I snapped.
I moved quickly. One second I was in front of Peter. The next, I had the Pastor against the wall. My hand clutched around his neck. Electric blue static shot out of my fingertips and zapped his neck. I didn’t know how I was doing it, but a buzz of current streamed into his throat. The wind whipped in the tunnel and blew my hair all around me.
“Lex!”
“Go ahead.” The Pastor’s brown eyes met mine. He smiled from ear to ear. “Kill me. It’s in your nature. You’re evil. Show me that pure blooded Ross rage.”
I wanted to. I wanted to rip his throat out for what he’d done to James. To Emma. To my house. What he still wanted to do to James. For the evil and hate he spewed from the pulpit. I wanted to kill him. Rage and anger bubbled inside of me and stewed together a dark concoction of revenge. The hum of energy vibrated through every single cell in my body.
I let go.
I released my hand from around his throat and I stepped back. The Pastor touched the burn prints on his neck.
“You are the only evil one here.” I grabbed Peter’s hand and we climbed the stairs without looking back.
CHAPTER 9
“That smells horrible.” James’ nose wrinkled. “And it looks even worse.”
“Don’t blame the chef. I’m just following directions.” I ran my finger down the list of ingredients in the spell book.
I added the goose fat, lizard scales, vinegar and basil to the pureed liver, goat’s milk and orange zest. The mucky liquid bubbled to the top of the pot and then fizzed to a low simmer.
James smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said.
“Tell me.”
James nodded at the pot. “All you need is green skin and a wart to go with your bubbling potion.”
“Ha ha.”
The liquid smelled slightly burnt. We were in James’ kitchen and I was still getting acquainted with cooking on a gas stove.
“Are you ready for this?” I pulled the spoon out of the potion and a blob of green guck plopped back into the pot.
“No.”
“Consider yourself lucky. Now you know what women go through to be beautiful.”
“That stuff goes on my skin?”
“Yes, sir.” I stirred faster. The slimy green liquid thickened to the consistency of oatmeal.
“Maybe I’ll stay disfigured for the rest of my life.”
“Have faith in me.”
“Trust me, I do,” James said. “But not so much in that stuff you’re creating. Didn’t Liam utter a few words and all of your scars disappeared?”
“I don’t know that spell.” I frowned. “This was all I could find.”
“Hey, I’m joking. I’m thrilled you found a spell. Regardless of how bad it smells.” James placed his palm over his chest. He winced.
“Still hurts?”
“It stings.”
I moved the pot off the burner so the potion could cool. I cleaned my mess and hummed to myself. Scooby ran into the kitchen and sniffed the air.
“Are you nervous?” James asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
James held up his fingers to indicate a small amount. “Ethan will find Diane. Don’t worry.”
“One step forward, two steps back. All these months searching for the receptacle and we finally discover what and where it is. Now, it’s missing and the only person that can tell me where to find the ruby is dead. Imagine that.”
“Ethan will find Diane. I’m sure she knows where Victor put the ring. They seemed pretty cozy together in the crypt.”
“That’s all we can hope for.” I placed my hand over the pot. “Okay, this stuff is ready. It has to be spread over the skin like lotion.”
“I can hardly wait.” James hopped off the stool and walked around the island.
“Do you want me to put some on your face, too?” Light bluish-green bruises encircled his eye orbits.
James shrugged. “If there’s any left over. I just want this gone.” He pointed to his chest. “I can deal with a few black eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time. My dad was generous in that department.”
I silently stirred the green guck. I’d assumed James’ late father was a terrible man, but James had never discussed details. He unbuttoned his shirt and placed it on the counter. He grabbed the bottom of his undershirt and carefully pulled it over his head.
My breath caught in my throat. The Gamma brand spanned the length of his chest. It started at his sternum and went down to his bellybutton. The scar looked angry - red and swollen.
James cracked a smile. “I haven’t been to the gym lately, but do you have to gasp at the sight of me?”
“I’m sorry they did this to you.”
“Yep, well, I’m still breathing.”
“Right. Still breathing.” He was right. We were lucky that the brand was the worst thing that happened. I dipped my fingers in the slimy slop. “I’m not accountable for how this is going to smell or feel.” I gently applied a glob to the raised wound.
James didn’t move.
“Does it hurt?” I liberally smoothed the potion across his chest.
“No.” He glanced at me. “It feels….”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Nice,” he finished.
I’d never seen James with his shirt off, except for the first time we met. I couldn’t help but smile at the memory.
“What are you thinking about?” James asked.
“Do you remember the first day we met? When you stripped naked and jumped into the pool at school?”
“I wasn’t naked. I had my boxers on.” James winked. “I was trying so hard to impress you that day. Did it work?”
I smiled. “No.”
“What did you think of me?”
“I thought you were the biggest moron I’d ever met.”
James laughed.
“A cute moron,” I conceded. “But definitely a moron.”
“That seems so long ago.”
I spread the remaining potion over the bruises on his face. James’ eyes flickered down to me.
“It was all worth it,” James said.
