Spectral (16 page)

“Sure, maybe a little wine,” I said with a smile.

“Be right back.” Chase sauntered off to the far end of the kitchen.

I peeked around the corner and down the hall, looking for any sign of Roman and got none. When I looked back, Olivia now stood right in front of me, with her devoted little solider, Amy, next to her. I jumped, startled.

“Hey, Freak.” She poked me in the shoulder with one finger, her other hand held a too-full glass of some fruity looking drink. She rocked on her feet and it slopped over the sides of her glass. “What’s with the five dollar hooker look? Trying to make a little money on the side tonight, or what?”

Amy burst out laughing.

I stood up taller. “Olivia, jealousy’s a bitch, isn’t it?” My head instantly began to pound. I wasn’t in the mood for her crap. I had bigger things on my mind.

She ran her hand down over her white dress, straightening it. “Jealous? Of you?” She looked like she smelled something bad. “You went from looking like you woke up in a garbage can, to transforming into the garbage itself.” She snorted and then took a gulp of her cocktail.

All I could think about was taking her fruity drink and sloshing it right into her smug little face. “I think that would look better
on
you than in you,” I blurted out. “A red drink would do wonders for your outfit.”

Olivia’s eyebrows knitted together and she went quiet. The next thing I knew she was pouring the drink over the top of her head. It ran down her face like red rain and onto her white dress. An orange wedge clung to her hair.

Amy gasped and grabbed Olivia by the arm. “What are you doing?” she shrieked.

Olivia blinked, shook her head and then glared at me. “Did you do that, whore?” She lunged toward me.

“No, you did it,” Amy said, yanking Olivia’s arm back, mouth gaping.

Olivia shook her head. “I don’t remember. She did it! I told you she was a freak.”

Amy looked at her like she was nuts.

Did I do that
? I
was
thinking about the drink in her face and all over her.

And then I remembered the spell in the Ancient Witchcraft book that I’d read aloud. The spell of persuasion it said.
Oh, my God.
I looked back at her, eyes squinted. “You need to leave. Right now.”

Olivia glowered at me, then turned and grabbed Amy’s hand. “Let’s go, Amy.”

“What?” Amy’s eyes widened.

“Let’s just get out of here,” Olivia bumped her shoulder into mine as she passed me, and headed toward the front door.

Is this happening
?
Did I really just do that
?

Through the crowd, on the far side of the kitchen, Taylor waved me over and Chase poured wine into a plastic cup.

“Bathroom! Be back in a minute,” I mouthed the word dramatically so she could read my lips.

Taylor nodded and waved as I left the kitchen. I scooted down the hall, anxious to find Roman. I prayed he’d found the dagger. I couldn’t go home tonight. My heart raced at the thought of Aunt Eva finding my empty bed. Stumbling through the hallway, I bumped into people and mumbled apologies. The marble floor felt sticky under my feet, and the sickly skunk smell of weed smothered me.

There was a line for the bathroom.
Is the whole town of Pomona Park here
? Not needing to go anyway, I rushed by it, farther down the hall, past gyrating bodies until the partiers started to break up.

I darted into a room and closed the door behind me, resting my back against it. I inhaled deeply. Despite the now muffled music, my ears still rang. A large desk sat against the far wall facing me. The stars shone through the window behind it like hundreds of prying eyes. Bookcases lined the walls on both sides, filled with books of every size and color. I ran my fingers along the smooth desk surface, and eyed a mug nestled on top of some papers. Scrolled in large faded letters were the words,
World’s Greatest Mom
. A slight crack splintered through the cup, and I couldn’t help but think it was symbolic.

Sitting at the desk, I shuffled through some papers and then opened the desk drawer. There was nothing but bills and loose paper. I let out a frustrated groan and plopped my head into my hands.

The computer screen lit up. I must have hit the mouse by accident. It opened to Outlook Express. At the top, an already read email from Eva Nemkova caught my eyes. My heart jumped, and I clicked it open.

Elizabeth Snow,

The time has finally arrived. Your ticket for Moscow will be waiting as per the plan. I will send Karina to pick up the dagger tomorrow in the place that you and Raine have decided upon. Don’t become weak now. This is all necessary for you to become a true and sacred member of our coven.

