by Amy Meredith
Eve hadn’t had nightmares, but she’d been absolutely spooked Saturday night. It would have been normal if she’d had bad dreams. And it was normal for Jess. It didn’t mean she was going mad like Megan. ‘No dreams,’ Eve admitted. ‘Or maybe I just don’t remember them.’
‘I’m a wimp,’ Jess said. ‘That is a proven fact. Remember how I screamed at that movie?’ Eve remembered. But that night felt as if it had happened fifty years ago. Everything had changed since then.
‘Yeah, you’re a huge wimp.’ Eve lowered her voice. ‘You were only attacked by demon shadow creatures two days ago.’
‘Pffft. Two days ago. Who can remember that far back?’ Jess asked, but her voice was higher and thinner than usual. She wants me to believe she’s over it, Eve thought. She wants to believe herself. But she doesn’t.
‘And anyway, more thrilling things are going on,’ Jess continued. ‘I can’t believe I forgot to tell you.’
Eve waited for it. Jess just smiled. ‘You’re going to make me ask?’ Eve said.
Jess nodded, the usual playful twinkle back in her eyes. Some of the tightness in Eve’s shoulders loosened up. She hadn’t even realized they were tensed. Had they been that way since Saturday?
‘OK. Here goes. Jess, tell me please, what thrilling things are going on?’ Eve asked.
‘Bet called me last night. She ran into Mal in the park yesterday, and he told her he’s having a party Friday night because his parents will be out of town,’ Jess explained. ‘Complete OMG, right? We have to start planning our outfits.’
‘Pretty confident of an invitation, aren’t you?’ Eve teased.
‘Fact – we get invited everywhere. You know that.’ Jess tickled Eve in the ribs. ‘You’re not really worried your hero isn’t going to invite you, are you?’ She tickled Eve again. Eve twisted away, bumping into someone. Someone tall, with a hard, muscular chest. Eve looked over her shoulder – and saw that the someone was Mal. Gulp.
‘Hi,’ she said. Hadn’t she planned to brush up her talking-to-guys skills? Well, her talking-to-Mal skills? ‘Hi … Mallow,’ she added. She’d found it in a list of baby names online. The list claimed it could be used for boys or girls, although Eve had never heard it ever.
Mal shook his head.
‘I’m going to figure it out,’ Eve promised him.
‘Homeroom?’ Mal asked. As usual, he didn’t waste any words.
‘Yeah. I was just about to go there.’ Eve glanced at Jess. ‘See you at lunch.’
Jess winked in reply.
‘I wanted to call you this weekend to see how you were,’ Mal said as they started down the hall. ‘But I don’t have your number.’
‘I’m fine. Thanks again for the rescue,’ Eve said. Was he going to mention the party? If he didn’t, did that mean he didn’t care whether she came or not?
‘Those guys didn’t show up again, did they?’ Mal asked.
‘No. They probably won’t. They probably don’t know where I live,’ Eve said. Except, since they were demons, maybe they did. She shoved the thought away.
Mal paused outside their homeroom door. He scratched the side of his mouth with his thumb. Which drew Eve’s gaze to his lips. His lower lip was a little fuller than the upper. God, he was hot.
‘Why does it say “LO” on your earring?’ Mal asked.
‘Hmmm?’ Eve’s mind was still on his mouth.
‘What does “LO” mean?’ Mal repeated.
‘Oh. You have to look at the other ear,’ Eve said.
Mal reached out and brushed back the lock of hair that was blocking his view. It gave Eve the shivers. The good kind of shivers.
He leaned close to look at the earring – definitely closer than he needed to in order to see the ‘VE’ that went with the ‘LO’. She could feel his warm breath against her skin.
‘In case you’re wondering, you smell good too,’ he said, lips almost pressed against her ear.
‘I was,’ Eve answered, trying to recover herself as he pulled away. ‘That’s … smelling good, I want to.’ OMG, please stop talking, she silently begged herself. Mal did something to her that somehow cut the connection between her brain and her mouth. She didn’t usually have any trouble talking to guys – talking to them completely coherently and everything. She took a step towards the classroom. The bell was going to ring any second.
Mal touched her arm, and she turned to face him. ‘I’m having a party on Friday,’ he told her in a rush. ‘I want you to be there.’
