe. No wonder Nick hadn’t wanted her to stop by. Boy, was this going to be awkward.

  Ivy made her way over to them just as the waitress slid out from the table and disappeared behind the kitchen doors. Nick’s Uncle Joe leaned across the booth, speaking softly. Phoebe hung on his every word. As much as Ivy would have liked to find fault in Phoebe’s actions, Ivy couldn’t blame her. Nick and his Uncle were discussing who might have had motive to set Vlad the Impaler loose on Northwick.

  Phoebe gave Ivy a you are such a loser look that any hope Ivy had of Nick not knowing about the kiss went right out the window. Demons banded together and Phoebe was far from over Nick. Ivy noticed how close Phoebe sat next to him and she fought off the urge to glare back.

  It wasn’t jealousy. It was the principle of the whole thing.

  Sure. That was it. A glare like that deserved one in kind. Especially from Phoebe.

  Nick’s uncle looked up at her and brought their conversation to a quick close. “Can I get you two anything else?” he asked Nick and Phoebe. When they both shook their heads, he turned to Ivy. “How about you, Ivy?” he asked politely enough.

  “Sure, a Coke, thank you,” she replied, and he left the booth to get Ivy’s drink. Awkwardly, Ivy slipped in across from Nick. Phoebe continued her I know what you did stare. “Hi Phoebe,” Ivy said.

  Phoebe didn’t reply. Instead she slid out from behind the table and placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back. You two need to have a talk.” With another chilly glance in Ivy’s direction, Phoebe strutted off to the ladies room.

  “What’s all that about?” Ivy asked, not really wanting the answer.

  “I know about the second murder,” Nick said. “Don’t get any more involved in this. Maybe you need to let us demons handle it. I know you found the other books and all, and you’re really bent on the idea someone meant for you to find them, and that’s great, but let the last book be a demon matter.”

  “I thought you said it was both witch and demon. And I’m in this, Nick. Everyone thinks I’m a dark witch. I’ve done a couple things that have made me start to think they’re right.”