Deadly Darlings (October Darlings Book 2) Page 3

  Three months post break up, I wish she wasn’t so upset, but seeing as she had tried dating one of her oldest friends and it didn’t end well... I guess that’s just to be expected. I purse my lips and hold back a relieved grin. At least she isn’t thinking of Tomas as a potential dating possibility.

  “Hey, you never know what’s going to happen. Maybe you and George will figure it out someday.”

  “Yeah,” she snorts. “I think it would be better if we were at least in the same town, for starters. Whatever,” she shrugs, “I’m going to shower and head to bed since tonight was a dud. See you in the morning.”

  “See you.”

  I wait until the bathroom latches completely and the screeching of water through the pipes floats through the walls. Knowing Sabrina, I’ll have at least half an hour before she’s done showering and fixing her hair before bed. More than enough time for a short conversation.

  Snapping the overhead light off, I light a couple of tea light candles (my only true contraband) and place them on the windowsill beside the plant I carefully brought from home. Graveyard mint.

  The backyard of Nix House is large and sloping, ending in a plateau lined with trees, and covered in graves. Our family cemetery is a type of sanctuary, both for the living and the dead. Instead of shrouding the burial sites with grass, a soft covering of mint protects the area within the gate, while a row of rosemary guards it from without. The house itself is home to several generations of ghostly family members, but with the help of dirt and mint taken from the graveyard, I can talk to them even while I'm not there.

  Plucking two leaves from the plant, I crumble them over the candles, letting them burn and float in the wax.

  “Marlowe?” I whisper. “Marlowe, can you hear me?”

  “Of course, I can,” she answers in exasperation. “You burned the leaves, didn’t you?”

  Grinning for the first time tonight, I take in the wavering, violet form of my second cousin. Transparent, eternally eighteen, and usually overflowing with information since she spends most of her time following my aunt around the house, Marlowe is pretty much the first spirit I call on for company. At least with her I don’t get lectures on the way I dress or do my hair. Our older relatives have a habit of asking me to dress more like a proper lady.

  “Now what do you want?” She asks.

  “Who said I wanted anything?”

  “You never summon me unless you want something. And Frank is crawling up your arm snapping away, so that means something’s wrong. You can only hide so much when your magic tells on you. I think you should just call Del.”

  “He wasn’t made with my magic. I don’t do magic. And I’m not ready to talk to her about that stuff.” My mother was the one to charm Frank to life but seeing as she died when I was almost six and I just lost my dad a few months ago... anything to do with my parents are conversations that I consider strictly off limits.

  Marlowe nods at me sympathetically. Unlike me, she probably has crystal clear memories of my mother. Shoving that unpleasant thought to the back of my mind, I grab Frank off my arm just as he's reaching my shoulder and place him on my lap. Sure enough, the small, iron scorpion is waving his claws at me agitatedly.

  “There’s a ghost here. Something different than what I’ve seen before. But it’s more than that. Marlowe, have you ever heard of anyone else... like us?”

  “Like us how? Living amongst relatives who are both alive and dead and able to hang out in your own home until it’s time to move on?” She says the last bit like it’s a joke, framing air quotations near her face.

  Twisting my mouth to the side, I shove my jacket down my arms and let it collect around my waist, at the seat of my chair. “Like us meaning... they can see the de— they can see spirits.”

  Ignoring my ill framed question, Marlowe hovers in midair, sprawling out horizontally as if laying on a bed and resting her chin on her palms. “No. But I’m sure they exist. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have a word for clairvoyance, would we?”

  That’s true.

  Frank snaps onto my belt loop and uses it to clamber up my torso, heading back towards my shoulder. I hate when he does that; he always ends up messing with my hair.

  “If I found one,” I hesitate, dropping my eyes to the candles. The leaves are dropping lower in the melted wax, and our talk can only last as long as the flame burns. “If I found one, do you think I should let them know I'm one as well?”

  Marlowe raises her eyebrows as far as they can go, twisting the chain of her necklace around her finger and pressing the pendant against her cheek. “That would be up to you, wouldn’t it? Do you trust them?”