‘Haven’t you forgotten something?’ Eve asked.
Mal raised one eyebrow.
Eve smiled. ‘You’re not going to tell me it’ll be this wild, out-of-control bash because your parents will be out of town again?’
‘My brother will be there,’ Mal answered. ‘He’s cool. But the party will only be semi out of control.’
‘Too bad,’ Eve said. ‘But I think I’ll be able to make it anyway.’
And there it was. That half-smile.
There. She was back on her game. Speaking in sentences and making boys smile. She smiled back, then walked into class.
Eve couldn’t wait to give Jess the scoop. She didn’t have to wait long. Jess pounced in the hall right after homeroom. ‘He asked you, didn’t he?’
‘I think he likes me. And yes,’ Eve answered. ‘But I wish I knew more what he was thinking. Behind that mysterious smile of his.’
‘Of course he likes you, crazy girl. Allow me to interpret,’ Jess said. ‘He went out of his way to ask you to the party. You know that he came looking for you this morning. He didn’t just happen to run into you on his way to homeroom. In the strange, primitive language of Guy – that means he li-i-i-ikes you.’
Eve felt a silly grin working its way up from her butterfly-filled stomach all the way to her face. She hadn’t wanted to read too much into Mal’s party invite this morning, but if her best friend said it was a sign that he liked her, it had to be true.
‘You know it,’ Jess told her.
‘I know it now,’ Eve said. ‘What would I do without you?’
‘I felt this horrible ripping, then a yank. The demon sucked the soul out of me. I could see my soul leaving my body. It was like a stream of glittery light, and it turned dark as it disappeared down the demon’s throat.’ Eve caught her lower lip in her teeth as she looked at Luke.
‘That’s pretty hard core,’ he said, grabbing his backpack from his locker.
‘I know. But that’s exactly how Jess described her dream to me,’ Eve replied. ‘I’m really worried about her. She started having the nightmares on Saturday. Now it’s Thursday. I don’t think Jess has slept more than a few hours this whole time.’
‘Eve, I’m not sure we should tell Jess this, but last night I translated a section from one of the books we found.’ Luke hesitated.
‘Tell me. Right now,’ Eve demanded.
‘It said that the head demon has … they called them minions in the text – basically lesser demons – and these demons help loosen people’s souls so they are easier for the head demon to take,’ Luke answered. ‘One of the ways they do that is nightmares.’
Eve felt like she was in an elevator and its cables had just been cut. Her stomach dropped and for a moment she felt dizzy. She’d known that the nightmares were bad. She’d known that the nightmares seemed to be the first step of people going insane. But the idea that Jess’s soul was being loosened for plucking devastated her.
‘What are the other ways?’ she asked.
‘The shadows. Those visions Jess saw. The demons get off on creating fear and confusion,’ Luke answered. ‘I do have a little good news,’ he added. ‘The book on the Deepdene Witch came in.’ He pulled it out of his backpack and handed it to Eve. ‘Maybe there will be something in there that will help Jess – and everybody else. And I’m working on the translating as fast as I possibly can. I haven’t found anything we can use to fight the demons yet – but there’s got to be something.’
The bell for hist
ory was about to ring. They had to get to class. Mr Fry did not tolerate tardies. You were late, you got detention. No excuses, no conversation. ‘Can you hang out after school?’ Eve asked Luke. ‘We could look through the book together while Jess is at cheerleading. If there’s something that can stop Jess’s nightmares, I want to find it before she has a breakdown.’
‘Sorry. I can’t after school,’ Luke replied. ‘I’m meeting Bet.’
‘Oh.’ Unbelievable. Eve had started to think Luke’s rep as a player wasn’t completely deserved. Not so. Only a player would be more interested in hooking up than in helping a friend who really needed it.
‘Look, I’m sorry, it’s just that we already made plans, and I can’t exactly tell her why you need me to ditch her,’ he said.
‘No, that’s fine.’ Eve hadn’t intended her voice to sound so cold, but she wasn’t entirely sorry that it did.
‘But let’s get together tomorrow morning before school. I’ll work on some more translating when I get home,’ Luke suggested. ‘I can be here at—’
‘Forget it,’ Eve told him. ‘Jess and I will deal with it.’ She walked into class without looking back.
