Dead Is a Battlefield

by Marlene Perez

  To make matters worse, Selena still had Dominic’s hand and he was all gooey-eyed over her.

  “Don’t let Jeff bother you,” Flo said. “He’s a misogynist.”

  “I have more important things to worry about,” I said with false bravado. But it was true. Things were murky indeed, and I couldn’t seem to figure out how to clear them up.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I wanted to lounge around on Saturday morning before virago training, but Mom had other plans for me.

  “Jessica, the laundry is really piling up,” she said.

  “I thought Poppy was going to start working here.”

  “To help me with paperwork and your little sisters,” Mom replied. “Not do your chores.” She used that We’re done talking about it tone that all moms seemed to have.

  “Isn’t it about time that Fiona did her own laundry?” I complained. Sean, Sarah, Sydney, and I all had to do our own laundry, but that still left Fiona, Grace, Kellie, and Katie.

  As soon as I’d hit sixth grade, Mom and Dad had given me a guided tour of the laundry room, and the washer and dryer had been my almost constant companions ever since.

  Mom actually considered it for a few seconds before the veto came. “Maybe you can show her the ropes next month,” she said.

  I knew I’d never get out of the house if I tried to argue, so I made my way to the laundry space and stared at the piles of clothes until I had a bright idea. I sorted everything and put the first load in before I went to find my sister Sarah.

  “I’ll give you wardrobe privileges for a week if you do the rest of the laundry,” I said.

  She looked up from her computer and her eyes gleamed with avarice. “Including your new stuff?”

  When Mom had finally taken us back-to-school shopping, I had found some killer outfits. I hadn’t even worn some of the clothes yet, but I nodded.

  “Make it two weeks and it’s a deal,” she said.

  I looked at the clock. There was no way I would get out of the house in time to make it to training unless I agreed. I nodded.

  “Is it true that you have a thing for Dominic Gray?”

  I frowned. “He’s been spending a lot of time with Selena Silvertongue.”

  “Like that’s going to last,” she scoffed. “Gabi’s sister says that it doesn’t seem like he’s into her most of the time.” Gabi was Sarah’s best friend. Gabi’s sister was a junior, like Dominic.

  Sarah yawned. “Gabi’s sister says he only acts interested when Selena hangs all over him.”

  Maybe Dominic wasn’t lying to me about what he said at the Black Opal the day before. It dawned on me that his weird behavior could be more than the typical confusion of a first love. Maybe it wasn’t natural at all. Selena was a sorceress. But what did that mean exactly?

  “Dominic and I are just friends,” I replied. “Although I might see him at training.”

  “Training?” She pounced on my slip.

  I panicked as I tried to think of an answer. “Yeah,” I finally choked out. “His sister, Raven, is helping me train.”

  “For soccer?” She gave me a skeptical look. “Since when do you need extra training sessions?”

  The one thing I had in common with my brother was my athletic ability. Dad said I was just born with it, which, if you think about it, was less than flattering. It’s not a talent. It’s just something I had, like red hair.

  “Coach McGill is a lot tougher than all my previous coaches put together.” I put a hand on my hip and hoped she’d believe my cover story.

  Sarah seemed to lose interest in my love life, thankfully, but followed me to the laundry room. “That’s more than one week’s worth of laundry,” she accused.

  “I know, I know,” I said. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “You’d better,” Sarah said menacingly.

  I scampered out the door before the last threat was out of her mouth.

  I arrived at the Mason house out of breath. There was no sign of any of the other viragos in the backyard, but I could hear voices coming from the living room. The band had hauled in an old couch and chair and scattered a few beanbags on the floor. They were probably all waiting for me in there.

  Instead, I found Selena and Dominic sitting on the sofa, holding hands.

  “Sorry!” I said, before turning around and rushing out.

  Dominic caught up with me before I made it to the front porch. “Jessica, wait,” he said. “It’s not what it looked like.”

  “It’s none of my business,” I replied.

  “I’m hoping that it is,” he said. He squeezed my hand, but I jerked it away. “Selena was helping me with my . . . gift.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

  “You’re jealous,” he said. He smiled at me, clearly delighted.

  “Stop smiling like that,” I said.

  “Like what?” he said innocently.

  I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh.

  He laughed, too, but sobered quickly.

  “What happens when Selena helps you to control your powers?”

  “We hold hands,” he said. Then he added quickly, “She says it helps to create a connection.”

  “Then what?” Something was bothering me about the whole thing, but I couldn’t pinpoint what bothered me exactly. It wasn’t just jealousy.

  There was a look of confusion on his face. “Then it gets a bit fuzzy.”

  I looked into his eyes expectantly, waiting for him to go on.

  “I’d like to get to know you better, Jessica,” he blurted out.

  After Dominic’s confession, we were quiet for a minute. I could tell he was waiting for me to say something.

  “I’d like to get to know you better, too,” I finally said. “But you and Selena . . .”

  A cloud crossed over his face. “No buts,” he replied. “We want to spend time together. That’s all that matters.”

  Easy for him to say. He didn’t have to face Selena’s friends and their death stares. Or his more persistent fans.