  That’s the question isn’t it? I frown at the candles, replaying tonight in my head, and by the time the flames burn out, I realize I never actually answered her.

  “You’re still up?” Sabrina steps out of the bathroom, bringing a heavy wave of humidity with her.

  Startled, I jump up from my seat and shove Frank back onto my wrist. Sabrina may be aware of his existence, but she isn’t his biggest fan. For her, graveyards are places to learn stories, not watch objects come to life or have the dead chase her.

  “Uhm, yeah. I was just waiting for the shower. Good night!”

  “HOW DID YOU GET IN here?” Sabrina asks Ellis as he steps in the room at, ugh, eight in the morning.

  “I bribed Rebecca with a cup of coffee and a muffin.” Already dressed for the day and carrying several coffees with a box that looks suspiciously like more muffins, he smiles good naturedly up at me. He would bribe the RA with sweets. I wish I’d thought of that before Sabrina got caught using my dorm key when she lost her own.

  From under my cocoon of blankets, I peek out at him beneath my pillow and struggle between gratitude at his thoughtfulness and the food he’s brought, and downright anger that I'm being woken up this early.

  “Out.” I say.

  “What?”

  “Wait in the hallway.” I point Ellis to the door and grumble as nicely as I can manage. “I’m not ready to socialize. Give me five minutes to at least brush my teeth.”

  “You really should listen to her,” Sabrina warns him. Plucking one of the coffees from his arms, she pushes her glasses up her nose and shrugs. “She’s awful in the morning.”

  “Oh, come on,” Ellis protests. “You got up early all the time when we were working at the bakery.”

  “At which point I was being motivated by money and the fact that my aunt forced me to go. Just give me five minutes.” Watching his smile fade, I listen to the twinge in my gut and add, “Please? You can come right back in after, I promise.”

  “Okay, okay.” Setting the food on my desk, he leaves, and Sabrina shakes her head at me.

  “What?” I demand, sitting upright and almost banging my head against the ceiling. Damn these tiny rooms! My pillow falls onto my lap, and my hair feels like it’s sticking up in a million different directions.

  “You should be nicer to him. I think he’s in love with you.”

  “Shut up!” I throw the pillow at her face and clamber off the side of the bed. Landing on my heels, I shove my hair back and take a deep breath. The smell of the coffee is strong and I’m not as annoyed anymore. “I am nice to him.”

  By the time Ellis comes back in, my hair is pulled up into a messy ponytail, my breath is bearable, and in jeans and a sweater, I’m reasonably dressed. Dressed to my standards at least. Sabrina, on the other hand, won’t stop sighing about my lack of makeup or attention to jewelry beyond Frank.

  I recount most of yesterday’s misadventure over breakfast, quietly leaving out my suspicions about Tomas, and by the time I’m done, Sabrina is squinting at me and Ellis is groaning, half a muffin resting in his hand, and his head dropping against the wall beside him. So much for looking into the courtyard’s haunt without alarming the two of them.

  “Alright, I guess in the meantime we probably shouldn’t go running around campus at night,” Ellis says after several minutes of process
ing. “Sabrina, that means no trespassing!” he adds.

  “Oh, come on,” she protests. “Y'all are acting like it’s an everyday thing. I only bust into cemeteries when they aren’t open to the public. And besides, I never do anything but walk over to get a few grave rubbings and maybe jot down a few notes. Nothing dangerous.”

  “Uh, seriously? Sneaking into cemeteries when I just told you there’s some kind of nasty spirit around is dangerous. Do you not remember everything that happened last year?”

  “No, girl, I have amnesia actually. You’ll have to remind me.” She rolls her eyes. Being lured into a dangerous location and getting stuck at the bottom of a well tends to leave a big impression on a person, but sometimes I’m scared at how blithely Sabrina references it.

  “Enough with the sarcasm,” Ellis cuts in. “The point is, we need to watch our backs. And that probably means looking into your new friend.”

