Sarah Ross was eighteen the day Liam killed her. She died on her birthday. On Halloween.
CHAPTER 23
“Oh my God.”
The sound of alarm in the voice catapulted me from the bed. Sadie was in the doorway and she looked like she’d seen a ghost.
“What’s wrong?” I darted to the hallway. I half expected to see a red-eyed spirit on her heels.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sadie gently pushed me back into my bedroom. “Seriously, Alex, what’s going on?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s five o’clock and you haven’t even showered yet,” Sadie said, with her hands on her hips.
Was it five already? We only had a half day of school because of tonight’s Winter Ball. After lunch, I came straight home and took a nap. I must’ve been sleeping for hours.
Sadie’s short hair was curled and pinned up. She was wearing a casual button down shirt and jeans, but her hair and makeup were finished. Ready for the Winter Ball.
“Oh.” I understood the alarm in her voice. “You were doing my hair at five, weren’t you?”
“Get in the shower! Hurry, I’ll have to dry your hair now before we can start.” Sadie placed a trunk of beauty supplies on my desk. “Where’s your dress? I want to make sure I have the right color palate for your makeup.”
Shoot. My dress.
Sadie groaned. “You didn’t pick one up?”
I shook my head.
“I swear, Alex, you’ve been acting really strange lately. I know you’re not as obsessed with this kind of thing as Olivia, but I thought you’d at least show a little bit of enthusiasm. It’s the Winter Ball. We’ve been talking about it for years! Go! Get in the shower. I’ll call Jillian and see if she has that extra dress.”
I shuffled to the shower feeling guilty that I’d disappointed Sadie. I’d promised myself that I was going to have a good time tonight, regardless of the stress I was under. And I would do exactly that.
But ever since I discovered the Ross family tree, I couldn’t shake the eerie similarities between Sarah Ross and myself. She was born on Halloween, too. Liam killed her on her eighteenth birthday. And according to my creepy look-a-like spirit with the red-eyes in Grandma Claudia’s mirror, Liam was coming to Hazel Cove.
The hopeless realization that Liam was coming to Hazel Cove was all consuming. But why? Why did Liam kill Sarah? What did she do to bring down his wrath upon her?
I took a hot shower and hurried back into my bedroom. With all the effort I could muster, I put a smile on my face for Sadie. I’d push all fears and doubts and all things supernatural out of my head. I’d deal with everything else tomorrow.
Sadie turned on the blow dryer.
“Sorry if I’m going to make you late. I can finish up myself,” I said.
“I won’t be late. Did you fall asleep or something?”
“I haven’t been feeling well. Maybe I’m coming down with something.” I hated lying, but I had to explain my behavior somehow. Coming down with the cold was easier to swallow than seeing red-eyed spirits and worrying about an immortal witch.
“Oh,” Sadie said. “Maybe you should go see Dr. Cooper.”
Dr. Cooper was the perfect leeway into normal conversation. “Are you excited to go with Lucas tonight?”
“I am. He’s been pretty sweet lately - not that he isn’t always sweet - but he’s more aware of me now. It’s weird because it’s Luke, you know? But I like it.”
“Do you think if tonight goes well that-”
“We’ll start dating?”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t say anything to him, but I hope so. I’ve been looking forward to this Winter Ball for years. I can’t believe it’s finally here and I’m going with Lucas Cooper! Oh, by the way, Jillian said she’d bring over the dress in a little bit. It’s red.”
I winced. Borrowing a dress from Jillian might be a surprise in itself. She definitely had an eclectic taste. “Do you think Jillian or Olivia picked out the dress?”
Sadie raised an eyebrow. “I told you to get a dress this week.”
“Oh, well.” I didn’t really care. Peter would be with me and that’s all that mattered. He wouldn’t care what my dress looked like.
“Did you hear about Olivia and James?”
“What about them?”
Sadie put the curling iron down and patted my head. “All done. How do you like it?”
