“Maybe, but it sounds more like insurance. This witch or warlock doesn’t want the word getting out that they defied universal coven rules.” Raj frowned. “It’s not right to mess with the spiritual world.”
Gray couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Raj McKenna in a huff over black magic?
She didn’t even lift her finger to unbuckle her belt. It popped out by the sheer force of her mind. Gray grabbed the loose belt and pushed if off. “Well, sorry if my existence upsets the moral fabric of your conscience. Maybe you shouldn’t be talking to me at all since I’m tainted by unnatural forces.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Whatever. See you Thursday. Maybe.” The car door creaked when Gray pushed it open.
“Graylee, wait.”
Gray turned her nose up and gave Raj a scathing look, but she waited.
“What can I do to help?”
“Are you sure you want to be involved in this?”
“Yes.”
Gray stared at him a moment then shut herself back inside the car with Raj. It wasn’t as though there was anyone around to hear them, but still. “Fine. Keep your eyes and ears open. Let me know what Charlene’s up to.”
Raj grinned. “That’d be a lot easier if I knew your invisibility spell.”
“Yeah, right. For all I know you could use the spell to rob convenience stores or play peeping Tom in the girls’ locker room. I don’t want that on my conscience.”
“What conscience? You’re dead.”
Gray gave him a look. Raj put up his hands. “You know I’d never use the spell on you.”
“Fine. I’ll think about it,” Gray said. “But first do something for me. Introduce me to Adrian Montez.”
“You mean Hedrick? Why?”
“He was once a powerful warlock from what I understand.”
“Yeah, was.”
“I imagine he knows the kind of people who could put me back inside my body.”
Raj hesitated a moment before saying, “I can ask.”
“I want to meet him,” Gray repeated.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Raj began tapping the steering wheel then stopped suddenly when his fingers disappeared. When his head snapped in Gray’s direction she flashed him the Cheshire grin. “You can make other people invisible, as well?”
“Other people. Other objects.” Gray shrugged. She filled Raj’s fingers back in as he stared at them. When he looked at her again she said, “Introduce me to Adrian.”
* * *
Mom was pacing the living room when she walked into the house. Her face flooded with relief when Gray came through the door. “You were at the cemetery awhile. I almost drove by, but I figured you wanted to be alone.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Gray set down Charlene’s messenger bag. “Mind if I change real quick?” Gray snapped her fingers and the skirt turned into a pair of soft blue jeans and ribbed tank top. “Much better,” Gray said, flopping onto the couch. “Actually I ran into Raj McKenna and we left in favor of mochas at The Daily Grind.”
“Raj McKenna knows you’re back?”
“Hey, Charlene told Ryan Phillips. If she can tell her minion what’s going on I should be able to tell my… well, definitely not minion, but, you know, magically inclined friend.” Gray chuckled at the thought of Raj as her minion. “Speaking of Ryan Phillips, are you and Mr. Phillips still an item?” Yes, let’s change the subject—obviously Mom was mulling over both the fact that Gray had confided in someone and, more likely, that she’d been out having coffee with a boy.
“Marc and I aren’t dating any longer.”
Gray tilted her head back on the armrest of the couch. “Oh, why not?”
“I couldn’t see him after hearing Ryan helped Charlene with that blocking spell.”
“Oh right, the blocking spell.” It’d sorta settled to the back of Gray’s memory what with this whole dying and body sharing development. “Well, I for one am relieved. If I had to have Ryan Phillips as a stepbrother, I really would wish I were dead.”
“No need to. Marc and I are over and I would never marry another man anyway.”
“Oh, no?”
Mom twisted her lips. “At least not a warlock.”
“Hey, that’s my rule. What made you change your mind?”
Mom shrugged. “My days of magical enchantment are over. I’m retired.”
“Retired? You can’t just retire from being a witch. It’s what we are.” Gray looked at her mother closer. “Is this about me and the resurrection spell gone wrong?”
