Spell Struck (16 page)

Easy peasy.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Despite my vow to turn dog duty over to Amy, I couldn't let Einstein pee on the furniture while Amy slept away the morning. I'd thought since California was three hours behind Massachusetts, she would have been the first one up. She wasn't. Nor was she up by ten-thirty when I took pity on Einstein and grabbed his leash and a poop bag.

At least it wasn't raining. Yet.

We headed up Lucas Drive toward Evie's house. I hadn't dared call her. Evie's mom was an artist and often worked late in her studio over the garage. On weekends she liked to sleep in, so I couldn't call the house. Evie didn't have a cell phone, so forget texting. I settled on sending her an email and trying telepathy. So far, neither appeared to have reached her.
Hello. Earth to Evie.

I had decided to give up and head back when Einstein froze, ears pricked. Evie's retriever mix, Baby, rounded the corner at a quick clip. At the other end of Baby's leash, Evie trotted to keep up. She wore her usual uniform, a navy Cal sweatshirt and jeans.

We waved. Baby cast me a doggie smile. Einstein launched into a series of hostile growls and barks. I yanked on the leash. "Einstein, shut up!"

Baby ignored Einstein's bad behavior and followed a scent from the street to a neighbor's wet lawn. Evie assumed her patient expression while I picked up Einstein and threatened to throttle him.

"I got your emails," Evie said when the barking quieted to a low growl. "Rough night, huh?"

"It wasn't pretty. Amy is a mess." We moved within arm's reach of each other and I lowered my voice. "When Aidan was at my house yesterday,
Teen Wytche had another meltdown.
"

Evie clapped her hand over her mouth. "Did he see it?"

"Yes. Kind of unavoidable with the smoke alarm shrieking."

"Does he know about the love spell?

"No, but he asked a lot of questions." I debated telling her his story about the
Grey
Grimoire
, but my intuition warned me against it. At this point, what Evie didn't know couldn't hurt her. Still, I needed help with the translation and if Aidan was right, my timeline was short. "We need to meet with Parvani in some place private. Soon."

"Parvani has piano and Hindi classes today. But she may be able to do a sleepover tonight."

"We can't do it at my house. You know, because of Amy."

"We can have it at my house. Mom's been holed up in her studio every night, so she won't bother us. I think she's trying to forget the holidays are coming."

"Must be hard without your dad."

Evie's shoulders rose and fell in a huge sigh. Her eyes welled, and guilt engulfed me. Evie would have done anything to have her dad alive again. And here I was wishing Amy away.

Evie cleared her throat. "Will your parents let you come over, or will they want you home with Amy?"

"I'll ask them when they wake up. We didn't get home from the airport until almost two." Just thinking about it made me yawn.

"You must be whipped. I'll ask Mom if you two can come over as soon as Parvani finishes."

I placed Einstein on the ground. "Thanks. Call my cell after you have it figured out."

"Will do." Evie waved, then scooted Baby out of a rain puddle.

When I pivoted to head back home, Einstein dug in and leaned toward Lucas Circle.

"No. We'll get to the top, and it will start raining." I yanked again on his scarlet leash. Either Einstein had a bad case of cabin fever, or he was as reluctant as I was to deal with Amy. He planted himself more firmly and pulled in the opposite direction.

"Fine," I relented. "But if we get soaked, I'm done. Your next walk will be with Amy."

A cloud scudded before the sun, and the temperature dropped another couple of degrees. I tugged my scarf higher on my chin. Rain runoff streamed down the hill and rushed into leaf-clogged storm drains alongside the edge of the road. Einstein, forgetting he was a cockapoo, channeled his inner sled dog and pulled me up the hill. At the summit, cool wind scoured my cheeks and threatened to send my black fedora flying off my head.

The pending storm thickened the air. I quickened my pace, hurrying Einstein past remodeled ranch homes and wet, leaf-strewn lawns. My mind wandered to the love spell Parvani had inflicted on Jordan and how Evie had been able to see the spell link, the vapor trail caused by the magic. Aidan had said Magdalena could smell the grimoire on him after we had held hands. What if she had smelled the spell link? What if she could trace the magical cord back to me?

