Revenge wasn’t a particularly noble dying wish. Gray had tried for love, only to be rejected. Revenge was all she had left.
As long as she was on a vengeance kick, Gray had one more errand she wanted to run before she met Adrian at his shop.
By the time Gray reached Ryan Phillips’s house, her face was no longer red or blotchy. This thanks to a variation of the tanning spell; instead of tinting her skin an attractive bronze, Gray had whitened her complexion to its usual coloring.
It wasn’t even spring yet and Mr. Phillips had mowed his front lawn in straight lines. He shouldn’t be home from work for another fifteen minutes. Gray pounded on the door then waited.
After a minute, she pounded harder and pressed her ear to the door. A moment of silence passed, and then she heard footsteps shuffling down the stairs.
The door opened and Ryan blinked several times, as though he’d been trapped inside a cave for weeks and was only now seeing the light. The confusion over his ruddy cheeks turned to elation. “Charlene!”
Gray kept her place on the other side of the welcome mat.
“Charlene, thank God. I’ve been trying to sneak out of here for days. My dad put a spell over the house. There’s some sort of force field blocking all the exits.” Ryan tried to reach through the door to demonstrate. His hand hit an invisible wall. “He even disabled my phone,” Ryan grumbled. “Thank God you made it, though. If anyone can break through this spell, it’s you, Charlene.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Gray grinned as Ryan’s face twisted in confusion.
“So I can help you.”
“I don’t need your help, Ryan. I’m doing just fine on my own.” Gray flashed him a toothy grin. “You see, I’m not Charlene. I’m Gray.”
Ryan’s chin lengthened as his jaw dropped.
“That’s right, jackass. I’ve returned from the light.”
By the spasms that convulsed over his body and the twitch of his eye, it looked like Ryan Phillips might possibly have a stroke. Then the veins appeared in his face, blazing an angry red. “Where is Charlene?”
Gray spread both arms open and looked up as though posing as a saint. “Gone.”
“Where. Is. Charlene?”
“Purged. You know? The same way you purged me.”
Ryan thrust his palm against the force field and glared at it, teeth clamped together so tight it looked like they might break apart. The field began to ripple in a circle surrounding Ryan’s palm. Gray leaned in for a closer look. Could Ryan break through? She didn’t particularly care. She could teleport now. Not very far, but she could make it to her car parked on the street.
Ryan started grunting. A bead of sweat formed at his hairline and ran down his face. He groaned suddenly and was flung backwards.
“I’d say your father’s magic is stronger than yours,” Gray called in.
Ryan was back on his feet, stomping to the door. “As soon as my dad releases me from this house I’m coming for you, Gray.”
Gray rolled her eyes skywards. “I’m quaking in my clogs.” She took a step back. “Nice chatting. See you never.”
“I will hunt you down. I won’t stop until I find you!” Ryan screamed behind her as Gray made her way to the car.
Good luck finding a person who no longer existed.
As soon as Gray pulled up in front of Montez’s Magic Shoppe, she saw Adrian through the window turning the sign to Closed. He walked outside as Gray stepped out of her car.
“Aren’t you supposed to close at eight?”
The digital clock on the dashboard said five twenty when she pulled up.
“It’s my shop. I can close whenever I want.”
Gray looked up and down the street. “It’s pretty dead around here anyway. How do you expect to stay in business?”
“Magic,” Adrian replied and winked. “Also, I started a Facebook page and mailing list.”
“What are you doing?” she asked when Adrian reached for the handle on the passenger side of her car.
“We’re taking one car, aren’t we?”
“I guess. Isn’t it too early, though?”
Adrian shrugged. “So we grab a bite first.”
“I don’t think so. I’m not going on a date with you.”
Adrian looked her in the eye this time and flashed her one of his sleazy grins. “You can stop pretending, Gray. I know you feel an attraction toward me, but I think we should keep things professional tonight. I take vengeance very seriously.”
Gray nearly chocked. “I am not attracted to you!”
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” Adrian placed a finger over his lips and grinned. He leaned forward. “I won’t tell Raj.”
