The Book of Lost Souls (13 page)

“I’m not really dating him. And why is that so funny?” Ivy glanced at the next table and found a group of freshmen gawking at her. They smiled nervously and turned away.

“It’s funny because
everyone
is talking about you.”

“Yeah, that’s a real riot, Raven,” Ivy said, picking at her food.

“No, silly. I mean
everyone
. Even Dean Matthews.”
 

Ivy’s head jerked up. “Dean?”

“I thought that’d get your attention,” Raven said. “I overheard him talking in the hall. I also heard Tara is real ticked about it.”
 

“Great. So he’s attracted to dark witches now?” Shayde went beet red, realizing how her comment must have sounded and quickly backtracked. “Not that you are a dark witch. It’s...your powers. They’re like your brains—better than most.”

“Maybe turning Spike more human is a new subconscious power or something,” Bane suggested.

“I didn’t do anything! I didn’t!” Ivy said, feeling a flush of anger and panic. She hadn’t
tried
to do dark magic. It was just that lately her spells had more punch to them. Like every other subject, Ivy took spell study and practice seriously. All this new power was probably because she’d spent too
much
time on spells. It didn’t explain how she could make things happen without always casting a spell, though. There were times when all she had to do was think about something happening, concentrate a little and
poof
!
 

“Well, Mrs. Wilkes didn’t do it, did she?” Raven teased. She obviously thought having a hint of dark power was appealing. It wasn’t.

“Raven and Bane have a point, Ivy,” Shayde said. “You think you could’ve...you
know
.”

Ivy shook her head. She was not whatever her father ended up being. “No. I’m just a witch. An ordinary witch.”

“Unless she’s a goddess or some other super-chick from the Netherworld. I read that there’s this guy who’s the reigning deity of all people and things supernatural,” Gareth piped up. Then, taking in the response of his friends, he said, “Total myth, of course. There’s no such person.”

Raven gave her brother a pained smile. “Sure. There’s this deity who is Lord of all us Kindred. Right. My brother still believes in fairy tales.” She gave a little laugh. “Gareth, is this like the time you were afraid of monsters and we all had to sleep with a black light on?”

“Shut
up
, Raven,” Gareth pleaded. He’d turned the slightest shade of pink from his usual pale white.

Bane laughed. “What monster could a vampire possibly be afraid of?”

Gareth shot his sister a hateful look. Then, apparently decided it would sound better if he told everyone the story instead of her. “The tooth fairy, okay? Lay off me. We’d just been turned, and everything was new and scary.”

Even Ivy couldn’t help laughing. “The
tooth
fairy, Gareth? Even back then, weren’t you a bit old to believe in that? You do know there’s no such thing.”

“Yeah, I know, but vampires weren’t supposed to be real, either. We’d just been turned! I was
stressed
, okay? Really freaking stressed. I wasn’t afraid of anything until Raven used to tell me tooth fairies really existed and that they’d steal my fangs in the middle of the night and stick pureed carrots and mashed beets under my pillow.” He took in everyone’s faces and appeared even more embarrassed. “Geez, guys! A vampire without their fangs is... what? I didn’t
totally
believe her. Just, well, sort of. I already wondered if we’d ever have to go back to the dentist. What if they knew we were vampires? Would they pull our teeth?”

“Oh, you’re cruel, Raven!” Bane said, choking and laughing.
 

“You see what I live with for an older sister?” Gareth had gone from light pink to almost red around his ears. “Why do I have to
have
a sister? Raven! Why can’t I just say
nevermore
and watch her vanish?”

The pun on Raven’s name reminded Ivy about the penciled-in stars she’d found in the gardening book. “I’ve got a question,” Ivy said to Shayde and Bane. “Do either of you know why our moms picked our names? Besides the whole plant-life name theory, have you ever really thought about it? What your names mean and stuff?”

The twins exchanged glances. “No, why?” they asked simultaneously.
 

Ivy squirmed. “In that book, the
Botany of Spells
, I found our names.”

“So,” Bane shrugged.

“Our names had little stars penciled in next to them. No other plant, no other herb. Just ours.” Ivy watched her friends as they considered what she’d said. She wondered which one would get what she was driving at first.
 

“You think someone your mom knew buried those books and that
none
of our names were random choices?” Shayde asked.

“And everything that’s happening has something to do with the three of us? That’s nuts,” Bane said. “Werewolves don’t have powers like a lot of other Kindred do. We can’t do spells, and we’re not exactly vegetarian. Plants aren’t our thing.”

“I think there’s more here than just a missing book that brings back the dead. I think our names might have been chosen for a reason,” Ivy said.
 

“Sounds far-fetched,” Bane said. “But, if it’ll make you feel better, Shayde and I will ask about it.”

They finished their lunches as the bell rang, signaling they had ten minutes before the next class started. Ivy took her tray and walked to the trash, trying not to notice that people were still staring at her. It felt uncomfortable. What if she tripped? Popularity wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. Or should she call it infamy?

Ivy stopped at her locker to switch out books for her afternoon classes, thinking about Spike and whether Tara had turned him in yet. If she had, then why hadn’t the principal called her to the office?

“Hey, Ivy.” Dean Matthews sidled up alongside her locker.

Her heart stopped and restarted with a hard thud. “Um, hi, Dean.” She quickly looked around for Tara. The hallway was thinning out and Ivy couldn’t spot Tara anywhere.

“Your hair looks nice today,” Dean said in his most charming, charismatic voice.

“Um, thanks!” Was all Ivy could muster. She resisted the urge to reach for her hair. Had Tara finally managed a spell and put gum in it or something?

