“Well, then, I guess we’ll see. Till tomorrow then.” Gray stormed toward the door.
“Gray, where are you going?” Mom asked.
“To Charlene’s room.” She took one last look at the empty space before departing. “Looks like I’ll be waking up in her bed no matter what.”
Nobody followed Gray to Charlene’s bedroom. She paced the square confines like a caged tiger. Gray needed something to calm her nerves.
Charlene’s window was trickier to open, as though it had been sealed shut after the last coat of paint.
Smoke billowed into the night. The porch light illuminated the edges of the window frame in a faint glow. Gray took another drag on her cigarette and exhaled.
Although Paris was now half a world away, the air had the same damp chill that seeped down to the bones, as though the climate had never changed.
The voices below Gray were muffled—until the front door opened and they floated up from the walkway.
“Thank you for dinner, Marney,” Mr. Morehouse said.
Marney?
Raj and Stacey’s voices were lower. “Will you be at school tomorrow?” Raj asked.
“Yeah.”
“So, I’ll see you then.” He leaned forward and put a hand on Stacey’s shoulder then kissed her while Mr. Morehouse’s back was turned.
Gray pulled the cigarette out of her mouth. Maybe if she stared at the tip long enough, she could make it burst into flames. Two car doors closed and a vehicle pulled out of the drive. A third door slammed shut, followed by the rumble of Raj’s car from the street. Gray tapped the ash off the tip of her cigarette, licked her fingers, and pinched the end before closing the window.
Charlene’s wardrobe was as useless as Gray remembered. No comfy pj’s. She’d just have to sleep in a T-shirt and undies.
Mom tapped lightly on her door and walked in. “Graylee,” she whispered in the dark.
“Yeah.”
Mom joined her at the window. They stood silent for a time until Mom turned to her and said, “all right, hand them over.”
Gray rolled her eyes before digging the Virginia Slims out of her back pocket and placing them in Mom’s hand. “They aren’t mine.”
“But you’re smoking them.”
Gray walked over to Charlene’s four-poster bed. “Where did all my things go? Wait. Let me guess: they’re at Stacey’s house?”
“No, your sister… er, I’m not sure how to say that. She goes by Lee now. Anyway, Lee already had a furnished room. She took whatever belongings she wanted and I sold the rest. I was thinking of renting the house and getting an apartment.”
“What?”
“It’s just me here and I spend most of my time at Daniel’s.”
Gray raised a brow. “You mean Mr. Morehouse?”
Mom turned away, but not before Gray caught her blush.
“What’s up with that anyway? Are you guys dating?”
“Yes.”
“And Raj and Lee are dating?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow.” Gray flopped onto the bed. “Talk about being the fifth wheel.”
Mom sat on the side of the bed and placed a hand on Gray’s cheek. “I’m so sorry—about everything.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is my fault. All of it.” Mom’s hand shook. She pulled it away.
Gray sat up. “Mom, it’s okay. All you ever wanted was to get me back. Your contact is the one who messed up the spell.”
Mom bit down on her lower lip and looked away.
“Mom? What is it?”
“It is my fault,” she said softly. “I lied to him.”
Gray straightened. “What do you mean you lied to him?”
“He said in order for the resurrection spell to work you couldn’t have been dead for more than two days… By the time I found him it had been two months.”
“Mom!”
“I know! But how could I turn away after locating someone powerful enough to resurrect you? I should have realized your body was expired, but I wasn’t thinking. All I wanted was to get you back.”
Gray made a grunting sound. “And now you have two of me.”
The question was: which one was real? Gray felt real. She certainly looked like the real Graylee Perez. They couldn’t both be authentic. That made no sense. There was no other way around it. One of them was a backup.
Gray held her palms above her head as she lay awake in bed that night.
What if Adrian had created her as his own personal replica—like a femme bot or something? Gray yanked her arms under the covers.
She needed those pendants back. The worst part was she needed Adrian’s.
Chapter Seven
Lee slept remarkably well considering she’d lost temporary control of her powers, reached the one-year anniversary of her death—technically, murder—and today faced either her evil twin or a duplicate of herself. Lee wasn’t sure which she dreaded most. Regardless, she needed to be on her toes, not jolted awake by her cell phone.
“We have a problem,” Raj said.
Just great, her evil twin was back in town. “Charlene woke up this morning?”
“No, it’s Aahana.”
“What happened?”
“She won’t wake up again.”
“What? I thought that was over.”
Raj sighed. “Unfortunately not. Shay called. She and Max aren’t going to school and they said I shouldn’t either. The coven’s scheduled an emergency meeting tonight.”
Lee glanced at the alien eye on her nightstand. “I’ll be right over with the nazar.”
“Keep it.”
“Raj…”
“Mom’s taking her to Gathering. Shay said it’s the only place where we’ll be safe from our own powers.”
“Are you going?”
“I need to make sure Aahana is okay.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Lee, no. Mr. Morehouse would freak out.”
“What am I supposed to do while everyone’s taking refuge at Gathering?”
“Go to school. Don’t change your routine. It’ll only alarm your dad.”
“He’s not my dad!”
“Lee, please.”
