by Jus Accardo
“Something you’d like to tell me?”
I shook off the demon and climbed to my feet. The possessed corgi stretched and gave a lazy yawn. With a single yip and several swishes of the tail, he disappeared in a thick cloud of stinky black smoke.
I waved it away and readied myself for a lecture. “Apparently, work followed me home from that pet possession the other day.” Arching my back, I stretched toward the ceiling to release a crick in my neck, muscles protesting as though I’d been down there all night. “And as for the floor, you can ask, but I can’t answer.”
She let it go. “We need to talk.”
Normally, a statement like that from Mom wouldn’t worry me. But lately, I’d broken so many rules—and with what happened with Garrett—I was nervous. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I might never be ready.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Bad news sucked, but I breathed a sigh of relief. Any morning that didn’t start with a lecture was a win in my book.
She hesitated, then set her coffee down on the floor beside the chair. “Jessie, I know you’re a smart girl, but I’m feeling the need to remind you Lukas isn’t human.”
I rolled my eyes. “He used to be.” This couldn’t be a result of him being in my room last night because she would have railed me for that right off the bat. Wanting me to get out and date aside, she’d be fuming if she knew I was sucking serious face with a guy on my bed in the middle of the night. Probably more so if said guy was one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
“Yes, he was. But we can’t help him.”
The air chilled. “Why would you say that? What about our other options? You said—”
“I’ve exhausted all my leads. I talked to everyone I could think of yesterday, and then some. There’s no way to keep Lukas out without transferring Wrath to someone else. And even if I was willing to do it, the Wells family is gone. Cassidy called this morning. She said they dropped off the grid in the mid-nineteen-hundreds. I have to focus on collecting the Sins—and finding the box. If time runs out and the Sins are recalled on their own, the six innocent people whose bodies they’ve stolen will go with them. They’ll die, Jessie. I cannot let that happen.”
I had to fight to keep my voice steady. “I know.”
“Finding this particular witch will only help one person. I raised you to be practical, Jessie. We can’t sacrifice six people for one—no matter how unfair his situation is. It’s a hard decision, but it’s the right one. You understand that, right?”
I only nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak anymore.
“Unless a miracle happens, Lukas will end up going back into the box with the others.”
“I know.” My voice cracked a little.
“Do you? Because you seem to be getting attached.”
Deep breath. She was right. I was raised with both feet firmly planted in reality, and my head clear of the clouds. Last night with Lukas made me lose sight of that. I did have feelings for him, and to make things even more complicated, he felt the same way. But regardless, it didn’t change anything. We had no way to keep him here. The needs of the many trumped the needs of the few. She was right. It was hard, but it was reality. One I’d been acquainted with at a very early age.
“I know,” I said again, this time stronger. “And you’re right. I am getting attached. But I’m not an idiot. I know how it’s gonna end.”
“Jessie—”
“It is what it is.”
I needed to get out of the room. Away from the conversation and away from her.
“At least a little good came out of it. I think we both learned something on this one.” I started rummaging through my drawers for clothes. A black sock. A white one. A random shirt. Whatever I could get my hands on.
“Oh?”
“This thing with Lukas—my attachment—is the perfect example of why I won’t end up like you.” I glared at her as I passed and spoke, even though the declaration was pointless. The damage was done already.
Her eyes went wide. “Like me?”
I could see she didn’t understand what I was getting at, but she was hurt all the same. All I’d ever said growing up was that I wanted to be just like her. And I did. In every area except this.
A part of me dug my heels in, wanting nothing more than to stop—but I couldn’t. I was a planet-sized Jessie-boulder rolling at warp-speed down a steep hill. I drove my point home with cruel accuracy. “Miserable. Missing someone you can never have. It’s not worth it.” I slammed the door behind me—my first act of truly juvenile teenage behavior.
