Conjured

  We drove up the school’s long driveway. The enormous brick structure resembled a European castle more than a prep school. The squared tower with its iron bell spouted high above the center of the building.

  “Ah, good old Hawthorne Prep,” Peter said. “Is that place really as stuffy as it looks?”

  “Don’t knock my school.”

  “It won’t be your school for long.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  Peter frowned. “You don’t want to go to school with me?”

  “It’s not that. When I go to Hazel Cove High next fall - as a senior I might add - I’ll be the new girl. It’s going to be awkward.”

  “No, it won’t. I’ll be there and Anne Marie and Sage. You know everyone. It’s not like Hazel Cove is that big.”

  “I guess.”

  Peter pulled into the empty parking lot. “Lover boy is late.” He shifted in his seat to face me. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look like something’s bothering you.”

  “I’m okay. Just tired. Hey, can you try not to fight with James when you see him? Every time you two are together you fight.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Yeah, it is. You two fought after the bon fire the first night you met-”

  “He kissed you! And, if I remember correctly, you hit James. I didn’t get a chance to because of the twins. So technically, you fought James that night.”

  “Then you fought at the country club the night of Dr. Cooper’s fundraiser.”

  Peter rolled his eyes. “He pushed you down.”

  “On accident. James was aiming for you. And you almost fought at the Halloween party and at the hospital the night of my car accident.”

  “Almost, but we didn’t actually fight those times,” Peter said, fighting back a grin.

  “Please don’t fight today.”

  “Sure.”

  I glanced up at the enormous Bell Tower. “Did Anne Marie try to sneak out last night?”

  “No. Logan was at my house when I got home. They were watching an eighties movie. He left about an hour after I arrived.”

  “Let me guess, you watched the rest of the movie with them?”

  Peter actually looked embarrassed. “I like eighties movies.”

  “You are something else. Oh, that reminds me. The Winter Ball is coming up.”

  “When?”

  “The first Friday when we go back to school.”

  “Hmmm.”

  I poked him in the ribs. “It’s the first year we’ll be able to attend.”

  “The joys of being an upperclassman. I can hardly wait.” Peter yawned.

  “It’ll be fun. All of our friends will be there. And….”

  “And?”

  “Logan wants to ask Anne Marie. I’m sure she’s dying to go, but Logan is worried about how you’ll act if we’re all together in a group.”

  “How I’ll act?” Peter said incredulously. “I’ll act perfectly fine.”

  “You don’t care?”

  “To be honest, I don’t think I have a say in the matter. She’s sixteen now and she’s going to do what she wants.” Peter’s grimace widened into a look of almost pain. “Do I have to wear a tux or just a suit?”

  “Either. But a tuxedo would be sexy.”

  “Oh yeah?” Peter leaned over the middle of the seat.

  “Yup, just like James Bond. I’ll have to-”

  Peter was kissing me before I could finish my sentence. His quick reaction startled me, but not as much as the urgency of his kisses. He pressed his body against mine. The weight of him on top of me pushed me against the door. His lips traced the line of my jaw up to my ear and back down my neck. He found my lips again and our mouths met.

  In the back of my mind, I realized Peter was physically reminding me of himself. He was worried about my trip with James. I matched his urgency with my own, hoping to reassure him. He had nothing to worry about. Peter was it for me. No one could come between us. My fingers went around his neck and up into his hair. I pulled him closer, crushing him against me.

  A car honked.

  I peeked out the windshield. The red Range Rover was parked in front of us. James waved.

  Well, that was awkward.

  “I hate that kid.” Peter pulled himself off of me.

  “Be nice.”

  I reached to open the door, but Peter stopped me. “Lex, I don’t know about this. How can we trust him?”

  “I really believe he wants to help me. And I have to find Jonah’s journal.”

  I closed the truck door and walked in between the front of the cars. Peter was waiting for me at the passenger door of James’ Range Rover. He paused before opening it. “Please be careful. And call me if you need anything.”

  “I will.”

  Peter bent down and lightly kissed me on the lips. He opened the door and I slid into the passenger seat.

  “Hi, James,” I said, embarrassed that I’d been caught in a make out session.

  James smiled at me and nodded at Peter. “Alex. Peter.”

  Peter bent at the waist so he could see inside the car. His body took up the entire doorframe. He tugged the seatbelt forward and handed it to me. “The roads are icy.”

  I took the latch from Peter and snapped it in to place.

  “James.” Peter’s voice was low and scary. “If anything happens to Alex-”

  “Nothing’s going to happen.”

  Peter’s face went stony. “If anything happens to Alex, I’ll hunt you down myself.”

  “Peter,” I said quietly. “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Peter nodded, threw a warning look at James and shut the door.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “It’s okay. He has every reason to hate me.” James put the car in reverse and pulled away from Peter’s truck. He raised his fingers in the air. “Scout’s honor. I’ll bring you back safe and in one piece.”

  “Were you really a Boy Scout?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  James’ dimples grew deeper. “What? You don’t think a family of witch hunters puts any stock in the Boy Scouts of America? Wilderness training, hunting, tying knots.”