  I scoot over to him, resting my head in the crook of his neck and wishing I could just rewind to yesterday before the party and freeze.

  “Mm, he was starting to tell me something about a campus legend,” Sabrina says. “Maybe that’s what he was talking about.”

  “If he was, you’ll have to get it out of him. I’m not going anywhere near him,” I resolve.

  Ellis glances at me in confusion, but before I can shrug it off, Sabrina stands up to toss her empty cup in the trash bin.

  “Addie doesn’t like him. Although I have no clue why. He’s completely gorgeous! Except for the fact that he smokes.” She frowns, pouting as she furrows her brow. “That’s going to totally ruin his teeth, and I am not into tobacco breath. But still,” she sighs, “he's gorgeous.”

  Her outright admiration is grating, and it’s difficult to keep the annoyance off my face. What does she think is so special about this guy anyway?

  “Sounds like I’m lucky you don’t like him then,” Ellis grins down at me. I love his lips, they’re lush and firm, and far sexier than any guy’s mouth has the right to be.

  “Not even close to liking him.” I sit up enough to kiss him, savoring the warmth of his mouth on mine and the way our breath wraps together.

  “Ahem,” Sabrina clears her throat.

  I move my hand up to Ellis’ neck, and he shifts his arm— probably motioning at her to give us a moment. Or possibly signaling something ruder.

  This time, I’m the one who ends up with a pillow in my face.

  “Hey!” I yell.

  “Payback.” Sabrina shrugs and saunters out of the room, leaving a mess of napkins and muffin liners on her desk behind her.

  Chapter Three

  I DON’T KNOW WHY I thought Monday would be any better than the weekend. Besides the hope that things would turn around the closer to my birthday, nothing is going right for me. Which is why sitting in the middle of my composition class getting reamed out by my professor over improper essay formatting really shouldn't be a surprise. So how come it feels so unfair?

  As he moves on to derail another student's dream of a passing grade in this class, the girl sitting across the aisle from me leans closer; a dark brunette with emerald green highlights and eyes so pale, they’re almost white, there’s a familiarity to her face that has me frowning.

  “It would have been nice to get a review on this guy before taking his class, right?” Her voice is snide, but she seems to be trying for a friendly conversation.

  “Yeah,” I agree. Ducking my head over my shoulder, I check to make sure he’s out of earshot. From across the room, he’s glaring at someone else's paper. I think it’s safe to assume he can’t hear us. “I’m just counting down the weeks to finals.”

  “There’s a guy at the writing lab across campus who helped me format my assignment. I can walk you over and introduce you after class if you want.” She shrugs, and although her words say it isn’t a big deal, her eyes flash like I’d be wise to take her up on the offer.

  Sitting upright, I pull my papers towards me and gather my possessions as surreptitiously as possible. Squinting at her, I catch sight of a deep violet crow preening itself on her shoulder. Just the same sort of supernatural vision I caught off Tomas the other night!

  “I’m sorry, uhm, I didn’t actually catch your name. I’m Addie. You are?”

  This time amusement accompanies her response, sliding across her black painted lips like the light of the moon bouncing off a tombstone. “Ramona Erebus. And I already know all about you, Adeline Nix. I think we’re going to be good friends.”

  A shudder runs down my spine, and as she tosses her hair over her shoulder, I remember where I’ve seen her before.

  “You’re Tomas’ sister! You knocked me over this weekend!”

  “Yeah... sorry about that.” She glances down at her nails, examining her gold polish instead of even trying for a genuine apology. “I just needed some way to get my brother dear to meet you.” Raising her gaze to mine, her stare is just as compelling as her brother’s. Who are these people?

  My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, and all around us, the class is preparing to leave. I’m glued to my seat and my books shake in my hands. Anger or even fear would be appropriate reactions right now. But the only I feel is the racing of my heart and the rushing sensation of knowledge just beyond my reach.

  “Tomas is... overprotective,” Ramona explains. “He might not agree with me hanging out with you. But I just couldn’t resist. I mean, how often do you come across an actual clairvoyant?”

