House of Ivy & Sorrow

by kindle@abovethetreeline. com

Her lips quiver as she tries to keep it together. “Gwen’s house caught fire in the middle of the night, and she didn’t wake up.”

  I should say something, but the words won’t come. All I can see is the picture Levi sent, his cruel words on the back.

  I spy with my little eye. . .

  I can’t ask if one of my best friends is dead.

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Publishers

  ..................................................................

  THIRTY-ONE

  My knees give out, but Kat keeps me standing. “She’s alive, Jo. I should have realized you thought she might be . . . she’s not dead.” Hearing that gives me enough strength to pull it together. I take a deep breath, shoving the grief over Nana and my mom into a little box for later. Gwen comes first. “How bad is it? What happened? Is her family safe?”

  “I don’t know exactly.” Kat goes to my armoire and rifles through my clothes. “Mrs. Lee called me from the hospital. I guess her parents and siblings escaped once they smelled the smoke, but then they realized Gwen wasn’t there. Her dad went back in for her, and she wouldn’t wake up even when he shook her, so he carried her out.”

  I grab my phone, feeling like the most selfish person in the world for turning it off. Sure enough, when I listen to the messages, half of them are from Mrs. Lee, telling me they’re at the hospital in Denison. “She’s in a coma?”

  Kat tosses me a pair of jeans and a shirt. “Yeah, but I have a feeling she would have been dead if it weren’t for . . .” She touches her charms.

  “The spell must have been really bad if it still put her in a coma.”

  She heads for the door “Get ready. I’ll ask Dorothea what we should bring to fix it.”

  Once I’m dressed, I rush down the stairs. My dad and Kat stand in the entryway. Their hushed tones obviously mean they’re talking about me, and the accompanying guilty looks don’t help their case.

  Kat holds up a bag. “She said you’d know what to do with this.”

  I take it and peer in. This stuff should definitely help fix whatever has happened. Too bad I don’t know the exact curse—it would make it easier to decide on the antidote. “So we have transportation?”

  She gnaws on her lip. “I called Winn. He should be here soon.”

  “Oh.” My stomach does all kinds of flips. I’m not sure if they’re good or bad ones. I haven’t talked to him in a few days—not since I found out he’s living in my great-great-aunt’s house.

  “Be safe,” my dad says when Winn’s lights shine outside.

  I don’t answer, but instead give him a long, pained look. What am I supposed to say? Sure, we’ll be safe trying to save Gwen from a botched murder attempt. Nothing will go wrong. I’m never assuming I’m safe again. Not even among my own kind.

  Winn is headed down the path as we leave the house, and an unexpected wave of relief crashes over me when I once again see no magic in him. I hold on to that fact like my life depends on it. When we meet, he scoops me off the ground; I’m too exhausted to resist. He whispers into my ear, “Where have you been? I missed you.”

  How can he still make me want to smile? “It’s been kind of hectic around here, getting my dad settled and all.”

  “I guess I can accept that.” He puts me on the ground, and his beautiful mouth turns down. “So, how are you doing with all this?”

  I know he means Gwen, but it feels like it applies to everything. Searching his eyes, all I can see is concern. No blackness or cunning like Levi. It can’t be fake—he can’t be trying to trick me. Or have I already been tricked? I lean on his chest, the comfort of his arms too strong to ignore. If it is a lie, I fell for it a long time ago. “I’m so tired.”

  “You can sleep on the way there,” Kat says. “We should get going.”

  “Right.” Winn guides me to the car, and we head for Denison. As I doze off on his shoulder, I decide I’ll deal with his part in this whenever it comes. For now, I need him too much to let go. He’s the one thing in my life that hasn’t gone totally wrong yet.

  Gwen’s family looks ragged, half of them passed out in the hospital’s waiting room. My heart aches for them even more when I realize they don’t have a home to stay in. Mrs. Lee, who Gwen takes after almost completely, hugs us. “Thank goodness you came. We’re hoping that having friends here might . . .”

  She chokes on a cry, and I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry I didn’t hear sooner. I feel horrible.”

