by Amy Meredith
Chapter Ten
‘Pizza delivery for Eve Evergold!’ her father shouted up the stairs.
‘And Jess Meredith!’ Jess called back.
Eve clicked off Judge Judy. She and Jess had both found the show soothing. If anyone could kick some demon ass, it was the judge.
They hurried downstairs and followed Eve’s dad into the kitchen. ‘I got pizza and cheese sticks.’ He set a pizza box and a white paper bag on the table, and grinned. Eve’s mom never ordered cheese sticks with pizza. She always said they were the same thing. Well, they sort of were, but they were both good, so what did it matter?
‘I guess this means Mom is working late,’ Eve said. She sat down at the table and took a cheese stick from the bag.
‘Emergency surgery,’ her dad confirmed.
Eve tried to remember the last time they’d all eaten dinner together. It had definitely been more than a week ago. Her father was a financial consultant based in Manhattan, but he had to travel a lot – Eve had once figured out that he flew round the entire world at least twice a year. And her mom’s job wasn’t much better – cardiac surgery couldn’t always wait.
It’s worse for Mal, Eve thought. His parents go travelling together, so he doesn’t even have one of them. Eve’s folks were pretty good at making sure she had at least one parental around. Maybe she had a couple of nights a month on her own, but Jess was always available to keep her company.
‘So what do you two have planned for tonight?’ Eve’s dad asked as he grabbed a slice of the pizza. ‘I know it can’t be hanging out with me.’
‘We’ve decided to watch Titanic for the millionth time,’ Eve answered.
‘And cry, and cry, and cry,’ Jess added cheerfully. ‘You can join us if you want.’
‘Uh, I think this is the night I’m going to experiment with the nail gun. I’m curious what will happen if I staple my hand to a board,’ he said, struggling to keep his expression serious.
‘You’ll cry, and cry, and cry,’ Jess told him. She liked joking around with Eve’s dad.
Eve broke a breadstick in half and dunked it into the little container of dipping sauce. ‘Dad, have you ever heard about a witch from around here – a kind of Deepdene witch?’ she asked.
She was expecting him to shrug, or talk about ‘crazy occult beliefs’ the way he sometimes did. But instead, he dropped his pizza onto his plate and stared at her.
‘Did someone say something to you at school?’ he demanded, his brow creased. ‘Was someone making fun of you?’
‘What? No,’ Eve said, surprised. ‘One of my friends read a thing about her online.’
‘Oh.’ He looked a little flustered. ‘OK.’
Eve studied her father’s face as he picked up his pizza again.
‘Why would someone make fun of her?’ Jess asked.
‘Yeah, what do I have to do with the Deepdene Witch?’ Eve asked.
Now her father shrugged, but he was avoiding her gaze.
‘Dad, come on,’ Eve said. ‘I really don’t need any more weirdness right now.’
‘Well … I guess you should know …’ He hesitated, and Eve’s muscles tensed. Her whole body felt like a spring that had been wound too tight. ‘And I know you tell everything to Jess anyway …’ He didn’t continue.
‘Dad!’ Eve exclaimed.
He sighed. ‘OK. Eve, the Deepdene Witch was your great-great-great-grandmother.’
Eve opened her mouth to answer, but her father suddenly waved his hand in the air.
‘No, wait. That’s not right,’ he went on. ‘What I meant to say is that your great-great-great-grandmother was Annabelle Sewall. There were some ignorant people in town who called her a witch. Don’t tell your mother I said she was a witch.’ He pointed at Jess. ‘You either. No saying the words Deepdene Witch to Eve’s mother.’
Eve closed her mouth again. Her father seemed to think he’d gotten some big thing off his chest, because he gave her a smile and grabbed another cheese stick.
‘Hang on,’ Eve said finally. ‘My great-great-great-grandmother was a witch?’
‘No. Absolutely not. That’s just crazy occult nonsense,’ her dad answered. ‘She was widowed at a very young age, and she chose to live by herself and not marry again. She supported her family by working as a midwife and a healer. So some of the townsfolk called her a witch. People weren’t always tolerant of independent women back then.’
‘So what else did people say about her?’ Jess asked eagerly.
