I was lying there, stunned and out of breath, trying to figure out my next move, when she charged again. What worked on a monster-size ant?
A lantern, probably dropped by one of the Lovelies in her haste to chow down on the disgusting fungus, lay on the ground just out of my reach. I rolled over and grabbed it and held it up in front of the ant, but it barely seemed to register with her.
She was quick, but I was quicker as I rolled again, away from her, and then onto my feet. My only hope was to run for that door. I hated to leave Eva, but I didn’t have any other choice.
I ran, faster than I’d ever run before, with the queen behind me and gaining on me. I made it to the door, but to my horror, it wouldn’t budge.
I spotted a metal curtain rod and grabbed it, just as the queen pinned me to the ground. I dropped the curtain rod.
A large drop of slime from the ant’s jaws hung an inch away, and as I turned my head from the stench, I saw the rod, just out of reach. I stretched my left arm and grabbed it.
Ms. Love picked that moment to reappear, directly between the queen and me. She ran at me, fist raised, but I grabbed her arm and bent it back until she grimaced with pain.
“Don’t hurt her!” Edgar screamed. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about his pet or his mom.
I shoved his mom straight into his pet’s jaws. There was a loud scream and I looked away.
When I looked back again, Ms. Love was gone. There was a pool of blood seeping into the dirt and next to it was a single finger. I bent over and threw up.
My stomach was finally empty and I glanced over my shoulder to see the mutant ant bearing down on me again. The queen was still hungry. As the ant’s jaws descended, I hit her with the curtain rod with all my might.
There was a shriek of pain and then a rain of noxious red spores.
I wiggled away from her body before it collapsed on me, and then tried not to throw up again. The ant’s head had exploded.
I took the stairs two at a time. I needed to get help, just in case something had happened to Raven. I didn’t want to think about what that something might be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
At the top of the stairs, I could hear footsteps. Help had arrived! But when I opened the door, it was Raven.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said. “We’ll lock them in the closet until we figure out what to do with them.”
We dragged Edgar into the closet first and then made repeat trips to round up the Lovelies. We left Eva for last.
“I hate to leave her in there with him,” I said.
“It’s not like we have any other choice,” Raven replied.
“I know,” I said. “It’s just, she’s my best friend, you know?”
“I know,” Raven said. “But how do you think Eva would feel if we let her bite someone else?”
“Help me move her.”
“Let’s hurry!” Raven said. “Before Ms. Love gets back.”
“I don’t think she’s coming back,” I replied. She looked puzzled but didn’t ask any questions.
After they were all tucked inside the closet, it was a tight fit. We put a chair under the door handle.
“We’d better check in with Flo,” Raven said. “She’s probably frantic.”
Raven hung up her cell. “Flo says they’re on their way. But we should leave the building. Just in case they get out of the closet.”
We were outside when Andy, Dominic, and Flo arrived a few minutes later. “Where are the girls?” Flo asked.
“Locked in the closet with Edgar,” Raven answered.
“Are you okay?” Dominic asked his sister. “No injuries?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Quit fussing.”
“Jessica, you call Rose and tell her we have enough fungus for an antidote,” Flo ordered.
I reached in my jacket, but then I remembered. “I lost it in the cavern,” I said.
“Here, use mine.” Raven held her phone out to me but wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I took it from her reluctantly. She’d choked under pressure, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with her at the moment. Viragos needed to be able to count on each other. I couldn’t figure out if she’d run because she was scared or because she was a pacifist, but either way, that wasn’t the reaction I wanted from a fellow virago.
I gave Rose the news and she told me that she and Natalie were on their way to the store.
“We need to get Edgar out of that closet before they eat him,” Flo said.
“It would serve him right,” I replied.
“We need answers,” Flo snapped. “And Edgar is the only one around to give them to us.”
We trooped back inside the store and I showed her where we’d stowed the Lovelies and Edgar. She opened the closet door and dragged Edgar out by his collar.
Flo sat him in the office chair. “Talk,” she ordered, but Edgar crossed his arms and remained irritatingly silent.
I was stymied. Why would Edgar want to turn a bunch of girls into zombies in the first place?
“Why did you do it?”
“I needed workers to take care of the queen,” he said. “The fungus made it so the girls were . . . obedient.”
“You turned girls into zombies because you needed help taking care of your pet?” I wanted to slug him, but instead I settled for hurting his feelings. “The queen is dead,” I told him bluntly.
A single tear rolled down Edgar’s face.
“What’s the cure?” I demanded, but he just shrugged in response.
“You’re going to let all those girls remain in that state?” I asked. “I can’t believe that even you are that low.”
But apparently he was. He refused to say anything else and no amount of begging and pleading worked. So we tried threats, bribes, but he still wouldn’t answer one more question.
“I’m tempted to shove him back in there with them,” I said. Low moans came from the closet. I hated to think of Eva slowly disappearing and leaving just a flesh- hungry shell, but if we didn’t do something fast, that’s what would happen.