  “No. It’s only been two days. . . .” She puts a hand to her chest. “My, it feels like so much longer than that.”

  “I know exactly what you mean.”

  It’s silent for a moment, as if we’re all too tired to make polite conversation.

  “Do you need anything?” Winn shuffles back and forth, seeming antsy. “You guys must be hungry, and hospital food is awful. I could run out and get you supplies. Maybe some blankets and pillows?”

  “Oh . . .” She shakes her head. “That is so sweet, but I don’t have any cash and—”

  “It’s on me.” Winn looks my way, his eyes full of understanding. “I’m sure Jo and Kat want to see her on their own, and I like to be useful. What do you want?”

  Mrs. Lee seems hesitant to accept his offer, but she relents. “Anything would be great.”

  “Say no more. I’ll make sure you’re fed.” He kisses me quick on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a few.”

  I grab his arm, realizing how far we are from the safety of Nana’s spells. If anyone in the group is next on the list, it’s Winn, my last shred of happiness. I take my strongest protective charm and drape it over his neck. “Be quick. And careful.”

  He smiles, and with one more kiss he’s gone.

  “So how is she?” Kat asks.

  Mrs. Lee’s eyes water. “She has some serious burns on her arms, and her hair . . . they had to cut so much of it off. The paramedics thought her passing out was smoke inhalation at first, that maybe the fire started in her room so she was the most exposed. But she won’t wake up. They’ve run a bunch of tests, and nothing.”

  “Can we see her now? Or is it too late for visitors?” I ask.

  “We’ll tell them you’re family,” Mrs. Lee says. “I’m sure they’ll let you in.”

  They do, though the nurse explains that we can’t take too long. The moment I see Gwen, it’s exactly what I feared. Her aura is black—she’s under some kind of spell, but I don’t recognize it. If Levi did this, I don’t care what he knows anymore. He will pay.

  I walk over, and the spell reacts to my presence with a hiss. It doesn’t come for me this time; it only works harder on its goal, which must be to murder Gwen. This spell isn’t for killing me—its sole purpose is to cause me pain, to break me, to terrify me.

  To my own surprise, it only makes me want to fight back.

  “Is it bad?” Kat asks.

  “Really bad. This spell was supposed to kill her—it’s still trying to. It’s a good thing she didn’t take off the charms. The one place there isn’t darkness is around them, but it won’t last long.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It means if I can’t get this thing reversed, she’ll be dead before daybreak.”

  Kat gasps. “No.”

  I pull the bag out of my purse. “Hurry, I need your help mixing this.”

  “But I don’t—”

  “I need to concentrate on the potion; all you have to do is hand me what I ask for when I ask for it.” I search for a makeshift cauldron. It’s between a pink barf bin or the bedpan. I hold them up to Kat. “Which is the lesser of two evils?”

  She cringes. “Unless it’ll erode the plastic, I say the pink one.”

  “Hmm, I didn’t think of that. Bedpan it is, just in case.” I set it on the counter and get to work. “The rose oil first.”

  She rummages in the bag. “The clear water-looking one?”

  “Yeah.” She hands it to me, and I pour it into
the bedpan. Holding my hand over it, I infuse the floral liquid with a heavy helping of magic, straight from my heart. “The dove eyes next.”

  It’s quiet as I go about creating the purification potion—only the occasional beeps from the machines Gwen’s attached to. Lizard tails for regeneration. A lion tooth for battle. Sunflower petals to purge the darkness. Before I know it, I’m almost finished, and the potion is a good one, full of power and love.

  “And last but not least.” I hold my hand over it. “The blood of a loved one.”

  “So that’s what the knife’s for.” Kat pulls it out, eyeing it. “Can I do it? Or does it have to be from a witch?”

  I smile, knowing how much she wants to contribute. “You can, if you’d like.”

  She cuts her finger without so much as a flinch, and the blood drips into the potion, making a stark crimson flower against the pearly white liquid. It spreads and spreads until I can feel the potion’s full power rise.

