Dead Is a Battlefield

by Marlene Perez

  He gave me a mischievious glance. “What other boy, Katie?”

  “Evan,” she said placidly. “He never played Monopoly with me.”

  “A grave strategic error,” Dominic commented.

  She nodded. “Exactly.”

  Dominic didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by the thought of competition. If anything, he was amused by it. It felt like he wasn’t taking me seriously.

  “Are we going to play or what?” I asked.

  “It’s your turn,” Katie pointed out.

  “Sorry,” I said sheepishly, and then rolled the dice.

  I watched him laughing and joking with my sister. Was this the real Dominic? I had thought I was a pretty good judge of character, but it was almost as if there were two of him, Selena’s Dominic—the guy who hung on her every word and ignored everyone else around him—and this guy.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I was walking through the halls of Nightshade High when I saw a group of girls surrounding Selena. She handed Shannon something and Shannon let out a squeal.

  “Jessica, Jessica, come here,” Selena said.

  I was kind of stuck. If I didn’t do as she asked, I’d look stuck up, but I had a feeling there were strings attached to that particular gift.

  “Hi, Selena, what’s going on?”

  “Tickets to my aunt’s new cooking show, Cooking with the Countess.” She handed me four tickets. “Third-row seats.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “You’ll be there, won’t you?” she said.

  I glanced at the information on the ticket. It was for Friday night at midnight. “I don’t know,” I said. “My parents usually don’t let me stay out that late.”

  “Everyone is going to be there,” Shannon piped in. “Selena gave tickets to practically everyone in school.”

  I squared my shoulders. “I’ll be there.” I’d convince my parents somehow.

  I asked Eva to go with me, but she was already going with Edgar and the rest of his perfume groupies. Raven said she’d join me and that we could get a ride there from her brother.

  Dominic and Raven picked me up at eleven and came in to say hello to my parents.

  “What time will the taping be over?” Dad asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I replied. “I think it’ll be a couple of hours.”

  “Drive safely,” Mom said. “And call us if there’s a problem.”

  We got to the studio early, but a bunch of people we knew were already there.

  Eva and Edgar arrived not long after us. Their seats were in the front row, with all his Look of Love groupies, who I’d started to think of as the Lovelies. I wasn’t surprised to see they were all wearing purple T-shirts with the store logo, but Edgar had taken it a step further and wore purple jeans.

  “I just don’t get it,” I said.

  “You mean, why all those girls hang around him?” Dominic asked.

  “That, too,” I said. “But mostly I don’t get why Eva seems so infatuated.”

  He shrugged. “The ways of love are strange.”

  Selena turned around and waved to us, then looked miffed to see Dominic sitting next to me.

  When the curtain opened, it revealed an immaculate kitchen stage.

  A moment later, music swelled and Circe made a grand entrance. She wore a long black evening gown and matching gloves. Her silver hair was teased into an up do, which was topped by a glittery tiara.

  “What’s with the ball gown?” Raven whispered. “Not very practical for cooking.”

  “And satin isn’t at all flammable,” I whispered back.

  An assistant gave Circe a low bow and then wrapped a white apron, trimmed with black bows, around the chef.

  She raised one satin glove in the air. “Shall we begin?”

  “Begin what?” a voice called out. It was Selena. Clearly a plant.

  My suspicion was confirmed when Circe turned a beaming smile upon the audience and said, “Why, making magic, of course.”

  The crowd roared with approval.

  Circe beamed.

  I almost forgot about the cameras until the monitors showed a shot of Edgar and Eva kissing.

  “Gross,” I muttered.

  “You have something against kissing?” Raven asked.

  “No, something against Edgar,” I admitted.

  I stopped talking when I felt Circe’s strange emerald eyes on me.

  “I am making an appetizer, a wonderful soup to start, a main course, and a special dessert,” she announced. “This is a dessert created for my husband, the Count, for our three-month anniversary.”