Eve understood why her dad didn’t believe her great-great-great-grandmother was a witch. Who believed in witches any more? Eve certainly never had. But now that she could shoot fire from her fingers and turn what was probably a demon to dust, she was a lot more open to the possibility.
‘You don’t want to hear all this ancient history.’ Her dad grabbed a slice from the side with double anchovies. He loved them. Eve hated them. So whenever the two of them shared a pizza, they ordered one with everything, but asked that all the anchovies go on one half. The guys down at Piscatelli’s Pizza called it the Evergold Special.
‘Of course we want to hear!’ Eve insisted. Jess nodded madly. ‘I mean, I’m related to a witch.’ She was related to the witch! ‘I want to know everything.’
Her father shook his head. ‘Stop saying that. She wasn’t a witch. She was—’
‘I know, I know. A misunderstood woman,’ Eve interrupted. ‘I just want to know what they said about her back then.’
‘I’ll tell you what I know, which isn’t much,’ her father said. ‘But I mean it. Don’t say anything to your mother. She’s sensitive about it.’
‘Mom?’ Eve would not describe her mother as sensitive about anything.
‘Yes, Mom.’ Her dad stood up and grabbed Cokes from the fridge. ‘Back when she was around your age, some kid heard a story about the Deepdene Witch being one of her ancestors. It got around school. You know how that happens.’
‘I so know,’ Jess said, taking a Coke from Eve’s dad. ‘Once my dad wore these tie-dyed pants – that looked like pyjama bottoms – to the market. Everyone was talking about it the next day at school. Ev-er-y-one.’
‘Imagine that, times a hundred,’ Eve’s father said. ‘Everyone started calling Eve’s mom a witch and some boy left a frog in her locker, that kind of thing. It really hurt her,’ he went on.
Eve raised her eyebrows. Again, hard to imagine.
‘Medical school toughened her up,’ her father explained, reading her expression. ‘But the Deepdene Witch thing was a big deal for her when she was young. She actually lost some friends over it.’
‘I won’t say anything to her,’ Eve promised. Jess pantomimed locking her lips. ‘Just tell us.’
‘OK.’ Her dad took a swig of his soda. ‘Well, Annabelle was very single-minded. The people of Deepdene said she was obsessed.’
‘With what?’ Eve asked.
‘Demons,’ her father said. ‘Your great-great-great-grandmother thought that she was put here to fight demons.’
Eve felt her eyes widen. She looked over at Jess and saw that her friend’s eyes had gone wide too.
‘There is a ban on talking about anything involving the woo-woo until after the shopping,’ Jess announced when Eve met up with her at Java Nation on Main Street the next morning. She pushed an espresso towards Eve. ‘Fuel up. Yesterday I realized that I don’t have anything wearable with an animal print, and Vogue says you have to have at least a few animal-print items in your wardrobe this season.’
‘Does python count?’ Eve held up her deep-red Michael Kors faux-python clutch. She was happy to talk about fashion. There would be time to deal with the scary stuff post-shopping.
Jess considered the bag. ‘It counts.’ She slammed back her own espresso. ‘Come on. The stores open in three. I’m not leaving this street without a fake animal skin for some part of my body.’
‘I’m glad you said fake,’ Eve joked. ‘Otherwise I’d be worried about the cat in the hardware store.
’
Jess laughed. ‘Spiffy does have beautiful fur. But she’s safe. A nice animal print – love it! But I’m not wearing anything dead. I’m not the killer type.’
I am, Eve thought, remembering the lightning from her hands as it hit that guy’s chest. Did it kill him? Did he die when he turned into smoke? Was that a good thing?
‘You’re thinking bad thoughts. I can tell,’ Jess said. She nudged Eve’s cup. ‘Two minutes until the store opens.’
‘Not a problem.’ Eve gulped down her espresso too, then realized that she really didn’t need any additional help feeling jittery. Still, shopping on mega caffeine was still a lot more soothing than facing down demons, she decided.