Gray ripped open her car door. “Go to hell, Adrian!” She threw the car into drive and floored the gas pedal.
His laughter sounded like it was coming from right beside her. And it was!
Crap! She’d forgotten about the teleporting. Gray slammed on the brakes. Adrian’s forehead hit the dashboard. Once he righted himself, the expression on his face really did cause Gray to quake in her clogs.
“Adrian...”
He pulled her out of her seat before she could form another word and dragged her over his left leg. Gray slapped at him. The car stopped suddenly and Adrian put a hand on both Gray’s shoulders and shook her. “I am getting sick of being toyed with!”
Gray swallowed. He looked really angry, especially from this close. Even when they’d been tussling in his shop, tearing it apart, he hadn’t looked this upset. She looked from his lips to his eyes and nodded slowly. When Gray spoke it was with an edge to her voice. “Fine.”
“Good,” Adrian said and removed his hands from her shoulders. He stared out the passenger window while Gray lifted herself off his leg and scooted back into the driver’s seat.
Gray could swear his scent followed her over. Of course he smelled great, he was Adrian Montez.
“I’m hungry anyway,” Gray said from her side of the car.
And everyone deserved a last supper.
Café Adrift had not taken down their Valentine’s decorations. Paper cupids and hearts dangled from the ceiling. Gray and Adrian were led to a corner table by the window and handed menus.
“Belated Valentine’s?” their waitress asked.
Adrian looked the woman up and down, then smirked. “We’re colleagues.”
“Oh.”
Once the waitress had scuttled away, Gray held her menu in front of her face. After ordering, she put her arms on the table. “Let’s talk strategy.”
Adrian grinned. “Midnight raid?” He snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. We call him up and ask if he likes scary movies.”
Gray spit her mouthful of water back inside her glass. A fit of laughter overtook her, especially when she visualized the freaked look on Nolan’s face as he raced from room to room making sure all the doors were locked, even knowing that if it was a warlock he was dealing with, the locked doors would do no good.
“Hello, Nolan,” Adrian said in a creepy voice. “Do you like scary movies?”
Gray clutched her stomach. She laughed so hard she cried. Crying was okay if accompanied by laughter. Gray sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. Once she recovered, she set her arms on the table and looked Adrian square in the eye. “It’s tempting, but I want to stick to the original plan.”
“Ah,” Adrian said, leaning back in his chair.He smiled. “Let the punishment fit the crime.”
Gray sipped her icy water. This time, it slid down her throat smoothly. There was no laughter left to block the way.
Chapter Twenty-Five
While Mr. Morehouse helped Mom search town for “Charlene,” Lee attempted to do homework at the McKennas’ kitchen table. Although her geometry book was spread open, she had other problems on her mind.
She looked across the table at Raj. “Not that I was ever keen on having two of myself around, but doesn’t Gray have as much right to existence as me?”
/> Raj stopped flipping through the pages of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. If Raj could speed read, he’d never admitted it to Lee. But sometimes she wondered.
“That’s a good question.”
“Got an answer?”
“Offhand, I’d say the duplicate Gray has as much right to existence as you. She’s here by no fault of her own. The important question is: who is the real Graylee Perez? At least we know the answer to that.” Raj bent his head down and went back to flipping pages.
“Umm.” Lee stared hard at him, but Raj didn’t look up. She cleared her throat. Raj stuck a finger on the book to hold his place. “And how did you deduce that I’m the real Gray?”
“Because you’ve been around the longest,” Raj said without hesitation.
“But Gray actually looks like Gray. I don’t look anything like my former self.”
Lee had to love Raj for his ready answer. “Gray is inside a foreign body—same as you.”
Lee smiled slightly. “That’s true.”
Raj turned his book over, cover facing up. “I know you, Lee. I know you better than anyone.”
Lee blushed and took a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure Mrs. McKenna was still on the phone, presumably chatting with Indian family or friends, as Lee couldn’t understand a word she was speaking.