  She had a commanding presence and clearly knew her way around the kitchen, but I felt uneasy. The sound of shattering glass came from backstage somewhere.

  Some guy with a clipboard signaled to the assistant and the taping stopped abruptly.

  The two conferred briefly and then went to investigate. A few minutes later, the assistant was back. Obviously, she’d gotten the short end of the stick, because she dragged her feet all the way to Circe.

  Whatever she said, Circe looked like she was going to explode. Selena hurried up to her aunt and put a hand on her arm, and then Circe turned with a broad smile to the watching audience. “There will be a slight delay,” she said through gritted teeth. “Please enjoy a delicious complimentary appetizer while we address this minor glitch.”

  Despite her reassurances, the appetizer was not delicious and the delay was not slight. We waited for over an hour. The assistant scurried around and served the audience, but the demand exceeded her speediness. Selena finally took pity on her and started handing out appetizers, too. She came over to offer us some from a tray.

  “These are from my aunt’s secret recipe,” she said.

  “Thank you,” I said politely as I took one. There were little oohs and ahhs of delight from the crowd, but when I bit into mine, I had to restrain myself from spitting it out.

  “It tastes horrible,” I whispered to Raven.

  “It can’t be that bad,” she replied. She took a big bite and then spit it out in the little cocktail napkin Selena had given her. “It’s worse.”

  “Shhh! She’ll hear you,” I cautioned.

  Everyone else was eating the snack with every appearance of enjoyment.

  Dominic hadn’t tried his yet. He held it up and sniffed it delicately, then put it down. “I’m not sure I want to try it after the reaction you two had.”

  Selena was heading back our way. “Do you want another one?” she said. “My aunt wants to make sure everyone gets at least one.”

  “What’s in it?” Dominic asked.

  “I can’t tell you the ingredients. It’s from her new cookbook. Top secret.” She looked over her shoulder nervously.

  He handed the appetizer back to her. “Sorry, I have allergies. Can’t be too careful.”

  “I guess it will be okay to tell you some of the ingredients,” Selena said. “Black truffles, porcini, and goat cheese crostini.”

  “Aren’t truffles mushrooms?” Dominic asked. “That’s what I’m allergic to.”

  “You wouldn’t want him to get sick or anything,” I said.

  “Oh, you’re right. Aunt Circe wouldn’t want anyone to get sick on her show,” Selena said. “Thanks, Jessica.”

  After she moved on to serve the rest of the audience, I turned to Dominic. “I didn’t know you were allergic to mushrooms,” I said.

  “You caught me,” he said.

  “You’re a good liar,” I said. I wasn’t sure that was a trait to look for in a potential boyfriend.

  “I’m not a good liar,” Dominic said. “Ask Raven.”

  She nodded. “He usually turns red and gets all twitchy. Like that,” she said, pointing at Dominic’s tomato-red face.

  “So why did you lie?” I asked.

  “I didn’t want to hurt her feelings,” he said.

  I tried not to let it show, but I was annoyed. I should be happy that he was sensitive enough to think of
Selena’s feelings, but I wanted him to care about me, not her.

  I turned my attention back to the stage. Circe was finally getting ready to prepare the soup. “I’m making a delicious potato leek soup today,” she announced.

  “Brooke, where is my food processor? Brooke, you stupid girl,” she said, loud enough for the audience to hear.

  When she saw that the audience was staring at her with stunned disbelief, she changed her tone. “Brooke, please bring me the food processor, will you?”

  The harried assistant ran onstage with a large food processor. “The leeks, dear girl,” Circe said, gritting her teeth.

  Circe watched Brooke as she chopped the leeks and potatoes. Then Circe put the items in the food processor, poured a healthy portion of cream into the mix, and hit the button.

  The utensil whirled and whirled and a strange green fog formed. The noise grew so loud that I clapped my hands over my ears, and then the top of the lid exploded and a food tornado formed over the blender.