Yeah, Jess and I will deal with it, she thought, taking her seat. But how?
Eve tried to come up with a solution all through history. The only thing she came up with, at least for starters, was that she’d sleep over at Jess’s for the next few nights. It would be fun. They could go through the Deepdene Witch book, and tomorrow they could get ready for Mal’s party together. That way, even though Eve still didn’t know what to do to keep Jess safe, she’d be around to do something.
Eve smiled at herself in the mirror. Her face cracked, and a few pieces of it fell off into the sink. Yuck. She wasn’t a huge mud mask fan. But Jess had wanted a home spa night, and Eve was up for basically anything that would help Jess relax.
If Mal could see me now! Yikes! But just thinking about him gave Eve one of her happy shivers. She thought Jess was right. There were definite indicators that Mal li-i-i-i-iked her. And she knew for sure she li-i-i-i-iked him. She couldn’t wait for the party!
Eve washed off the mask, then headed back into Jess’s room. ‘You missed a little spot when you did yours,’ Eve said. She pointed to the skin below her left ear to show Jess where she had a splotch of mud.
Jess grabbed a Kleenex and wiped off the mask. She looked like a little kid, with all her make-up off and dressed in her Mistle Toad pyjamas with the kissing frogs, especially because she’d put her blonde hair up into two little pigtails to keep it out of the mud mask.
‘What are you smiling about?’ she asked.
‘Nothing.’ Eve plopped down on the bed and checked the time: 11.30. ‘You getting tired?’ she asked.
‘Don’t even try to talk me out of watching Letterman,’ Jess warned. ‘I know he’s old. I know he’s somewhat creepy. But he makes me laugh.’
Eve wasn’t crazy about Letterman, but who cared? Laughing equalled good. The TV screen only flickered a few times as they watched. Eve hoped that didn’t mean her powers were losing their strength.
‘Lights out?’ she asked Jess when the show was over.
Jess picked up a copy of Self from her bedside table. ‘There’s a quiz in here we have to take first,’ she answered. ‘It’s an Ab-Q quiz. You have to identify ten celebs by their abs alone.’
‘Easy-peasy,’ Eve said. And the first photo was Matthew McConaughey, the simplest ab ID in the world. Had he ever had his picture taken with his shirt on? But deciding between Will Ferrell, Jack Black and Seth Rogen was a challenge. Eve ended up with a score of nine out of ten. Jess got a perfect score.
Eve yawned and reached over to click off the light.
‘Come on. Let’s raid the kitchen!’ Jess urged.
Eve checked the clock. Almost one. They would have to get up for school in five hours. It took extra-long when they were both getting ready at the same time.
‘Sundaes!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘We seriously have to make sundaes. My dad bought all the ingredients – we even have that chocolate sauce that turns into a solid shell when you pour it on the ice cream. The other day I caught Peter putting it on an ice cube. He’s such a little freak.’ Her voice had that high, thin quality, and Eve suddenly got it. She couldn’t believe it had taken her this long.
‘You’re afraid to go to sleep, aren’t you?’ she asked.
‘No,’ Jess said quickly. ‘Yes,’ she corrected herself half a second later. ‘And my stomach is so knotted up I probably couldn’t even hold down a spoonful of ice cream. Evie, every night the dreams get worse. They get more real.’
Eve realized there was something negating the little-girl look of Jess in her PJs – the major dark patches under her eyes. Had she been sleeping at all lately?
‘It’ll be different tonight,’ Eve promised, even though she wasn’t nearly as sure as she sounded. ‘Tonight you’re sharing a room with the Deepdene Witch. I will zap your bad dreams!’ She flexed her muscles.
‘But can we leave the TV on for a while anyway?’ Jess asked. ‘There’s an America’s Next Top Model repeat on at one.’
‘Bling it on,’ Eve answered, throwing out her favourite catchphrase from the show.
She reached for the light on the bedside table next to her, then hesitated. ‘Lights on or off?’ Eve hadn’t thought to ask before. But she hadn’t realized quite how scared Jess was.
‘Can you sleep with them on?’ Jess asked.
‘Sure,’ Eve said, even though with lights and TV it would be hard.
