Deadly Darlings (October Darlings Book 2)

by Wendolyn Baird

  “Yeah. I guess so.” Tomas turns to leave the room, pausing only to throw a spare blanket on the small couch. “Better get comfortable,” he tells me. “I doubt Eden is going to let you back in your room, and I’d hate to bother you.”

  “Wait, Tomas, no!” I stammer uselessly as he too, walks away.

  Way to go, Addie. Way to go.

  FOUR DAYS LATER AND the air of tension is only barely beginning to fade away. I apologize to Eden every chance I get; I’ve washed all the dishes and agreed to cook at practically every meal, and the only person still having trouble looking my way is Tomas.

  “Why?” I finally ask him when I catch him alone. Ramona’s off Christmas shopping for their trip home, wherever that is, and Eden is holed up in our bedroom practicing divination with small wooden tablets.

  “Why, what?” He jerks a shoulder up to block his face and pretends to be overly interested in the milk carton in his hand.

  “Why are you so upset with me still?” I roll my eyes and stick my hands on my hips. “You know I didn't mean it like that.”

  “Do I?” He asks, glancing at me for only the briefest moment. God, could anyone else be as aggravating?

  “Yes,” I grit my teeth, “you do. I said I was sorry, and the others are fine. So why are you still avoiding me? And don’t say you're not, because I’m the queen of avoiding people, and you are most definitely avoiding me.” If it were anybody else’s silence, I could stand it. But not from Tomas.

  Sighing, he shoves the milk back in the fridge and slams the door shut. Crossing his arms, he leans against the appliance and sighs again.

  “So, are you just going to keep sighing, or are you going to talk to me?”

  Tomas scowls and drops his arms. The worn, navy-colored shirt he has on emphasizes the silver in his eyes, and as he moves his head to look at me, I can just make out the tip of a wing above his collar.

  “If it weren’t for all the ghost crap,” he says, “would you still talk to us?”

  “What?” I squint at him, thoroughly flummoxed.

  “You heard me.” His face crumbles into a self-conscious sulk. “Would you even consider us friends?”

  A month ago, that would have elicited an instant no. But now?

  “Of course, I would,” I answer, my tone softening. “You can’t tell me you really think otherwise?”

  He jerks his shoulders up and clears his throat. “I don’t know what to think. Every time I feel like we’re getting close, something weird happens or your ex-boyfriend shows up.”

  I frown. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s got a point.

  “Well, I can’t control the weird... but I don’t think Ellis is going to come around anymore. I, uh, I turned him away. For good, I think. Last time he showed up, I mean.”

  The look in Tomas’ eyes is indecipherable, but as he steps closer to me, I think I’m forgiven. Being around him... as confusing and hectic as it usually is, and as much as we get on each other’s nerves... it’s easy. I know I can be sure of him.

  “Hey, Tomas?” I start, barely speaking above a whisper. He makes me stronger. If I’m going to bond with anyone, it ought to be him.

  But before I can get the words out, his lips crash onto mine, and I know I’m completely screwed.

  Kissing him back isn’t something I’m counting on, and definitely isn’t an action I have any time to think out. All I know is his mouth is on mine and I can’t help myself from grabbing onto the sleeves of his shirt and pulling him closer. His hands are in my hair, moving down my back to my waist, holding me against him. It’s like nothing I’ve experienced before, and I don’t want it to end. His mouth is hot and firm against mine, and my legs threaten to give out beneath me.

  Breaking away from the kiss, I gasp for air, stunned beyond reason.

  Grinning at me, Tomas pulls me back into his arms and raises a hand to my cheek. “I’ve been dying to do that since the night we met. You know, I even lied about that staircase by the fountain being closed off just to get extra time to walk with you,” he admits.

  His cheeks are flushed, and his breath is warm upon my neck, and struggling to sort through my emotions, I push him away as abruptly as we came together.

  “The fountain!” I exhale. “Oh my god, Tomas! The fountain!”

  I hit his chest excitedly as everything clicks into place, and Tomas stares at me as though I’m from another planet.

  “I’m sorry, I thought we were having a moment.” He blinks. “What does the fountain have to do with it?”