  He grabbed my hand. “Now come back inside. Raven told me to let you know that she and Flo were going to be late. They should be here soon.”

  We went back inside, but there was no sign of Selena. Had she overheard what Dominic had said?

  “Where did Selena go?” Dominic asked. He didn’t sound too broken-hearted about her absence, though, and I had to suppress my glee.

  There was a guitar in the corner, so I picked it up. I needed to practice or Ms. Minerva was going to drop me as her student.

  I strummed a few chords of “Again,” by Lenny Kravitz. Dominic sat next to me and watched as I played, but only seconds into the song, his eyes rolled back in his head. He softly sang the lyrics to Bryan Ferry’s “Slave to Love.”

  When the song was over, Dominic returned to normal. “It happened again, didn’t it?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “What did I sing?”

  He winced when I told him. “I have no idea what that means.”

  I guess he was bummed Selena had left. He was obviously slavishly in love with her. The green-eyed monster had quickly become a regular visitor in my brain. It was an odd feeling, but I put it out of my mind when Flo and Raven arrived, followed almost immediately by Andy.

  What had my fellow viragos been doing without me? I felt a twinge of jealousy, this time the professional kind. They were all carrying take-out containers from Slim’s.

  “Surprise,” Flo said. “Training has been canceled for the day.” Her T-shirt read I PUT THE FATAL IN FEMME FATALE.

  “Canceled? Why?” I asked.

  Flo turned a stern gaze on me and said, “Because I say so.”

  “Oh, great,” I said.

  It was hard to tell with Flo, but I think she actually looked pleased with herself, so I didn’t have the heart to complain. But I’d just traded a serious favor to get some training in. I’d have to squeeze in a run at night.

  “S
omething smells delicious,” Vinnie said as he walked in. He put his arms around Flo’s waist.

  “I brought lunch for everybody,” Flo announced. He buried his face in her neck and then whispered something that made her blush.

  She wiggled out of his arms. “Not in front of the children,” she said. But they were both grinning.

  I looked over at Raven meaningfully. It hadn’t escaped our notice that training just happened to be always scheduled the same time as band practice.

  “True love,” she said. I tried not to look at Dominic when she said it.

  We put everything on the kitchen counter.

  “Slim sent along a cheesecake, too,” Flo said.

  “Oh, be sure to thank him for me,” I said.

  “Cheesecake is my favorite,” Dominic said. “So thank him for me, too.”

  “You can thank him yourself,” Flo said. “Because here he comes.”

  I took her word for it.

  Slim and his fiancée, Natalie, came in with even more food.

  “This isn’t lunch, it’s a feast!” Andy said. She peeked into the containers. “Oh, yum. Spinach salad.”

  It seemed like there was a little bit of everything to eat.

  The rest of the band arrived and gladly joined us. It was a little crowded in the kitchen, but Natalie told us there was a large patio table and chairs in the backyard, so we took the food outside.

  Jeff Cool reached over and took almost all the crab legs. I gave him a dirty look. I loved crab. Dominic took some of the crab legs off his plate and gave them to me.

  “I don’t like them that much, anyhow,” he said.

  “What’s the special occasion?” Nurse Phillips asked.

  “I was wondering the same thing,” Raven said.

  “Just experimenting with a new menu,” Slim said. “And you all are my guinea pigs.”

  “The experiment was a success,” Raven replied. She leaned back and patted her stomach contentedly.

  “Speaking of food,” Flo said, “I heard there was another disaster on Circe Silvertongue’s cooking show.”

  “Selena told me everything,” Andy said importantly. “The Cooking with Circe show was taping last night. Circe was preparing cherries jubilee flambé and the place caught on fire. But there was no way it was an accident.”

  “Did someone tamper with the cooking tools?” I asked.

  “Worse,” Andy said. “Selena said someone used magic to wreck the show. There was a food critic there and everything.”

  “You left out the part where the place nearly burned to the ground,” Flo said dryly.

  “It wasn’t quite that bad,” Andy said. “Dominic put out the fire with an ice bucket.”

  “Dominic was there?” I wished I hadn’t said it as soon as the words escaped.

  Andy shot me a dirty look. “He is Selena’s boyfriend.”

  “That’s not what he says,” Raven muttered under her breath. Andy gave her a sharp look, but Raven just smiled at her innocently.

  “But who sabotaged the show?” I said. “And why?”

  Andy shrugged.

  I took a slice of cheesecake and was in heaven after one bite. “This is so good. Thanks, Slim.”

  “Don’t thank me,” he replied. “Daisy made it.”

  “‘Daisy’?” I repeated. The girl could do everything and she had Ryan Mendez. Life wasn’t fair.

  “Daisy Giordano,” he clarified. “Isn’t she your neighbor?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But I don’t see her very often now that she’s in college,” I added.

  “Maybe Daisy can help you with your problem,” Slim suggested. “She worked with Circe last summer.”

  “This is a virago issue,” Flo said. “We need to figure it out ourselves. Daisy is busy and she’s been through a lot.”

  And then there was a painful silence as we remembered the explosion, the chief’s death, and Daisy’s hospitalization.

