Deadly Darlings (October Darlings Book 2)

by Wendolyn Baird

  “Yeah?” Bridget sneers. “How?”

  “Easy,” Ramona answers exasperatedly. She points at me like my mere presence is a solution. “We lean on our clairvoyant friend.”

  Unable to keep a neutral expression, I grimace at the sudden attention as everyone in the room turns my way. “Hey, I just see them,” I mumble. “So...”

  Ramona’s face falls, but despite the hurt in her eyes, she keeps my secret. “Alright,” she says. “We’ll just have to figure something out. In the meantime, no shifting.”

  With the uproar her statement causes, I’m assuming that keeping themselves from shifting is easier said than done, but with a possible shifter hunter on the loose, what else is there to do?

  “We need to have a talk with your friend,” Ramona decides as we climb in the car to leave Bridget’s place. “Maybe she’ll tell us a little bit more about this wicked ghost of yours and why there’s a mage in town. Personally, I think the sooner he leaves town, the better.”

  “You and me both,” Tomas mutters.

  I remain silent in the backseat, going over my ancestors’ cryptic warnings in my head, and the ache of losing my friends in my chest. This isn’t the first time my gifts have come between us, but I never expected they could cause a divide this wide. And I especially didn’t count on magic having such a big impact, either.

  Chapter Fifteen

  SLEEP IS A FRETFUL thing, taking its time in coming along and other times slamming against you with abandon. There’s no predicting the calm or the storms it might bring, and some nights, I’d prefer suffering nightmares than to sleep like the dead. It’s unsettling to shut my eyes one second, only to wake with a blink and find hours have passed.

  My body is stiff, my mind alert, and my heart pounds the second my room comes into view. There’s nothing uneasy about the room in the early morning light; just the fears that haunt me each waking moment.

  “Addie,” Ramona pounds on my door, “pancakes and bacon are ready. I’m going on a coffee run.”

  Her footsteps clip down the hall, no doubt emphasized by another pair of impractical heels on her feet. Staying with them over the last few weeks have made a few things clear, both about them, and the friends I miss so badly.

  Ramona lives in a perpetual state of chaos, which she hides with flashy outfits and well worded statements that leave you hanging onto her words with either confusion or exasperation. Or, in some cases, admiration. She also projects loyalty beyond all bounds, and the longer I spent time with her, the easier it becomes.

  Tomas can be snippy and spends a great deal of time trying to convince others of the facade he wears, but at his core, he just wants to protect as many people as he can. The problem is, he lacks the means to do so, and consequently becomes overly anxious and irritable about things he can't control. Such as his sister’s antics. Or the way Frank scampers freely through the house every moment he’s not on my person. But on the bright side, that meticulous nature means I have a perfect study partner.

  Eden is exceptionally good at avoiding people, and I think it’s rubbing off on Sabrina. That, or Sabrina’s chosen a side in mine and Ellis’ break-up, and it wasn’t mine.

  From time to time, I catch her eye in the dining hall, but just like the way she’s screening my calls, Sabrina always ducks out before I can reach her. With my dorm key card getting cancelled, there’s no way for me to show up at the room, and I’m left worrying over their safety from a distance.

  The mage continues to make his presence at Blackwood known, and as much as my shifter friends squirm in that knowledge, he’s made no move against them. His only focus, it seems, is the construction in the basements. Dust and yellow tape cover the corner building, and every time I’ve tried to get a peek of what they’re really doing down there, a security guard gives me the stink eye. At this point, I’m surprised I haven’t been taken into questioning for suspicious lurking.

  Then again, no one else has been attacked by the ghost since Aimee and Eden. She’s still around, and I can feel her terrible stain of existence floating through the campus every time I head to class, but Ramona and Tomas take turns guarding me. Using the grackles as watch birds, we rely on our extra senses to try and survive the semester.

  Which is why today, I’m especially surprised to have made it this far.

  Throwing my hair into a thick braid, I pull on a sweater and a pair of Docs before trekking out to the main room. With the open kitchen on one side and the living/dining room on the other, the only difference since I’ve moved in is a little less mess. Papers and clutter, I can live with. Old food and billions of cups all over the place, I can’t. Times like these, I miss having ghostly roommates to help with the chores.