  I immediately thought of Bradley, our family’s chauffeur, who was brutally murdered by James’ father. He was hung by a noose from the railing of my bedroom balcony during our annual Halloween party. If the Van Curen’s knew anything, it was tying knots. It was probably their specialty.

  James hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I’m sorry, Alex. That was a really stupid thing for me to say. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, trying to shake the image. “Not your fault.”

  James pulled onto Highway 95 South and we drove in silence.

  I didn’t want the day to be uncomfortable, so I tried a safer topic. “Do you have plans for tonight?”

  James’ shoulders relaxed. “I’m going to Olivia’s New Year’s Eve party. Aren’t you going, too? You and Peter?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “The holidays have been a little rough this year. I’m not in the mood for Olivia and one of her parties,” I said.

  “I hear you. My Aunt Liz is going to a party in Boston and I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in the house by myself. So, Olivia’s party it is.”

  “I’m sure it will be a blast. Everyone is going.”

  “Except you.”

  “Except me,” I said.

  “What are you doing instead?”

  We were getting close to Boston. Traffic was congested and the highway widened to four lanes in both directions.

  “Watching the ball drop with Peter from my couch.”

  “He’s still not a fan of me, is he?”

  I grimaced. “Not really.”

  “That’s understandable. My track record is kind of splotchy. I keep checking the rearview mirror, expecting to see his black truck.”

  “No.” I
sneaked a peek out the side mirror. I hadn’t even thought about him following us to Boston. “Peter knows how important this is to me. And he knows I can take care of myself.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” James said laughing. “I still don’t know what you did to Simon that night. I’m surprised you didn’t do that to me when I was an ass to you at my locker. I would have deserved it. But, hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I know finding Grandpa Jonah’s journal means a lot to you. But what if we don’t find it? What if today’s trip is a bust?”

  There was a good chance we wouldn’t find the journal. But it wasn’t going to stop me from searching. It had to be somewhere, right?

  “Then I’ll have to pick your brain for other ideas of where it could be hidden. And we’d have to do more searching.”

  James smiled. “Good.”

  CHAPTER 14

  We parked across the street from the Quincy Market. It was cold out, of course, but this part of Boston was never deserted. The huge pillared indoor market was buzzing with hoards of people shuffling in and out of the tourist magnet. The church was two blocks away, so James and I maneuvered through the crowd towards the seaport.

  “Do you think Victor or Paul or George Murray will be there?” I asked, while we waited to cross the street.

  “I doubt it,” James said. “This was my grandpa’s place, you know? My dad didn’t approve of my grandfather’s theatrics. Looking back on what I know now, my dad probably wanted my grandpa to lay low in the shadows and stay out of the public eye.”

  “Shadows and secret fraternities go hand in hand.”

  “We’ll have to be careful. I don’t know what to expect. I’m not sure how famous you are in the witch hunting world and there may be Gamma members inside. Keep that scarf pulled up over your face.”

  I retreated into my hood and raised the itchy scarf over my nose. “How’s that?”

  “Perfect. Now, if you only had colored contacts.”

  I stiffened. The blood red eyes of last night’s spirit reflection catapulted to the front of my brain.

  James cocked his head. “I just meant that your eyes are a defining feature.”

  “So I’m told,” I said. “Shouldn’t you have worn a hat or something? Your ears are red and I’m willing to bet you can’t feel them.”

  “No need. We’re here now.” He pointed across the street.

  “Seriously?”

  “That’s it.”

  “Wow. That is the creepiest place I’ve ever seen, including the haunted house we went to this year.”

  The church dated back to the eighteenth century. It was exactly the type of church you’d expect to hear brimstone speeches from the pulpit. The building was constructed of weathered gray stone with a wide staircase leading to double front doors. What made the church appear so out of place was its position on the block. It was perfectly wedged in between slick glass skyscrapers.

  We walked up the stairs. My heart pounded in my chest. What would we find inside?

  James pulled open the double doors - and if I was being honest with myself, I was secretly hoping they would be locked - and we stepped inside. I pushed my hood back to get a better view.

  If the outside of this place was disturbing, the inside was downright terrifying. I stood frozen on the doormat, fully taking in every aspect of the church.

  Dark wooden pews flanked a narrow aisle that ran the length of the room. It was dark inside. Candles were placed around altars built into the walls. There were no decorations, no pictures, no stain glass windows and no drapes. Only stone and wood.

  The podium was the central point of the room. The simple wooden structure was raised on a platform so the speaker could be seen from anywhere in the church. Hanging on the wall directly behind the podium was a gigantic wooden cross.

  James was staring at me. His dark eyes were intensely scrutinizing every inch of my body. He looked absolutely terrified. “Alex, can you move?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be able to move?” And then I realized what he was really asking.

  Anger flashed through me, but I quickly controlled it. I didn’t want to do anything witchy and scare James. But seriously?

  Well, if he was going to act like a moron, I was going to teach him a lesson.