  “I’m going to have to go for a jog later,” I said brightly, ignoring the tension in the room.

  “Maybe I’ll join you,” Dominic said.

  “I’d like that.”

  Raven snorted. “Dom, Jessica can run a four-minute mile.”

  “Your point?” he said, but he gave me a sidelong look.

  “You complain if the remote is too far away for you to reach it,” she replied. “There’s no way you’ll be able to keep up with her.”

  “Speaking of running,” Andy said. “Look.”

  She pointed to the adjoining yard. The sun was so bright that I couldn’t see, so I shaded my eyes. Miss McBennett’s St. Bernard puppy bounded by with a large meaty bone in his mouth.

  Jaci Kelley followed the puppy. “Come here,” she growled. There was a little bit of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. “Give it to me.”

  While we watched in amazement, Jaci wrestled the bone from the dog and started to gnaw on it. She wore oversized sunglasses with a grubby sundress and mismatched shoes. Not her usual look at all.

  “Gross,” Jeff said, and then returned to his food like it was an everyday occurrence to see a teenage girl chewing on a dog bone.

  “We should stop her,” Nurse Phillips said. “She could get sick from eating raw meat.”

  I was sitting near Flo, so I heard her low-voiced conversation with her brother.

  “Werewolf?” Slim asked.

  “Did you see the palms of her hands?” Flo asked. “They’re bright red.”

  The palms of her hands? Why was that significant?

  “I’m afraid you have another problem on your hands.”

  “Don’t say it,” Flo begged.

  But he did. “Zombies.”

  I knew that where there was one zombie, there were many, many more. Nightshade was in trouble and my tattoo hadn’t even tingled.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The next day, I looked for her in every class, but Jaci wasn’t in school.

  I was walking from English to Geometry when I spotted Dominic in the hallway. I started to go over to say hi, but then I noticed that Selena was standing next to him.

  They both waved at me. I waved back like I didn’t have a care in the world, but inside, I was fuming.

  After my last class, I went to find Eva. We still walked home together, even though Edgar seemed to be taking up most of her time these days. Not surprisingly, he was at her locker. As I watched, he leaned in. I thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he seemed to be smelling her. He seemed to be reprimanding her about something, then walked away.

  “Do you think something happened to Jaci?” I asked Eva as we walked home.

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “Edgar says there’s a bad flu going around.”

  “Really? I hadn’t heard that,” I said. Since when was Edgar Love an expert about flu epidemics?

  “You don’t know everything, Jessica Walsh,” she snapped, then swiftly apologized. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe I’m coming down with something myself.”

  “That’s probably it,” I said. There had to be some rational explanation for my best friend’s behavior.

  “I’m out of my perfume,” Eva said. “Do you want to come to The Look of Love with me?”

  “Okay,” I said reluctantly. If that was the only way I could spend time with my best friend, I supposed it would have to do.

  On the walk down Main Street, I confided to her how I felt about Dominic. “I’ve never been jealous before,” I said.

  “You never had any reason to be,” Eva pointed out.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you always get what you want. Things come easily to you.”

  My best friend made me sound like an awful person. “Is that who you think I am? A spoiled brat who gets everything handed to me?”

  “That’s not what I meant,” she protested.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did you mean?”

  “You’ve certainly never crushed on someone as much as Domin
ic.”

  “I’ve had crushes before,” I said.

  “Not like this,” she replied. “Now you have something to lose and you’re wigging out a little.”

  “You make me sound crazed,” I finally said. I laughed, a little nervously.

  She smiled at me and her dimples flashed. “No, I like it,” she said breezily. “It’s nice that you show it sometimes.”

  “We’ve been spending way too much time talking about me,” I said. “What’s new with you and Edgar?”

  “Things are going very well, indeed,” she replied.

  “That’s great.” She gave me a sharp look to let me know my bland tone wasn’t fooling her. She knew I didn’t like Edgar.

  “I just need to get some new perfume, and then things will be perfect,” Eva said.

  “What’s that have to do with—” I started, but Eva cut me off.

  “Hey, there’s Jaci,” she said. “What is she doing?”

  I looked to where Eva had pointed. Jaci was standing still in the middle of a busy sidewalk.

  “It looks like she’s sniffing the air,” I said.

  “Let’s go talk to her,” Eva said. “I think something’s wrong with her.”

  As we approached Jaci, she growled. “Hey, Jaci,” Eva called out to her.

  Jaci growled again and then galloped off, but not before I noticed she had been eyeing Eva like the last rib at a barbecue. I also noticed she was drenched in that same perfume that Eva wore.

  “Do you think we should follow her?” I asked.

  “She’ll be okay,” Eva said, but she didn’t sound like she believed it, either.

  “Do you know her mom’s number?”

  Eva nodded and whipped out her cell phone.

  “Voice mail,” she said.

  “Jaci’s long gone, anyway,” I said. “That girl is fast.”

  I stared in the direction Jaci had gone.

  Eva tugged on my arm. “C’mon, I need to stop by The Look of Love.”

  When we walked in, the bell above the door tinkled, but no one came to greet us. It looked like the store was empty, but we could hear raised voices coming from the back room.