The Book of Lost Souls

by Michelle Muto

  Run. It’s just demon charm. Don’t fall for him.

  She gazed up at him, knowing it was too late. “Do you still want the book?”

  He gave her a lazy grin. “Later.”

  His face was so close and she felt the pull of her lips toward his.

  I’m in serious trouble here, she thought, and her very soul wanted to agree.

  A hawk screamed overhead and both Ivy and Nick froze, their impending kiss hovering between them. A twig snapped and crows resting in a nearby tree took flight, cackling loudly.

  The moment was gone. The bits of glass fell from their twinkling orbit and the rose petals blew on the ground, turning back into dead leaves.

  “Quick! Hide!” Ivy said, still feeling breathless.

  Nick grabbed a low-lying branch of the Trekking tree and hoisted himself up with ease. “Here!” he called to her.

  She took his hand and climbed up after him. They scaled higher, taking refuge in a cluster of fall foliage. From their vantage point it should be easy to pick out anyone in the clearing.

  A squirrel in one of the neighboring trees chattered angrily. Another twig snapped and voices broke the eerie serenity around them. A flash of crimson appeared below. Nick hunkered down on the branch to get a better look. Ivy held on to the trunk of the tree and knelt lower, peering through the leaves. They’d expected only one person—a man. Below, both Vlad and Countess Báthory strolled into view.

  “He must be dealt with,” the Countess said as she took a seat on the fallen log. “After all, we did him a favor with...what was his name? Nash? Nicely done, Vlad. I don’t believe I’ve seen an impaling before. How delightful! We must do it again.”

  Ivy and Nick exchanged glances. Nick was right. It wasn’t Phoebe. Whoever they were looking for was male. Maybe the mystery man.

  Vlad paced beneath them. “And we will, my Elizabeth. We will. First, we must find who has the other book. Until then, he remains our master. And I answer to no one!” he finished angrily.

  The Countess fanned herself. “And that despicable food he fed us the other night. Pizza is not a proper feast for such royalty as us. We must kill him soon. Besides, I’m tired of coming here to discuss our plans.”

  “Patience, my dear. Patience,” Vlad said. “He has charmed his house to listen to what we say while he is at that school.”

  Pizza. Irritable. School. Ivy worked with this information. Student, or teacher? For that matter, it could be anyone who worked at Northwick High. Still, it nagged her, like the answer was on the tip of her tongue. Across from her, Nick seemed to be making sense of this bit of information himself.

  “Are you sure he didn’t leave it behind in the cemetery?” the Countess asked.

  “We’ve looked!” Vlad snapped. “Someone else has it. Someone who’s been to the cemetery since then.”

  “Perhaps we should pay another visit to the Harrisons,” the Countess suggested. “He did seem to think it was them. They had been to the cemetery recently to clear an ancestor’s grave. Perhaps we need to be more persuasive.”

  Vlad waved her off. “It isn’t the Harrisons. It has something to do with the other one, the tall wizard who followed us here the other day.”

  Ivy couldn’t stop thinking about the clues. Pizza. She’d been to Saludo’s a few times since the dance. She searched her memory for anyone who stood out. Someone not acting right...someone at the school who seemed nervous or on edge.

  Below, the Countess laughed softly. “The other wizard? Darling, if he had the other book, he would have tried spells a lot darker than what he used.”

  Vlad stopped pacing directly beneath them. He rubbed his chin.

  Ivy shifted on her branch. There were two wizards. And the one who had The Book of Lost Souls was at the school. Her mind went through a list of possibilities. Lately, only one wizard had been so bad tempered—the same one who had bought four pizzas just the other night—and they weren’t for the other teachers. Nick looked at her. Was he thinking the same thing? Why hadn’t she noticed it before? She recalled the look she’d gotten in the principle’s office. Still, it was so hard to believe. As teachers went, he was usually so meek, so mild-mannered. So...nerdy.

  There was a flash of silver light below. The Countess held up a mirror, turning her face left and right. Her hand paused over one cheek. She let out a gasp. “A wrinkle! I need the blood of another girl. Quickly!”

