Several students chuckled.
“What’s wrong with you?” Thea asked at lunch.
“Huh?” There it was again. That creep Raj had ruined her entire day. Gray could still feel his breath on her skin as she stood powerless under his spell. It was the worst feeling in the world. Guys like Raj McKenna should be stripped of their abilities. There had to be some kind of magical binding spell out there.
“Hey, earth to Gray,” Thea said, waving her peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of Gray’s face.
She blinked several times. “Sorry, I’m on drama overload.”
Thea’s expression turned sympathetic, eyes crinkling at the corners. She lowered her chin and voice. “It’s times like these I’m glad I’m an only child.”
“Try having an identical twin—it’s two times worse.” When the lunch bell rang, Gray groaned. “Fifth period . . . with Mrs. Pritchett.”
“Say no more,” Thea said.
But again, Gray was kidding herself. The real reason she had to pry herself away from the cafeteria was because of a certain lighter-snapping warlock. This compelled Gray to hustle to class and select a seat in the front row. She didn’t look up from her book. For all she knew, Raj never came to class. When class ended, she shot out of her desk and made her way to last period.
This time, she sat in the back row, and before class was out Gray made herself invisible, promising herself this would be the last time she’d erase herself at school. But hadn’t her mother said magic should be used in a case of emergency?
As far as Gray was concerned, getting even with Raj McKenna was an emergency of extreme importance.
* * *
It didn’t take a locator spell to find Raj’s junk heap. The idiot hadn’t even locked the doors, not that that would have hindered Gray. Unbolting spells were practically Magic 101. Even after her powers had turned unreliable, Gray could manage unlocking a door. Still, it was nice not relying on mystical aid to climb into the backseat of McKenna’s car.
Gray didn’t need magic to protect herself. She wasn’t above getting her hands dirty the good old-fashioned way.
Well, okay. At the moment she was invisible—as was the shoelace wound tightly in each fist.
She sat poised and ready on the edge of the backseat. She didn’t have to wait long. Raj was out moments after the final bell rang. For once, his lighter was tucked away as he swung his ring of keys around his left finger.
Gray’s heart rate quickened.
Raj opened the car door and landed with a thud in the driver’s seat. “Another day in paradise,” he mumbled under his breath.
He reached forward with his key, but before he could stick it in the ignition he dropped the ring with a clink. Gray had the string around his neck.
“Don’t move. Don’t speak,” Gray hissed.
Raj glanced into his rearview mirror. Gray had already made herself visible. She wanted Raj to see her plain as day, the one in control this round. If she hadn’t been so angry it might have surprised her to see the unease in his expression.
Yeah, not the best feeling being at someone else’s mercy.
“Now listen carefully, McKenna.” Gray’s lips brushed his ear.
So maybe she was getting off on the whole revenge thing just a tad. She’d tasted something sweet, but after she set the creep straight no more—she was back to Graylee Perez, model citizen, hardworking student, and honorable witch of the 42nd Coven, Kent Chapter.
But first things first.
She tightened the string. Raj inhaled sharply.
“If you ever use a spell on me again I’ll bury you alive.”
Gray tightened the shoelace one last time for emphasis before releasing it and grabbing the handle of the car. Before she could get out the locks clicked shut with a sound reminiscent of the snap of Raj’s lighter.
So much for a dramatic exit. “What did I just say?” Gray said through gritted teeth.
Raj lifted his arms in the air. “I’m not performing a spell on you.”
The locks reopened with barely a thought from Gray. Like she said, Magic 101.
They bolted shut just as suddenly.
Gray caught Raj’s eye in the rearview mirror. He was neither smiling nor frowning. Something was brewing between them. Something that could only lead to a world of regret and self-loathing. Gray had to get out of there.
The locks sprang open and closed. Open and closed.
The pounding at her window nearly made Gray shriek. She was instantly relieved to see Thea standing beside her door peering inside. Even without magical abilities, her friend was a guardian angel.