“In some ways.”
“I don’t want to be the reason you decide not to perform magic again.”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re the reason my life is filled with joy.”
“Okay, I’m going to my room. This is getting too corny.” Gray turned before her mom could see that her tears were becoming contagious.
* * *
Gray’s desk was covered in textbooks, and not the school variety, but tomes on magic, spells, and potions. She’d pulled her hair into a loose twist and clipped it against her scalp, keeping it out of her face as she bent over the texts. It was becoming clear very quickly that these books couldn’t come close to helping Gray. She needed access to the forbidden volumes.
There was a light knock on Gray’s door. Her mom cracked the door open. “Honey, there’s a boy here to see you.”
Gray groaned. “So long as it’s not Blake.”
Next time he started molesting her she wouldn’t be as nice, she’d give him a butt rash.
“It’s not Blake.”
Gray’s head lifted. “Raj?”
Mom shook her head.
Gray got up. “Well, there’s no sense playing twenty questions, let’s see who my gentleman caller is.”
“It’s Nolan Knapp,” Mom said as Gray passed her in the hall.
Chapter Fifteen
Nolan waited in the entryway with his hands in his pockets studying the wall pictures up close.
“Nolan? What are you doing here?”
Nolan pulled his hands out of his pockets and brushed aside the hair hanging just above his eyes. “I, um, thought you might like a study partner—for French.”
Oh, French. That’s right. She hadn’t solved the problem of French class. Gray voted dropping it in exchange for study hall second period. She’d jot down the suggestion in The Book of Charlene. Unless Charlene wanted to explain why she had a case of French amnesia every other day.
“A French study buddy,” Gray repeated for her mother’s benefit. Mom was a couple feet from the staircase, forehead pinched. “How thoughtful, Nolan. Why don’t we go up to my room where it’s quieter?”
Gray shared a quick look with her mom before leading Nolan up the stairs. She hurried him past her room with its open door. He breezed right past as though it didn’t exist.
“Right this way,” Gray continued. As soon as Nolan stepped inside Charlene’s room Gray sidestepped him to go back out the door. “I’ll get another chair.”
“I feel bad about earlier,” Nolan said before Gray had a chance to vacate the room.
“Earlier?” Gray stared at him.
“Getting all weird when you brought up magic at school.”
“Oh.” Gray’s shoulders dropped. “Don’t worry about it.”
“No, that was really lame of me.”
Gray lifted her shoulders up and down. “The rules are in place for a reason. It shows strength of character that you respect them.”
Nolan’s cheeks flushed and suddenly it was like they’d traveled back in time—back to where he and Gray had partnered up at Gathering and started saying “hey” in the hall. It seemed rather juvenile now. Gray was going to need to get her hands dirty if she expected to have her life back. She had no time for boys.
Nolan cleared his throat. “Why are you having trouble with French all of a sudden?”
Gray sighed. “Nolan, I ha
ve bigger problems than French.”
“Like what?”
“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” Gray went to the door. It was already open, but she pulled it all the way into the room for emphasis. “You should probably go.” Gray looked at Nolan and saw she’d only succeeded in making him more determined to root himself in place.
“I want to know,” he said firmly. “Maybe I can help.”
“Doubtful.”
Nolan walked past Gray. At first she thought he was leaving, but instead he closed the door. By hand. He turned. He was a tall boy and the door framed his features, which didn’t appear so scrawny anymore. “Do you know why my family and I moved here?”
“Well, I know it wasn’t for the weather.”
Nolan didn’t smile. He didn’t even brush back the bangs that had resettled over his forehead. “We had to move after our coven kicked me out.”
Gray practically snorted. “You? Get kicked out of coven? That’s a little farfetched.”
She could believe it of Raj, but Nolan—no way. He looked dead serious, though. What was it with Gray and bad boys?