  I placed my right foot in front of my left - an exaggerated stepping motion. I clutched my hands over my heart and sank to the floor in a silent scream. I raised my arm over my eyes.

  I gasped for air. “James, help! It’s too….holy…it’s hurting…me!”

  James staggered forward with his arms outstretched. He bent down to shield me from the invisible holy rays. Once he was close enough, I pushed him squarely on his shoulders. He lost his balance and tumbled backwards onto his butt.

  “I’m not a vampire, you idiot.” I stood up. “I’m a witch. And contrary to what your family’s been feeding you, I’m not an abomination.”

  James turned bright pink. “Alex.”

  “I can’t believe you thought I couldn’t enter a church.”

  James jumped to his feet. “You were looking around all funny and you didn’t move. I don’t know… How was I supposed to know?”

  “I was looking around like that because I was in shock. This place is disturbing.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Sorry for pushing you.” I released a loud breath. “Let’s try to find the journal, okay?”

  James nodded and walked down the aisle.

  I felt bad that I’d pushed him, but he deserved it. How could he think that I couldn’t even step foot in a church? The answer easily followed: deep down James thought I was evil. So evil that I couldn’t be in sight of anything holy.

  Jerk.

  I shook my head. I had a job to do. I was in Jonah Van Curen’s layer. My focus needed to be on finding the journal. I walked along the wall searching for nooks and crannies. The church held hundreds of potential places where a lunatic could stash a journal.

  The walls were constructed of large stones. The scratchy surface left a chalky film on my hands. Latin words were inscribed on some of the stones, but it was useless because I couldn’t read Latin. I dug my fingernails between the cracks, pushing and pulling, but nothing budged.

  James didn’t appear to have any luck either. He was on his hands and knees on top of the raised platform. He, too, was checking for nooks and crannies. The church was gigantic and the journal could be hidden anywhere.

  I sat down on the pew. Obviously something was written in the journal that Jonah didn’t want anyone to see. The book was important to him. Why else would he have it hidden after his death? Could he have destroyed it instead? My heart sank at the idea.

  “I don’t think it’s in here,” James said, walking down the aisle. “Do you want to check his old office?”

  “He had an office in the church?”

  James smiled. It was a peace offering. “Sure. He was the minister, remember?”

  I followed James to the far corner of the church. A door opened into a brightly lit hallway lined with industrial carpet. We walked by a few open rooms, offices mostly, until James stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. He pressed his ear against the wood and knocked.

  No one answered. He twisted the door knob.

  “Wow. It wasn’t locked?”

  James shrugged. “It’s a church. Maybe they don’t think anyone would break in. Or steal.”

  You’d think with all of my breaking and entering experience that I’d be a seasoned pro. I wasn’t. I was terrified. I was sure we were going to get busted at any moment. I hurried in after James. It wouldn’t take long to search the office. There was a desk, three file cabinets, a sofa, two chairs and a closet.

  “Remember, this office belongs to the new minister now. Whoever he is,” James said.

  I opened the closet and examined the floorboards. James pawed through the desk drawers.

  “You know, I never liked him.”

  I p
eeked out of the closet. “Who?”

  “Grandpa Jonah.”

  “Oh.”

  “He was a mean old man.”

  “Was he?” I stepped out of the closet. The journal wasn’t in the room. It was another dead end. Where else was there to look?

  “My grandfather had this ruby ring he wore on a chain necklace and, when I was younger, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Now, I’m assuming it was some sort of Gamma heirloom - but at the time, it was my favorite. Probably because my mom had a ruby necklace and I loved to watch the sun hit the gem. It would cast the craziest reflections.”

  I sat in the chair facing the desk. James had never mentioned his mother before.

  “Anyhow, I loved that ring. Grandpa Jonah would catch me staring at it and he’d dangle it in front of my face. ‘Do you like this James? Do you want this?’ Then he would preach about wanting material things.”

  The more I learned about Jonah Van Curen, the more I hated him.

  “After he died, we had a reading of his will,” James said. “Honestly, it never crossed my mind, but the attorney started discussing the ring: ‘And my beloved ruby ring shall not go to James, though he wishes I would leave it to him as a reminder of his wretched mother, but I shall have the ring buried with me. And to young James, I leave the gift of teaching one not to covet other people’s possessions.’”

  “Wow,” I said.

  “Yup, that angry old bugger buried it with him.”

  It hit me. I shot out of my chair, unable to formulate the words because I was so excited. “James!”

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “That’s it.”

  “What?”

  “I know where Jonah’s journal is hidden!”

  James’ mouth dropped open into a perfect circle. “You think it’s…?”

  “Where is your grandpa buried?”

  James blinked. “Here.”

  “What? In the church?”

  “Yeah, downstairs. In the crypt.”

  CHAPTER 15

  The entry to the crypt was nondescript. James opened the brightly painted door and descended the stairs. The steps were smooth and cement. I immediately had horrible flashbacks of the basement stairs of the Gamma fraternity house.