I knew nothing of Magdalena's appearance, or what kind of car she drove. I also didn't know half the people who lived on Lucas Circle. If a car drove up behind me, I wouldn't know if the driver were Magdalena or an innocent neighbor. I glanced about. The street was deserted. With the houses set back from the road and closed up against the pending storm, no one would notice if I were abducted. No one would hear me scream.

I tightened my grip on Einstein's leash and broke into a run.

Sprinkles pelted me as I reached home and dashed up the sidewalk. I dropped Einstein's leash and jiggled the key in the lock. Einstein frantically scratched the door. As I pushed it open, thunder boomed, and Einstein streaked down the hall.

"Einstein! I need to unhook your leash and wipe your paws!" The dog ignored me and skidded toward my parents' bedroom. "Fine," I muttered. "Unhook yourself." The deadbolt slid with a reassuring click. I relaxed my shoulders and expelled a long breath.

"Toothpick?"

I straightened my spine. "Yeah, Dad?"

He emerged from the kitchen holding the navy blue World's Best Dad coffee cup I had given him for his birthday years ago. With a few long strides he crossed the family room/art gallery. "Nice walk?"

"Great."
At least it was until I got spooked. "
I ran into Evie. She may host a sleepover tonight. Okay if I go?"

He glanced past me toward the hall.

"Amy up yet?" I unzipped my rain jacket and unwound my scarf.

He blew on his coffee to cool it. "Not yet."

And it is only eleven-thirty. "
So can I go?"

"How much homework do you have?"

I shrugged out of my damp jacket and hung it on a dragonfly-shaped hook near the front door. "A bit. I'm headed to my room right now to finish the scene Aidan and I worked on yesterday. I promise I'll get everything done before I go over to Evie's."

Dad gestured with his coffee cup. "I know you had a lot of catching up to do from our trip back east—"

"I'm on top of it. I swear. Besides, Evie has been tutoring me."

"She has?" His brows furrowed as if it had never occurred to him I had been desperate for help, had struggled every day, and had felt like a failure.

I sniffed and pinned him with my gunslinger squint so he wouldn't notice the tears welling in my eyes.

Dad tilted his head to the side and studied me. I sensed him searching past my goth hair and eyebrow stud to see the real me. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what.

I clasped my left arm above the elbow.

Dad stepped up beside me and mushed me with a lengthy, one-armed hug. "Who's your English teacher this year?" he asked in a casual tone I didn't buy for a minute.

"Mrs. Knapp. Why?"

He ended the hug and said over his coffee mug, "And your Drama teacher?"

"Man, Dad. Do you know anything about me? What's the name of my doctor?"

Dad raised his cup as if making a toast. "Doctor Parker! Do you still go to the pediatrician? We should talk to your mother."

"I'm healthy, Dad. About the sleepover?"

"Let's see how far you get with your homework in the next three hours."

"Got it." I headed down the hall before he changed his mind. Once inside my room, I inhaled, searching for telltale signs of brimstone or any scent I could attribute to the spell link. Nothing. I tossed my scarf on my bed and crossed to the wall separating my room from Amy's. No crying. Reassured, I turned on my computer and logged onto my email. Although Aidan had warned me he'd be busy, my heart tightened with disappointment when there were no messages from Snatched2008.

Control what you can. I unzipped my backpack and got to work. Instead of stressing over spelling and grammar, I let the words flow. Later, Evie or Aidan could correct anything the spell check
er might miss. The important thing was to finish
Blaming the Brew.

Aidan and I had decided to focus on the scene between Kate and Petruchio after they discovered Bianca had given Petruchio the love potion to make him fall in love with Kate. My desire to elicit sympathy for Kate warred with my discomfort over the love potion.
My situation is different. I didn't direct my love spell specifically at Aidan. Though if the truth ever came out, I feared Aidan wouldn
't see the difference.

As I typed the final piece of dialogue, my stomach growled, and a tentative knock came from my bedroom door. "Enter."

The door inched open. Einstein dashed up to me, still wearing his harness and leash. Amy followed, still dressed in the clothes she had worn on the plane and then had slept in.

"Hey," I said, on guard after our exchange during the wee hours. "Were you about to take Einstein out?"

"Huh?" Amy clutched Flipper. She flicked a quick glance at Einstein, then blinked like she couldn't comprehend why he was dressed for a walk.