  “Morning,” I mumble to Tomas.

  He hands me a plateful of ginger pancakes while gnawing on a mouthful of bacon, and merely nods at me in a way of greeting. His hair is still damp from the shower, and he’s swapped his usual tee shirt for a warm henley. Beneath dark lashes, his irises shine like stars in the light from the front windows. The air is crisp with the late atmosphere, even with the heater circulating warmth through the duplex and there’s the undeniable feeling of fall sweeping through the room.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I ask him. “Delia talks faster than Ramona and just as often. She’ll also try to feed you everything in the world, and if you refuse, she’ll assume you’re sick.”

  “It’s Thanksgiving, Addie, not the end of the world. Besides, I met all your dead relatives. It’ll be nice to meet a live one.”

  “The only live one,” I remind him. The pancakes stick in my throat and settle halfway through my chest. This is the first Thanksgiving without my dad. Even last year, when we visited with him beside his hospital bed... at least I had him.

  Tomas stops cooking for a moment to come around the side of the table and stare at me. His eyes soften, and his hands are only inches away from my own. The longer Ellis refuses to talk to me, the more I notice little things that endear me to Tomas, and I hate it. All it does is remind me of my guilt at pushing away people who stood by me for so long.

  “Hey, it’s just a couple of days. We can all get through this,” he reassures me.

  “Yeah. Sure.” Like he could possibly know. “Anyway, what about y’all’s family? No one wants to visit?”

  Before he can answer, Ramona kicks open the front door with her heel, backing into the duplex with a tray of overpriced lattes in her hands. “It’s a holiday!” She shouts. “Time to celebrate! At the very least, I’m glad there’s no homework.”

  In so many ways, she reminds me of Sabrina. Just not as loving. At least not towards me. Or Tomas, for that matter. I’ve only seen her show affection directed towards her friends, and even that's a rare occurrence.

  “Well, I’m thankful for fancy coffees,” I retort, slapping an overly bright smile across my face. “Thanks for getting them.”

  “Thank you for inviting us to your aunt’s,” she replies, handing me a latte. “Our parents are overly busy this year, and it’s a longer drive anyway.”

  “Oh?” For as long as I’ve been staying with them, this is the first time either of them has even mentioned their other family members. “What are they busy with?”

  “You know, stuff.” She shrugs.

  Tomas rolls his eyes and grabs one of the two remaining cups. “Our older brother and his wife are having their second baby. Our mom and dad are just doing the grandparent thing. I expect we’ll be invited to go meet the new bundle of joy over Christmas break.”

  “I didn’t know y’all had an older brother. Is he the only other sibling you have?” I ask tentatively, shoving a large bite of pancake in my mouth as soon as the words are out. As curious as I am, I don’t want them to clam up again.

  “No,” Ramona replies. “We have a little sister too. Diego’s a few years older than us, he’s twenty-five. Then Rosa is a few years younger, she’s sixteen.”

  “That’s neat, having a big family
like that. Are y’all close?”

  The twins exchange glances and move in tandem to sip their drinks. Despite their personality differences, genetics goes a long way when it comes to their mannerisms.

  “Close enough, I suppose.” Tomas shrugs. “We don’t keep in touch too often, but we get along fine when we’re all together. We just all have our own lives.”

  “Except for the two of us, of course,” Ramona disagrees. “It doesn’t matter what we do, we’re stuck together.”

  “What do you mean?” I frown, moving to clear my plate.

  Tomas scowls at his sister and my shoulders hunch up as I stumble across what appears to be a sensitive subject.

  “Nothing,” he huffs. “Just as twins, our family expects us to watch each other’s backs for eternity.”

  “Don’t be so melodramatic,” Ramona rolls her eyes, “you know it’s just because they care. There’s a bit to be scared of you know?”

  “What is there to be scared of?” I echo questioningly.

  This time, they both stiffen, and I know I’ve stumbled onto a sensitive subject.

