by Ariella Moon
Spell Check
by Ariella Moon
Published by Astraea Press
www.astraeapress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
SPELL CHECK
Copyright © 2011 ARIELLA MOON
ISBN 978-1-936852-97-0
Cover Art Designed by AM Design Studios
Also by Ariella Moon
Spell Check
Spell Struck
Spell Fire
For Mackenzie Morison-Knox, Treasure Finder
and
Barbara Cameron Kelly, who never lost faith.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank Barbara Millman Cole, Beth Soloway, and Laurie McLean for their insightful critiques; Nia Shay for her fabulous editing; Jane George for the wonderful title; Mackenzie Morison-Knox for pointing me in the right direction; and Ginger Hanson for paving the way.
Chapter One
I can’t remember how I got conned into this.
I remember Parvani saying, “Evie, I need you to buy me a spell book.” I vaguely remember my mouth forming the word, “Okay.” But I honestly don’t remember what happened afterward. Maybe selective memory loss is one of the seven stages of grief.
I knew Parvani wanted to cast a love spell on Jordan Kent. She had a major crush on him, even though I’d told her he and I used to be real tight. Of course, I’d never explained why we’d had our falling out, or how I still thought about him every waking moment. And Parvani hadn’t ever asked. She couldn’t stop hyperventilating about him. Even I could see she barely registered on Jordan’s radar. I mean, other than Honors Geometry and me, what did they have in common?
Hence her need for a love spell.
Parvani, who had at least three hundred dollars’ worth of gift cards to a major chain, insisted an authentic spell book could only be found in a used bookstore. How she came up with this idea is beyond me. Maybe she’d watched too many episodes of Charmed. Anyway, the oldest, moldiest, used bookstore ever was three towns away, and two blocks from my mother’s favorite art supply store. Since Parvani’s parents had every second of her life scheduled, I was stuck with the task.
As if I didn’t have enough problems.
Parvani is my best friend and I had promised I’d help, so I hustled down Solano Avenue toward Well-Read Books. Warm pizza smells escaped through Paduano’s open door, making my stomach rumble. A homeless guy with bloodshot eyes jangled a foam cup full of coins at me. I warded him off with an apologetic shake of my head.
Tugging Dad’s camouflage cap lower over my forehead, I opened the door to Well-Read Books and crossed the scuffed threshold. The glass door slammed shut behind me, frenzying a string of tiny pewter bells. I flinched, certain all eyes were upon me.
For a second my brain went on autopilot, taking in the cashier with her magenta Mohawk and silver eyebrow stud. The fluorescent bulbs humming overhead bathed her in a stark light. She stood behind the cash register, helping a bearded customer. The guy smelled like he hadn’t changed his tie-dyed shirt since the sixties.
It would make a cool photo. I imagined where I’d crop the shot. Maybe I’d print it in black and white. It would look so noir if the only pops of color were the cashier’s hair and the green tattoo on her wrist.
Magenta Mohawk crossed her arms over the black muscle tee barely containing her cleavage, and threw me a what-are-you-staring-at look. Dad would have disarmed her with a grin and then taken the shot. But I’m not my dad. I’m not Dash O’Reilly, the famous photojournalist who’d gotten himself blown up in Afghanistan. I have his blue eyes, and beneath the weird auburn dye I’d recently used, I have his strawberry blond hair, too. But I’m nothing like him.
Magenta Mohawk narrowed her eyes as if she considered me a rival gang member or potential shoplifter. A hot flush fast-tracked up my throat. My gaze darted to the quickest escape route, the worn stairs leading to the basement where the occult books were shelved.
I fled past a display of political books and thudded down the steps. I paused on the second to last step and surveyed the room, the way Dad would if he’d just returned from a risky assignment. To my right, an organic-foods-and-sensible-shoes type woman pulled a British travel guide off a high shelf. To my left, a shabby professor-sort thumbed through the record collection. Hello, have you heard of a little thing called mp3s?
No axe murderers. No deranged homeless people.
I went in.