Einstein pawed my thigh. I unhooked his leash and freed him from his matching red harness. He licked my hand, threw Amy a Thanks-for-Nothing glance, and then curled up near my Japanese altar.

"How's it going?" I asked, though Amy's gaunt-eyed appearance and foul smell gave me pretty strong clues.

Amy shrugged. "I dreamt I had said some mean things to you. I wanted to apologize just in case it hadn't been a dream."

The iceberg around my heart melted a little. I got up and approached her. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" She appeared ready to cry again.

"Absolutely." I tried to keep my expression warm and reassuring. My thoughts roiled.
Why aren't the meds helping her? Shouldn't they have kicked in by now?

"Good." Amy's expression brightened. She pressed her beloved stuffed animal into my hands
. "
I want you to have Flipper."

Alarms clanged in my head, and my heart freefell. I swallowed the fear rising in my throat. "Which is so nice of you, but—" I flashed on the puppet shows we had put on as kids. "What?" I put Flipper to my ear. "You want to stay with Amy?"

Amy waved Flipper away, telling the toy, "You need to stay with Sarah now. She can give you a better home than I can."

I put Flipper to my ear once more. My voice cracked. "Flipper says you are the best swimmer in the house and his favorite person on the planet." I hooked my arm through Amy's. "Come with me to the kitchen. Flipper wants to watch while we play Beauty Parlor."

"You're crazy. We haven't played Beauty Parlor since you were five."

"I know." I steered her into the hall. "But you and Lilith always got to play the hairdresser."

"How is our cousin? I think she emailed me, but I forgot to respond."

"Lilith is great. She's still in beauty school. She helped my friend Evie get her hair color back to normal."

"Ooh. Maybe I can get her to turn you back into a blonde. It could be my Hanukkah present."

"To whom? Mom and Dad?"

Amy giggled, a surprising sound like water bubbling over stone. I squeezed her arm. "This time
I get to wash
your hair in the sink. Prepare yourself for kiwi bubbles.
"

Mom rounded the corner and spotted us as Amy shook her head.

"Why, there she is." I adopted a southern accent to keep the terror out of my voice. "It's my Beauty Parlor Assistant, Janice." Mom flashed me a quizzical look. "Janice, Miss Amy is here for her beauty appointment. Could you please get us a fresh towel and some shampoo and conditioner?"

Mom's gaze darted from me to Amy then back to me. "Yes, ma'am." Mom affected a church-going country western singer's twang. Fatigue and worry shadowed her eyes. She'd been in the trenches with Amy more than any of us. I could tell by the way she clenched her hands together she was willing to try anything.

"Thank you, Janice." Before Amy could protest, I shepherded her to the stainless steel kitchen sink.
Maybe if I clean her up she'll
feel better. I placed Flipper on the white tile counter.
Maybe she'll
forget about giving away her beloved stuffed animal. It was a lot to ask of a shampoo. But I had to do something besides checking off another suicide warning sign.

I have
to save my sister.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A full-on storm pelted the bedroom window in the foreclosed house. The sound stirred me from a deep sleep.
Rain. Good. June won't expect me to rebuild her step today. I swallowed, and it felt like crumpled paper pushing through sand. No telling when Papo would let me out, or when Kali would be able to sneak back.

Legs stiff, back and injured arm sore, I staggered to my feet. The movement cleared my head enough for me to assess my immediate needs. Water. Food. I scanned the barren room and realized I had stumbled into the master bedroom. I investigated the bathroom, thankful for the skylight, and rotated the tap. As expected, not a drop remained in the pipe.

I glanced at the mirror and my reflection jolted me. I looked worse than the runaways in the Haight. Dark circles rimmed my eyes. Bruises dotted my jaw like angry finger marks. It appeared as though rats had chased each other in my hair, tangling it. I shoved a long lock behind my ear to examine the damage and hissed through clenched teeth.
No wonder my ear hurts.

I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets to warm them and encountered something round and rough.
Salem's cookie! It disappeared in two bites, but the sugar burn and soothing chocolate taste lingered like a kiss.
Thank you. Thank you. I closed my eyes and conjured up Salem
's delicate face. If I escaped to the library, would there be emails waiting for me from blackwingedtinkerbell? How had things gone with Amy?