Eva Nemkova.

I clutched the edge of the desk inhaling short, shallow breaths.
So, Mrs. Snow is going to Moscow
? If she’d already left, that meant she was probably already there, and with my dagger. But why? What did they want her to do in order to become a member? Grandma and Mrs. Snow had decided upon a place to hide the dagger, at least according to Aunt Eva’s email. I had to hope that Mrs. Snow was not long gone and my dagger was still here somewhere.

I wished I could just talk to Grandma Raine about everything. I so badly wanted to believe she’d been bullied into the whole kidnapping thing. That if I talked to her, I could convince her to take me to my real mom. My throat burned and I swallowed past the growing lump, willing away the pain.

A memory from when I was little floated before my eyes. Grandma and I had been playing find the button. She’d confined the hunt to the kitchen. After half an hour of searching in every drawer and cupboard, I’d given up, crying. Grandma had led me by the hand to the kitchen counter. Beside the toaster she’d picked up the navy blue colored button. It was the same color as the counter and blended like a chameleon. She had kissed my cheek and wiped away my tears with her thumbs.
Sometimes the things you look the hardest for have been right before your eyes the whole time,
she’d said.

I looked around the room in obvious places. I searched the walls and on the bookcases. There was nothing but stupid artwork and books. I twisted my hands into my closed eyes, rubbing hard, needing to think.
Maybe at the entrance way to the house
. I’d been thinking all along the dagger would be hidden in a room, or drawer but maybe it was in the entranceway, right before my eyes the whole time. I couldn’t be sure, but it was worth a shot.

Back outside in the noisy hall, I zigzagged through the pressing bodies and headed to the front door. I stood with my back pressed to it, looking around. The tapestry and several paintings filled the walls all the way up to the cathedral ceiling. A couple of the bulbs attached to the candelabra on the wall flickered ominously. The other three bulbs on it were completely out. Maybe the bulbs were just old and failing…that or somebody had twisted them to make it darker and screwed up on two. I took a deep breath.
Definitely creepy
. My eyes drifted to the stairway and the golden sarcophagus.
Golden—like the dagger
!
Like a chameleon
!

I dashed to the stairs and headed up, pushing through several people. “You guys should go out back to the pool,” I suggested. “Everyone’s skinny dipping!” I yelled.

“Awesome!” a guy said with a laugh as he bolted down the steps.

“You coming?” another one asked eyeing me up and down.

“Sure, I’ll be right there,” I forced a smile as he backed slowly down the stairs gawking at me.

Creepy much
?

“I’m staying here. I not in the mood for swimming,” one girl said to her friend and then chugged the remainders of her drink.

“Yes you are,” I said looking directly at her.

She held her gaze on me a moment and then nodded. “You’re right. I am actually. C’mon, Natalie, let’s go,” she said to her friend.

Now this is totally cool.

When there was nobody around, I ran my hands all over the sarcophagus, having to stand on my tip-toes to slide my hands over the top. The dagger wasn’t attached to the outside. My heart sank.

I looked for a way to open it, feeling excited and totally creeped out at the same time. I really hoped there wouldn’t be a mummy inside. But considering Taylor’s mom and what I knew about her, I couldn’t be sure. I found where the two halves attached, and taking one last look around, I cracked it open. A sharp musty odor like dirty socks poured out, filling my nostrils. With a cough, I waved my hand through the air in front of my face. My eyes widened at the golden statue that stood inside. It looked similar to the sarcophagus, but smaller. Its headdress consisted of gold and black horizontal stripes, and its arms were crossed against its chest.

When I looked closer, I noticed it held something in each hand. I ran my fingers along it, and realized one hand gripped a golden rod, but the other held a golden dagger. The black snake coiled around the handle was camouflaged against the stripes in the statue’s headdress. My adrenaline soared.

I grabbed the handle and yanked it out. An excited ball of energy twisted through me.