My dark hair was pinned into a messy array of curls. “I love it, Sadie. Thanks! You’re a life saver. I probably would’ve just worn it down straight.”
“I’m sure you would’ve. Alright, time for your makeup. Did you know you have a birthmark on the back of your neck? It’s pretty big, like the size of-”
“A fingerprint?”
“I was going to say a marble, but I guess it’s more oval than round.”
I tried not to blink as Sadie applied mascara to my eyelashes. I didn’t want to think about my birthmark. “What about James and Olivia?”
“Olivia’s pissed that they aren’t officially dating. She’s been working on him all week with no progress. She figured since he agreed to go to the Winter Ball with her that it was pretty much in the bag. She keeps hinting at him, but James won’t take the bait.”
“Maybe he wanted to go as friends.” I didn’t mention my conversation with James at my locker.
“Probably, but don’t say that around Olivia. She’s determined to make James her boyfriend, especially now that you and James aren’t close anymore.”
“Huh?”
“Since you blew off James.”
“I did?”
Sadie paused with the blush in her hand. “We assumed you did. Didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“James was always following you around. But after his dad died and he came back to school, you two were ice cold towards each other. You’re friendlier now, but not like before. We figured you shot him down. I knew you and Peter were a match made in heaven and James didn’t stand a chance. But the others weren’t so sure.”
“Oh.” Obviously, none of my friends were aware of what happened in the Hazel Cove Cemetery.
“Once Olivia noticed your relationship with James had cooled down, she thought she had a chance with him. But now….”
“He’s still not biting.”
“Nope. And yesterday I overheard her telling Jillian that James is still hung up on you.”
“Perfect. More Olivia drama.”
“She’s pissed.”
“You can tell her I am one hundred percent with Peter. And very happy, too.”
“Oooh,” Sadie said. “That was another thing. You’ve been so down lately that Olivia thought you and Peter were having problems.”
Olivia was so nosy.
“Peter and I are doing great.”
“I figured,” Sadie said. “All done.”
I glanced at the mirror. My makeup was soft, not too much, but enough that it was right for a special occasion. “You should own a salon one day.”
Sadie winked a heavily made-up eye. “I have to run. Don’t lie down and flatten your hair. And don’t rub your eyes either; you’ll ruin your mascara.”
“I won’t. Promise.”
“Jillian should be here soon with your dress. I have to go change before Lucas picks me up.”
“Hurry, I don’t want you to be late because of me.”
“See you in a bit!”
“Bye, Sadie. Thanks again.”
Sadie gathered her trunk of beauty supplies and rushed out the door.
I sat down on the bed, careful not to jostle my curls. It was 7:15. Peter would be here soon. What could I do for the next forty-five minutes? I wanted to keep my mind clear of all things supernatural, so I went to find my mom.
Emma was in her bedroom. “You look pretty. The makeup makes your eyes even greener, if that’s possible.”
“Thanks.”
“
Where’s your dress?”
“Jillian is bringing one over.”
Scooby sniffed the aquarium of fireflies on the bedside table. I tapped the glass. “Why do you like them so much?”
“Fireflies?”
“Yeah.”
“They light up the darkness.”
Her response caught me off guard. “I never really thought of it that way.”
It was true. Fireflies did light up the darkness. I must’ve subconsciously known that. Hadn’t the light of the fireflies protected me from the flesh-eating red-eyed ravens in my nightmare?
Emma leaned forward. “Did you rub your left eye?”
My hand automatically went to my face.
“No, don’t touch it. You smeared a bit of mascara. Get a tissue and gently wipe it away.”
I went to the bathroom bracing myself for the total destruction of my eye makeup. Luckily, there was only a tiny black smudge under my left eye. I grabbed a tissue and went to the mirror.
The tissue fell from my hand and I staggered back from my own reflection.
My eyes were completely red. I took another step back. The reflection moved exactly as I had. It took me a moment to realize it wasn’t the spirit I’d conjured, but my own reflection.