…
I didn’t wait for Lukas before heading to school. Mom didn’t want us getting any more attached? Fine. Neither did I. There was no reason for me to lug him around. It would only make things harder. Let her play babysitter.
The first thing I noticed when I got to school was Garrett’s absence. I didn’t know if he’d remember anything that happened—for his sake, I hoped not—but I couldn’t forget. And I needed some time.
Contrary to my I’m an island rant this morning, I’d grabbed Mom’s phone book on the way out the door. I might have made the decision to let my feelings for Lukas slip into the background, but that didn’t change the fact that we’d made him a promise. The Darkers were girls of their word. I’d keep fighting ’til the last possible minute, even if Mom was ready to give up. She wouldn’t let me help find the Sins? Well, then I’d help another way.
By the time I hit third period study hall, I was itching to crack open the phone book. All Mom’s Otherworlder contacts in one nifty, leather-bound bundle. I knew which ones to stay away from—Jenna Mason, the owner of the Black Cat bar, and one of Mom’s best friends. As soon as we got off the phone, she’d be running to Mom to tell her what I was up to.
Allen Bane—leader of the local were pack. We’d too recently pissed him off. That whole incident with him and Mom and an ill-timed game of fetch wasn’t about to blow over any time soon.
And McKenna Blaire—the Voodoo priestess with a mouth for gossip. Not besties, Mom and McKenna still talked. And worse than that, they knew a lot of the same people. McKenna had a mouth like a bullhorn. One call to her and the entire Otherworlder population would know what I was up to. And so would Mom.
There was one specific number I was looking for. I flipped to the N’s—Mom had the book organized not by name—but by association. I needed the N’s for necromancer.
I’d just punched Paulson Miller’s name into my cell when a low growl filled the air.
Oh, hell in a hailstorm. Not now.
I looked around. No one else seemed to have heard it. Trying to play it cool, I glanced around the room. The sound seemed to be coming from the front row. Right next to David Ogden’s desk. He chose that moment to look up. He caught my eye with a cheesy wink and a thumbs-up.
Really? A thumbs-up? Did the dude really think a thumbs-up was a turn on? That smooch with Hannah the other day had given him all sorts of confidence.
Creepy, Hi, I’m a stalker in the making confidence.
At the front of the room, Mr. Dakota looked up from his papers as the door opened. On top of his desk, a shimmer of black smoke trailed upward from the floor. I couldn’t see beneath his desk, but I was betting my vial of Fairy Dust that Mr. Winkie was lingering close by.
Mr. Dakota’s mouth fell open as in sauntered Vida wearing a black skirt that looked like it belonged on a first grader and a bright red corset top that left little to the imagination. If she bent over too far, I had no doubt she’d pop out of it—cartoon sound effects and all.
She slid slowly across the room and over to his desk. “I need to see Jessie Darker in the hallway. You don’t mind, do you?” The words dripped like honey from her lips as she trailed a finger over the edge of his desk. My demon dog stalker gave another growl, but one look from Vida in his general direction and he fell silent, another puff of black smoke tufting upward to tell me he’d split.
Dakota waved a hand in my genera
l direction, then pointed toward the door, never taking his eyes from Vida—or her chest.
I contemplated staying put. She couldn’t make me leave with her—but I was curious. Plus, if opportunity presented itself, maybe I could bring her in. I’d probably get crap from Mom, but in the end, it would be one less innocent for her to find. She’d have to appreciate that—even if she wasn’t willing to admit it out loud.
Gathering my things, I started down the aisle toward the door. Vida stood in the doorway with a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her ruby-tinted lips.
“Where’s Lukas today?” she asked as the door snapped closed behind us. From the hall, I could see Dakota craning his neck, trying to get another peek at her. He wasn’t even trying for subtle. Ugh. Men.
I shrugged and stuffed both hands into my pockets. “A girl’s gotta have some alone time now and then, ya know?”