“We’ll just have to figure it out without him,” Flo said. “Hopefully the antidote will work.”
Natalie, Rose, and Slim arrived.
Slim asked me about the whereabouts of Ms. Love.
“She could be down there in that enormous ant farm,” I said. “But I shoved her in front of the queen. I didn’t see what happened to her. Then I killed the ant queen.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Flo said, and she headed down to the basement with Slim. To my surprise, Rose and Natalie didn’t need the fungus we harvested. They already had an antidote ready. They took vials of the cure into the closet where the Lovelies were trapped.
I paced up and down until they returned. “Did you find a body?” I asked. “I didn’t see whether or not the ant got her.”
“Yes,” Flo said. “At least part of one—a finger. The acting police chief is checking prints now, but we’re pretty sure it belonged to Ms. Love.”
After an agonizing amount of time, Natalie and Rose emerged from the closet.
“Did it work?” I asked.
Dominic took my hand while we waited to hear Rose’s response.
“I won’t know for a few hours.”
“How did you figure out the antidote?” I asked.
Rose replied, “Dominic was a big help.”
“Dominic?”
“He managed to find another bottle of the perfume,” Rose said.
“Where did you get it?”
“Selena,” he said. “That’s where I went.”
“Just to get the perfume,” he added, after a quick look at my face. “I remembered that she had mentioned Edgar had given her some, but she hadn’t bothered to open it yet.”
Rose continued. “I knew it was a fungus in the perfume, and I assumed the treatment would be similar to treatment for other fungal infections. Then, with Natalie’s help, I made a few adjustments.”
“You girls
should go on home,” Flo said.
“No way,” I replied.
“I’m staying, too,” Raven said.
Hours passed. I tried not to look at the clock. Rose finally checked on the Lovelies and then came back.
“Did it work?” Raven asked.
“I think so,” she replied. “Eva said she wants a double cheeseburger and the rest of the girls seem hungry for real food, too.”
“At least no one is requesting brains,” Andy commented.
We all had to laugh at that, but it was tired laughter.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
We were still trying to figure out how to tie up a few loose ends.
“What about the mutant queen?” Raven asked. “What are they going to do with the body?”
We all looked at each other. What could you do with the carcass of a fifty-foot-tall killer queen? There was a long silence.
“Shrinking spell,” Natalie finally said. “I’ll do a shrinking spell on her.”
It seemed like hours before Slim and Natalie came back up the stairs.
“Well?” Flo asked expectantly.
“All done.”
“You’re sure the spell will hold?” I asked.
Natalie nodded. “I’m sure.”
Flo made a quick, quiet phone call, then hung up. “Slim, why don’t you take everyone to the diner and feed them? They must be starving. I’ll wait here. I need to update the council.”
“What will you tell Mr. Bone?” I asked. Nicholas’s dad was the leader of the city council.
“The truth,” Flo said.
“The truth?” I stared at her. “Will he believe you?”
“You’d be surprised what he’d believe,” she replied, then cracked a smile at my doubtful look. “Jessica, you have a lot to learn about Nightshade.”
I guess I did. Strangely enough, I was looking forward to it.
Raven walked ahead with Slim and Natalie, which left Dominic and me to walk side by side. Things were awkward between us, even though he had been worried about me.
I cleared my throat. “I guess I owe you an apology.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t believe you when you said things weren’t right between you and Selena.”
“You were a little busy trying to save your friend,” he said gently.
When we reached the diner, Slim said, “Lunch is on me.”
We grabbed a booth and Slim whipped up burgers and fries for all of us.
He’d just served us, when Flo, Andy, and the Lovelies walked in. Shannon, Jaci, and Ramona seemed a little dazed, but otherwise back to normal.
Flo guided them gently into a booth, but Eva walked right up to us on her own.
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” she said.
I jumped up. “Eva,” I said, “do you remember . . .”
“That I was a zombie? Sure,” she said.
I hugged her. “I am so sorry that I didn’t figure it out sooner,” I said.
“Are you kidding?” she said. “I’ve always wanted to write my own horror novel and now I have actual experience. It’s better than a movie.”
“I’m so glad you’re back to your old self,” I said. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” she said. Then her attention wandered and I followed her gaze to see who she was looking at.
Evan and a couple of his friends were walking in the front door. He gave us a wave but didn’t come over to talk.
Eva’s hopeful smile vanished.
“He has a right to be mad at me,” she said. “I was mean to him. I completely ignored him. For Edgar.” She shuddered. “What’s going to happen to them? Ms. Love and Edgar, I mean?”
“Ms. Love either escaped or was eaten,” I told her. “I’m hoping for the second one. But Nightshade City Council has Edgar in custody.”
Eva sighed and glanced over at Evan again.
“Go talk to him,” I urged. “Tell him what happened.” His two friends had left the table to feed quarters into the jukebox.
“He’ll think I’m insane,” she said.
“If he does, then at least you’ll know,” I told her.
“Know what?” She tilted her head, puzzled.