  My heart stops and my fingers jerk haphazardly around the side of the books still in my hand. The walls spin around the edges of my vision and a mix of black and violet stars dance around my peripheral vision.

  “Excuse me?” I splutter.

  “Don’t play dumb.” Ramona smirks. “You’ll see what I mean soon enough, but we need each other.”

  She rises from her seat, slinging a messenger bag over her shoulder and sweeping her hair from underneath the strap. Gold-plated jewelry accents her sleek, black dress and tights, and the towering heels on her feet match the emerald hue of her hair perfectly. Next to her, my scuffed-up boots and corduroy jacket would make Sabrina cry, and with all the secrets Ramona’s hinting at, I’m out of my depths in more ways than one.

  “Do me a favor,” she murmurs, pausing at the door, “don’t say anything about this to Tomas. He tends to throw fits over finding things out late and well, I haven’t exactly told him know about you, yet.”

  With that, she flounces out, leaving me slack-jawed and flummoxed. It looks like my question to Marlowe was pointless as it is. They saw right through me. The question is, how?

  I rush out of the classroom, bag unzipped and papers falling out of my hands, but it’s no use. Ramona has vanished as suddenly as a spirit who doesn’t want to be seen.

  WAITING OUTSIDE BLACKWOOD Books an hour later, my head is still a mess and I’m watching every person that walks by with my extra sight. While ghosts are the most obvious thing to pop up on my radar, if I stare hard enough at living people, I can see their deepest regrets. It isn’t exactly a fun gift, but it lends me excellent insight to the type of people around me.

  Tomas and Ramona’s regrets are baffling, to say the least. I can’t imagine what crows have to do with anything, unless they accidentally killed a pet bird at one point or another. But the one thing I am sure about is if anyone walks up with the same image, I’m hightailing it the other way. There’s no telling if they have any other creepy family members crawling around campus.

  The cups of coffee in my hands are beginning to chill, and each time the bell above the store entrance chimes, it brings with it a terrible whiff of plastic and old cardboard. I wish it could summon answers instead.

  “I am so sorry, Addie!” Ellis stumbles out the doorway, work shirt still on and a crease between his eyebrows. “Dorian called in and Gustavo won’t let me take off until we have someone else to cover the front.”

  “Oh.” I can’t stop my face from falling, and the stupid, paper cup
s in my hands feel heavy and pointless. “Yeah, I understand,” I say. And I do. It’s his job; he can’t leave.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeats, brushing the back of his hand against my cheek. “We’ll do lunch together tomorrow.”

  Back at home, we spent almost all our time together, and I knew going to college would change that. We have more responsibilities... it’s only natural. But my stomach is sinking with undeniable disappointment, and I wish I could at least tell him about my strange conversation with Ramona.

  “Addie?” He presses his palm against the bottom of my chin, angling my face up to his. His honey-colored eyes are glistening with regret, and I know if I turn my sight on him, his pain will have something to do with how little free time he has these days.

  Forcing a smile, I gently press his coffee into his free hand and swallow back my worries. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” I reassure him. Balancing on the tips of my toes, I lean my forehead against his and shut my eyes. A second here and there seems like all we ever get now. Even the kiss we share is too brief, and by the time he leaves me alone in front of the shop, my head is reeling more than ever.

  I can’t do this. I can’t just sit around and feel like the world is turning upside down without doing anything about it. So, I do the only thing I can think to do. I head down to the basements.

  In broad daylight, I’d hoped the hidden staircase would appear, well, more normal. But the hallway with the miniscule door is silent and vacant, despite the hurried footsteps in every other part of the building.

  Shoving my jacket into my bag, I stroke the top of Frank’s head, willing him to wake up. He wriggles his pincers in response, and if there’s anything to be grateful about today, it’s how calm he’s been. My sentinel is my first line of defense and alarm system for when my own supernatural senses fail. If Ramona didn’t set him off, then as odd as she is, at least she’s not a danger, despite her ominous warnings.