Raj’s lips twitched when Lee faced him again. He gave her a suggestive look.
If she wanted to graduate that spring, Lee really was going to need to jump on her math. Yes, math. That was what needed her undivided attention right now. She hunched over her spiral notebook and began copying down a problem.
“I don’t know that my extra ten months necessarily make me the real Gray. If my soul had been lost during the purge over Charlene’s body and then recouped on February ninth, Gray would have arrived in town as the one and only true Gray.”
Raj tossed his book aside. “But that’s not what happened. Your soul wasn’t lost. It never went away. That’s why you are the true Gray.” Raj placed a hand over his chest. “Your soul.”
For a moment, she was speechless. Then, Lee blinked through the mist of tears that had gathered over her eyes.
The smile on Raj’s lips made Lee’s body heat. “Did that answer work?”
She nodded. “It worked.”
Raj pushed away from the table and came around to Lee’s side. He held his hand out to her. “Come on, let’s take a break, make sure Aahana isn’t getting into trouble.”
Raj’s sister was seated on the center cushion of the couch, legs tucked in, watching TV.
“I see we aren’t the only ones having trouble studying,” Raj said with a roll of his eyes.
“Shh!” Aahana shot Raj an angry look. “My favorite part is coming up.”
“Aahana, you’ve seen this movie like a hundred times.”
“What is it?” Lee whispered.
“Labyrinth.”
Lee plopped onto a cushion beside Aahana. “I haven’t seen this movie in forever.”
On screen, the Goblin King emerged from the floating columns in his skintight pants and feathery white cape to confront Sarah. He circled her and spoke of his generosity at altering time for her.
Lee alternated between watching the screen and Aahana’s lips mouthing Sarah’s lines, which Sarah was having trouble remembering at the moment. But then Sarah looked up, stared the Goblin King in the eye, and told him he had no power over her.
“I wonder if that would work,” Lee mused.
Aahana lifted her pinky and the TV went to mute. “Work on who?”
“If Gray used that line on The Contact.”
Raj shook his head slowly. “Lee…”
Aahana snapped her fingers, pitching the TV screen into darkness. “What’s going on? Who’s The Contact?”
Raj nodded at Lee. The story unfolded right down to its inconclusive end, in which duplicate Gray was doomed to vanish from existence.
Aahana chewed on her lower lip as Lee told her everything. As soon as Lee was finished, Aahana spoke. “There are two other options, you know.”
“Two?” Raj asked, brows jumping. He looked from Aahana to Lee. “Aahana, we’ve looked into this. There can only be one Graylee Perez.”
“Yes and no.” She’d gone back to chewing her lip.
“Well, what are these two options you’ve managed to come up with on the spot?” Raj asked.
“Hold on. I’m still working on it.”
Raj shot Lee a “can you believe her” look, but Lee was on the edge of the couch, hoping for a miracle of magical proportions. She didn’t want Gray to cease existing. Now that she’d been brought back, it would be a bit like dying. If their roles had been reversed, Lee wouldn’t want to be obliterated. It wasn’t Gray’s fault there were two of them. And Lee really had gotten the better end of the deal. She’d gotten a family and friends. A future. Raj.
Aahana cleared her throat. The sound was loud. When she saw that she had Lee’s and Raj’s undivided attention, she spoke into the room as though delivering a speech. “Upon deliberation, I have reached the conclusion that there are, indeed, two options. Option One: Gray becomes a necromancer.”
Lee’s mouth flew open. “But she’d be giving up her identity.”
Aahana shot her the “duh” look. This was punctuated by a roll of the eyes. “Option Two: Gray gives up her powers.”
“But she wouldn’t be a witch any longer.”
Aahana shrugged. “She’d get to live.”
Raj was on his feet. “There’s got to be better options than that.”
“A moment ago you had zero options. I gave you two, now you want three. Forget it!” Aahana pushed off the couch and exited the room with an indignant huff.
Raj looked after her, then shook his head at Lee.
“She’s right,” Lee said. “Those are more options than we had a minute ago.”