  “Mm,” I bite my lip and shake my head. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It has to do with the hag, you just reminded me,” I explain.

  “My kissing you reminded you of the hag?”

  “Talk about awkward.” Ramona laughs nervously as strides through the front door with bags hanging from her wrists. “Not to mention a really harsh insult. Way to put a guy down, Addie.”

  “Noooo!” I cover my face with my hands, and I swear, if I could melt into a puddle right now, I would. “That’s not what that sounded like!” Turning back to Tomas, I blush. “You were talking about the fountain, and then,” I gesture wildly, knowing all the while I’m not making any sense. “Ah!”

  Ramona drops her bags and kicks off her heels before picking her way into the kitchen to wash her hands. “Are you sure you want to date my brother?” Ramona asks me, as if we’ve even had a moment to discuss that matter ourselves. Her nose is wrinkled up and consternation flits across her face.

  Tongue-tied, I glance back and forth between the two of them. Ramona is doubtful, and Tomas, god I’ve never seen Tomas look so hopeful, and dare I say it, smitten? With me? Damn it. I knew I was screwed.

  Staring at his lips, part of me wishes we were still kissing. Why did I have to pull away? Oh yeah. Stupid ghost stuff.

  “Okay! It looks like y’all have some more, or uh, I guess y’all just have some talking to do.” Ramona claps her hands together as my silence stretches on. Flouncing off with her impossibly high, red heels swinging from her fingertips, Ramona leaves us alone once again.

  Tomas’ face falls at my lack of response and he rubs at the back of his neck. I reach one hand out towards him before dropping it in embarrassment.

  The space between us might as well be filled with flames, with how hot my face is, and I can’t get my hands to stop sweating. Did that really just happen?

  Clearing his throat, Tomas taps at the side of his leg nervously. “We can talk about... us, later. What’s so important about the fountain?”

  Explaining as quickly as I can, I gather the rest of the supplies for dinner, and by the time we’re ready to eat, it's decided. We’ll go after the hag the same night of the ghost tour, after we tour the graveyard. With two gallowbirds, two half witches, and as many spells Eden and I can learn over the next two weeks, what can possibly go wrong? After all, it’s only one ghost, even if she is a nasty one.

  “NICE TATTOO,” I COMPLIMENT Eden as she rolls up the sleeves of her shirt. Several sharp lines stretch across her forearms in heavy black ink, like a message I can’t read.

  “I got it a couple of months ago. It was time,” she shrugs, “like I said, my mom and sister are mages. Tattoos are kind of part of the deal.”

  “They hold magic,” I nod, understanding as I use my extra sight to focus on her arm. The pale lavender hue graces her freckled skin beautifully and having another weapon at our side is a relief.

  “Yup. What about you, Nix? Besides that impressive little bracelet, do you have any other tricks up your sleeves?”

  “Uhm, I can sort of stun ghosts, or at least hold them in an energy shield for a few moments. And I can cross over to the in-between,” I answer.

  Dropping the knotted, agate bracelet she’s in the middle of making, she swats at my leg. “No way!”

  Nodding solemnly, I’m half tempted to hide behind the magazine Ramona left on the makeshift coffee table. Since her outburst, we’ve returned to a normal balance, and it’s only the dark
cold of winter and the threat of danger that keeps our nerves on edge. Between the spell work we managed to pull off, and the cloaking magic that is Ramona and Tomas’ specialty, we haven’t even got visitors in the way of a postal worker. It’s almost as if the house doesn’t exist to the outside world.

  “That’s one talent I wish I could have. Instead, I’m stuck with a talent for stones and runes and not much else. You know I still can’t keep plants alive?” She complains. After venting all the grudges she held for so long, we’ve seemed to move past them. I only wish I knew she was hurting sooner, especially considering I never even knew I’d taken Sabrina away from her in the first place.

  “I don’t know,” I smile wistfully, “being able to have spells written on your body seems pretty incredible. Most of my magic just goes back to the dead. It kind of gets depressing, you know?”

  “Yeah.”

  She leans against my shoulder and we go back to our different activities. In many ways, we’re closer than me and Sabrina ever were. It’s just Sabrina demanded the honesty and communication from me Eden never knew to ask for. Then again, maybe I should have just trusted her more to begin with.