“Fine.” Lee tossed her phone onto the bed, stretched, and crossed the hall to the bathroom. She flicked on the light and sucked in a breath when her reflection didn’t appear in the mirror.
Lee cracked the door open and peered into the hallway. Once she saw it was clear, she dove inside her room and grabbed the nazar, whispered a word of thanks, and fastened it around her neck.
She gave Mr. Morehouse a kiss on the cheek at the front door before walking down the street toward the bus stop. If Lee had gotten her old life back as Graylee, she’d get to ride to school with her best friend, Thea. The school bus was still better than a parental chauffeur. And today it provided a cover.
Once the house was out of sight, she bypassed the kids waiting on the corner for the bus and walked to the next street over. There was no way she was sitting in class while everyone else worked things out.
Chapter Eight
Gray had finally succumbed to travel fatigue, only to sit up wide awake at four forty-five a.m. Crapola, she’d wanted to watch the time switch. She’d done it before. Nothing peculiar ever happened other than an entire day passing without her awareness. That and the one time she’d woken up in Nolan Knapp’s bed.
She couldn’t wait to find out what Lee had done to punish the maggot for that one.
Gray lay on her back, staring at the ceiling for another thirty minutes before getting up. By then, her eyes had adjusted to the dark. She still had on the T-shirt and comfy cotton panties. A good sign. She rifled through Charlene’s closet—same old short skirts, tank tops, and cardigans. Gray should have nabbed the small, but chic, French wardrobe and brought it back to the States. Instead, she had boarded her plane without so much as a backpack.
Gray threw on a pink robe and stepped delicately pa
st her mother’s bedroom toward the stairs. Once she made it down to the kitchen, she lifted the lid of the trash and smiled. The pack of cigarettes was at the top of the pile. Gray pulled out three smokes and set the pack back in place. With light fingers, she pulled open the drawer with the birthday candles and matches, pausing momentarily to stare at the pack of multicolored candles. Only a couple slivers of wax remained. She’d missed her eighteenth birthday.
Gray rolled the drawer closed carefully.
Opening the front door quietly was a bit trickier. Gray left it open a crack.
She struck a match and lit the end of the cigarette. Gray tightened the belt around her robe. The fleece brushed against the porch railing as she looked out at the dark neighborhood, breath and smoke mingling in the cold air.
A cloaked figure stood in the shadow of a tree across the street. Gray took a puff on her cigarette, pretending not to notice. When her smoke cloud cleared, the figure was gone. Gray could brush it off as a trick of the eye, but the more likely scenario was that someone had been watching her.
Maybe she didn’t want to be hanging out alone in the dark being powerless and all. Gray rubbed her cigarette tip on the top cement step and then slipped back inside.
There was a tap at Charlene’s bedroom door shortly before seven a.m.
“Come in.”
Gray stretched and yawned as her mom walked in. She’d left a pile of tacks on Charlene’s dresser. The posters she’d removed from the walls were in a stack on the floor. “What day is it?”
“Friday.”
“Am I still me?”
Mom looked her over. “You’re still you.”
Good. Gray had saved Charlene’s corkboard for last. She unpinned a picture of her sister and Blake Foster. “What about Charlene?” Gray tried to ignore the dark circles under Mom’s eyes, undeniably caused by her reappearance. What she thought would cause joy was turning out to be another colossal screw-up.
“I haven’t figured it out yet. I don’t know what kinds of potions could do this. It would help if I were able to speak with Mr. Montez.”
“Right, and I’m sure Adrian would be happy to oblige.” Gray rolled her eyes. “Can we go out for breakfast? I’m allowed to eat, aren’t I? It’s, like, three in the afternoon in France and I’m starving.”
“Of course you’re allowed to eat. I’ll go change first.”
“Right,” Gray said. “I actually do have to change. No powers and all.”
Mom chewed on her lower lip. “That might be the safest thing right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“The other day, Lee’s powers started acting up on their own. It happened to Raj and his sister, too.”
Gray crossed her arms. “Any explanations?”
Mom shook her head. “The council’s looking into it.” She forced a smile. “The truth is you might be better off without magic for the time being.”
Doubtful. Gray snorted. “I’d rather have my powers back and take my chances.” She pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and met her mom in the hall five minutes later.
They ordered coffee at the diner down the road. Gray’s fingers curled around the mug handle. It kept them from twitching for a cigarette.
“What’s my cover?” Gray asked. “Why are we telling people I’m here?”
Mom twisted her lips sideways. “I told Daniel that you were overcome with grief and needed to be with family.”
Gray stared into her mug. “I don’t want people to know I’ve returned. I’m done with pretending to be Charlene.”
Mom reached forward and took her free hand. “Just be yourself. I’ll only call you Charlene when I have to, but I don’t expect you to be anyone other than yourself.”
And who exactly was she? A duplicate. A mistake.
Chapter Nine
Lee was waiting for them when they returned home. Her long legs dangled over the edge of the kitchen counter where she sat with arms folded. “Where have you two been?”
“Wait a minute,” Mom said. “Why aren’t you in school?”
“Is she…?” Lee left the question unfinished.