Gray stretched across Charlene’s bed and propped her head up with her hand. Nolan followed her motions. Mostly he stared at her legs. “So what did you do? Accidentally turn your peer leader’s hair blue?”
Nolan looked directly at Gray. “I slept with her.”
“You’re joking?” Nolan had always struck her as a virgin, not a boy who’d seduced or been seduced by an older woman.
“Nope.”
“Were either of you under a spell or was it just old-fashioned love?”
“It was more of an infatuation.” Nolan straddled Charlene’s desk chair beside the bed.
“On your part or hers?” Gray prodded. She grinned. Guy gossip. This was way too much fun.
Nolan grinned back. “Hers. She had a thing for adolescent boys and believe it or not males can be quite impressionable.”
“I.e.: horny?” Gray said, and they both laughed. “So did your parents find out and freak?” Nolan’s parents were older, and old in her mind equated with old-fashioned.
“No, she got bored with me and moved onto my friend Justin. I shouldn’t have blamed Justin, but I did.”
Gray tucked her legs under her and sat up on her knees. “What did you do to him?”
“I did something to his… you know.” Nolan’s smile widened.
“You didn’t!”
The back of the chair dipped as he rocked forward. “I did.”
“Now you have to share! What exactly did you do?”
“I made it smaller.”
Gray burst into a fit of giggles. She lay on her back laughing.
“Much smaller. Pinky small,” Nolan said.
Gray was now clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her cheeks. She sat up and started laughing anew when her eyes met Nolan’s. “Oh, you’re bad,” she said when she’d recovered. “So your friend figured it out?”
“His father figured everything out. He had our peer leader expelled from Gathering for life. She’s on the universal coven’s blacklist. I, fortunately, was allowed to join another coven, but I had to leave my own—I performed magic on a fellow warlock.”
Gray chewed on her lower lip. In that case Ryan Phillips ought to be given the boot out of their coven. Better yet, he belonged on the blacklist right alongside Ms. Likes Young Hot Ass. “What did your parents say?”
“Not much. I think the whole thing embarrassed them.”
“So they didn’t even ground you?”
“Ground me?” Nolan’s lips puckered into a smile. “I was the victim.”
Gray rolled her eyes and got off the bed. “Right. Poor innocent young pervert.”
“Hey, I wasn’t perverted. I was in awe of the woman.”
“Right,” Gray said again. “Come with me.”
Nolan got out of the seat on her command and followed her into the hall. Gray led him into her own room. The smile that’d been plastered over Nolan’s face faded as he entered her private domain.
Gray shut the door behind them.
“What are we doing in here?”
“Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
Gray twisted her hair up as she walked to her desk and fastened it with the clip she’d tossed on top of her books. “I’m not Charlene. I’m Graylee.”
Confusion warped Nolan’s face. “Graylee? Really?”
“Yep—the French mystery has been solved. Phew!” Gray swiped her hand over her face.
“You mean it’s been you all along? Charlene’s the one who died?”
“No, I died, but I was brought back to life.”
“I don’t understand. I didn’t think that was possible.” Nolan walked up to Gray and poked her.
“Hey.”
“Just checking.” Nolan brushed his bangs to one side. “So you pretend to be Charlene sometimes so you can go to school?”
Gray snorted. “Yeah, right, attending McKinley High is my first choice of activities since returning from the great beyond. Actually, there’s a slight problem. At the moment Charlene and I are sharing the same body. Well, technically I’m borrowing her body. There was a glitch in the resurrection spell and only one of us is conscious during a twenty-four-hour-period before the other awakens.”
“So tomorrow…”
“I’ll be Charlene.”
“And the day after that?”
“Me again.” Gray waved a finger in the air. “Yay.”
Nolan hadn’t stopped staring.
“So that’s my big secret,” Gray said.
“Sorry, it’s just a little hard to believe.”
“I can hardly believe it myself, but, alas, here I am.”
“How did your mom pull off a resurrection spell?”