‘Good girl,’ Jess said as they stood up. She was in extreme mother-hen mode today. Yesterday too, with the smoothies and the hair conditioner. She’s really worried about me, Eve thought. She made sure to smile as they headed out into the pale gold sunshine of the September morning. Eve wanted her friend to know she was OK. And, really, she was feeling a lot better. Jess and Luke were going to help her figure out her powers. And her great-great-great-grandmother was a demon fighter. That meant it was in the blood, so Eve should be a natural!
‘Dibs!’ Jess exclaimed as they strolled past the Theory boutique. She stopped and pointed to an adorable little plaid dress with long sleeves and a short skirt that was made of three big ruffles.
Eve and Jess had a shopping system. They were each allowed to call dibs on three items per trip. Whoever called dibs got to try on the item first and decide if they wanted it before the other one was allowed to touch it. After three dibs, though, it was every girl for herself. And it was against the rules for either of them to buy the same thing, even in different colours.
‘Oh, dibs on that brown-and-white zebra trench too!’ Jess exclaimed as soon as they were inside.
‘That’s two dibs in less than two minutes. And I haven’t used any,’ Eve warned. She wandered over to a rack of jackets. A black and silver one immediately caught her eye. It was a little military and a lot costumey – sort of like something Michael Jackson might have worn back when her mother was a kid. She wondered what Mal would think of it. Actually, she wondered what Mal would think of her in it.
Eve tried it on and checked herself out in one of the mirrors. The jacket wasn’t at all her usual style, but she looked pretty rockin’ in it. With a pair of the leather cargo pants, she’d have one badass outfit. It would look amazing on her with flames shooting out of her fingers. She could almost see herself in a magazine spread. Yeah, it would be cool if it could be done with special effects. Shooting flames in real life – well, Eve hadn’t decided yet if that was cool or not. Her powers had saved her life yesterday.
‘Bad thoughts again. I can see them!’ Jess scolded as she hurried up to Eve. She already had a shopping bag looped over one wrist. Jess was known for her speed-shopping abilities. Some girls had to try on an outfit a million times and survey their friends before they made a decision. Not Jess. ‘I got a text that there’s a sale at Gucci. I found this great shopping app. We have to go – now! You know how it gets when there’s a sale. We can come back here later.’
Jess hustled Eve out of Theory and into Gucci, two stores down. ‘Dibs on the over-the-knee boots!’ Eve exclaimed. Jess gave an exaggerated huff of exasperation. But they both knew the dibs rules and how important they were. They were best friends. They couldn’t show up at school looking like twins. That would be ridiculous.
‘Isn’t that streak of patent leather the best touch?’ a college-age sales girl asked when Eve approached the boot on display. The girl had really short red hair – so light it was almost blonde – and a million freckles. On her, they worked somehow. She looked as cute as a pixie.
‘Completely makes them,’ Eve agreed. The boots were all black, but of three different textures – leather, patent leather and stretch leather. Of course, they weren’t on sale. Why was the stuff you wanted most never on sale?
‘I lust for them,’ the sales girl admitted. ‘But I think I’m too short to pull them off. Want to try them? You’re a six and a half, right?’
‘You’re good,’ Eve told her.
The girl winked. ‘I know my shoes. This is like working in heaven!’ She headed off for the boots.
Jess appeared next to Eve. ‘Yay! You’re in the zone!’
And it was true. For a few minutes Eve had fully entered the shopping zone, with no thoughts of anything but boots in her head. Delightful!
‘So are you going to get—?’ Jess began.
A long, high-pitched shriek interrupted her. The sound made all the little hairs on Eve’s arms and the back of her neck rise. The sales girl – the pixie – had collapsed on the floor, Eve’s big boot box beside her. She was writhing in pain, both hands gripping her head.
‘Call nine-one-one, Keaton,’ the store manager barked in the direction of another sales assistant as he rushed over to the girl on the ground. ‘Sammi, are you OK?’ he asked, kneeling beside her.
Sammi opened her eyes and stared blankly up at the manager, as if she didn’t know him. Or didn’t even see him.
Then her eyes rolled towards Eve. They looked bright with fever, even though they’d been fine just two minutes before. And she saw Eve. Eve could feel it.
‘The demons – they’re here! In the shadows,’ Sammi wailed. She didn’t take her eyes off Eve. ‘You know it! You know it! The demons are here with us!’