She giggled. “You’re more amusing than your ancestors, little Darker girl.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that’s a compliment.” I gave her a minute. When she said nothing, I pressed it. “Something tells me you didn’t call me out here to chat about pedicures and—” I nodded to her chest, “—implants.”
Vida giggled again. “Oh, they’re real—and she’s quite proud of them.” Circling like a vulture, she tapped the side of her head and said, “She’s in here, you know—totally aware of what’s going on.”
Stopping in front of me, face inches from mine, Vida grinned. “And let me tell you, she likes it.”
“Two peas in a skanky pod then, eh?”
“More than you know.”
I didn’t say anything. She was plainly hinting at something, but I refused to give her the satisfaction.
She frowned, obviously disappointed that I wouldn’t play her game. “Has Lukas told you how he was infected?”
“Yeah. He told me about the witch.”
She clucked her tongue. “Of course he did. But there was more to it than that, silly girl.”
She began to circle again. “That witch would never have been able to do what she did to some random person. The vessel has to be viable.”
Even though I hated playing into her trap, I was curious. “Viable? What does that mean?”
“Open.” She gestured to herself and rolled her baby blues. “Take dear little Vida, for example. Not an innocent white rose, this one.”
Stopping, she leaned against the wall across from me and ran a hand down her—Vida’s—body. “I was only able to enter her because she embodied the basis of what I am.”
“So—you’re saying she was a big ho?”
“Several months ago, Vida seduced her stepfather.” A noticeable shiver ran through her, and her grin got wider. “She still thinks about it.”
All I could picture was some potbellied old guy in a dirty white wifebeater and cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Probably smelled like stale beer, too. “Eww.”
She winked. “The way she remembers it, he was quite yummy.”
“Okay, so you’re saying each person had to have walked the walk—sinned the sin.”
She shook her head. “Embodied. You’re thinking small potatoes. Each infested person had to be stained by it.” The words slid off her tongue like poison. Arms folded, she leaned back against the wall. “Tell me, little Darker girl, has Lukas told you what he did to open himself up to Wrath?”
“Doesn’t matter. He doesn’t belong with you, and he’s not going back in that box.”
Vida laughed. “Oh, I think you’ll find you’re wrong about that. On both counts.”
“Actually, Lukas belongs with me,” another voice said. She strolled down the hall toward Vida and me, the heels of her boots clinking a steady rhythm as she came.
Black jeans sat on slender hips paired with a blue blouse unbuttoned dangerously low, and the girl’s dark hair hung wild down her shoulders. She could definitely rock the bed-head look—I was a little jealous.
“Ah,” Vida said, smiling. She pushed off the wall and stepped aside to let the dark-haired girl pass. “Let me introduce you to our witch.”
Hand extended, the girl grinned. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me. Name’s Meredith.”
Chapter Twenty
“Meredith,” I repeated.
“In the flesh.” She twirled several times, then turned to Vida. With a chuckle, she said, “Are you sure she’s a Darker? She’s much scrawnier than the last two.”
“Last two—hell in a hailstorm!” The wheels in my brain, admittedly spinning a bit slower than normal, started piecing it all together. Meredith was a witch. A powerful one. Time and the ravages of age had nothing on her. “It was you in 1910 and 1959…”
Meredith sighed. “Not as fast as the last two either, I see. If you’d done your homework, you would have found I was an only child. After I disappeared, my parents had—an unfortunate accident. No further pitter-patter of Wells feet. I’m the only remaining Wells witch.”
“No way.” I had to remind myself to close my mouth. Mom was going to have a field day with this one. We were used to weird, but this was in a league all its own.
“Yes, way,” a new voice said. I turned and saw Kendra making her way toward us. Attention fixed on Meredith, she wore a determined scowl. “She’s telling you the truth.” She stopped beside me, eyes narrowed on the other witch.
My gaze swiveled back to Meredith. “So you killed your own parents?”