The basement smelled like old books and damp wool. A college-age guy, a real hottie, emerged from the medieval history section, a latte in one hand and a paperback copy of Medieval Strongholds of Britain in the other. He gave me an indulgent smile, like I was a kid or something.
Clearly, I needed to convince Mom to let me wear make-up. Just because she didn’t wear it shouldn’t mean I couldn’t. I’d only gotten away with the hair dye because Nana had bought it for me. Except for Mom, all the women in the Portland family either dyed or chopped off their hair when grief-stricken. At least I hadn’t gotten a crew cut or gone purple.
I hurried past a hand-printed sign reading History of the Unexplained and headed for the section on magic. The books were shelved floor to ceiling—New Age, Earth Magic, and Astrology. I pushed aside gloomy thoughts of being buried alive if an earthquake hit, and knelt on the yellow vinyl floor.
Under Wicca, I found The Solitary Witch, The A to Z of Witchcraft, and The Circle. I ran my hand over the colored volumes and closed my eyes. I willed my hand to stop over the right one. My fingers danced across several books, slid across a slim volume, moved on to the next, and then slid back. Pick me! the book seemed to scream.
I opened my eyes. Teen Wytche. The slick paperback cover was the exact same shade as my chipped, Perfectly Plum nail polish. I tapped the new-smelling book against my unpainted lips. Somewhere behind the wall, an ancient heater rumbled to life and the vent over my head spewed warm air. A spicy, gypsy-like scent wafted my way.
A fast scan of the book’s table of contents assured me there was a section on spells. Still, I scooted two feet toward the Pagan section. Sacred Stones. The Goddess Within. Still clutching Teen Wytche, I trailed my fingertips over volumes with titles printed in medieval-looking script. My pulse pounded like ancient drums.
“Evie?”
My heart catapulted to my chin. “Mom! You scared me.”
“Sorry.” The woman is five foot six and walks like a panther. I’ve thought about tying a bell around her neck, or making her wear high heels. And makeup.
“Did you find anything for Parvani?” she asked.
“Yes.” I held up the spell book. “It’s for history class. She’s doing a report on witchcraft.”
Mom arched one eyebrow. She took the book and flipped through it, pausing when something caught her attention. Her mouth tightened. She leaned closer to the page and her dark red hair tumbled across her shoulders. I flinched when she snapped the book closed. A pained expression haunted her eyes, and I was sure she’d say no.
Instead, she handed me the book and cleared her throat. “Do you want to check out the photography section?”
“No!” Heat rushed to my cheeks. What if we saw Dad’s book with his photo on the back, with him holding his camera a
nd wearing his lucky cap? My legs melted into string cheese. I’m not ready to look. I can’t. I won’t. Because no matter what the grief counselor said, it was my fault Dad had died. Which is why I don’t take pictures anymore.
Mom frowned. She still wore Dad’s emerald on her left ring finger—it glinted under the fluorescent lights. “Honey, you’re the photo editor. Miss Roberts said you’re going to flunk Yearbook if—”
“I said, no.”
“Fine.” Mom’s eyes bulged with exasperation. “Let’s pay and get out of here.”
I didn’t argue.
We made our way up the stairs and around a half-dozen circular display tables. Mom stopped and righted an upside-down display book on herbology. I spotted the magazine rack. Shay Stewart, Hollywood’s bad boy, smirked at me from the glossy cover of Kiss. His dark hair was disheveled as if he had just woken up. His pouty lips begged to be smooched. My lower abdomen fluttered.
“Wait.”
“Evie.” Mom drew out my name like a warning. She scowled at the magazine, then read it aloud. “Five beauty tips that work! Channel your inner goddess! Shay Stewart in the flesh!” Her eyebrows knotted. “I don’t think…”
“Please, Mom. I have my own money.”
“All right. Just hurry up and pay.”
“Yes!” I gave her an air kiss, then hustled over to the cashier. Magenta Mohawk must have gone on break, because an older woman wearing a silk headscarf and way too much jewelry rang up my purchases. When she took my money in her ring-covered hand, our fingers touched. An odd crackle zapped up my arm.
