The Book of Lost Souls Read online

  Ivy couldn’t do anything but watch. Spike was eating—with chopsticks.

  “He’ll never eat crickets again!” Gareth complained.

  “Don’t be so sure. I’ve heard crickets are a delicacy in many countries,” Nick said, trying to sound comforting.

  “Great! I’ll probably have to fry them in peanut oil or sauté them in lobster sauce,” Gareth said, disgusted.

  Devlin squeaked his toy several times in a row, trying to get someone to play with him.

  “What’s with the squeaking?” Nick asked Ivy.

  “Oh, Devlin has a serious thing for squeaky toys. Obsession, actually,” she replied

  “Okay ladies,” Nick said to Shayde and Ivy as everyone’s attention returned to Spike. “Wipe the drool off your chins and take a last look at Prince Charming before we turn him back into a toad.”

  “A lizard,” Gareth mumbled.

  “We have to wait for them to come out,” Ivy said. “We can’t just go storming in there. What happens if I set him on fire like Mrs. Wilkes did?”

  Nick sighed deeply. “Good point. The Wongs wouldn’t appreciate it. Trolls have absolutely no sense of humor.”

  They all settled back to wait. It was true—when it came to being no-nonsense, trolls took the cake and Mr. and Mrs. Wong went to the extreme. Unlike the Adams and the Roths and several other trolls living in Northwick, the Wongs didn’t waste time with charms to hide what they were. The Wongs were short and stubby, with small slits for mouths, beetle-like eyes, and a pitted complexion that resembled the moon’s landscape. They even looked alike. The only way Ivy ever knew which was which was that Mrs. Wong wore her jet-black hair in a ponytail that stood upright on her scalp.

  Thirty minutes later, Tara emerged with Spike, her hand interwoven with Spike’s in a way that seemed all too friendly. Spike leaned over and gave her a long, passionate kiss.

  Ivy’s eyes went wide. Shayde and Raven swooned beside her. Gareth whimpered, and Devlin squeaked his toy.

  “You know,” Raven said, impressed. “I don’t think she’s upset about Dean anymore.”

  “Something’s happened to Ivy’s spell. He’s never going to be a lizard again!” Gareth complained.

  Ivy stepped forward, prepared to take aim at Spike and reverse the spell.

  Reluctantly, Tara pulled away from Spike to see what the commotion was about. “Oh, no you don’t, Ivy!”

  She stood protectively in front of Spike who cowered behind her, drawing his arms as close to his sides as possible and ducking his head down. Okay, so either he was a coward as a human, or at least some of his lizard instinct was still intact.

  “Seriously?” Tara said, hands on hips. “What’s your problem, Ivy? You want all the best-looking guys for yourself?” She motioned to Nick.

  “Flattery will get you nowhere, Tara,” Nick said. “Although feel free to keep trying.”

  “Yeah, I imagine your ego isn’t doing so well, Nick. First, your girlfriend there would rather date a lizard than you, then she dumps you for Dean, and now she wants Spike back. Doesn’t speak well for you, does it?”

  Tara put her hands on her hips and smiled smugly. “Don’t worry, Nick. There are loads of girls waiting on the sidelines. Not that you’d have stuck around Ivy long anyway. I mean, really Nick. You can do better.”

  Ivy cast a sideways glance at Nick who was oddly silent. She raised an eyebrow. Why did she care?

  It didn’t go unnoticed. “Like I said, we need to talk,” Nick said. “And it isn’t what you think. But right now, you need to change Spike back. I’ll distract Tara.”

  “I bet,” Ivy said through gritted teeth, noticing the fleeting smile of satisfaction on Nick’s face. Why did she have to like two of the hottest boys in class at once? There. She sort of admitted it. In some weird way she couldn’t explain, she liked Nick. Hadn’t her mother always said these would be some of the best times of her life? It must have been better when her mother was sixteen. Way better.

  “Doesn’t seem like you miss Dean very much,” Ivy said to Tara while watching Nick out of the corner of her eye. She needed to stay focused on Spike, not Nick.

  “Nick has a plan, Ivy,” Shayde whispered. “He’s going to try to get her to move away from Spike.”

  Gareth and Raven moved left. Shayde moved to Ivy’s right.