“Gray? What in the heck are you doing in there?”
God, this didn’t look good. Getting out of Raj McKenna’s car like they’d snuck off to . . .
Gray threw open the door, swiftly followed by her legs and everything that went with them. She high-kicked the door shut and glared at Raj. In response he snatched up his keys, shoved them into the ignition, and floored the gas pedal. The vehicle roared.
Gray linked arms with Thea and dragged her away.
Chapter Three
Raj revved the engine one last time then eased up when Gray was a good thirty feet away. It was a damn waste of gas, but it helped ease the pounding in his chest. Gray had spooked him good. He’d never dreamed he’d need a protection spell on his car. Its rundown exterior—not to mention the fact that it belonged to him—had always been protection enough.
Till now.
Not that Gray would ever hide in Raj’s backseat again. No, that thought now landed somewhere in the realm of fantasy and fantasies had a way of never coming true.
Raj pulled his Zippo out of his jeans pocket and flipped it open and closed, watching Gray get inside a vehicle with Thea Johnston. He glanced at the shoelace she’d dropped and wound it slowly around his knuckle.
Raj wanted Graylee Perez. Hell, he wanted her more than her invisibility spell. Chances of getting either were somewhere in the ballpark of nil.
Raj loosened his fist and shook the shoestring off his hand onto the empty seat beside him. He drove straight home without thinking. If he’d been thinking he would have hit the arcades or gone to a matinee at the cinema and snuck into two more flicks before the night was out.
If he knew Gray’s invisibility spell he wouldn’t have to pay for the matinee to begin with.
But no, not thinking had brought him directly home.
Home, bitter home.
His father had found them a rundown shack in Shitsville. A former tenant had ripped out all the carpeting and never replaced it. Plywood stairs met Raj just inside the door, ascending into the gloom overhead. A narrow hallway to the right led into their scrap of kitchen—a room that never smelled of anything nice. No more of Mom’s curries or homemade naan.
“Raj, that you?”
Raj lifted a finger and the front door shut behind him. With hollow steps he entered the kitchen. Inside, his dad sat at a fold-out table for two sipping from his bottomless cocktail. It was hard to breathe through all the smoke. The ashtray on the table was already full, a book of matches tossed beside it.
His dad coughed before asking, “How was school?”
Raj shrugged. “Same old.”
“You stay out of trouble?”
“Yep.”
His dad finished the last of his whiskey or brandy or whatever the hell he was drinking and scooted back. He traveled three steps to the kitchen sink and poured himself a glass of water. When his finger touched the glass the liquid turned amber.
“I’m going over to Shay’s to do homework,” Raj said.
His dad gave him a hard stare. “Be back by ten.”
Raj didn’t answer as he headed for the front door. The man had no business telling him what to do.
* * *
Shay was playing the flute when Raj tapped at her door and walked into her room. Her fingers kept moving, her breath a continual stream producing a tune that haunted and hypnotized Raj at t
he same time. He lowered himself to the carpet, leaned against the wall, and watched Shay’s head sway with the instrument.
Once she finished the song Raj clapped. “Bravo.”
Shay tossed the flute onto her bed. “I’m bored with that thing.”
Raj fought back a laugh. “It took you what, three days to master the flute?”
Shay mastered instruments the way linguists mastered languages.
“I’m not sure what’s next. Maybe the sax?” Shay glanced toward the ceiling thoughtfully as she spoke. “Unless I got some snakes to accompany me.”
“I think you’ll need some new sheet music for that. You don’t see serpents swaying to the classical beat. And I’m sure your mom would just love having a cobra take up residence in your room.”
Shay gave Raj a blank stare. “Mom’s not afraid of snakes.”
Shay Baxter had been Raj’s best friend since the third grade. She’d stuck by him after everything that had gone down, when his own mother had left him. Shay acted as though everything was the way it’d always been, which had its ups and down.
Mrs. Baxter was the adult version of Shay, a friendly, accepting woman who had no interest in gossip, which meant neither lady asked for Raj’s version of events.