My breathing accelerated. I leaned forward to examine my eyes. I kept a safe distance from the glass. Just in case something reached out of the mirror and grabbed me.
The emerald green was covered by a thick layer of red liquid that seeped out into the whites of my eyes. I blinked. The reflection blinked. It was still me. Why were they red? It made me look… possessed. Evil. I blinked again, willing my eyes to return to their natural shade.
Why was this happening to me?
I punched the glass as hard as I could. The mirror fissured on impact, distorting my reflection. But through the shattered glass I could still see my eyes.
Red.
I screamed in frustration. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get away from my reflection. I ran out of the bathroom and crashed into an opened-mouth Jillian. Slung over her arm was a garment bag.
I whirled around to cover my face. She couldn’t see my eyes. I couldn’t explain this to her. Heck, I couldn’t explain what was happening to me. Either a spirit was following me or I was seriously going crazy.
Jillian placed a hand on my back. “Alex, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing!” I hunched over, hiding my face. I caught my reflection in the shattered glass. My eyes were emerald again.
“Your hand! It’s bleeding.” Jillian hung the garment bag on the closet door and reached to inspect my hand.
Sure enough, the skin on my knuckles was torn and blood was freely flowing.
“It’s only a scratch.” I snatched the hand towel from the sink. I didn’t care about my hand at the moment. I was worried about how much Jillian had seen. How long was she standing there? Did she see me freak out? Did she see me punch the mirror?
Jillian’s eyes flickered from the broken mirror to my busted hand. She gently pushed me down so I was sitting on the edge of the tub. “What happened?”
“I stood up too fast and got dizzy. I fell into the mirror.” Did that even make sense? It probably didn’t, but I couldn’t come up with anything else.
Emma appeared in the doorway. “What was that noise? Oh!”
“It was an accident.” I wrapped my hand tighter in the towel.
“Do you have any bandages, Mrs. Ramsey? I mean, Mrs. Longfellow?” Jillian asked, blushing.
Emma flinched.
My mother now went by Emma “Ross” dropping the “Ramsey” from her last name when Victor left. I, of course, changed my last name to “Longfellow,” because, well, I was a Longfellow. Jillian didn’t know the circumstances of our name change and would have assumed that Emma’s last name was “Longfellow,” too.
Emma handed the first aid kit to Jillian. “Blood makes me dizzy.”
“It’s fine, mom,” I said. “Go. You hate blood.”
A metallic smell wavered up to my nose. My stomach lurched. It was a good thing I was sitting down. Apparently, blood didn’t have the same affect on Jillian because she was already cleaning my wound. She was dressed in casual clothes, but her hair and makeup were done, too.
“Thanks, Jillian,” I said, embarrassed that she’d seen my breakdown.
“No problem. There you go. Good as new, but you’ll have a bandage on your hand for pictures.”
I shrugged. That was the least of my worries. “And thanks for the dress.”
“You’re welcome.” Jillian frowned. “I have to go. Olivia will kill me if I’m late for the limo pickup. She’s already fuming because James isn’t riding with us in the limo.”
“He’s not?”
“No, he’s driving himself. He said he had to do something with his aunt. I don’t know.”
I stood up slowly, unsure of how wobbly I was. “Go, go. I don’t want you to be late. That’s all I’ve done today is make people late.”
“Are you sure you’re alright? You were pretty freaked out when I got here.”
“I’m fine. I was dizzy and I didn’t hear you come in. You scared me.”
“Sorry, the front door was unlocked. I knocked, but no one answered,” Jillian said, looking embarrassed.
Sadie must have left the door unlocked. I remembered my Il Gaurdenarium spell and relaxed. No one with any ill intentions could enter the house.
Jillian reached for a strand of red hair, but it was pulled back in a tight twist. Jillian was a hair twirler when she was nervous, and, obviously, I was worrying her.
“Don’t worry about it. Really, I’m clumsy. You should go. I don’t want Olivia to be upset with you.” I led Jillian out of the bathroom and into the living room.