  “Nothing!” They claim, their voices clamoring together and off by just a half beat.

  Secrets, secrets... but what else is new?

  I glance down at Frank, who is pacing around my feet, and he glances up at me. If he had eyebrows, I’d bet they’d be raised, but as it is, his expression appears as skeptical as my own. I set my plate in the sink and go to pick him up.

  “Glossing over that obvious lie,” I say half-jokingly, stroking the top of Frank’s head as I speak, “I’ll do the dishes before we leave. Make sure to pack an extra jacket; the spirits make Nix House run on the cold side.”

  Packed in my car an hour later, I’m not even surprised when Ramona rolls down the window as I’m pulling up to the first stop sign and draws her arm back in with a bird perched on the back of her hand. I can’t be sure, but he looks like the same bird I’ve seen her cooing to in the garden when she thinks I’m asleep.

  “Don’t tell me he’s coming with us?” I ask, noting his dark black plumage and far too intelligent eyes. The way he stares at me is daunting, as though he can read all the secrets of my past.

  “Of course, he is,” Ramona replies, clearly offended by my question. She tosses her hair over her shoulder and places her feathery friend on her lap. “His wings would get tired flying that far.”

  “I seriously doubt that” Tomas scoffs from the back seat. With his knees raised almost to his chest and bags at his side, he’d look comical if the situation wasn’t so pathetic. Note to self; don’t let them play rock paper scissors for who gets to sit in the passenger’s seat. Clearly, Tomas needs the leg room.

  “You two need to leave Hopper alone,” Ramona chides us. Cradling the bird, she nuzzles its beak with her nose, and Frank snaps his pincers at it from his perch on the steering wheel. I understand how he feels.

  Shaking off my unease, I press on the gas and choose to pretend the grackle isn’t staring me down ominously.

  “Do you name all of them?” I ask her, keeping my eyes resolutely on the road.

  “Don’t be silly. There’s too many of them. This one though,” from out of my peripheral, I see her smoothing his feathers, “is sweeter than most. Aren’t you, Hopper?”

  From the backseat, Tomas moans. “Please tell me you aren’t going to baby talk at him the entire way there?”

  “Of course, I won’t,” Ramona snaps.

  But of course, she does.

  By the time I’m turning off the highway, I don’t know whether Tomas or I are the most annoyed, but Frank has taken to pacing across the dashboard and we’re all ready to be out of the car.

  “Usually Delia would be working right now, but she promised to take a few extra hours off today,” I tell my two passengers. “Don’t be surprised if she drags us up to the bakery though; that place is her baby. And sorry, but Hopper can’t come,” I add, glancing at the bird. His head is tucked under his wing and he appears to be sleeping, but what do I know about grackles? For all I know, he could be playing dead.

  Ramona shoots a glare my way and turning down the bumpy road that leads to Nix House, it takes everything I’ve got to ignore both her sour mood, and Sabrina’s home as it comes up on the left. Looming at the end of the wide cul de sac is Nix House, with glittering, jet-black shingles, a yard bordered in lavender and sage, and lemongrass lining the sides of the driveway. Ample groups of feral cats slink about underneath the trees, their shining yellow eyes watching us reproachfully, and as I pull into the drive, a few of the shutters clang open in response.

  Forcing a smile, I search for Marlowe’s expectant face at the front window and Beau’s hopeful form waiting at her side. Like always, they’re waiting for me to walk in, and as we trudge up to the porch, the front door swings open wide. Ramona’s head shakes slightly as it moves, and Hopper, on her shoulder, ruffles the feathers at his neck. Tomas, on the other hand, grins broadly and walks so quickly into the living room that he stumbles on my heels.

  “Hi everybody,” I sing out. The front room is filled with transparent housemates, and as my long-departed relatives greet us, a flurry of noise from the kitchen catches my attention.

  Walking through the dining room, I nod at the dozens of wooden scorpions carved into the staircase and inhale the smell of chicken fried steak and roasting corn. The scent of the food is thick upon the air and the clanging of metal is welcoming, although confusing.

  “I thought you were only taking a few hours off!” I exclaim as I walk up to my aunt.