  “Is this part of the show?” Raven whispered.

  “I don’t think so,” I said.

  The funnel cloud grew darker and gained speed. It grew larger and larger until it loomed over the transfixed audience.

  “I think we should get out of here,” Dominic said. He took my hand and pulled me up. “When that thing blows, it’s going to be a mess.”

  We inched our way to the aisle, and the funnel cloud stopped spinning. Potatoes, leeks, and cream rained down upon everyone in the room. Pellets of food hit with the force of hail.

  There were chunks of potato and dairy product in my hair.

  “I need a shower,” I said.

  “I need about twelve showers,” Raven replied.

  “This is an outrage!” someone shouted. “What kind of cooking show is this?”

  Circe looked like she was ready to explode, just like the potato leek soup.

  “Brooke,” Circe’s voice rang out loud and clear. “You fool, what are you waiting for? Clean this mess up now!”

  Staff members handed out towels and apologies, but it wasn’t enough to get anyone to stay. As the audience filtered out, an older gentleman yelled, “You’ll be hearing from my attorney.”

  Raven bent over and shook the gunk out of her hair. “Well, that was a disaster,” she said cheerfully.

  It was, but I wondered why it had happened. Potato funnel clouds didn’t happen every day, which meant magic had been used. The only two witches I knew were Selena and Circe, and I couldn’t think of any reason they’d want to ruin the performance.

  Someone was sabotaging Circe’s new cooking show, but why?

  After we left, Raven said, “I just got a text from Aunt Katrina. She’s at Slim’s. She wants to stop for ice cream.”

  Dominic looked to me. “Do you want to come along, Jess?”

  I nodded. “Ice cream sounds good.”

  “Then ice cream it is,” Dominic said.

  Nurse Phillips wasn’t nearly as intimidating when she was out of the naughty nurse outfit that she wore onstage, along with a variety of outrageous wigs and dramatic makeup.

  She sat across from me in a vintage Cabbage Patch T-shirt and jeans. I could see a resemblance to Dominic. They had the same blond hair and up tilted eyes.

  “You two look alike,” I commented.

  “I’m assuming you aren’t talking about me,” Raven said. Raven was small, with dark hair.

  “You all have the same-shaped eyes,” I said. “But Nurse Phillips and Dom really look alike. Same hair, same high cheekbones, same—”

  Dominic cut me off. “Raven looks like my dad.” He abruptly got up from the table and went to the jukebox. The set of his shoulders told me he wanted to be left alone.

  I stared after him, astonished. “What did I say?”

  “Dominic resembles his mother,” Nurse Phillips said gently. “My sister.”

  I was still lost, but he came back before I had the chance to ask any more questions. “Sorry,” he said. “Just needed a minute.”

  We finished our ice cream and then called it a night. Raven got a ride with her aunt, and Dominic drove me home. He didn’t say anything on the way back to my house.

  I cleared my throat. “How do you like living in Nightshade so far?” I asked politely. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to talk to him.

  “It’s definitely growing on me,” he said. “At first I didn’t want to leave my friends, but it wasn’t like I had any choice.”

  “It must be tough to lose both of your parents,” I said. “How long ago did your mom die?”

  “My mom has been gone for three years,” he said. “Look, it’s not something I like to talk about. Can we change the subject?”

  “Of course,” I said. I felt like an idiot for bringing it up. I get five seconds alone with him, and instead of flirting, I bring up the most depressing topic possible.

  Neither of us said another word until we reached my house. “Thanks for the ride,” I said, my hand already on the door. He probably couldn’t wait to get away from me. “I’m sorry I asked so many dumb questions.”

  He reached for my hand. “Jessica, wait a minute.”

  “I’ve got to go,” I replied. “It’s past my curfew.”

  “Look, I’m sorry if I was a jerk, but the subject of my mom is off-limits,” he said. “It’s too painful to talk about, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said. “I understand, but I’ve got to go.”