“Thanks,” Jillian said. “See you in a bit?”
“Absolutely.” I waved goodbye.
I locked the front door and retreated to the bathroom, careful to avoid the cracked mirror. I needed to collect myself. Peter would be here in a few minutes and I didn’t want him to notice my anxiety.
I sat on the edge of the tub and lowered my head between my legs. I inhaled and exhaled. Get it together. Tonight was going to be a good night. And just to be on the safe side, I’d avoid mirrors at all cost.
Three quick knocks on the front door pulled me out of my breathing exercise. My heart rate was back to normal and I felt a little better.
Two more knocks.
Scooby shot out of Emma’s bedroom.
“Shhh, Scooby! Go lay down.” The dog stopped barking. “Go on, go lay down.”
More knocking.
Jeez. “I’m coming.” I jogged the last few feet to the door and unlocked the deadbolt. “Jillian, you’re seriously going to be late now. Olivia’s going to kill you.”
The door was heavy. I pulled it opened with two hands and froze. I couldn’t believe who was standing on the concrete porch in front of me. I had to remind myself to breathe.
I swallowed. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
Victor’s large hands gripped the railing. “We need to talk.”
CHAPTER 24
“How did you find us?”
“It’s not like you’re in the Witness Protection Program,” Victor said.
Peter and James were right. He looked bad. The charcoal gray suit was wrinkled. The collar around his white shirt was stained. His tie was loose. He hadn’t shaved. He had dark purple shadows under his eyes.
“Alexandria, is that Peter? Are you leaving now?” Emma called out from the bedroom.
Victor’s beady eyes flickered behind me.
I raised my palm at my stepfather. “Don’t think about it. Don’t move a muscle or you’ll be sorry.” I shifted into a defensive position and blocked the entrance.
“Not yet, mom,” I yelled over my shoulder. “I’ll be back there in a second.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. What was he doing here? What did he want? Was this it - was Gamma comin
g for me now? It seemed unlikely. Would they really knock on my door before they kidnapped and killed me?
Victor was still glancing behind me at the back hallway. “How is she doing?”
“Don’t,” I said. “You lost that privilege. And lower your voice. I don’t want her to hear you.”
“I’m not here to hurt you.” Victor unclenched his hands from the railing.
“You can’t hurt me.”
This was true for two reasons. Well, not technically. I was pretty sure of the first reason and I was hoping for a miracle on the second reason.
First, I was stronger now than I was in the cemetery a few months ago. I wasn’t positive, but I could probably take Victor one-on-one if it was a fair fight. But Victor didn’t fight fair. He probably had a swarm of Gamma members squeezed into his Rolls Royce.
The second reason Victor couldn’t hurt me was because I was home. Inside my house. If I correctly performed the Il Gaurdenarium spell on Christmas morning, then Victor couldn’t enter. No one who meant us harm could enter.
Victor sneered. “I know I can’t hurt you. I’m not stupid.” He moved forward, as if to push past me and storm inside, but he abruptly stopped at the threshold. “What in the- ?”
He rushed forward again, but once he reached the doorframe he bounced back like he hit an invisible wall. His eyes flickered up and down and right and left. Angry red splotches appeared on his neck and face.
I kept my palm pointed at Victor. I moved back with his advance, but once I was sure he couldn’t get inside, I relaxed. The spell worked.
“What’s going on?” Victor raised his thick hand and slowly leaned towards the doorway. His fingers met resistance in the air above the entrance.
“You can’t come in,” I said.
“I’m not going to hurt you, you idiot! I can’t hurt you!”
I shrugged. “The house doesn’t seem to think so.”
He looked repulsed by the house. By me. By my powers.
“Trust me. You can’t get in. What do you want? Why are you here?” I wanted Victor to leave before Emma came out of her bedroom or before Peter showed up to take me to the Winter Ball.
“I need a favor.”
“Right. Because you deserve one.”