Gray didn’t appreciate the way Lee looked her up and down. “Gray,” Gray answered.
Lee looked to Mom for confirmation.
“It’s still Gray.”
“Like I said.” Gray huffed.
Mom set her purse on the counter. “Why aren’t you in school?”
“We’ve got problems. Aahana’s asleep—as in can’t wake up—again. I’m waiting to hear from Raj. They’re all headed to Gathering. Supposedly the inside of the building is a safe zone.”
“Well, that’s handy,” Gray said.
Lee glared at her. “If you call being imprisoned handy.”
Gray held her arms out, then quickly curled her fingers in when she saw her palms. “Hey, I’m not the one causing this.”
Lee’s stare told her she thought otherwise.
“You still have the nazar?” Mom asked.
Lee pulled a blue circular pendant out from under her top.
“What’s a nazar?” Gray asked.
“It protects me,” Lee said abruptly.
Gray lifted her gaze upwards. “Great,” she said under her breath.
Lee’s tone softened when she turned to Mom. “But you might want to stay in just to be on the safe side.”
“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”
“How is that any different from being ‘imprisoned,’ as you called it, at Gathering?” Gray asked. Why was Lee treating her this way? Shouldn’t they get along better than anyone in the world—be finishing each other’s sentences or something rather than snapping at one another?
Mom dug her cell phone out of her purse. “I’m calling Daniel.”
Lee jumped down. “What? Why?”
Mom already had the phone pressed to her ear. “Imagine how worried he’ll be if he finds out you’re not at school.”
“Mom…”
“Hi, Daniel, it’s me.” Mom walked out of the kitchen. “I just want you to know that Stacey is here. She’s fine.”
Lee glared at Gray.
“Again, not my fault,” Gray said. She was about to stare Lee down when a thick manila envelope caught her attention on the counter. Graylee Perez was written on the front. When she pulled it closer, she saw it had been opened. “Who opened this?”
“I did. It has my name on it.”
“No, it has my name.”
“I’m still Graylee Perez.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t look like it,” Gray said under her breath as she reached into the envelope. She pulled out the pendant with the silver-encased vial. Gray looked at Lee. She shrugged.
“There was no note, but it’s Adrian’s obviously. Raj and I still have ours.”
Gray suppressed a shudder. At least the mystery of her early morning stalker was solved, and now she was back in business. Gray took the pendant over to the sink, removed the cap, and turned the vial over. Nothing came out. She shook it over the drain. Nothing. Gray closed one eye and squinted into the small tube. “It’s empty,” she said.
Lee came closer and looked over her shoulder. “No blood?”
“No blood.”
“Maybe it dried up.”
“The vial is empty,” Gray repeated.
Lee shrugged.
Gray tried to ignore the faint traces of the M that had been carved into her right palm when she held it out to Lee. “I’ll take yours now.”
“Not a good idea,” Lee said. “You may get your powers back, but you won’t have control over them.”
Gray narrowed her eyes. “I’ll take my chances.”
“Sorry.”
“So that’s how it’s going to be? You’re going to block my powers the same way Charlene did? I never would have believed I’d do that to myself.”
Something flashed in Lee’s eyes. Her lips curled back and she threw her hands behind her head, freeing the pendant and thrusting it into Gray’s hand. “F
ine! But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Thank you, Lee.” Several drops of blood emerged when Gray turned the vial upside down in the sink. “Now I need Raj’s.”
“He’s at Gathering.”
“So I’ll go to Gathering.”
“You can’t just walk in there out of the blue. It’ll raise too many questions.”
Unfortunately, Lee was right. If Gray had her powers she could have turned invisible before going in to find Raj, but that was the point of locating him in the first place. “Can you call him?”
Mom walked in, cell closed in her hand, and stuck the phone inside her purse. “Daniel’s coming over.”
Lee groaned.
“He’s bringing his laptop and your book bag. He said the two of you will work from here today.”
Lee slid open her phone. “I’ll call Raj before Mr. Morehouse gets here.”
Gray really did feel trapped. While the witches and warlocks of Kent were holed up at Gathering with full control of their powers, she was stuck at home without hers. Once Mr. Morehouse arrived, she was forced to see him seated across from Mom at the dining table as they worked at their laptops.
Gray joined Lee in the living room. She folded her legs under her on the couch. Lee was seated on the floor with a spiral notebook, pencil, and geometry book. “I hate math,” Gray said.
“Me, too.” Lee looked up and laughed. “I suppose that goes without saying.”
Gray picked at her cuticles. “Why do you think Adrian left the pendant?”
“I’m not sure. I guess he wants you to have your powers back. It tells us two things, though. He’s in town and he knows you’re here as Gray, not Charlene.”
“Does he know about you?”
Lee shook her head. “I don’t think so.” Lee pulled her hair into a ponytail and secured it with a hairband high atop her head.
They looked nothing alike and yet they shared the same memories and emotions. What did that make them? Mind twins?
Gray cleared her throat. “So, Mom and Mr. Morehouse?”
Lee rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder. “Yep. I thought it was a love spell, but apparently they really are in love.”
Duplicity (Spellbound #2) Page 4