  Trust is difficult. Which is probably why I still can’t bring myself to sit down at talk with Tomas. He’s— well like Sabrina noticed when we’d first met him— he’s gorgeous. But more than that, as aggravating as he can be, I love how much he throws himself into caring for others. He’s brave, funny (even if his humor can be cynical) and there’s something about the way he looks at me that makes me feel whole.

  With Ellis... I felt like I could never measure up. Like I was constantly on the brink of letting him down. Tomas never makes me feel that way, because we’re both as entrenched in the supernatural on our own as we are together. I don’t have to constantly watch my back or minimize the specters I see for fear I’ll finally scare him off.

  Wallowing in my thoughts, I rest the magazine on my lap and lean my head back to rest my neck. Settling into the couch cushions, the smell of cinnamon wafting out of the kitchen and the hibiscus lifting off Eden’s hair blend together until I lose track of time and I’m falling...

  “She doesn’t appear much stronger than before.”

  I startle awake, terrified to find myself away from the mortal realm once more. Seated at a bench across from my relatives, I cringe under the twins’ judgmental stares.

  Anna Mae speaks first. “I thought we warned you to choose one of those birds by now? Heaven’s sake, girl haven’t you got any common sense?”

  Her sister cuts her off before I can respond, admonishing me as well. “You are out of time, and out of choices. By midnight, your window of opportunity will have passed, so unless you want to stay here with us...” Eleanor Jane grins cruelly, “I suggest you forge a bond, and fast.”

  “Oh, and one more thing.” Anna Mae instructs me, even as I’m gaping at them and struggling to my feet. She pushes on my shoulder, knocking me back down. “Tell that young man you brought to us last time that we say hello. He seems... interesting.”

  Fumbling over a dozen questions, I try to stand a second time, doing my best to ignore the thick fog creeping in around my ankles. As soon as I get as far as asking them why midnight, a hand grabs my ankle, and glancing down I see a pile of maggots writhing above the mist.

  Gasping violently, I stumble back, but when I fall, I hit the edge of the couch. Eden stares at me from the kitchen, and Tomas, just walking in, rushes forward to help me up. There are no maggots to be found, and all I’m left with is panicked nausea.

  “Addie?” Ramona yells from her room just as Tomas curves his arms around me. Loud banging and hurried swearing filters through the walls until Ramona bursts into the living room, her eyes wide and her chest heaving. “Oh, thank god, Addie!” She exhales.

  “What the hell is going on?” Eden demands.

  I’m too busy gasping for breath and struggling between wanting to lean into Tomas, and the instinct to double-check my legs for any more creepy-crawlies. My heart is racing painfully, and I’m shaking so much from my leftover adrenaline rush that I have to cling onto his arm to steady myself.

  “You vanished! And then you were just, and then—” Eden points back and forth across the living room, so faint, even her freckles have paled.

  “Shadow World,” Ramona explains. “Addie, what happened?” She asks me. “One moment I was asleep in my room and the next I could hear you screaming and saw you standing in some kind of cloud?”

  “Fog.” I shake my head. Swallowing against my tightened throat, I place a hand on my abdomen and attempt to slow down my breathing. Was it hold for a count of four, and then exhale?

  “Alright then,” Tomas nods, keeping a hand on the small of my back, “you crossed the veil. Then what happened?”

  “We’re out of time,” I realize. Dread sinks into my gut as I consider the person in front of me. How could I possibly ask him to bond with me now? It would be like forcing a relationship or even worse— tying myself to one that’s doomed to fail.

  “Out of time for what?” Ramona presses. Behind her, Eden is rubbing her temples and pacing the kitchen.

  “I need to bond with one of y’all tonight. Before midnight.”

  “Why tonight?” Eden raises her head and stares at me.

  “Because if I don’t bond with a gallowbird tonight... apparently I’m marked for death.”

  Ramona and Tomas exchange glances, but Eden merely furrows her brow. “Come on, Nix, you can't really believe that.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrug. But I do know. And I only have seven hours until my deadline’s up.