  “Why would I miss Dean when I’ve got Spike?” Tara spat. “You’ll have to agree he’s much more handsome.”

  “He’s not yours, Tara. He’s Gareth’s pet. He needs to be turned back.”

  Tara laughed. “He’s my pet now. That’s so like you to come up with such a lame excuse for taking him from me. You’re jealous of me Ivy, why don’t you just admit it. I’m rich and I’m beautiful.”

  “I think you’ve got your nose so far in the air, you can’t see past it,” Ivy said, grinning. The thought had given her a wonderful, terrible idea. An Insult spell would only last a second or two, so whatever Nick and Shayde were up to had to be quick.

  Nick was walking up to Tara, who took her eyes off Ivy for a split second. That was all Ivy needed. With a flick of her wrist, Tara’s nose began to grow wide and fat until it protruded upward like a giant pig snout.

  Horrified, Tara screamed. Spike dragged Tara behind a car, keeping Nick on the other side. Tara steadied herself, and said what Ivy thought was, “Smard grass.”

  Tara’s pig snout vanished and Ivy raised a hand, meaning to cast another spell, but merely blocked Tara’s instead.

  “Cute, Tara, you’ve actually mastered a simple spell.” She hurled another Insult spell at Tara, who at the same time managed to fire off a spell of her own while Spike shoved a shopping cart toward Nick. The force of their simultaneous spells threw Ivy and Tara onto the pavement. Ivy picked herself up in time to see Spike dodge Raven and Gareth, do a high-flying leap past Shayde, and dart inside the door to the Wok of Life. Gareth looked as though he might go in after him but Mr. and Mrs. Wong were standing at the window, scowling and waving a finger in an I wouldn’t if I were you gesture.

  Tara had been thrown the farthest, and although she seemed a bit dazed, managed to stand. “Whoo! Whoo hoo! I foiled the mighty Ivy’s plans to capture Spike. Again. Whoo!” She danced around in a sickening cheerleading routine.

  “Can’t you change her into something less revolting?” Raven asked.

  Devlin ambled over to Tara and lifted his leg.

  Tara screamed in disgust. “Nasty thing! Why, I should change it into something.” She raised a hand, preparing to hit Devlin with a spell.

  Devlin growled.

  Ivy didn’t really think about the spell she chose, only that a sudden rage of anger welled inside her. For some odd reason, she wished she had The Rise of the Dark Curse with her. She felt herself grin as she hurled the spell at Tara. A glamour. Not a real hex. Just an illusion.

  Tara’s voice faltered. She glanced down at her arms where open sores and rot appeared. She screamed and stepped backward, pulling clumps of hair from her head. Black mold ran along her veins.

  “Go in there and get Spike!” Ivy ordered her friends. “Do it. Now.”

  Devlin whined and ran behind Nick. No one else moved. Everyone stared wide-eyed at Ivy.

  “Ivy?” Shayde called out. “What are you doing?”

  Ivy looked at Tara and the hair she held in her withered hands. What had she done? It was just a glamour. Everyone should see that. But they didn’t. And, Ivy had to admit, the glamour was rather cruel.

  Glamours at this level were also forbidden.

  Tara stared at Ivy, “Why?” she shrieked. “Do you have to be so heartless?”

  Everyone was still staring at her. Devlin absently squeaked his toy.

  Ivy waved a hand, removing the glamour. “I—I didn’t mean it. Look, Tara. It’s just a glamour, see? You’re you again. Not that you weren’t you. But now, well you’re really you.”

  Her friends stood and stared between them. It was as though no one dared to breath. Couldn’t they se
e it wasn’t a real spell? Couldn’t they see it was just a glamour?

  “I don’t believe you. You’re horrible!” Tara frantically felt her hair, her face. No matter how freaked she was, Tara wouldn’t turn her back on Ivy. If she had, she’d catch her normally perky, pretty reflection in the window. “I wasn’t aiming spells like that at you. You don’t have to be so...sadistic.”

  Ivy waved her hand, casting another spell. Tara screamed as she felt something land on her head.

  “Is that...is that a tea cozy?” Shayde asked.

  It was. A knitted tea cozy was the most harmless thing Ivy could think of. Her grandmother had them.