  “You shall have as many as you like,” Vlad said. “But first, I must have the book. Then, our master must die.”

  The Countess laid the mirror down on her lap. “The book! Then death to him! Death to Mr.—”

  “Evans!” Ivy and Nick both whispered precisely at the same time they heard the Countess and Vlad speak the name of Northwick High’s geekiest science teacher.

  There was a moment of silence as Vlad and the Countess stared at each other. Then they looked up. Nick placed a finger over his lips, a pointless gesture since Ivy had already stopped breathing, fearful that the tiniest amount of breath might be heard rustling a dried leaf.

  There was a flash of silver again as the Countess adjusted her mirror. The Countess looked up once more and grinned. It was the most horrible grin Ivy had ever seen.

  “There,” the Countess said. “Do what you want with him. The girl is mine.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Vlad removed something from a pouch at his waist.

  The Countess rose to her feet and stood beside him. She smiled up at Ivy. “Won’t you come down, my young lovely?”

  “Nah. I’m good,” Ivy eeked out. She mouthed to Nick, “What do we do?”

  Nick didn’t look like he had any more ideas than Ivy did. “I’m working on it,” he said.

  “They’ll come down,” Vlad assured the Countess. He struck a match and placed it in a pile of dry leaves at the base of the tree.

  The flames lapped at the leaves and spread up the trunk. The Trekking tree swatted at the flames with a few branches while taking aim at Vlad and the Countess with others. The swinging limbs knocked the Countess to the ground and Vlad helped her to her feet.

  Nick cast a spell at the flames, snuffing them out.

  The victory was temporary. Vlad stuffed a wad of discarded paper into a bottle. He lit the paper and flung the bottle into the Trekking tree. Flames raced up the trunk, catching dried leaves on fire. Frantically, Ivy and Nick cast one spell after another to douse the fire.

  The Trekking tree, which had other ideas, had had enough. It uprooted itself and shuffled over. Ivy toppled forward, breaking a small branch. Another bottle hit the tree, the flames racing through the dry, brittle leaves. Branches began to beat at Ivy and Nick. The tree probably figured the only way to stop Vlad’s fiery assault was to rid itself of the two things he wanted.

  The flames were too close and the smoke grew thick. “We can’t stay up here,” Nick said as he extinguished more flames.

  Vlad and the Countess circled below, grinning triumphantly.

  Ivy and Nick extinguished more flames as they climbed down. Ivy paused when she was just out of Vlad’s reach. “Repel!”

  The effort knocked Vlad back a mere foot or two. Nick’s spell had managed to do about the same to the Countess.

  Ivy hurled another spell, giving it everything she had. “REPEL!”

  Vlad staggered backward, but remained on his feet.

  “Why isn’t it working?” she asked Nick.

  The Trekking tree shuffled another few feet and turned, tilting its branches downward. Branches beat at them, tossing them both from the tree.

  “Ow!” Ivy exclaimed as she hit the ground. The Countess was on her, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her to her feet. Ivy felt her knees want to collapse. The Countess planned on killing her and bathing in her blood as she had Angela’s.

  “Go on,” the Countess dared Nick who was taking aim at her. “Your spell will do little, and I’ll be forced to rip her hair out.”

  Vlad grabbed a long spear from behind the fallen log a
nd rammed it into the ground with very little effort. Then, Vlad eyed Nick with a cold and soulless stare.

  Nick slammed another repelling spell into Vlad, the spell having even less effect this time.

  “Why aren’t our spells working?” Ivy cried out to Nick.

  “Your magic isn’t working because we’re growing stronger everyday. We’re black magic, my sweet. Conjured from the spells written by a highly practiced black magic sorceress.” The Countess put a finger to her cheek. “Although, I must admit, we did come across one wizard who tried to banish us. Very strong, very old magic from the sting of it. I must say, it was rather unpleasant.”

  “Without The Book of Lost Souls he can’t send us back.” Vlad explained. “And when we find the book’s mate, we’re never going back. We’ll be able to do a little magic of our own.”