Jess used the remote to change the channel. Eve lay back, threw her arm over her eyes, and listened to Tyra scold the models.
She bolted upright when she heard an unearthly howl. Disoriented, she looked over at the TV. She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep, but she had. America’s Next Top Model wasn’t on any more. Where was the remote? Eve didn’t want to hear another scream. Her heart was already thundering like crazy.
Too late. The horrible howl of terror filled the room again. And this time Eve was awake enough to know it wasn’t coming from the television. It was coming from Jess.
She shoved herself up and stared at her friend. Jess’s head was tossing back and forth on the pillow. Shudders swept through her body like waves in a storm. As Eve watched, Jess pulled back her lips into a grimace of agony and screamed again.
Chapter Fifteen
Jess threw out her hands as if she were trying to keep someone – or something – off her. Eve grabbed her friend’s shoulders, planning to shake her awake from the horrendous nightmare. But the moment her fingers touched Jess, Eve felt her power flare to life. It didn’t feel quite the same as usual. It wasn’t scalding. It didn’t make her heart pound erratically. The power rolled out of her in a smooth, unstoppable wave. She could feel the warmth leaving her hands and flowing into Jess’s body.
‘No!’ Eve cried. She jerked away, horrible images suddenly flooding her mind – the lipstick melting, the paper burning, the demon turning to smoke. This time the power had felt softer somehow, but Jess lay motionless on the bed.
Oh my God, what did I do to her? Eve thought frantically.
She stared at her best friend’s face. No burn marks. No turning to smoke. She took a deep breath and studied Jess more carefully. Yes, Jess was lying still. But she wasn’t completely motionless. Her chest rose and fell with slow, steady breaths. She wasn’t in the middle of a nightmare any more. It looked like she was sleeping peacefully. Her face was smooth, not contorted with wrinkle-creating terror. Her lips were slightly parted, not opened for a scream of agony.
‘It’s OK. She’s OK,’ Eve said aloud, needing reassurance. Her power-flood and the sight of Jess so still had left her trembling. I guess my woo-woo doesn’t hurt humans, she thought. Thank God.
Eve got up and pulled the book on the Deepdene Witch out of her tote. She hadn’t had a chance to look at it. Jess had needed distraction tonight, not more spookiness. But Eve needed facts, and it wasn’t
like she was feeling sleepy any more. She sat cross-legged on the bed. She’d read for a while and keep watch over Jess, she decided. She grabbed the remote and clicked off the TV. Jess didn’t need it now.
Wonder if Luke had fun on his so-important date, she thought as she opened the book. Then she felt guilty. Maybe she had been leaning on him too much. Yes, he had promised her he’d help her figure out what was going on with her powers. And he had. Eve wouldn’t have this book or the other books and papers from inside the gargoyle if it wasn’t for Luke. He’d never said he wouldn’t leave her side. She couldn’t expect him to give up his whole life for her. But she couldn’t help feeling hurt. You really barely know him, she reminded herself.
Eve flipped open The Life of the Witch of Deepdene. It wasn’t very thick, maybe a hundred pages, and although the dark-green cover was worn, the book didn’t look as if it had been read very often, if at all. She ran her finger down the table of contents – Wherein the Witch Majicks a Cow; Wherein the Witch Hexes Her Neighbour’s Son; Wherein the Witch Communes with the Dark One; Wherein the Witch Charms a Stranger; Wherein the Witch Takes a Familiar.
The Dark One. That sounded like a demon. Eve flipped to the chapter and started skimming. She didn’t find anything useful. Not unless she wanted to make a bargain with the Dark One to heal a pig. And she had a hard time believing that her great-great-great-grandmother had really done that, anyway.
Eve continued reading, checking on Jess every few pages. There was nothing about demons or about the witch being able to send fire from her fingers. She wondered if Luke had gotten any translating done that night. He’d said he would, but maybe he’d been too busy with Bet.
She really hoped there was something about how to destroy demons in the material Luke had. She’d managed to kill one by accident. And she’d cleared a path through the demonic shadows so they could run through the churchyard. But those things had felt as if they had just happened, not as if she had done them on purpose. She didn’t know for sure how she could do either thing again.
Eve wanted to completely understand her power, and to be able to absolutely control it. Next time she faced down a demon, she wanted to be prepared.