“What was worth what?” I covered a deep purple bruise on the side of his neck.
“Everything I’ve been through this past year. I’d do it all over again if it meant I’d be close to you.”
“You think too highly of me.”
“You’re the most important person in my life,” James said. “I know you love Peter. I’m okay with that. I’ve accepted it, but I want you to know that I love you more than anything.”
“I love you, too, James. I really do.” I sat the pot down and wiped my hands on a towel.
“Do you know how embarrassing that was for me?” James flashed a bright white smile. “I poured my heart out to you while looking like Shrek.”
* * *
“I can’t believe the brand is gone,” I said. “All of the bruises, too. That slimy stuff worked great. Your face is flawless.”
James tapped his chest. “It left a tingling sensation for a while, but that was it. Thanks.”
“No problem.” I adjusted my seatbelt. The strap dug into my neck. “That’s a great spell to keep handy.”
“That’s her.” Peter poked his head in between James and me. “Dude, you’re going to lose her.”
“Peter, it’s a bright yellow Mustang and we’re in Hazel Cove,” James said. “I don’t think I’ll have a problem following her.”
James turned at the light and, despite what he’d said to Peter, he pressed his foot down on the gas pedal. Diane, Victor’s former secretary, was four cars ahead of us and turning into Sadie’s neighborhood.
“Ethan gave me the address, too,” James said. “In case we lose her.”
“What are we supposed to do? Follow her inside? Knock on her door?” I grabbed the dashboard. “She knows all three of us. She’ll never let us in.”
“Where’s your dad?” Peter asked. “He should?
??ve come. She doesn’t know Ethan.”
“He drove Emma to her appointment at the doctor’s office.”
It was Monday afternoon. I’d been waiting all day to interrogate Diane. I sat patiently through all six of my classes, watching the minutes slowly tick by on the clock. When the final bell sounded, James and I practically ran to the Range Rover to pick up Peter from Hazel Cove High. From there, we staked out a four-story office building in the next town over. Diane pulled out of the employee parking lot at five o’clock on the dot and drove to Hazel Cove.
The canary yellow Mustang slowed on the residential street and pulled into the driveway of a small brick house with green shutters. Diane, in a khaki dress and nude pumps, slammed the car door and strolled up the sidewalk to her front door. She paused for a moment to retrieve her mail and then went inside.
James drove past the house.
“Lover Boy, what are you doing?” Peter squeezed my headrest.
“I don’t know,” James said. “What should we do? Pull in the driveway or park down the street?”
I turned to the boys. “Is there any chance you two will let me go in alone?”
“No,” they both replied.
“I didn’t think so. We can’t sneak three people into the house without being noticed on this street. James, pull into the driveway. Let’s do this legally.”
James did a U-turn and drove back down the street. By now, everyone in the neighborhood had seen the red Range Rover drive by twice. Kidnapping Diane was now officially out of the question.
Wow. The things that ran through my mind. Maybe we could convince her to cooperate? Probably not.
James parked behind the Mustang. “She knows this car.”
“She trailed you for months.”
“Do you think she’s already notified Gamma?”
“It’s possible.” I opened my door. “If she did, we only have a few minutes.”
I jogged up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell. Peter and James squeezed onto the small porch behind me. The television sounded from inside.
The door swung open and Diane opened her mouth, but nothing came out. I guess she hadn’t seen the Range Rover in the driveway. She took three quick steps away from me. Her mouth was still open - the scream inching its way up her throat. I used the moment of shock to my advantage.
Diane stumbled backward until her legs hit the coffee table. She fell down on top of it and the cheap wood smashed to pieces. James and Peter rushed to help her, but she screamed when they approached.
“Close the door,” I said to James. “Diane, please stop screaming.”
She flipped to her knees and scrambled over the broken wood and onto the couch. Her face was splotchy. “What do you want? Get out of here! I haven’t done anything to you.”
“Please lower your voice,” I said. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just settle down. I have to ask you a few questions. That’s it. Answer them and we’ll go.”
Angry tears fell from her eyes. “You witch! You killed Victor!”
“Victor kidnapped and tortured James. He was going to kill him. And for the record, Victor aimed his gun at us,” I said evenly.
It didn’t matter that Diane thought that I’d murdered Victor. I hoped all of Gamma believed that. I’d gladly shoulder the blame to keep my dad out of it. I wouldn’t have to worry about retaliation against Ethan.
“Liar!”
“I’m not lying.”
“You’re going to burn!” Diane’s face twisted into a snarl. “Liam’s coming for you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand in the air. “I’ve heard it all before. I’m damned. I’m going to burn in Hell. Liam’s coming. Blah, blah, blah. I don’t have time for a religious argument with you. I need to know what happened to a specific object of Victor’s.”
Her eyebrows mashed together. “You want something of Victor’s?”
“It’s not really his.”
Diane spat at the ground. “I’ll never give it to you.”
Peter pointed to the floor. “You do know that’s your carpet, right?”
James covered his mouth with his hand to smother his laughter.
