Deadly Darlings (October Darlings Book 2) Read online

  He refuses to say a single word the entire time I’m in the room, but he never wavers in his glaring, leaving me feeling even more vulnerable and raw than before. With a stinging heart, I offer the necklace to Aimee and ask Sabrina about where to find Eden. Apparently, Sabrina had been with her most of the morning but left so that she could sleep some. Her message is subtle but clear, I should steer clear of Eden’s room.

  Too bad for me, I need to make sure she gets a protective charm on her before I can leave. Sabrina, I’m relieved to see, is wearing a hematite necklace I’d gifted her about a year ago, and I can only hope Ellis hasn’t thrown out his matching keychain.

  “Okay,” I sigh after several painful moments, “I, uhm, I guess I better get going.”

  I pat Aimee’s shoulder and smile at her weakly before getting up. The walk to the door feels like a million miles, and I can’t help but shoot one last glance over my shoulder before I leave. Ellis finally decided to stop staring, and his determined aversion is worse than his anger. I wish I could just rewind to last week and freeze.

  Life never works out the way we wish it could.

  Eden is in fact, asleep when I slip into her room. Leaving the plants with a sticky note that simply has my name on it and a message to get well, I begin my trek out of the wretched place. I’m halfway to the last elevator I need to take to the ground floor when I see it.

  Tall and sweeping, donned in all black and with a description less face, it’s like I’m looking into a blank space that doesn’t exist, save for the violet glow radiating off the figure. Moving from one room and then another erratically, the sight of the creature causes my heart to pause for a zeptosecond, and my temperature plummets. Delia had warned me more than once about the shadow people, the omens of death. As clairvoyants, we can see their sinister presences, but for mortals... only the dying recognize when they’re nearby.

  Shaking my head, I rush to press the button on the lift, but it doesn’t come fast enough before I hear a weak voice asking a nurse about the man in a cloak. Shuddering, it takes all that I’ve got not to run out of the building, and by the time I reach my car in the parking garage, I’m sobbing.

  Chapter Twelve

  “THAT’S THE THING THOUGH,” Terra is saying when I walk in the front door. “The police are saying there’s evidence of a suspect. As in a human suspect. Ghost or not, there’s something else out that is attacking people. Which means it’s not our job to deal with.”

  “What you’re suggesting is that we ignore the obvious haunting and allow mortals to continue getting hurt!” Tomas exclaims. “And what about Addie? She’s all but said it’s targeting her friends!”

  “It is targeting my friends,” I clarify, dropping my keys in the dish by the couch. “And I just saw them; they looked horrible. We can’t let it happen again.”

  “This isn’t my problem,” Terra insists. “You,” she points at me, “have got something to worry about for sure, and if these two want to get involved, fine. But I’m not sticking my neck out unless I have to. And from where I stand, this is a living problem, not a deathly one.”

  “Terra!” Ramona whines. “How could you turn your back on me?”

  “Easy,” she retorts, avoiding me altogether as she sidles towards the door, “By choosing to save myself. I’ve got my own life to think of. You need to sort out your own.”

  The wall shudders as first the wooden door, then the screen one, clang shut behind her. As soon as her car pulls away from the curb, I lock the deadbolt before pulling the curtains closed, and then settle on the couch. Looking at Ramona’s troubled face, I clear my throat and say, “I think it’s time we talked.”

  “Good idea!” Tomas says loudly, clapping his hands together and staring at his sister cynically. “I was just telling Ramona that I was going to pull down that mirror from your room.”

  “And I was just telling my dear brother, what a completely shit idea that is.” Ramona pulls her legs up onto the couch beside her and angles my way, touching my arm as she talks. “We need to get you taken care of first. Terra had a point, there are so many bad things that could happen if anything else figures out what you are.”

  “Like what?” I scoff, exasperated. “I’ve made it nineteen years pretty much okay! I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

  The two exchange dark glances and Tomas rubs at his scalp, disrupting his hair into a million feathery spikes. I’m getting real sick of watching them do that ominous twinny-secret thing. If they have something to say, they need to just say it.