“That he’s not the right guy for you,” I said. “He’s alone right now. Now go.” I gave her a little shove.
It didn’t take any more encouragement. She went over and said something. Evan looked up, seemed to be considering something, and then gestured toward the empty seat next to him.
“That was nice what you did,” Dominic said.
“She deserves a little happiness after what she’s been through,” I said.
“So do you,” he said.
The moment was interrupted when Natalie came in with Poe on her arm.
“Where did you find him?” Eva cried, jumping up from her seat next to Evan.
“We found him hiding in one of the cupboards,” Natalie said. “I think I’ll have to take him to the animal shelter. He doesn’t like me. I doubt he’ll get along with my familiar, either.” As evidence, the bird snapped the air, obviously trying to connect with one or more of her body parts.
“Don’t do that,” Eva said. She jumped up and reached out to pet the bird.
“Careful,” Natalie warned. “He bites.”
“Oh, Poe is an old softie, isn’t he?” Eva cooed. “I’m going to ask my mom if I can keep him.”
Leave it to my best friend to have a pet raven.
To my surprise, Wolfgang and Claudia entered the diner, followed by Selena, and then Circe and Count Dracul and Circe’s assistant, Brooke.
“The viragos found out who has been sabotaging the television show,” Selena explained. “And I wanted Jessica to explain it to you.”
I groaned inwardly, but gave everyone a game smile. I’d had bigger things on my mind, such as surviving the weirdest ant infestation ever. The television food disaster mystery had slipped my mind.
“We think that the culprit was someone who didn’t like Circe,” I said. “But that left a whole lot of suspects.”
Count Dracul shot his wife a stern look and she gave him a guilty smile and a shrug, as if to say, “I am who I am.”
He softened and reached over and held her hand.
“But the last stunt was done with intent to harm someone,” I said. “At first I suspected Claudia because, let’s face it, Circe isn’t her idea of a step-grandmama.”
Claudia faced me with a level stare and I wondered if it was such a good idea to tick off a vampire. “And she did have access to the high school,” I continued. “But she doesn’t have any magical abilities and I assumed that if she wanted to get to someone, she would use other methods.”
Claudia gave me a long slow smile that sent shivers down my back. “You are correct,” she said. “I prefer to deal directly with any . . . issues.”
“So that left either Brooke or Wolfgang. And although it seems like something Wolfgang would do, and he’s not above having someone do his dirty work, it wasn’t him.”
All eyes turned to Brooke, whose demeanor went through a quick transformation. Suddenly, the meek little intern was an intimidating sorceress.
Still, I was shocked when she actually admitted it.
She said, “Yes, I did it. So what? There’s nothing you can do about it. Because what Circe isn’t telling you is that she’s somehow managed to lose her magic.”
“What? Darling, is this true?” Count Dracul.
She nodded. “Weeks ago,” she said. “Selena’s been helping me cover.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” the Count asked.
“I was embarrassed,” Circe replied.
Brooke ignored us all and got up from the booth. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she said. “I have another appointment.
“Not so fast,” I said. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Brooke actually laughed in my face. “And you think you’re going to stop me?”
“Nope,” I said. �
�But they will.” I pointed to Natalie and Mr. Bone, who grabbed Brooke by the arm and escorted her away.
I turned to Circe and said, “I think you’ll find your powers will return in a few days.”
“How?” she asked. The hope on her face made me hope I’d guessed correctly.
“I’m pretty sure Brooke has been siphoning off your power to use it against you,” I said.
“My power did start waning not long after she became my intern,” Circe said. “I can’t believe I trusted that imbecile.” So much for the kinder, gentler Circe.
“I am indebted to you,” the Count said to me. “If there is ever anything you need, please do not hesitate to call me.”
“I can’t believe it was Brooke,” Selena said. “I didn’t think she had the nerve.”
“Jessica, I want to talk to you about something,” Dominic said. “Alone.”
There was an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach and my heartbeat quickened. I took a bite of my salad to stall what I was sure would be an awkward conversation. I chewed slowly until my heartbeat returned to normal.
Everyone else in the diner suddenly got extremely busy elsewhere.
“Shoot,” I finally said.
“I wanted to explain about my mom,” he said. “Raven told me what she said to you.”
“About what?” I was lost and it showed on my face.
“How she was surprised that I like you,” he said. “It’s not about you.”
“It’s not? Then who could it possibly be about?”
“My mother’s not dead,” he said flatly.
My mouth fell open and a little piece of salad tumbled out. I snapped my mouth closed and brushed the lettuce out of sight.
“She’s not? But you said—”
“I didn’t lie,” he said. “But I didn’t tell you the truth. I just said she’s gone. She abandoned us to travel the world, fighting. She’s a virago, like you and Raven.”
I tried to absorb the information calmly but my mind raced. “That’s why Raven said she was surprised you wanted to go out with me.” And maybe that’s why Raven was trying to be a pacifist.
He nodded. “But a virago has a choice, you know. You don’t have to go from city to city. You can decide to be the protector of one place. She chose to leave.”
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