The woman threw me a sly look as she dropped the book and magazine into a white plastic bag. She wagged a gnarled finger and warned, “Be sure to read every word.” Her voice rasped as though it had been pulled from the earth like a weed.
Gulping, I nodded.
She leaned closer and her musty breath breached the space between us. “Good luck, dearie.”
The warm gypsy scent blew over me again. The bells on the front door tinkled. I angled toward the sound, the fine hairs on my nape standing on end. No one was there.
I snatched the bag, rushed to Mom, and slid my arm through hers. “Do me a favor?” I pushed the bag into her hand. “Will you carry this?”
She hesitated. “Okay.”
“Thanks.” I glanced back at the checkout counter. The odd clerk had vanished. Magenta Mohawk was back on duty.
Chapter Two
Parvani’s red turtleneck peeked out from beneath her green mesh gym shirt. The color combo looked sort of Christmas-y, though I didn’t think Buddhists celebrated that particular holiday. Below the Wildcats logo emblazoned in white letters on the oversized jersey, Parvani had inked her last name, Hyde-Smith, with a black sharpie.
“Can you believe this rain?” she said in her clipped, I-lived-in-London-for-five-years way.
“At least it means no mile.” We prayed for rain every Friday, the day the cafeteria served soggy tacos and every kid at Jefferson had to run a mile in Physical Education.
Parvani surveyed the crowded gym. “Look. There’s Jordan.”
Jordan had added blond highlights to his curly brown hair. As if he didn’t attract enough attention with his easygoing smile and lake blue eyes. Unfair. He gets highlights, and I can’t even wear Soft Fawn eyeliner.
Parvani wore her irritating, love struck expression. “Did you find a spell book?”
“Yes.” And I can’t wait to get rid of it. “Did you bring your sleepover stuff?”
Parvani angled her head toward the corner where she’d left her bulging backpack.
Mr. Willis blew his whistle. I screamed.
Dread and embarrassment blazed like a wildfire across my cheeks. I scanned the quieting throng. Had anyone heard me? Okay, everyone had heard the scream, but how many knew it had come from me? Before Dad died, I’d never been this high-strung.
I pulled his hat lower over my eyes. My gaze flicked on Jordan. He held a basketball over his right hip as he walked toward us, his mouth set in an easy smile. As he neared, Parvani gasped.
Jordan shifted the ball to his left hand and squeezed my shoulder. “Hey, Evie. Like, chill.” The heat from his hand sent a cozy warm river rushing toward my belly. My mind blanked.
Tweet! Coach Willis spit out his whistle. “Free play, people. Grab a basketball, volleyball, or soccer ball. Get moving!”
Jordan released my shoulder and dropped his hand back to the ball. His gaze embraced both of us. “See ya.” He trotted off with his annoyingly perfect gait and joined some of his teammates near the basketball hoop.
Parvani’s eyes were wild behind her ebony designer glasses. “Jordan Kent spoke to us!”
I shook myself. “Parvani, I’ve known him since preschool.”
A basketball bounced off my shin, and with a flash of pain I joined the game. Our wet gym shoes squeaked as we pounded across the polished floor. Balls thudded. Students shouted. The nose-crinkling stench of sweat soured the air. I got caught up in the din, the blur of bodies, and Parvani’s frequent glances at Jordan.
Finally, the bell rang. The sharp bounce of basketballs eased, replaced by the ragged breathing of twenty-five freshmen. Parvani retrieved her backpack. The thick strap pinned her long black hair to her shoulder, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“Meet you at three,” she said, breathless.
“Won’t I see you at lunch?”
“Duh. Of course.” Looking dazed, Parvani dashed off to Honors Geometry without a backward glance.
I’d never qualify for an advanced math class. Before Parvani had transferred to town two years ago and taught me some math tricks, I couldn’t even memorize the multiplication table. Who knew when you multiplied any number by nine, the answer would always add up to nine? Eight multiplied by nine equals seventy-two. Seven and two equal nine.