  “Okay, if y’all aren’t going to actually talk, I’m going to summon somebody who will!” I decide. It’s been too long since I’ve talked to Marlowe anyway.

  I’m halfway to my room, trying my best to ignore their low muttered squabbling when Tomas calls out my name.

  “Just, wait a second,” he says. He grumbles at Ramona again, and as I reach the living room; I catch her shrugging aggressively.

  I lean against the doorway and rest my pounding head on the frame as I wait for them to take this seriously. “I get it,” I tell them. “I’m a target. I put people in danger, and that doesn’t help anybody. If you want, I can move out tomorrow, but in the meantime, I’d like some help getting the campus secured.”

  “You aren’t moving out!” They chorus.

  Tomas scowls and Ramona waves me back over to the sofa.

  “Get over here,” she complains. “We want to keep you, not kick you out.”

  “I’m not a stray cat,” I pan.

  “I’m fully committed to stopping this ghost,” Tomas states. As if that weren’t already obvious.

  “Here’s my plan,” I perch at the arm of the couch and look back and forth between the two of them, “I’m going to go raid Eden’s stuff for clues as to why y’all’s cloaking thing isn’t working, and then I’m going to hit the library and hopefully find out what keeps dragging me to the in-between.”

  I hold back a shiver, clenching my jaw as I remember the wind and noise that followed Terra and I through the haze. And those skulls... goosebumps crawl up my arm at the memory of the bone beneath my palm. Frank tightens his grip on my wrist, sensing my despair, and I clear my throat to disguise the long silence I’ve let fill the room.

  Tomas breaks the tension first. “I should have some readings on astral projection. I know it’s not the same thing, but it’s a start. And I want to look around campus as well, it’s most likely wisest if we use a buddy system.”

  Wrinkling my nose at him, I start to downplay my accidental disappearance from the night before last, but it’s still too terrifying to deny.

  “Fine,” I sigh. “In the meantime,” I ask Ramona, “do you think you can go over some notebooks I have? Maybe there’s a charm or something that can help me.”

  “No problem,” she agrees. Raising her finely arched eyebrows, she regards me with surprise, but there's no way she’s as shocked at my attempts towards magic as I am.

  But with things as bad as they are, what do I have to lose?

  DRIVING UP TO CAMPUS, it’s immediately apparent they've upped the security. At least two cop cars are parked at opposite ends of the grounds, and a small fleet of golf carts carry security guards to and from the buildings.

  “Do you think it could be a doppelganger?” I ask unwillingly as Tomas pulls into a parking spot. Seated in the front seat of his car, I stare at the pack of gum in his console rather than anywhere near his face.

  “What’s a doppelganger?” He frowns, and despite my efforts, I inspect every aspect of his expression before answering. His eyes are as pale as ever, although his anxiety leaves them less cold, and his sharp cheekbones are reddened between the chilly air outside and the sweltering heat in the car.

  “It’s a trick demons like to play. They pull together enough energy to take on the form of someone close to you... and then they go for the kill.”

  Do they ever. One nearly got me last year at just about this time.

  “One, holy crap,” he e
xclaims, “two, I’m going to have to say no. Terra was right, there’s evidence an actual human is doing this.”

  “Yeah, well, demons can look pretty human-like, and so can hags. They aren’t just apparitions! Trust me, they can make physical contact and it can hurt.” I explain, my voice shaking as I suppress memories of nightmares and one terrible evening caught in a haystack maze.

  “You weren’t joking before. You really have dealt with a demon?” Tomas sounds horrified, and maybe just a little bit awed. It’s a strange combination, and I’m not sure if I like it.

  Fidgeting with the strap of my lanyard that keeps my camera constantly at my side, I chew on my bottom lip until the tangy taste of blood hits my tongue. When Ramona made us share stories about our loved ones, I mentioned how I lost my mother to a drowning accident... but I chose not to expand on the real story. She was hunted down by a creature that wanted to get to me. Just like how my friends are in the hospital right now.

