Duplicity (Spellbound #2) (17 page)

“I’ll take a mocha, tall, with soy milk.”

“I’ll have the same,” Raj said. He reached into his pocket, but Gray beat him, setting a twenty on the counter. The barista snatched it up. “Hey,” Raj said. “I was going to pay.”

Gray smiled. “You got it last time.”

“Well, thank you.”

“How was school?” Gray asked once they were seated.

Raj shrugged out of his jean jacket and draped it over the back of his seat. The ribbed tee he wore underneath fit snugly. “Shay still doesn’t understand why I’m upset. She’s my best friend and she deceived me. That doesn’t strike me as something a best friend would do.”

Gray leaned forward on her elbows. “At the very least, she should apologize.”

“That would be a start.”

They stared at one another, then looked in opposite directions. Raj began circling his finger on the surface of the table. “Lee thinks I should live and let live.”

“Yeah, well, she wasn’t there. Trust me, if Shay had done that to Lee, she wouldn’t be happy. She might even retaliate with a lying spell.”

A smile slowly formed over Raj’s face, and an instant later, they were laughing. Tears leaked down the side of Gray’s face and Raj shook in place. Rather than call them up, their barista came over and set the mochas in front of them.

Gray lifted her drink, took a sip, winced, then set it down. Raj was looking at her funny. The smile was gone, and his stare was intense.

“What?” Gray asked. “Do I have foam on my face?” She swiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Raj shook his head slowly. “It’s just good to see you again.”

“Right, I guess it’s been awhile for you. Not the case with me—even though I’ve been off in the land of limbo. For me, everything is still… fresh.” Gray glanced down quickly.

Raj scratched at the table with his fingernail, then wrapped his hand around his mocha and took a sip. Gray snuck a peek as he lifted the mug, exposing his throat and Adam’s apple. The mug tapped the table gently as he set it down. “I wish I knew what to do,” Raj said. “When you were stuck sharing a body with Charlene it was tricky, but we knew we needed to find you another body.”

“Right,” Gray said. “What am I supposed to do about this?” She spread her arms.

“I don’t think there’s anything to do.” Raj leaned forward. “You’re here and you’re not going anywhere.”

They stared at each other then grabbed their mochas at the same time and took a sip.

After Gray swallowed she said, “well, I know one thing that needs taking care of: Adrian.”

“Agreed.”

“I’m headed to Valley Medical to snatch a needle from the supply closet.” Child’s play. Gray could walk down the hall invisible and unlock the supply room with her mind. “I still don’t know how I’m going to get Adrian to hold still, but at least I’ll have a way to extract his blood.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Gray shrugged and tried not to smile too big. “If you want to.”

“I’ve been looking through my mother’s spell books and bookmarking chants that might help us,” Raj said as they headed to the hospital in his car.

“Anything useful?”

“Unfortunately, my mom’s collection reflects her preference for spells that aid in a person’s well-being.”

“Darn her,” Gray said and laughed.

“There is a numbing spell,” Raj said, voice hopeful. “Maybe that would help?”

“If it made him immobile, it would help a lot. Now that you have the nazar, can’t you freeze him in place?”

“One problem: Adrian has that same power.”

“So?”

“So, he can cancel me out.”

Gray swung sideways in her seat. “What? How come they never told us about that at Gathering?”

Raj shrugged. “You took the Vow of Honor: no performing magic in front of normals, no magic performed on other witches. They probably figured it wasn’t worth mentioning.”

Still, that only proved there were things Gray still didn’t know about being a witch. Gathering had been the place for her to discover what she was capable of, and now she was banned from attendance. She couldn’t even ask her mom or Lee for a summary. Mom was technically no longer a witch and, as far as the council knew, neither was Lee.

A stray tear leaked down one side of Gray’s face. Raj pulled into a parking spot in front of the hospital’s main entrance.

“Gray… what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing.” Another tear dropped. “It’s just… I found out that my mom gave up her powers to bring me back. Technically, she’s no longer a witch.”

“I’m sorry,” Raj said. He looked away. “I know about your mom.”

Gray stared at him. “What do you mean you know?”

“She told me last year before she left town. She was concerned for your safety.”

Gray craned her head toward Raj. “So Lee knows as well?”

“Lee doesn’t know.”

That would explain why she gave Mom a nazar. “But how can she not know? And how can you not have told her?”

“It would only upset her and it’s not for me to tell. It’s your mother’s decision.”

Gray nodded and stepped out of the car. Daffodils poked their way through patches of landscaping bordering the curb, signaling an early spring. As she walked, Gray looked down at her feet. She wore her old tapestry clogs. A year ago, Charlene had destroyed her wardrobe, but she’d missed this pair of Danskos under Gray’s bed. Mom had found them when she had the bed removed from her room.

Gray had worn the same shoes the day she came back to life, unbeknownst to her, and it had been totally embarrassing as she settled into first period on April first only to learn she was deceased. She’d thought it was a prank—a sick April Fool’s joke. But no one was laughing.

Then she’d stepped out of the counselor’s office and Raj had called out to her—her true name. He was the first person to say “Gray” and not “Charlene.” But she’d run from him because she had to get home, find her mom, and find out the truth.

A warm hand slipped into hers. Gray looked up, startled. Raj’s chest rose and fell. He appeared out of breath, as though he’d been running after her again. Gray thought he’d give her hand a squeeze of reassurance then let go, but he held firm. The touch of his fingers in hers was torture—scorching—but she squeezed them tighter, as though branding herself with his touch.

Gray took Raj’s free hand. Once their fingers entwined, she leaned forward and closed her eyes. Thank God he kissed her back. His lips sent fire scorching down her throat as though a fuse had been ignited, alighting her heart.