“But the choices…”
Lee focused on the carpet below Raj’s feet. “We need to find Gray and talk to her.”
Raj raised a brow. “Locator spell?”
Lee nodded. “Locator spell.”
The pounding at Raj’s front door made Lee cry out. From the look on Raj’s face, he was just as startled.
“Raj, can you get that?” Mrs. McKenna called out. She walked by the living room, hand cupped over the receiver.
Lee followed Raj to the entryway. Their eyes met, then Raj opened the door.
“Mom!” Lee immediately winced and glanced to her mother’s side, expecting Mr. Morehouse to be standing there with a perplexed look on his face. Would he believe her if she said that Ms. Perez was beginning to feel like a mother?
But Mom was alone.
“Come in, Ms. Perez,” Raj said.
“Where’s Mr. Morehouse? Did you find Gray?”
Raj motioned for them to follow him to the living room. Nobody sat.
“Mr. Morehouse is asleep.”
Lee’s face twisted in confusion. “Asleep? But it’s only nine thirty.”
Mom grimaced. “I put him to sleep.”
“But… how?” Lee’s eyes lit up. Maybe Mom’s powers were returning.
“I found your sleeping salts. The vial was buried beneath the couch cushions.” Mom’s eyes got very wide when she looked into Lee’s. “I also found… this.”
Both Lee and Raj leaned forward. Mom’s hand opened. Inside there was a scrap of newsprint and on it, in hasty print:
AM Memory Wipe!
Lee half gasped, half choked. This was one piece of code that took no time to decipher. The writing was hers and she knew those initials like the back of her hands, or in Gray’s case, the palms. Every one of her teeth felt like they could crack under the pressure Lee put on them. “Adrian Montez performed a memory wipe on me!”
The look of horror on Raj’s face was quickly replaced by rage, but Lee bet his eyes didn’t flash murder the way hers did.
“I’ll destroy him!” Lee said.
Mrs. McKenna popped her hea
d in. “Is everything okay in here? Oh, hi, Marney. Raj, have you offered Ms. Perez tea? I’ll be off this call in a moment.” Mrs. McKenna disappeared around the corner.
Raj rushed to Lee and took her arms gently in his. “Do you remember anything?”
The room went out of focus. Lee no longer felt the ground below her. “It happened Friday night.” She stepped back. The last thing Lee wanted was to hurt Raj’s feelings, but she didn’t want to be touched at the moment. No matter how much she tried to probe her mind, the gap simply wouldn’t fill. All she could do was piece together what she did know. “I was going to sneak out of the house and attend the big meeting at Gathering.”
Mom knew better than to scold her at the moment. She and Raj watched Lee, slack jawed and mute.
“I got out the sleeping salts to take care of Mr. Morehouse. He was on the couch working on a crossword.” Lee frowned. “I unscrewed the cap and held it under his nose. I was sure I’d replaced the lid, but after that… I can’t remember.” Her jaw tightened again. It was beginning to ache. “I thought I’d gotten a whiff and knocked myself out along with him. It seemed rather ironic at the time. When I came to, I was sitting there on the couch blinking away like an idiot.”
The muscles in Raj’s jaw tightened. “That’s how he knew who you were the next day when you walked into his shop. You said it was like he recognized you the moment he saw you.”
“You’re right! The first thing he did was ask me what I was doing there. He must have thought I remembered somehow and was back to confront him.”
“If he asked what you were doing there, you must have been in his shop Friday evening.” Raj met her eyes. “The broken window!”
“At least I put up a fight.”
Mom looked grim. “What were you doing in Adrian’s shop?”
“I have no idea.” Lee stared off in space, trying to grasp even a speck of memory.
“You only planned to go to Gathering?” Mom asked.
With a shrug Lee admitted to considering getting a mocha at The Daily Grind first. “But I have no clue if I grabbed a cup of joe or not.”
“You must have run into Adrian at some point,” Raj said. “I doubt you went straight from home to Gathering. We can see if Shay could dig anything up.”
Duplicity (Spellbound #2) Page 16