Something shifted in the shadows on the landing and I whipped my hand with the dagger behind my back, hiding it. Bright lights shone in the front window, and I spun back around to see what it was. Beams of light from several flashlights drifted in through the windows, coming closer to the front door.

“Crap!”

“Raid!” someone from the kitchen screamed.

“Here! Come up here,” I heard Roman call.

I snapped my eyes back to the upstairs landing. Roman held his hand out. Relief flooded me and I kicked off my shoes, dashed over the remaining stairs, and took his hand. We ran down the hall, passing the creepy gargoyle, and tore into the back room.

Somebody had turned the music off, and the sound of loud banging on the front door filled the house.

Roman closed the door behind us. Puddles of dried wax pooled under our feet. I realized we were in the room where Mrs. Snow performed her spooky ritual the other day.

“I got it!” I said breathlessly, leaning back against the door.

A smile tugged at Roman’s mouth as he leaned both his arms on the door above my head. “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered against my lips.

I gave him a seductive smile even as my heart raced out of control. He ran the back of his fingers along my tummy on the exposed skin just above my jeans. Bending his neck, he kissed me passionately until I melted into him. Kissing Roman was like opening presents on Christmas morning; you never could tell what would be wrapped up in each one, but it always held a promise of something magical.

More flickering lights shone into the night sky. Reluctantly, I pushed Roman back.

“I think the cops are here. Let’s go.”

Roman kissed my nose. “One sec.”

I followed him as he ran across the room and looked out the window. His face went from smiling to scowling to ashen white.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the Augusti Forza.”

My legs went numb, as though all the blood had drained out of them. “What? Roman, I can’t move.”

He cupped my chin and stared into my eyes intently. “Yes, you can. You have to. There’s an elevator here that takes you down to the first floor. I’ve been scoping this place out. Take it down, go into the office, and wait for me. Give me the dagger.”

“What’re you gonna do with it?”

“Trust me,” he held out his hand. “We can’t let them find the dagger or you. It’s not safe to keep it with you.”

That made sense. Trembling, I passed him the dagger and watched him tuck it behind his belt.

“I’ll get rid of them, and then I’ll bring you home for good.” He brushed his fingers slowly along my cheek, his lips turned up at the edges. His eyes locked onto mine. “I love you, my sweet butterfly.”

Another loud bang came from downstairs, and I couldn’t respond. Roman had told me he loved me which was epic, but with the pounding on the door, that I could only assume was the Augusti Forza coming to kill me, I completely froze.

Angry voices and screams erupted below.

“Oh my God,” I said, latching onto Roman’s arm. “What about Taylor and Chase?”

“They won’t hurt humans. They’re only looking for you.” He scooped me into his arms and carried me across the room to the glass elevator, and set me back on my feet. He kissed me between my eyebrows and then, pushing my hair back from my face with both hands, leaned down and kissed me softly one more time before stepping back. The elevator door slid shut.

My skin prickled as I descended. I kept my gaze on his strained face, until I couldn’t see him anymore, terrified it would be my last memory of him. I’d waited my whole life to feel the way Roman made me feel. I only imagined it could be so good, and I wanted to hold onto it forever.
We’re so close, we can’t be caught now
. When the elevator landed, I opened the door with trembling hands, and darted back into the office.

I hid behind the massive folds of material in the drapes, my heart pounding and threatening to explode. Seconds seemed like hours as I waited for Roman. I kept thinking that if I were the Spectral already, I could fight them. I hated hiding behind the drapes like a coward. But there was no way I could face Massimo—and God knows who else—with whatever endowment they had. At least not until I had my own powers.

The thought of them hurting Roman made a cold freeze work its way through me. I swore to myself that if they hurt him, I would kill them all one by one, the very moment I could. A movie line replayed in my mind:
Revenge is a dish best served cold.

“True?” I heard a familiar voice call into the room.

Startled, I carefully peeked through the slit of curtain. It was Chase. I stuck my head out and waved him forward. “Come on! You have to hide!”

He closed the door and ran up beside me breathlessly. “There’s no hiding. They’re doing a total sweep of the house. And I don’t think they’re cops, either.” Chase frowned and kept looking back over his shoulder. Sweat beaded across his forehead.