  Another flock of crows scattered from a nearby tree, flapping their wings and sending out startled warnings. Both Vlad and the Countess turned to see a sable-colored wolf sail over the fallen log. The wolf landed within a few feet of them, snarling and yet careful to keep distance.

  Shayde’s diversion was enough to make the Countess release her hold on Ivy.

  Nick grabbed Ivy’s arm. “Run!”

  They turned and fled the clearing, Shayde raced alongside them. They ran upstream, Vlad and the Countess right behind them.

  “Faster,” Nick called to Ivy.

  “It’s the curse,” Ivy huffed as she picked up the pace. “It’s like they’re super villains!”

  Ivy didn’t dare look back again. Standing their ground wouldn’t work. Whatever spells Ivy and Nick had would do little to thwart their attackers, and other than a Repelling spell, she’d never learned much defensive magic. Living in a town like Northwick, there wasn’t a lot of use for it. She could use a spell from The Rise of the Dark Curse, but which one? Even so, she doubted she’d be quick enough.

  The bridge Nick had mentioned was just ahead. If they could get to their cars, they could get away. She had to think of something to buy some time. Ivy took aim at a fallen branch. “Propel!”

  Without looking behind her, it was hard to tell if the branch had hit either Vlad or the Countess.

  Rocks, some rather hefty, lifted from the riverbank and flew through the air toward Vlad and the Countess. Nick was good—she’d never seen him cast a spell or say a single word.

  “Gah!” came the pained Countess’ cry. Vlad’s curses were enough to tell Ivy the rocks were working.

  Shayde made it to the bridge first. Nick and Ivy made it right behind her and followed as fast as they could. Vlad and the Countess were still further back.

  The planks ahead on the bridge shifted and began to buckle. Shayde ran faster, and was now nearly across the bridge. With each step Ivy and Nick took, the boards beneath them fell away to the rushing water below. They didn’t stop running full-tilt until they reached the other side and reunited with Shayde.

  Only then did Ivy slow enough to see what had happened. Vlad and the Countess were clinging to the rails of the bridge and sounding none too happy about it.

  Nick and Ivy followed Shayde through the woods at a jog, eager to make it back to the park before Vlad and the Countess could figure out a way to follow them. With any luck, they wouldn’t find the fallen log for a few hours.

  When they reached their cars, Nick cast a spell that opened the doors to Ivy’s VW Bug.

  “I’ll call you when I get home,” Nick said.

  “You can’t mention I was out here,” Ivy said. “Even though Mr. Evans has The Book of Lost Souls, the Council can’t know I’ve got Skinner’s other book. Give me a chance to get rid of it first.”

  “Waiting isn’t a good idea,” Nick said.

  Ivy reached for his hand. “Please. Just a few hours. Besides, I don’t think Vlad and the Countess are exactly on good terms with Mr. Evans. They’re not likely to tell him we saw them.”

  Nick squeezed her hand and sighed. “Why are you so stubborn?” He pulled away and chirped the alarm to his own car. “I’m going to regret this, but okay. I’ll call you. Now, go. I’m not leaving until you do.”

  Shayde hopped into the passenger side and Nick closed the door behind her, then he ushered Ivy to the driver’s side.

  “By the way,” Nick said. “I left you something. You’ll see. When you get home.”

  Her heart fluttered, excited at the thought of a surprise.

  “Now, go.” He closed her door and trotted over to the Mustang.

  Ivy twirled a finger at her window and it slid down. She leaned her head out. “Hey, what you did back there with the rock throwing was quick thinking. The collapsing boards were a bit scary, though.”

  Nick took a few steps back to her. “I thought that was you. That means...” Nick frowned and scanned the area around them.

  Ivy glanced out through the windshield and into the woods. Nothing stirred. Other than the three of them, no one else seemed to be here.

  Yet she knew differently.