“Are you going to help us find this object?” I asked.
“No. I’ll never help you.”
I tilted my head back at the ceiling and sighed dramatically. I rolled the tension out of my shoulders and looked evenly at Diane. “I was afraid you were going to say that.” I swiped my arm into the air.
Diane lifted two feet off the suede couch. She was still in a sitting position - her knees pulled to her chest. She opened her mouth to scream, but I made another quick motion and her right hand slapped hard over her mouth and muffled her screams. The muscles and veins in her arm flexed as she tried to pull her hand away from her mouth.
“That’s a cool trick,” Peter said under his breath.
“I’m a pretty nice person.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I mean, for the most part. I do the right thing. I try to be nice. Help others.”
Diane squirmed in the air. Her hand securely covered her mouth.
“However, I’ve recently learned that being nice to certain people - for example, closed minded crazy people like you and the rest of the Gamma fraternity - doesn’t really get me anywhere. It’s a waste of time and time is what I’m running out of.”
Diane’s sobs were muffled behind her hand.
“Here’s the deal,” I said. “I don’t really like you. I’m in a hurry and I need this object of Victor’s. But my problem is that I need you to be honest with me.”
Diane blinked.
“I have to make sure you’re telling the truth.” I raised my unoccupied left hand in the other direction.
A green fireball shot out of my palm. The ball of energy launched across the room like a rocket and smashed against a crystal vase on the dining room table. The vase exploded and glass scattered over the table and floor.
“Did you see that fireball? Nod once if you saw it, please,” I said.
Diane’s eyes widened, but she nodded.
“There’s a spell that will let me know if you’re telling the truth or not. It’s called my… honesty spell. Think of it as a witch’s lie detector. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Diane nodded.
“I’m going to ask you a question. It’s an important question. I will immediately know if you’re telling the truth or not. If you’re lying….” My eyes flickered to the shattered vase.
Diane followed my gaze and started crying.
“Do you understand me?”
She nodded again.
The boys shifted uncomfortably behind me.
“Now,” I said quietly. I wiggled the fingers on my right hand and Diane levitated down to the couch. Her hand slipped away from her mouth.
I aimed my left hand at Diane’s chest. “When you and Victor were in Jonah Van Curen’s crypt last New Year’s Eve, did you see a ruby ring hanging from Jonah’s neck? Remember, please don’t lie.”
She let out a small sob and swallowed. “Yes.”
“What happened to it?”
“Victor took it.”
“What did he do with it?” My heart was in my throat. This was it. The million dollar question. My entire fate hung on the answer to this question.
“He hid it.”
Before I could open my mouth, Peter asked the question for me: “Where?”
“Behind Michael at the house.”
“What?”
Diane wiped her face with her sleeve. “The house where Victor lived after he moved out of the Hallows - out past Cambridge. The one with the red shutters. Victor hid the ruby in a secret compartment hidden behind a painting of the Archangel Michael.”
CHAPTER 10
“An honesty spell?” Ethan raised a dark eyebrow.
“Pretty lame, right?” I sipped my soda. The grandfather clock in James’ dining room rang twelve times. Noon. We should’ve left already, but traveling with three men meant food was high o
n the priority list. I’d never known Peter to skip a meal.
“Wait, you don’t know an honesty spell?” Peter took a bite of his hamburger. “That was all just b.s.?”
“Total.”
“Wow. That was pretty good. I thought you were going to blast Diane through the wall.”
“Peter!”
He shrugged.
“You had me convinced, too.” James stuck a French fry in his mouth.
“I can’t believe you two actually thought I’d hurt her.” I pushed the hamburger wrapper away.
“Don’t get angry.” Peter pushed my half-eaten burger back at me. “You should eat. You need the fuel. Besides, you have to admit, you do have a temper.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Ethan interrupted me.
“How do you know Diane didn’t tell Gamma that you were searching for the ruby the minute you walked out of the door?” Ethan asked.
I smiled. “I told her I had spirits watching her and that I’d know if she contacted anyone about the ring.”
“I knew that was a lie.” Peter sucked his soda down to the ice.
“But she bought it,” I said.
“Quick thinking, kiddo.” Ethan crumbled his wrapper into a ball.
“Are you guys ready?” I was antsy. I wanted to get the ruby. I wouldn’t feel better until it was safely in my possession.
Peter finished his hamburger. “We should do more of this. I like skipping school.”
“Sure thing,” I said. “When we get back from the farmhouse remind me to pencil in more death-defying rescue hunts.”
Emma walked into the kitchen with Scooby on her heels. “Are you leaving already?”
“We should get going,” I said. I’d used the green potion on Emma to heal the black eye and bruises on her face.
“You have to be careful.” Emma picked up Scooby and held him close. “Promise me you’ll look out for each other.”
Ethan walked to Emma and kissed her. I waved at my mom and pulled the boys out of the dining room so my parents could have a moment together. Ever since I unspelled Ethan months ago, I’d hogged most of his time. Emma missed him and craved every moment she had with him.