Fine, like he needed a couple of meddlesome women in his life.
A girlfriend, on the other hand, was sounding more and more appealing.
Raj glanced from his place on the floor to Shay, who’d taken a seat at her desk and began moving her mouse around and clicking at her computer. Shay had full-bodied, dark-blond hair and freckled skin. She was pretty and rational, but she’d never gotten Raj’s blood pumping. Not like Graylee Perez.
Right, and even if he had harbored any secret feelings for Shay, she was practically engaged to Max Curry. They already acted like a married couple. Worse. A perfectly harmonious married couple. Juniors in high school. Sad.
If Raj wanted to go out with a witch, his options at McKinley were limited. There were only three in the whole junior class: Shay, Charlene, and Gray.
Raj cleared his throat. “Hey, do you still make those good luck amulets?”
“Hold that thought,” Shay said without turning. “Max is writing a paper on acid rain and I found an article I want to send him.”
Raj scratched behind his ear. “Max actually reads and does homework?”
“Max and I believe it’s important to exercise our brains,” Shay answered.
“Performing spells takes a lot of thought.”
“Intellectually speaking.” Shay clicked a few more times, then swiveled her seat to face Raj. “So you need a luck charm. What happened to the one I made you in seventh grade?”
“It’s not for me.”
“Oh, I see.”
And like that she did. It could have been for Raj’s sister, but Shay knew better. Shay seemed to know everything.
“Basic or fancy?”
“Fancy,” Raj answered immediately.
“Moonstone will cost you extra.”
“Do it.” Raj picked at the stiff burlap carpeting beside his knee. “Think you can have it done soon?” He didn’t have to look to see the smile spreading over Shay’s face.
“Got a special date in mind?”
“By the weekend of the twelfth.”
Raj could hear the smile in her words. “You mean the weekend before St. Valentine’s Day?”
“Can you finish in time?”
“Of course I can. Let me jot down the particulars.” Shay snatched a pen and notepad off her desk and sat on top of her bed with a bounce.
“Color preference?”
“Blue.”
“Symbols?”
“Your call.”
“Initials?”
“Not necessary.”
Shay tapped her pen against her notepad. “I need initials, Raj.”
He hesitated.
Shay sighed. “You know the charm works better if it’s personalized.”
“Fine. It’s GP.”
“G what?”
“G-P,” Raj said louder.
“GP, GP,” Shay repeated. “I assume this is a girl from our class.”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters. I want to know what girl at McKinley has managed to capture your heart.”
“It has nothing to do with the heart.”
She studied him a moment then got up and went to her bookshelf.
“What are you doing?”
Shay pulled her yearbook out and sat cross-legged on top of her bed. “Now I have to know. I’m looking up every GP.”
“Please don’t.”
She spread the yearbook open. “Look at that,” she said innocently. “I opened to the Ps.”
“Total coincidence, I’m sure,” Raj grumbled.
Shay tapped her head. “Think it and it is so.”
Which reminded Raj . . . “Don’t go reading my mind.”
“Please,” Shay said, affronted. “I’d never do such a thing. Anyway, the process of elimination is so much more interesting.” She bent her head back down. “Now let’s see. Grace Peterson.”
Raj snorted and relaxed a fraction. “What a smart couple we’d make.”
“Gabby Peck.”
“Fat chance. Emphasis on fat.”
“Don’t be a jerk,” Shay said and threw her pen at him. She flipped several pages and leaned in closer. “Graylee Perez . . .” A long pause followed. Shay’s forehead wrinkled.
“What?” he asked defensively.
“Oh, Raj,” Shay chided. “I thought you wanted to go out with a normal girl.”
Raj straightened his spine. “So you’ve decided it’s Graylee Perez—just like that.”
She pierced him with a look. “Raj, cut the bull.” She glanced back down at the picture.
Raj wanted to look at it, too. It wasn’t like he had his own yearbook at home, but the sudden awkwardness prevented him from joining Shay’s side for a look at Gray in still life.