  Chapter Twenty

  “ALRIGHT, I’M NOT TAKING any chances. Ramona, you know the most on the subject, what all do we need to do?” Tomas asks. His hand presses more firmly on my back, and as my heart slows down, I realize that he’s shaking almost as much as I am.

  “To bind her to one of us?” Ramona clarifies. “Not much,” she shakes her head, “a little fire, a little blood... really it’s intent that’s the main thing. You’re basically tying two souls together across the realms, linking them in times of danger and binding them together to where they can’t travel more than a couple hundred miles away from each other at any given time. Done wrong, and it can be deadly.”

  “Yeah, well I’m already looking at deadly, so I’ll take my chances,” I scowl. Resting a hand on Tomas’ chest, I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

  “Not to be negative, but am I the only one thinking we need to mark a few things off today? If you think you might die tonight, don’t you think maybe we shouldn’t be going after a murderous ghost?” Eden pipes up. Her uneven bob looks intentional as her hair swings across her jaw and accents the sharp way she carries herself. The ink on her forearm is glinting slightly in the weak sunlight drifting through the window, and I can only fathom what spell she’s using now.

  Ramona and I glance at one another, debating silently. Her eyebrows flit up as she purses her lips, and my mouth turns down. Eden has a point, but with the full moon being tonight, it’s the best chance we’ve got at taking the hag down, a fact Eden is fully aware of.

  “We don’t have a choice,” I sigh. “It’s got to be tonight. We’ve put it off long enough.”

  “In that case,” Eden starts. Her jaw trembles as she hesitates, searching my face for confirmation. “We’ll skip the ghost tour. The more time we have to make sure the binding sticks, the better.”

  “No!” Ramona yelps. In a lower tone, she coughs and starts again. “No, we’ve waited long enough. Besides, what if something on the tour can help us take down the hag? We can’t miss out on that.”

  She can’t miss out on her own opportunity to protect her back, she means. I don’t blame her.

  Shuddering, I pull my hair up into a tight ponytail, then tug a jacket over my shoulders. Tomas is circling the sofa like a caged cat and Eden is repeatedly wrapping a strand of stone beads around her wrist. From the hallway, Ramona wrings her hand
s together and what went from an already stressful day feels like an apocalypse now.

  “I’m calling Terra,” Tomas announces. Abandoning his circles, he darts out of the room like a man clinging to a lifeline. I doubt Terra will be much help, but at least he’s hopeful. Someone ought to be.

  Ramona meets my gaze, her pale eyes boring into my dark ones with an expression of fear and desperation so strong, I can’t separate her panic from my own. Wisps of violet regrets swirl around her shoulders and my eyelids flutter as I ignore the urge to look towards them. Whatever regrets she holds; they can’t be mine. Not today.

  Slamming her hands down on the counter, Eden sighs heavily, making us jump.

  “College was supposed to be fun,” she grimaces, “but you know what, Nix? I don’t think we’re ever going to get life the way it’s supposed to be.”

  “No.” I shake my head at her and manage a sad smile. “I don’t think we will.”

  “Maybe not,” Ramona cuts in, “but we can still fight for the lives we want anyway.” Her silver irises glint dangerously in the late afternoon sun, and a bitter grin crosses her face. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m fighting for mine.”

  The back of my neck feels like someone has a tight grasp on it, obstructing my ability to move or breathe, but when Eden agrees with her, I nod alongside them. Frank is clinging to my arm and as he stares me as intently as my friends are, hold my head up high. Maybe I can’t banish the knots writhing through my gut or the feeling of death slipping down my spine, but I can follow Ramona’s lead. I can fight.

  SUMMONING MARLOWE WAS a last-minute decision, but my palms are slick, and my chest feels like there’s a ball of static rumbling around in it. I can’t do this without at least one of my relatives present.

  “Relax,” Terra chides me. “I understand this feels like a big deal, but as long you’re sure in your decision, everything’s going to be fine.”

  How Tomas persuaded her to come over is a mystery to me but knowing there’s a hellhound standing on guard while we work the binding ritual helps the staggering mess that’s my heart regain a bit of its rhythm back. Now I just need to convince myself (and everybody else) that I know what I’m doing.