As his mouth moved over hers, she thought she’d lose her balance, but they were like two pillars of an arc, meeting in the middle, bending into the other, becoming one.

Gray found herself gasping for breath at the same time Raj pulled back, his eyes expanding from half-lidded to wide open.

“What am I doing?” He removed his hands from her as though she were a bomb about to explode and take bits of his appendages with her the moment she did. “I wasn’t thinking. Gray, I’m so sorry.”

Gray had nearly fallen forward when Raj pulled away. She righted herself. “It’s okay.”

Raj grabbed a fistful of his hair in his fingers. “No, it’s not okay. I’m going out with Lee.”

Gray shrugged. “Technically we’re the same person.”

She meant to be funny or at least ease Raj’s guilt, but her words had the opposite effect. His eyes narrowed as though looking at a stranger. Gray had to stop herself from shrinking back.

“Don’t you get it, Gray? You’re not the same person.”

Then who the heck was she?

She and Raj barely spoke after that. “I’ll wait for you out here,” he said.

“I’ll be fine. Just go.”

But Raj, being the perfect gentleman, insisted he drive Gray back to her car once she stole a packaged needle and rubber tourniquet: a perfect gentleman who went around kissing girls who weren’t his girlfriend. Gray alternated between the flutters and fury on the silent return drive to the coffee shop.

She’d taken her time breaking into the supply closet in hopes that Raj would be gone once she reemerged. At least that way she could turn her emotions into outrage at being abandoned without a ride. Gray had even trailed after a nurse and watched the way she drew blood from a patient. But when Gray stepped outside, Raj was still waiting.

Raj’s thoughts appeared to be a million miles away, but Gray knew what he was thinking about: Lee.

As they neared The Daily Grind, feelings of guilt climbed their way up Gray’s brainstem. She turned to Raj. “I can talk to Lee. It’s my fault. Can’t she understand that in my mind you and I kissed a couple days ago? Suddenly I’ve been replaced by this other me who looks like Stacey Morehouse and it hasn’t sunk in that she’s not the intruder. I am.”

Raj pulled into the empty spot beside the Beetle. He drummed his fingers over the steering wheel and stopped. “It’s not your fault, Gray. It’s confusing for me, too. When I’m with Lee it’s like she’s you and, at the same time, she’s become someone else. Then you entered my life again and it was you, all you, and my feelings came flooding back as though you’d been missing from my life all this time.”

Gray’s eyes widened.

Raj focused on the fence outside the windshield. “But I’m in love with Lee. I only hope she can forgive me.”

The bouquet was gorgeous—an eclectic mix of buds bursting with color and scent. Quite frankly, it put all other bouquets to shame.

“Max, you shouldn’t have,” Shay said as Max handed her the massive arrangement Tuesday morning.

Lee grinned from ear to ear. “Well done, Max.”

Shay balanced the flowers between her arm and body as she rummaged through her locker. “How am I going to fit these inside?”

“Um, I think you’re supposed to carry them around,” Lee said, fighting back a laugh.

Shay stopped rummaging. “All day?”

“Yep.”

“Max!” Shay said, swinging toward him.

He grinned and shrugged. “What? It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Pain in the rear is what it is,” Shay grumbled, but her cheeks had turned a rosy hue. “Want to hold onto them for me till the end of the day?” Shay asked Lee.

“Not a chance,” Lee said. “Those are your flowers.”

Max clucked his tongue. “Anyway, Lee’s going to need her hands free for whatever gifts Raj plans to shower on her.”

Lee blushed. They were already going out to dinner. She didn’t expect Raj to shower her with presents. “I don’t need flowers,” she said.

“Remember last Valentine’s?” Shay asked Max. “I’ll never forget Raj coming over all secretive wanting to commission a luck amulet for some girl he was sweet on. I admit, it took me three tries, but eventually I guessed right.”

“As I recall, you weren’t entirely impressed by his choice.” Lee folded her arms over her chest.

“Not initially,” Shay admitted. “But then I got to know you.”

It wasn’t till after Lee assumed control of Stacey Morehouse’s body that she had an opportunity to bond with Shay Baxter and Max Curry. Somewhere along the way, they’d gone from being Raj’s friends to her friends, too. Sometimes it saddened Lee to see her former best friend Thea walk by, oblivious to the fact that Graylee Perez wasn’t really dead, but no good could come from trying to explain things to a normal. Besides, Lee was happier than she’d ever been. There was something to be said for friends who knew exactly who she was. Best of all, she could discuss magic. Now that she and Shay were allies, they even worked on spells together.

Shay glanced at her watch and frowned. “I hope Raj doesn’t plan on avoiding us all week.”

“He’ll come around,” Lee said.

“Well, he better hurry up.”

Lee waved good-bye to Shay and Max. She hadn’t taken two steps down the hall when Raj appeared by her side. She was so happy to see him that she didn’t notice his hands were empty at first. Not like she cared. Not really.

“Raj.” Lee smiled.

He fell into step beside her. A grim frown marred his face.

“What’s the matter?”

“We need to talk.”

The warning bell echoed through the halls. Lee swore she could hear it wail down the corridors at the other end of the school. “Meet you after class?” Lee asked.

Raj studied her face a moment, then nodded. He walked her to the door of first period and turned around.

Lee paused in front of the threshold and glanced back as Raj stalked away. She spun on her heel and followed him. Each open doorway she passed gave her a view into classrooms filled with students. The hallway was emptying fast. “Raj!”

Raj looked over his shoulder and came to a stop. “What are you doing? You’re going to be late for class.”

“Come on,” she said, nodding toward the double doors on their right.

Raj followed her to the sidewalk. As they turned the corner leading to the student parking lot, the final bell rang. Lee made her way to Raj’s car and leaned against the door. “What’s going on?”