“You say kill, I say ended their suffering. To-ma-to, to-mah-to. They were young and took my disappearance hard. There was talk of another child—like I could be replaced. I had to make sure that didn’t happen. I don’t share well.” She giggled and winked at Kendra. “I’m only human after all.”
“How did he not recognize you?”
“Oh, baby—I’m a witch.” She snapped her fingers. Like someone dumped an invisible bucket of bleach over her head, her dark roots brightened. The blond crept downward until it reached the tip of her hair. Blue eyes shimmered and changed. The shape became narrower. The color darkened. Hear heart-shaped face lengthened, cheekbones becoming higher and more defined with the subtle hint of a flush. After a few moments, it was a totally different person standing there, giving me the stink eye. “I can make you see whatever I want.”
Beside me, Kendra snorted. It was a cross between awe and envy. “If you’re all powerful, you think you’d at least get rid of the split ends.”
For a moment, something flashed in Meredith’s eyes, but it passed quickly, giving way to amusement. She leaned forward, and just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, took a big whiff of Kendra. “A Belfair. How interesting—and sad.”
“Do I wanna know why she just sniffed you?” I leaned close and whispered to Kendra.
But Kendra didn’t hear me. I didn’t know the whole story, but there were some knots in the trunk of her family tree. The Belfairs were very defensive about their history. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You used to be an impressive lot.” Meredith shook her head and began to circle us. “Powerful and revered. Look how far you’ve fallen…”
“Huh,” I said, trying to derail the direction the conversation had taken. Kendra was one of those rare, happy, shiny people, but she had her buttons, same as anyone else. The only difference was, when she got going, it usually ended badly—for her. “If you ask me, you did Lukas a favor.”
Meredith tilted her head to the side, long hair swaying gracefully back and forth. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Locking him inside that box was way better than spending life with you. You’re flat out cow-shit crazy.”
Kendra snickered, and Meredith lost her grin. Stalking forward, she growled, “Lukas is mine.”
For a minute, all I could do was stare. “Lukas is yours? Are you serious?”
She held her ground, saying nothing.
“I don’t know how dating was in your day, but stick a guy in a box for over a hundred years and he’s not going to greet you with flowers and cand
y. A hatchet, maybe. And a continuous loop of Bob Saget skits—but not flowers and candy.”
She laughed. The sound was annoying, and it made my fingers itch to smack her. “I made a mistake. I’m here to rectify it.”
“There isn’t enough chocolate milk on the planet to rectify what you did to him.”
“You’re underestimating the effect I have on him. Lukas worshiped the ground I walked on. He’ll be begging me to take him back.”
Holy crap. This chick was crackers.
“Huh,” Kendra said with a frown. “They say it’s the first thing to go…”
Meredith whirled on her. “What?”
“The mind. I mean, you’re how old? That’s gotta be the reason for this delusion.”
The humor returned to Meredith’s grin and she squared her shoulders, turning back to me and all but dismissing Kendra. “You’re playing with fire, and you don’t even know it. Your number’s almost up.”
“Maybe you should count again,” I countered, taking a step closer. Kendra was right beside me. “Because after we send the Sins back to the box, I’m coming after you.”
Meredith’s grin widened even further. She leaned forward. “Oh, honey, I’d love to see you try.” Then she nodded to Kendra. “And even more than that, I’d love to see you try. Suppose you could pull a rabbit out of a hat—or would that be asking a bit too much?”
Kendra twitched like she wanted to move forward, but I grabbed her arm as the bell rang. Moments later, the hallway filled with students. They swarmed around us, oblivious to the electricity sparking between our stare down. For a few moments, no one moved. I’d always loved my job. Kicking Otherworlder ass and taking names. But I’d never felt such an urge to lay the smackdown on someone as I did with Meredith. The girl just brought out the crazy in me. Suddenly I was really glad Lukas wasn’t there.
Surprisingly, Meredith backed down first. With a smile, she said, “This is going to be fun. It was well worth the wait.”