  He was here. Watching. He’d probably been watching ever since she took her first step into the woods. Who was this mystery guy and what did he want with her? Why had he helped them at the bridge and then chose to remain in the shadows? Ivy rubbed her arms as a chill came over her. She wanted to be home, and it suddenly had nothing to do with the surprise Nick mentioned.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I know exactly what it means. It means that someone else was out there with us.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Ivy pulled into the Connors’ driveway and let Shayde out. Shayde hopped down from the car and padded across the lawn toward the back of the house, where Ivy knew there was a doggie door large enough for werewolves. Changing back hadn’t been an option. Driving with a naked passenger would draw too much attention. After seeing Shayde off, Ivy got back into her car and drove next door to her own house.

  When she went to retrieve her book bag, she found Nick’s surprise. He’d gotten into her car and left her a small book. It was one of those pocket-sized ones that people often bought at checkout registers at bookstores—no more than ten or fifteen pages. This one had probably been bought at Pages and Sages, a bookstore and potion shop over on Hawthorne Street. The title was Simple Spells for the Suburban Girl. Cute. Nick had a sense of humor knowing the other book she carried with her.

  The thought of Nick and their almost kiss would have normally made Ivy dance with joy. And, if she thought finding out who was behind this would solve all her problems, she was wrong. How long before Vlad and the Countess figured out where to find them? True, they couldn’t just ask around, and they stayed hidden in the woods most of the time. Still, she had to get rid of The Rise of the Dark Curse before Nick told his dad.

  She retrieved her book bag and after glancing around, hurried to the front door and went inside. She had to figure out where and how she was going to get rid of the book. She’d be glad to be rid of it. The idea of touching the book again scared her. It’d be like walking into a dark alley full of everything nightmarish.

  Devlin met her with his usual exuberance and tail wagging. Spike bounded down the stairs, nearly as happy as Devlin.

  “You’re home!” he said, nearly shoving Devlin aside to give Ivy a death-grip of a hug. “Geez, it felt like you were gone forever and ever!”

  When he finally let go he stood and stared at her—just like Devlin. Both of them were waiting for her to do or say something. She half expected Spike to cock his head to one side when she asked Devlin if he needed to go outside.

  “I wasn’t even gone a full day,” she said to Spike.

  Spike was happy enough to go outside with Devlin for a few minutes. Ivy stayed inside, trying to decide what to do next. It would be easy enough to say she didn’t want to be grounded for ditching class, but that wasn’t it. Not really. All she could think about was protecting her mother from the whole ugly truth. Because, no matter what Ivy told her, what excuse she might have, her mother would be horribly hurt. And, she’d fear tha
t Ivy really was like her dad. And that was something Ivy just couldn’t bear.

  She thought of calling Raven and asking if they could use the funeral home’s incinerator, though she doubted the book would even burn. But, she could go back and hide it someplace in the cemetery. After all, when the Council questioned Mr. Evans, he’d have to tell them where he’d found The Book of Lost Souls. She could put The Rise of the Dark Curse in an area they hadn’t cleared weeds and vines away from yet.

  If she were going to do that, she needed to hurry. She wanted to be home before her mother. Spike could stay here with Devlin or they could both come with her. She weighed which place would be safer for them. The last thing she wanted was to run into Vlad and the Countess in the cemetery and put Spike and Devlin in any danger. The thought of ever seeing the Countess and her evil grin again made Ivy shudder.

  She felt the side of the book bag. Funny, when she touched the bag, she no longer felt that weird pulse of energy she used to. She no longer felt agitated or even the need to lock herself in her room to read the book.

  Ivy let out a sigh of relief.

  And then she started to wonder why she didn’t have the usual craving to read it. There had been no other word for it. Ivy reached for the zipper on the book bag, hesitating for a brief moment.

  Let it be. Maybe it’s just... sleeping. Don’t touch it until you’re ready to dump it in the cemetery.

  Her traitorous hand unzipped the bag anyway, and she carefully reached inside to remove the book.

  Which was when she realized it had been switched out with another. The Rise of the Dark Curse had been replaced with a large, hardbound thesaurus.

  Frantically, Ivy searched the bag, although there was no other place it could be. Heart pounding, she raced up to her room and searched there, nearly ransacking the drawers in her panic to find the book.

  The book wasn’t anywhere to be found.

  She collapsed onto the bed. Think, think. Who would have switched it out?