  It was true. I could see my dad’s silhouette in the window.

  But after I went inside, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was up to going out with a boy who had so many secrets.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Side Effects May Vary had another gig at the Black Opal and Raven had asked me to go with her. The place was packed. There were a lot of girls in the audience. A lot of cute girls.

  Nurse Phillips wore a bright pink wig, six-inch platform shoes, and a white plastic dress.

  “Your aunt is amazing,” I told Raven as I watched Nurse Phillips strum her guitar.

  Dominic’s outfit was a little more low-key than his aunt’s. Tight black jeans and an orange T-shirt that made his eyes look even bluer. When he came onstage, the squeals from the girls were nearly deafening. He saw us in the front row and gave a little wave before he started the first song.

  A strange look crossed his face and then he went glassy-eyed.

  “He’s doing it again,” Raven said under her breath.

  Dominic usually focused on the audience, but his gaze was centered somewhere above their heads, at a distant point on some imaginary horizon. He looked seriously zoned out. I swear I saw his eyes go back in his head, just for a second.

  And then he started to sing. I didn’t recognize the song, but Raven identified it for me. “Oh, no. He’s singing ‘Love Potion Number Nine.’”

  “What do you think it means?” I asked.

  “Maybe Dominic will talk to you about it. It seems like you two have become close lately.”

  “Does that bother you?” I wanted to know because Raven was supposed to have my back in the event of a big fight and I didn’t want her mad at me.

  “Of course not,” she said. “I want him to be happy. It’s just that . . .” She didn’t finish her sentence. “He’s been acting weird lately.”

  Dominic had been acting weird. I knew girls blamed other girls all the time, but something wasn’t right with him. He claimed to not remember going out with Selena in the first place. Dominic was a star in Nightshade. He could have any girl he wanted. Sometimes it was clear to me that he’d chosen Selena, but other times, I felt that he really might like me. Either I was completely wrong about him and he was playing us, or there was something fishy going on.

  I turned my attention back to the stage. The band was struggling to keep up with him. The crowd didn’t seem to notice, but I’d overheard their band practice enough to know that the song wasn’t on the set list. When the song ended, the crowd let out a roar of approval.


  Dominic could do no wrong with his fans, but his band mates were another matter. As soon as the song ended, Nurse Phillips announced a short break. Before she’d even finished, Vinnie had stalked offstage.

  Katrina went up to Dominic and put a comforting arm on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and made his own stormy exit.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told Raven. “I’m going to go talk to him.”

  I found him outside, sitting on a low wall behind the back door.

  “I don’t know why it happens!” he burst out when he saw me. “So don’t bug me about it.”

  “I wasn’t going to bug you,” I said. “I was going to see if I could help, but you obviously don’t want my help.” I turned around and started to march off.

  “Wait, Jessica,” he said, but I kept moving. “Please?” he added.

  I stopped and faced him. “I don’t need a jerk in my life,” I said. “I thought you were different.”

  “I apologize,” he said. “I’m upset and I took it out on you.”

  “Apology accepted,” I replied. “But this moody rock-star stuff that may work with other girls doesn’t work with me. I’m trying to be your friend.”

  “I know,” he said, and took my hand.

  I tried to ignore the way my heartbeat accelerated. “So you don’t have any idea why it happens?” I asked.

  “None,” he said. “It’s driving the other band members crazy, and I don’t blame them.”

  “Do the songs mean something to you?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t think so. It’s only happened a few times, but that’s too often as far as Jeff’s concerned. He didn’t want me in the band even before this started to happen.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “I’m just a kid, at least according to him,” Dominic replied. “Aunt Katrina convinced him to give me a chance, and now this.”

  “Did it ever happen before you moved to Nightshade?”

  He shook his head. “The first time it happened was a few weeks ago. Out of nowhere, I started to sing ‘Ant Music.’”

  “‘Ant Music’? By Adam and the Ants?” I asked.