  Terra is right. I shouldn't exist.

  “Remember the ancestors that got me my powers? And their whole revenge story? The men they killed twisted and morphed together into something vile. For generations they hunted down an occasional October Darling— a Nix clairvoyant that is. Only Nix descendants born in October get the gift. And whenever the demon garnered enough energy, it would attack.”

  I run my finger over Frank's head and around his tiny pincers, earning an expression I could swear was close to a smile. As close to a smile a metal scorpion can possess, anyway.

  “My mother lost her life protecting me, and she left me Frank to help me get by. He’s what really saved me from the demon when it came after me again,” I explain.

  “His name is Frank?” Tomas confirms, reaching his hand out halfway, as though he wants to pet him.

  “Mmhm.” I nod. I extend my wrist and allow Tomas to examine the sentinel, a wave of affection sweeping over me as Frank preens under the attention. Silly little scorpion. I love him.

  “In that case,” Tomas mutters, “thanks Frank, for taking care of my friend. Keep it up, we need the help.”

  “Oh, we’re friends now?” I raise my eyebrow and laugh nervously, ready to step out of the car.

  “I’d hope so,” Tomas grins. I’d forgotten how attractive he is when he smiles like that; it makes my heart jump a beat.

  Blinking, I shake off my confusion at my body’s reaction and fumble for the door handle. My cheeks are flushed, and we really need to get to work.

  “I mean, you’re living at my house. It’d be pretty awkward if we weren’t friends.”

  I pretend not to hear him as I clamber out of the car and take a deep breath. A cloud appears in front of my face as I exhale, and I tighten my grip on the loose, canvas bag I’d brought along with me. Every time I step on campus, I’m in danger. I can’t afford to let Tomas distract me from that.

  My first stop is to pick up assignments from my professors with apologies and lies about a stomach bug. Next is the dormitories, but by the time we’re headed that way, my hands are numb from the cold.

  Others around us are decked out in light sweaters, so I know I’m the only one feeling the cold. Shooting a glance at Tomas, I take that back. His nose is red, and his shoulders are shaking. Little wisps of fog float out of his nose when he breathes, and his jaw looks as tight as mine is.

  Oblivious to my attention, Tomas glances around to double-check that nobody is watching him, then he lets out a low whistle, slowly building a song, so that by the time we reach the building, every tree is filled with grackles. Shivering even more violently than before, I fidget with my camera, caught between wanting a picture and hating the way they watch me. How does nobody else notice an entire flock invading the campus?

  “Do you ever find them,” I nod towards the birds, “creepy at all?”

  “No.” He looks at me quizzically. “Does Frank ever creep you out?”

  “No, of course not,” I answer.

  “Why?” He stops beside the door, leaning on the wall with his shoulder to stare at me.

  “Uhm, because he’s Frank.” I swallow nervously and resist the urge to reach for the scorpion in question. For all Tomas’ nonchalant stance, I can’t shake the queasy anxiety stirring around my gut. “He’s meant to protect me, and I’ve loved him since I was a kid.”

  “Okay,” Tomas nods, “there you go, then. That’s how I feel about the birds.” He wrenches the door open and shrugs, raising his eyebrows at me. His pale irises are like flecks of metal gleaming in the moonlight, and all at once I remember his other form; the one that’s frightening and strange. The one he resents, no matter what he says out loud. “After you,” he says, motioning me to pass through the doorway.

  Strolling in, I cringe at the loud squeaking of our rubber soles against the tiled floors and stride quickly towards the rickety elevator instead of the stairs.

  “Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Tomas asks. His fingers are already fidgeting with his belt loop and I’m sure within the next two minutes he’ll start drumming on his leg again. “What if our not-so-friendly ghost decides to stop us on the way up? Or” he frowns nervously, “sends us for a fast drop?”

  Rolling my eyes, I hit the button and shake my head. “Oh, come on Tomas,” I chide him. “What happened to all that bravery before? Trekking through scary passageways and breaking into basements? You can’t tell me you’re scared of a little elevator.”