Chapter Eleven
‘Demons again,’ Eve said.
She and Jess were sitting in the sun, on the wrought-iron bench in front of the hardware store. Spiffy, the store cat, strolled out and wove a figure-eight between Eve’s ankles. Eve pulled the cat up onto her lap. She really needed some soft and cuddly right now.
‘Yeah …’ Jess’s voice trailed off. She tickled Spiffy on the black splotch of fur under her chin.
Eve tried to take comfort in the cat’s warm, purring presence. It helped a little, but deep down, she felt cold. ‘It can’t be a coincidence. Everyone can’t suddenly just be talking about shadows and demons for no reason. Megan, Rose, Belinda, Shanna’s mom, and now even the girl in Gucci!’
‘And you,’ Jess added.
‘Yes, and me. Except I did more than talking yesterday. I maybe killed one,’ Eve said. She wished she had another couple of cats and maybe a big furry dog for this conversation. ‘You know what? The shopping trip’s over.’
Jess looked as if she might protest, so Eve held up her hand. ‘Another person raving about demons makes our research with Luke extra important. I’m going to call him and give him an update.’
‘You’re right,’ Jess admitted. ‘When I saw that girl screaming on the floor … I couldn’t stop thinking about Rose. That was so horrible at the nurse’s office. I’m going to call and see how she is.’ She pulled her cell out of her purse.
Eve grabbed her iPhone and called Luke. He didn’t even seem surprised when she told him about the incident at Gucci. She got the feeling that he was being a little more honest with himself about the whole maybe-demons situation than she and Jess were. She couldn’t speak for her best friend, but Eve knew in her heart that stress-reducing shopping trips were no match for shooting lightning at people who attacked you. She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever be able to enjoy a mindless afternoon of boutiquing again.
By the time she got off the phone, Jess was done with her call too.
‘Good news. At least maybe good news,’ Eve told her. ‘Luke’s father caught him online researching Deepdene, and he thought it was cool that Luke was into the history of the town, so he gave him this diary that the last minister kept. Luke says it has stuff about shadows, demons and smoke – and about secrets hidden in the church. He really only skimmed it, but he thinks that the secrets have something to do with the demons. With stopping them, I mean. We’re supposed to meet him tonight at the church.’
Eve realized that she’d been talking and talking, and Jess hadn’t sai
d anything. Not a ‘Wow’ or a ‘Really?’ Not even a ‘Hmmm.’ That was so not Jess.
A tingle of worry shot up Eve’s back. ‘What did Rose say?’ she asked.
‘She wasn’t home,’ Jess said. She reached over and pulled Spiffy onto her own lap.
Eve waited. There had to be more, but she didn’t want to push.
‘I talked to Rose’s mom, though. She said she was just leaving for Ridgewood. Rose was checked in there last night.’ Jess tightened her arms around Spiffy. The cat wriggled away and stalked back into the store.
Ridgewood. The psychiatric hospital where Megan and Shanna’s mom were.
Eve fought to keep her voice steady. ‘Jess, what’s happening to our town? It’s like there’s some horrible infection.’
Jess nodded. ‘An infection of demons.’
At least there’s a full moon, Eve thought as she and Jess walked towards the church that evening. There were no streetlights in Deepdene except on Main Street, so the area around the church would’ve been pitch black without the silvery moonlight.
‘I’m glad there’s a full moon,’ Jess said, wrapping her arms around herself.
Eve smiled. She and Jess did that a lot – thought the same thing at almost the same time. They’d come up with the word ‘telefriendic’ to describe it.
There’s one bad thing about the moonlight, though, Eve decided. The bright moon created shadows everywhere. Eve didn’t like walking through the shadows – not after Megan, and Shanna’s mom, and Belinda and Rose, and the pixie girl from Gucci had all been gibbering about them – but she couldn’t very well weave back and forth across the street just to stay out of the shadows. Well, she could. But she wasn’t going to let her anxiety control her to that degree.
They rounded the corner of Medway and Elm, and Jess hesitated. ‘Couldn’t we go on Washington instead? I hate walking by Creepy House at night.’