  Tara wheeled to see her reflection. She was still for a moment, taking in her usual perfect image. Then, she snatched the tea cozy from her head and threw it at Ivy, hitting it with a second spell. The tea cozy burst into flames and landed at Ivy’s feet.

  “What’s gotten into me?” Ivy said, putting her face in her hands. “Maybe I am turning into a dark witch.”

  Her friends gathered closer, still clearly shocked.

  Nick put his arms around her shoulders. “Hey, I don’t think the Curse of the Tea Cozy is exactly dark magic,” he joked half-heartedly. “It’s the book, isn’t it? You went back and read more of it.”

  She shrugged away from him. This isn’t what she wanted to hear right now. It wasn’t the book. It was her. She glanced up at Tara, making sure she was okay.

  “A little fire and smoke scare you, Ivy? I beat you at your own pathetic game and Spike’s safe,” Tara taunted, but her voice had an odd quiver to it.

  Ivy did feel completely beaten. Not by Tara, but by the whole day. Still, she had to get Spike back.

  “Send Spike out here, Tara. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I don’t want Spike because you...” She fumbled a bit. What should she say? Because Tara was dating him?

  Well, just who had lizard breath now? Tara was going to need a whole tin of breath mints.

  The humorous thought disguised as false bravado didn’t do a lot to make her feel better. She stared at Tara, hoping she wouldn’t sound as though she were pleading, though that was closer to the truth. She hoped that she could manage to sound tough—something she didn’t feel. “I want him because turning Spike into a human in the first place was wrong. I should never have done that. Spike belongs to Gareth. Tell me you at least have common sense enough to realize that.”

  Tara shook her head. Slowly, and with her chin raised in defiance, Tara eased backward into the restaurant’s doorway. Like Ivy, Tara was also trying to seem tough, but the only person she’d fooled was herself. Tara’s wide eyes betrayed her. Tara looked as scared as Ivy felt.

  CHAPTER 17

  Ivy waved as Shayde pulled away from the curb in front of Nick’s house. She wasn’t sure if she was glad Shayde had left or not. At least werewolf ears wouldn’t be listening, but her best friend was her comfort zone, too.

  She smiled nervously at Nick, unsure of what to say.

  “Ivy…” He paused, as though speaking hurt him somehow, then rubbed a hand through his hair. “Geez, where do I begin?”

  They came to rest on his front porch, each taking a seat on the top step, Devlin lying on the step below them. It was dark now, except for the sliver of light the moon provided.

  Ivy sighed. This wasn’t easy. How could she be certain he wasn’t playing her? “What do you really want with me, Nick? Is it me or the books?”

  “Does it matter?” he asked, his voice terse. “If I said it was you, would you believe me? Would you give up this fascination with Dean?”

  Nick’s response wasn’t what she’d expected. Would she believe him? Would she give up the chance to date Dean after dreaming about it for so long?

  “Didn’t think so,” Nick said somberly. He stood and fumbled with his car keys. “Come on, I’ll take you home. I know you’ve had a really bad day. Let’s not make it worse, okay?”

  She wanted to say something, anything, but the lump in her throat wouldn’t let her talk so she nodded. Today had been pretty awful, and she could see it had been bad for him, too. Maybe he was telling the truth. Could she take that chance? Maybe not just yet. She needed more time to sort everything out.

  Although Nick lived just a few minutes away Ivy thought the silence between them felt like hours. Every once in a while Devlin whined or squeaked his toy, although even he seemed to understand something wasn’t right and finally curled up on the back seat. Nick pulled into the driveway. The front porch light shone brightly, while the house itself remained dark. With late fall approaching and the first frost already on the ground, the only sound was the wind making the barren tree limbs creak as they rubbed against each other.

  Nick left the motor running. “Ivy,” he said, touching her hand as she started to get out. She slid back into the passenger seat. “I understand. I really do. It’s about you. Not the books. Never has been, although I do want them, yes. I’ll explain if you’ll go out with me again. If you’re not seeing Dean.”

  The lump in her throat returned and Ivy swallowed hard, forcing it back down. She nodded, not knowing exactly what she was nodding to. Yes, she’d go out with him? Yes, she believed that his interest was strictly about her? This time, he didn’t stop her as she got out and pushed the seat forward to allow Devlin to jump down.