  “That’s good,” I whisper, concentrating on sealing it all together. The magic tingles through my fingers, and I’m tempted to give it a little more than it needs. But I don’t. When I open my eyes, the potion is a bright red-and-white flower. I pluck it from the silver bedpan and bring it over to Gwen. Placing it on her heart, I wait for the spell to banish the darkness.

  But instead, the shadows consume the flower until it’s nothing but blackened ash.

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Publishers

  ..................................................................

  THIRTY-TWO

  I look to Kat, whose horrified expression must mirror mine. This has never happened before. My spells always work, and so do Nana’s. How could it not cure Gwen? I collapse by the bedside, clutching my mother’s pendant.

  “What do we do now?” Kat says, her voice shaky. “We can’t let her die. We can’t. Gwen can’t die.”

  “I don’t know.” I take Gwen’s hand, even though the shadows burn and hiss.

  “Can’t we sacrifice something else? You gave up your voice to purify your dad’s letter, and you burned your hand for me. There has to be something!” She paces the room, panicking enough for the two of us. “What about a kidney or a lung or an arm?”

  “It’s too much risk with no assurance that it’d work. I can’t take an arm without knowing with one hundred percent certainty that it would stop the spell.”

  “We can’t lose her!” She yells far too loudly for a hospital.

  “I know! But I’m not all-powerful. I don’t even know what spell this is—I knew with you. I’ve done everything I can.”

  “Do more!”

  I don’t answer, because she’s crying and too frantic to reason with. My tear ducts must be tapped out because my heart aches, but nothing will come.

  Gwen is so lifeless and dark that I can’t help but realize how much she usually moves. All the time I’ve known her, she was the one bouncing her knees or skipping when everyone else walked. She used to dance, back when old Mrs. Collins taught a jazz class for the girls in town. Gwen was amazing at it, and you couldn’t stop her from practicing wherever there was enough space. What I’d give to see Gwen move a finger, let alone bounce around my room again like a butterfly.

  The door clicks, signaling the end of our time with Gwen. I don’t move. It can’t end this way. I can’t leave her to die. “Just one more minute, please; I beg you.”

  Someone lets out a low whistle. “That is one nasty death call.”

  I bristle at the voice and turn to see my worst nightmare. Levi actually has the gall to be smiling. He shuts the door, and I wish I hadn’t used half my magic on that futile antidote. “You would know, since you’re the one who put it on her.”

  “I would never,” he says. “Death calls are way below the belt.”

  I’m not sure I believe him. “How did you find us?”

  Levi sits on Gwen’s bed, way too close to me. “When she lived through the fire, I figured you’d show up at some point.”

  “You’ve been waiting for me?”

  He shrugs. “Basically.”

  “If you’re on my side, you could have at least made yourself useful and fixed her.”

  “Dear Josephine, you know magic doesn’t work that way.” His smile is so smug I want to strangle him right there. “We Shadows may not follow all the rules, but payment is something no one can avoid.”

  “Shadows?” Kat says.

  He rolls his eyes. “That’s what we call ourselves. It’s obvious, but fitting.”

  I shove him. “Do not disrespect her. I’m ready to kill you as it is.”

  His eyebrows raise at my touch. “You keep saying that, and I’m still not dead.”

  “Quit it, okay?” I restrain myself from stomping my foot. “My grandmother is dying and my friends are at risk and after they’re gone, I’m next. So do what you came here to do and stop pretending like you’re all mysterious and cool.”

  Levi frowns. “You’re no fun.”

  “I used to be, until you ruined my life.”

  “My kind may be at fault, but not me personally. Stop blaming me for the actions of someone I don’t particularly like either.” He fiddles with a stray thread on his shirt. “Your life isn’t the only one he’s ruined, you know.”

  “He?” I ask, hoping he’ll just tell me already.

  “Yes, he.” Levi bites his lip, seeming to hesitate. “My . . . superior, you could say. If you want to blame someone, that’s the guy to blame. I’m just trying to do what I can for you without getting caught. My life might suck, but it’s better than being a dead traitor.”