  Just like how I’m not about to admit that the only reason there’s no way I’m going near those stairs is because every time I look at them, it feels like someone is about to jump out at me.

  Tomas raises his chin, showcasing the stubble present there, despite the fact I heard him shaving this morning. That’s one aspect of being a guy I bet sucks. At least when I shave my legs, I get a few days of reprieve before having to do it again.

  “Get in the elevator,” he grumbles as the doors open, greeting us with a worn, red interior and musty smell. It’s like stepping into a coffin but I refuse to let him know that. One way or another, we have to get upstairs.

  Sure enough, halfway past the second floor, the thing shakes and rumbles, threatening to stall, and I get a well-deserved glare from Tomas.

  “Great plan, Addie,” he pans. Adopting a sarcastic tone, he continues, “sure, of course a tiny, enclosed box is where we need to go in the middle of a malevolent haunting. That’s exactly the decision we need to make. It’s not going to kill us at all!”

  Before I can tell him to shut up, the lift lurches, sending me sideways and straight into his arms. Startled, he catches me, and in our fluster, we almost miss the doors opening on the next floor. His eyes catch mine, and as I struggle to regain my balance, something in them gives me pause. There’s a softening that almost makes me want to stay where I am, wrapped in his embrace.

  But my heart is still aching, and I can’t be this near to him without feeling guilty about—

  “Ellis.” Tomas murmurs.

  “Huh?” I gawk up at him, pushing out of his arms.

  Tomas nods, and turning to the exit, I’m caught by a very different stare.

  “You were just worried about my safety? Yeah, sure looks that way,” Ellis scoffs. Standing beside Sabrina with a bagful of what I’m assuming are things for Eden, the look of hurt on his face hits me in the gut.

  “No, Ellis, it’s not—”

  “— what it looks like? Really? You’re going to try and use that line on me?” Ellis pushes past me as I step towards him, glaring angrily in Tomas’ direction as he follows. “Don’t bother lying, Addie. We’re done anyway.”

  Gaping wordlessly at him, my mouth can’t keep up with my mind, and my mind can’t keep up with my emotions. My eyes are stinging, I want to puke, and there’s an anger stirring in my chest that he could know me so well and yet so little.

  Even Sabrina is eyeing me speculatively, and her silence is the worst of all.

  “You know what?” I spit out, tears burning the back of my eyes. “S
crew y’all.”

  I stomp in the direction of the dormitory as the elevator doors close behind him, and it’s not until we reach the room that Tomas even attempts to talk to me.

  “Hey,” he says, grabbing at my elbow, “wait a minute. Look at me.” He asks me gently, and it takes everything I’ve got to comply. The lump in my throat intensifies as I lift my head, and my chin is trembling miserably as I choke my tears back.

  Sabrina moved on so quickly to a new roommate and Ellis didn’t even give me time to explain why I wanted space, but they can assume I’m lying about everything? That I left Ellis for Tomas? It’s beyond insulting!

  “We’re not the same as most people, and that’s a crappy thing we’ll always have to deal with, but you can’t make everybody understand.” Tomas keeps one hand on my arm as he speaks, his eyes flitting around us every few words to make sure we’re still in the clear. “It’s not their fault or yours, it’s just what goes along with being a magic holder.”

  “Don’t give me the burden-of-the-chosen-one lecture,” I retort, my voice thick and broken. “We aren’t special, we’re just cursed. And as selfish as it is, I wish there were more of us because I’m tired of feeling so damn alone!”

  Tomas drops his eyes, and what he’s thinking, I have no idea. Maybe I’ve admitted too much, maybe that was just awkward as hell, but his silence is no reassurance.

  Breathing in deeply, I get a hold of myself and unlock the door. “Whatever. Forget I said anything,” I grumble.

  “Wait, no,” Tomas stops me, “just...” he glances down and then sets his silvered eyes on me once more. “You aren’t alone. You aren’t.”

  It’s my turn to look away as I bite my lower lip and push open the dormitory door, but what’s waiting for us is far beyond reassuring.