  Closing the car door sounded so loud, so final. Nick put the car in reverse and backed down the driveway. She had to say something. She couldn’t let him go like this. “Nick!”

  He stopped, but didn’t pull forward. “I can’t wait for you forever, Ivy. Even if you’re worth it.”

  She watched the Mustang’s taillights until it rounded the corner and vanished from sight. Devlin whined and she bent down to stroke his fur. “I don’t know what I’m going to do either, Dev. No idea at all.”

  She entered the house as quietly as possible, careful to keep Devlin’s leash from jangling as she returned it to the hook by the door. She fully expected her mother to be furious at her for storming out of the house.

  “How was your date?” Her mother wanted to know. From the shakiness of her voice in the darkened living room, Ivy thought this question sounded like small talk in preparation for the real topic of discussion.

  “It went okay,” Ivy lied softly.

  “Do you want to talk?” Her mother’s voice still had a quiver to it, like she’d been doing some crying of her own and Ivy wasn’t sure if that meant she was in deeper trouble or not.

  Ivy’s heart felt like dead weight falling into the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t meant to hurt her mother. Not intentionally. Her mother needed her, counted on her. Ivy always felt she had to be strong for the both of them. She took a seat in the chair across from the sofa. The light from the porch gave off just enough light to outline her mother’s features.

  “I’m sorry Mom.”

  “Me too, Ivy. I shouldn’t expect you to understand.” The table lamp switched on with an indifferent wave of her hand. She looked at Ivy for a moment, then shut her eyes as though to recall, or possibly block out a memory.

  “You were young. You didn’t know him very well. To you, your father was the greatest person on Earth, full of surprises and wonderful magic. He did things no one else could do—not a witch nor wizard nor demon. He could cast complex spells in seconds, and I swear he could do them without uttering a single word or a moment’s concentration. You look like me, Ivy. But your powers are more like his. You were starting to do strange things before he left. It wasn’t normal for such a young witch to have the kind of magic you did. We talked about it many nights after you were asleep.”

  Her mother gave a small choked laugh. “Well, I talked about it. He insisted he was just a pretty clever wizard and you had inherited nothing more than that.”

  “But his parents were a normal witch and wizard, right?” Ivy asked in earnest.

  “Your dad never met your grandfather. He barely remembered his own mother. She died when he was young. He onl
y remembered that she was a beautiful and kind witch.”

  Ivy let out a small sigh of relief. She hadn’t wanted to hear she was related to a dark Kindred of any sort. “So it’s probably some fluke, right? I’m not a dark witch or something... freaky, am I? I didn’t inherit anything... evil?” Tears had started to spill, and Ivy wiped at them furiously and drew herself up. She wouldn’t cry. Not in front of her mother who’d cried enough for both of them over the last nine years since her father had been gone.

  “You’re a gift, Ivy. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Yes, you are different, but you couldn’t be a dark witch if you tried. Your heart is too good. I’m sorry for worrying so much. I probably worry more because of just how special you really are.”

  Ivy managed an uncomfortable smile. “Mom, why did you name me Ivy?”

  Her mother sighed and turned her head with her own bittersweet smile, remembering. “Your father’s idea. I wanted Rose, after your grandmother. So we compromised and named you Ivy Rose. Good thing, because your father seemed so insistent. He believed if we named you after one of the most powerful plants known to witches it would bring you luck and keep you safe as you grew older.”

  “In the book I found,” Ivy said, “There are stars marked next to Nightshade and Wolfsbane.”

  Her mother nodded. “Hanna and I were pregnant at the same time. She thought Ivy was such a cute name, she borrowed Magic for the Garden and after your father, of all people, suggested a few names, Hanna decided on Shayde and Bane. But she never marked it with stars. I did that. Pregnancy hormones, I suppose. Hanna and I were just so excited to be sharing that part of our lives together.”

  A sudden horrible thought occurred to Ivy, and she wanted to be alone. Without telling her mother about the other two books, there wasn’t anything else to ask, anyway. “Mom, if it’s okay, I’m going to bed now.”

  “I think we could both use a good night’s sleep.” Her mother got to her feet and followed Ivy toward the stairs.

  “And Mom? Thanks.” Ivy hurried up the stairs.