“Classified and if you mention this to anyone I’ll be forced to give you a case of Justin-itus.”
Nolan laughed.
Gray swept an arm over her desk. “We’re in the middle of Operation Body Transfer, but my texts don’t even come close to helping.”
Nolan glanced from the pile of books to Gray. His lips twisted then relaxed right before he spoke. “But body transfers have been pulled off without too much trouble in the past—at least temporary ones. Isn’t there a way to make the spell permanent?”
“You’d think,” Gray said.
“Know anyone who has performed a body transfer?”
Gray smiled. “I know of someone.”
She could see Nolan raise his brows under his bangs.
“Adrian Hedrick Montez.” Gray punctuated each name as she spoke. “Otherwise known as Adrian the Avenger. Word is he performed one on himself and that his current body isn’t even his own. I know for a fact he once transferred some hotshot guy into the body of a troll. Not literally a troll, but some short, fat, balding dude covered in pimples.” Gray shot Nolan a mischievous smile and stole a look at his groin region. “Go figure. You two have something in common when it comes to vengeance.”
“Did the guy cheat on his girlfriend or something?”
“Nope,” Gray said, leaning against her bed. “He cut Adrian off in traffic.” She laughed, but Nolan looked appalled.
“You’re joking?”
Gray shook her head.
“He doesn’t sound like the kind of warlock you want to solicit for help.”
Gray pushed away from her bed. “Adrian’s harmless. The council stripped him of his powers.”
“Imagine if he got them back,” Nolan said.
Maybe the possibility of Adrian regaining his abilities should have concerned Gray, but it had no effect. Death did that to a person. It was like conquering one’s fear of heights by climbing a mountain or leaping from a plane. Gray had jumped headfirst into the abyss and there was nothing to worry about. No pain or sadness. No limitless existence and endless being.
Why were people so stuck on going to heaven, anyway? Existing forever in a bright, white haz
e sounded like the epitome of boredom.
Never-ending boredom. Right this way!
“Charlene!” Mom called from downstairs. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”
Nolan looked at Gray. “Charlene?”
“You’re not supposed to know.” Gray opened her door. “Be right down,” she called. She turned and faced Nolan. “I told Mom she should start calling me Graylene.” When Nolan joined her in the upstairs hallway she leaned in and said, “Remember, don’t tell a soul.”
“Promise.”
When they reached the top of the stairs, Nolan put out a hand to stop her. His touch was firmer than Gray would have imagined. “I’ll see what I can find out. There have to be warlocks and witches other than Adrian with the ability to perform a body transfer.”
Gray shrugged.
“Bye, Nolan,” Mom said upon joining them in the entryway. “It was nice of you to stop by.”
“We miss seeing you at Gatherings,” Nolan said.
“Yes, well, it’s been a difficult time.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Perez.”
It was hard for Gray to say good-bye with her mom hovering over them. “See you later,” she said and smiled.
“Yeah, see you around.” Nolan’s cheeks dimpled when he smiled. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to study French.”
* * *
“Why didn’t you get a chance to study French?” Mom asked as soon as Nolan was out the door.
Gray rolled her eyes and headed toward the nice smell coming from the kitchen. “Oh, please, like you have to worry. I’m not Charlene… yet.” Gray got two plates out of the cupboard. Fluffy white basmati rice was set on warm in the rice cooker and there was a cast iron skillet filled with curried coconut potatoes and beside it, a smaller skillet with sautéed garlicky kale.
Gray loved healthy food as much as junk so long as the sauces and seasoning were good. Her mom happened to be a wizard in the kitchen… or sorceress—whatever.
Gray handed her mom a plate. “Smells delicious.”
“Thanks, it’s nice to have someone to cook for again.”
“I don’t get how Charlene does it,” Gray said, scooping a heaping pile of rice onto her plate. “Slim Fast is not food!”
Mom chuckled. “So, want to tell me about Nolan Knapp?” she asked when they’d sat down at the table.