  I’m not sure what to say. Maybe I feel a little sorry for him, but I’m not about to let him know.

  “So . . .” Kat breaks the silence. “Can you two set aside the hate for a second? If Levi can help, I don’t care what he is or what he did.”

  Levi and I glare at each other, but she’s right. “Fine.”

  Kat stands between us like the mediator in a peace negotiation. “Okay, so Levi wants to fix Gwen, right?”

  “Right,” he says. “She’s been called to death—summoned by a Shadow to the darkness that awaits us all. No witch can remove it. It’s a Shadow thing.”

  Kat shudders. “And what do you need to stop it? You need something from us, right?”

  “Yes, and you won’t like it.”

  I fold my arms. “Try me.”

  “You have to kiss me.”

  My eyes go wide. “No freaking way. Kat can take that hit. Sorry, Kat.”

  “Fine,” she says.

  Levi shakes his head. “No, it has to be you. I need your magic to save her, and I can get some through a kiss so I don’t have to Curse you. Unless you’d prefer the Curse—that would make everything easier.”

  I glare at him, the choice already made. If I have any chance to save Gwen, I have to take it. So I square my shoulders, determined to look stronger than I feel. “I guess one kiss is better than being Cursed. Barely.”

  “You have to give it. I don’t take.” At least he has the decency to look slightly uncomfortable.

  I force myself forward, though I’m terrified of what this will feel like. Levi’s eyes are dark, full of anticipation as I come close. Desire oozes out of him. I’m not sure if it’s me or my magic he craves, but I don’t like either option. Tipping my chin up, I close the distance and pray this won’t hurt too much.

  Levi’s lips press against mine, soft and yet urgent. I want to stop—despite the fact that he is, undoubtedly, a very good kisser—but he puts his hand on my face, as if to say, “Not yet.” I close my eyes, trying not to get lost in this . . . this chemistry.

  Then it happens, and my eyes go wide in terror. My magic drains from my body so quickly I have to grab his arm to stay standing. He holds me up, though all I want to do is push him away. He’s taking a part of me, and I hate that I let him.

  When he’s taken almost all of it, he guides me to the one chair
in Gwen’s tiny room. I can barely move, and tears drip down my cheeks. He wipes one away, the shame in his eyes crystal clear. “I’m so sorry, Josephine.”

  “Just save her,” I whisper.

  He goes to Gwen and puts his hand on her chest. The shadows around him flare, fueled by my magic. He winces as the spell fights him, but it retreats quicker than I expected. I don’t want to admit that my magic seems stronger under his command, but I can’t deny what I feel. There’s no way I could have done that, even if I were full to the brim. Within seconds, Gwen is back to her normal, non-shadowy self. When her eyes flutter open, I can’t regret what I did.

  Gwen takes in the room and her visitors. “Jo? I saw you trying to stop t-the . . . I wasn’t just sick or hurt, was I? There was s-something . . .”

  I force the lump in my throat down. “Yeah, but don’t say anything, okay? I promise I’ll explain later. You were in a coma—that’s what everyone thinks.”

  She nods, but her lips quiver. “The shadows . . . they were everywhere, pulling me down into a black pit. I thought it was over.” She looks up and Levi. “Then this guy pulled me out. Who are you?”

  “Uh . . .” Levi shoves his hands in his pockets. “No one.”

  The door clicks open, and I want to die when Winn walks in.

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Publishers

  ..................................................................

  THIRTY-THREE

  “What the hell is he doing here?” Winn growls, glaring at Levi like he’d start a fight if we weren’t at a hospital.

  This would be one of those times where it’d be really convenient if I could tell Winn the truth. But I can’t even get my mouth to move, since I’m so low on magic and terrified of what Levi did to me. That kiss was how the Curse must feel, except it’s permanent. This is how my mother died, how Nana is suffering, but a thousand times worse.

  But what Levi did with my power—he magnified it somehow. What could he do with even more of my magic? I hate that a little part of me is tempted to give it to him, to let him fix all my problems. But the price . . . it’s too steep. I can’t forget that.