Shay looked up again. “At least she’s not as bad as her sister.”
“They’re nothing alike.”
Shay snorted. “They’re everything alike. They’re identical twins.”
“You know what I mean.” Raj got up.
“Fine, I’ll make a charm for Graylee Perez.”
Before Raj could thank her, Shay added, “You know the rules—payment up front.”
“I need this in time for Valentine’s Day.”
“Rules are rules.”
“Just make the amulet. I’ll get you your money.”
“No stealing from your father’s wallet,” Shay said. “Or anyone else’s.”
Raj paused in her doorframe. His lips opened and closed. Shay was back at her desk instant messaging with someone, probably Max. Raj pressed his lips together tightly and walked out.
* * *
Raj arrived at fifth period early. A first. He took his seat in the back row and kept an eye on the door.
It was funny how you could not notice a person then notice them all of a sudden. Back when he attended Gatherings, the Perez twins hadn’t been part of his clique. At some point, Gray had morphed into the magically inhibited girl parents felt sorry for and students ridiculed. When Raj remembered past reactions, he wanted to travel back in time and punch the faces of the kids who’d laughed when Gray fell on her ass after their peer leader suggested she might have better luck floating if she started by stepping off a desk.
Raj still remembered the expression in Gray’s eyes after she landed on the ground. It was about the only thing he remembered of her. He’d been startled by the utter disbelief in that look. She could have landed on her feet, but she’d fully expected to float. Raj wasn’t sure why when she’d failed so many attempts before.
He hadn’t thought of it till now.
Now look at the girl. She was a spook. Raj knew of no one else powerful enough to disappear. If he were Graylee Perez, he’d show up at the next Gathering and go all poltergeist o
n every kid who’d ever laughed at her.
Maybe her magical ineptitude had been an act.
No.
Raj recalled her sprawled over the floor again. Definitely not an act. Humiliation was as good a motivation as any. She’d finally caught up and surpassed them all.
Raj sucked in a breath when Sadie Howard walked in. Gray was right behind her, wearing a pair of tweed shorts. Her black tights gave the illusion of cover, but they didn’t hide her slim legs.
Gray’s eyes found his and she quickly looked away. Raj followed her movements to a seat near the front. His eyes lingered on her before she sat.
The bell rang and Mrs. Pritchett’s voice filled the room.
Raj stared at the back of Gray’s head. She’d braided her hair. He had to fight the urge to loosen the strands from their weave. No magic, she’d said.
“Mr. McKenna.”
Raj kept concentrating on Gray’s hair and what he’d like to do with it.
“Mr. McKenna.” Mrs. Pritchett’s voice went several octaves higher.
Gray’s shoulders tensed and Raj moved his eyes from her to the angry glare of Mrs. Pritchett. “Mr. McKenna, if you don’t plan on being mentally present in my class, I suggest you leave.”
The light feeling left Raj’s stomach, to be replaced by the acidic burn of humiliation and rage. He leveled a cold stare at Mrs. Pritchett—one that made her take two steps back. She opened her lips to speak, but no words came out, like a guppy floundering inside a tank.
Gray turned and looked at him with widening eyes. Was this what it took to get her attention for more than two seconds?
Anger bubbled up in Raj’s chest, then burst. Mrs. Pritchett’s blouse popped open. Her gasp filled the air as she slapped her arms across her supersized white silk bra and ran out of the room. The moment she left, laughter erupted.
“Oh my god!” a girl in the front row cried.
There was movement and chatter. Students got out of their desks to sit on top or join friends in the aisles. Someone knocked a book off their desk with a loud thud. Through the activity, Raj saw Gray stand up and hurry out of the room.
Raj was right behind her. He followed her down the empty hall until she turned around. “Just stop it, Raj! You can’t do things like that.” Her voice was pure anger, but in her eyes he saw fear. Just like everyone else. Why would Graylee Perez be any different? She hugged her backpack to her chest.
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