I bet Jordan knew. Maybe he would have told me if the Smash Heads, his football teammates and the vilest bullies in the school, hadn’t teased him until he quit helping me. The loser.
I headed to a class I did excel in—Spanish. Afterward, I shivered the whole way to Mr. Ross’s classroom. Parvani and I had taken video production from him over the summer, so now he let us hide out in his room during lunch and watch Bewitched reruns on Nickelodeon.
“Hola, Mr. Ross.”
He glanced up from the quiz he’d been grading and frowned. “Evie, don’t you have a raincoat?”
I adore Mr. Ross, but sometimes he sounds way too much like my mother. “My sweatshirt is fine.”
“Cal Bears?” he asked, reading the logo.
“Yeah. My dad went to the University of California at Berkeley.” Before—you know.
“I see.” He sighed, his stocky body seeming to cave in on itself. “Well, close the door. I’m trying to keep the heat from escaping.”
“Sorry.” I pivoted and bumped into Parvani. Water ran off her expensive umbrella and onto my striped toe socks. Zhù Wong, one of Parvani’s fellow math geeks, appeared beside her and blinked at me from behind his rimless John Lennon glasses.
“Evie, Ms. Ravenwood assigned tons of math for the weekend,” Parvani said in a rush.
There went the sleepover.
“I’m going to the library and see how much I can finish. Want to come?”
Zhù’s eyes widened in a silent plea. He should just tell Parvani he likes her. It’s so obvious. Well, not to Parvani. She was too preoccupied with Jordan.
“Pass.” I raised my chin. “Math makes me break out in hives.”
Zhù’s shoulders relaxed. He’d grown four inches over the summer and his weight hadn’t caught up with his height, giving his long face a chiseled look. He might look hot if he ever smiled.
“Cross the field together after school?” I asked Parvani.
“Sure.” She radiated relief. I should have been offended, but we both knew she had a better chance of preserving her A average and getting to sleep over if I didn’t distract her. “Bye, Mr. Ross.”
He
waved like a parade queen. “See you, Parvani.”
Zhù followed Parvani, turning toward me at the last moment with his hands together in a prayer position. With his back to Parvani he mouthed, “Thanks,” and gave me a little bow.
Okay. Maybe he doesn’t have to smile to look cute.
I closed the door behind them before I returned to my desk. Bewitched already played on the television. I scowled at the actor playing Darrin, the witch’s mortal husband. His no-witchcraft-in-my-house attitude irked me.
I slumped onto the molded plastic chair and pulled my copy of Kiss from the middle compartment of my backpack. The magazine should have had a slick, possibly toxic, smell. Instead, a faint spicy scent clung to it. A tingle spider-walked down my spine as I recalled the strange crone in the bookstore.
The wall clock ticked. Three hours and fifteen minutes until the last bell. Three hours and forty-five minutes until I could unload the spell book on Parvani and be done with the creepy thing.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur. I tuned out in Math, kind of hid during Yearbook, and spent Biology trying to ignore Jordan, who sat in front of me. A hex on teachers who make students sit in alphabetical order.
When school ended, I met up with Parvani and Zhù at the edge of the field. Zhù was saying, “It was so worth it.”
“What?” I asked as we headed across the soggy grass.
Parvani shook her head. “He used British spelling on the vocabulary test in English. On purpose!”
Zhù shrugged. “Hey, solidarity. My way of protesting her marking you down when you did it last week.”
“But I slipped up. You did it on purpose and it cost you half a grade.”
“So what? I made my point.”
“I think it was a sweet thing to do,” I said. “Insane, but sweet.”
Zhù beamed. Wow. His teeth are so white and even.
Ahead and to the right, the field dipped a bit. Rainwater had formed a glistening miniature lake, where a flock of gulls waded, searching for worms. Watching the birds, I paid little heed to the whip of nylon windbreakers and the masculine murmur behind me. Had my internal Smash Heads Radar been on like it should have been, scarlet warning lights would have flashed.