  She’s hunched over the stove, her hair in a thick knot on top of her head and a dish towel tucked into her back pocket. A pair of cartoonish turkeys are swinging from her earlobes and there’s a streak of flour going across the side of her pants. The sink is stacked with dishes, and seated in the corner, my great-great grandfather is wringing his hands, as though he’s just waiting for her to finish cooking so he can banish the mess.

  “Darling!” She beams at me and tosses her spatula onto the stove. Throwing her arms out, she wraps me in a hug and rocks me from side to side. “Oh, I thought about going back later, but I’ve missed you so much, and I figured this is the first time we’ve had guests in so long...” she trails off, sighing happily into my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re home.”

  “I’m glad I’m home too,” I mumble against her arm, trapped in the hug and fighting for an adequate amount of air. The back of my neck is prickling, and far more concerning than the several ghosts in the room with us, is my awareness of the embarrassment I’m garnering in front of Ramona and Tomas. Oh, and that stupid bird!

  “Well, hello y'all!” Delia says, releasing me as my roommates hesitantly step over the doorway. “I’m Del, it’s nice to meet the two of you. Addie here said y’all have been downright wonderful and I’m thrilled to be meeting more clairvoyants; it’s not often the rest of the house gets a chance to visit, you know.”

  Carefully omitting the shifting part, and the talking to birds thing, I warned Delia that the Erebus siblings talk to ghosts as well. After all, in a place this haunted, there’s no way they could have managed half a week pretending they didn’t see or hear anybody. Especially not at a holiday when Beau is sure to throw a tantrum. He may not be able to sit and eat with us, but like always, he demands attention one way or another.

  “We’re glad to be here,” Ramona answers smoothly. She adjusts Hopper at her shoulder and pulls her hair forward over her opposite arm, posing just so to present in what she obviously hopes is a polite and impressive posture.

  “I’ve cleaned up a few of the rooms downstairs for y’all, why don’t you all get settled, and then we can have a late lunch.” Delia gestures to the foods she’s finishing up and nods at us, doing the thing every southern lady knows to do. Giving a command while phrasing it as a gentle suggestion. Sometimes I wonder if that’s a feat I’ll ever manage to pick up. As it is, I can barely get people to listen to me when I’m practically beggi
ng for their attention. Like Sabrina, who still won’t call me back.

  Delia turns her back to us once more, and it’s clear I’m meant to show the twins around, so waving at Beau, who’s giggling in the corner, I step back through the dining room and lead them to the downstairs hall. Dark, narrow, and covered in old-fashioned photographs of my ancestors, there aren’t many places in Nix House as terrifying as this one spot. But if Delia set them up here, she must not sense any danger.

  I leave Tomas in the first open doorway I find, cringing as I switch on the overhead light. With a sturdy twin-sized bed, an antique rocking horse in the corner, and a draft that never leaves the space, it’s the room I hate most in the house. There’s no reason for him to know that though, so, with a waning smile, I shrug at him and move on.

  “So, there’s a bathroom just down this hall, and I’ll be in the room at the top of the stairs to the right. Delia’s is across from me, and if you want, there’s a nice little courtyard off the little nook near the den. That’s different from the living room and actually has a TV. Sorry, I know this place is confusing, as you can tell, it’s really old.”

  “Really old, and really big!” Ramona sighs. “My gosh, Addie! You might have warned us.”

  “About what?” I frown.

  “The mansion we’re staying in,” she retorts. “I’m less worried about the spirits than I am about getting lost around here.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t worry about the spirits at all.” I scratch my arm and roll my shoulders uncomfortably. “They’re all my family members, so I know it’s your nature to look for corrupted souls, but there aren’t any here.” Not anymore.

  The look in Ramona’s eyes as she turns to me is indecipherable, but a shudder climbs up my back, and the pale shine of her irises remind me of something much colder than ice. Her grackle leaps from her shoulder, startling me backwards, and he flies over to perch on the foot of the bed. That’s going to take some getting used to. Just like whatever secrets Tomas and Ramona are keeping from me right now.