“You know, I was thinking maybe you’d like to swing by tonight during practice.” He smiled his perfect, heart-fluttering smile. “We’ve got a big game this weekend.”

Had Dean just asked her to come watch him practice?
 

“Well, I’m sort of busy—”
 

“Nick Marcelli I hear. It’s nothing serious, I hope?” He grinned again and Ivy couldn’t help but notice how truly perfect his teeth were. Was there anything
not
perfect about him?

“Not really I guess,” she replied.
Not really?
Had she said that? There wasn’t anything between her and Nick, at least on her end, so why had she said that? Why did it feel weird talking about him like they were an item?

“Good,” Dean said. “Then I still have a chance.” He pushed away from the locker, brushed her hair over her shoulder and walked away.
 

Ivy turned in stunned silence to watch him go.
 

“Catch you later, Ivy,” he said, turning his head to give her one of his famous winks.

Ivy couldn’t quit grinning as she shut her locker and turned to head off to class. Tara stood right in front of her and she wasn’t wearing her happy face.
 

Ivy’s grin vanished. Major oops moment. She’d almost forgotten Tara existed.
 

Apparently, so had Dean. Ivy hadn’t done anything wrong—not exactly. It wasn’t like she’d thrown herself at him. He’d been the one to approach her. And he hadn’t asked her out again once he knew she had plans with Nick. He just hinted that he would.
 

“Stay away from my boyfriend,” Tara snapped.
 

“Maybe you should ask him how
he
feels about that,” Ivy said.

“Popularity doesn’t suit you, MacTavish. You don’t have what it takes.”

Ivy couldn’t resist. “Apparently, I do.”

“Hmmmpf!” Tara scoffed. “You think you’re so pretty and so smart. You think all the guys think you’re hot. Well, let me tell you something! Beauty and brains aren’t everything!”

“Got me there,” Ivy said turning and walking away, trying not to laugh at Tara’s ditzy observation. She fully expected Tara to come flying up behind her, but she didn’t.
 

“I’ll
get
you, MacTavish. You better be afraid. You stay away from Dean.”
 

Ivy glanced back at Tara, at her bleached blonde hair, her tight sweater, and perfect lip gloss. Oh yeah, she could see how that’d be terrifying—attack of the Barbie doll.
 

Ivy’s day didn’t get any better when she got home. The news about Spike had already reached her mother. No one knew Spike’s current whereabouts, including Tara, who’d said Spike ran off before she could bring him into the school. Worse, no one could explain what had gone wrong when Mrs. Wilkes tried to reverse the Changing spell. Apparently, the principal had called before Ivy got home from school, asking her mother if she knew what spells Ivy had been studying and had strongly encouraged a mother-daughter talk.

“I don’t understand why a Reverse Change spell didn’t work. Are you sure Mrs. Wilkes followed this spell correctly?” her mother asked during dinner. She slid a spell book across the table toward Ivy. It was the same book,
Spectacular Spells Explained
, and it contained the same spell Ivy had used to change Spike into a human. Her mother had already asked this question at least twice.
 

“I told you! How many ways are you going to ask me? And I don’t know why Mrs. Wilkes’s spells didn’t work,” Ivy nearly shouted. “Why do you think I do? Why is everyone treating me different and acting like I’m secretly studying dark magic? Even you.”

Her mother lowered her eyes and nervously bit at her lip. “Because you’ve always been special, Ivy. You’ve always been so smart. Things just come so easily to you—studies, spells.” She shook her head. “You were twelve when you got most of your powers, a full year before most Kindred girls. But even before then, you had
some
powers. Little things. I don’t think you were ever even aware. When you were three, birds you saw in the park and thought were pretty would land on your bedroom windowsill the following morning and sing. Cardinals sat next to Bluebirds. The entire windowsill would be full of singing birds. Worn, stuffed toys would mend themselves.”

“Mom, that doesn’t mean anything,” Ivy said.

“It does!” her mother snapped back. She seemed angry now. “You
are
just like your father, Ivy. You’re full of strange magic, and I don’t have anyone on his side of the family to ask about it.”

Hot tears welled in Ivy’s eyes. She felt both angry and hurt. How could her mother compare her to
him
? “What a horrible thing to say! He
left
us. Is it because you look at me and see his eyes? I can’t help that! But I’m
not
like him. I refuse to believe anything you say about that. I hate him. I’m not some black magic
freak
like everyone thinks!”

The dishes rattled on the table. The teakettle on the stove whistled, blowing its stopper and shooting it across the stove with a clank. The lights flickered. Ivy and her mother locked gazes. Ivy’s eyes were too full of tears to see her mother’s expression clearly, but she seemed on the verge of crying as well. She detected something else there, too. Fear? Was her mother afraid of her like some of her classmates had been? What the hell was happening?

Ivy ran from the table, Devlin hurried behind her, whining and she turned to stare at him. He wagged his tail and his bright eyes shone happily back at her. She grabbed his leash and her coat from the hook by the front door.
 

Ivy stormed out of the house with Devlin, trying to push back more tears. If she was such a dark witch, why did she feel like her heart was breaking? Weren’t dark witches evil and heartless? If she was so powerful, why couldn’t she stop the relentless flow of tears? She’d rounded the corner before she realized she might just be like her father in one respect—she’d walked out without any hesitation at all.

CHAPTER 16

Ivy knew she should go back home and work this out with her mother. But how could she work out what she didn’t understand? None of this was her fault! She hadn’t done anything to stop Mrs. Wilkes from reversing her spell. How could she have?

Devlin tugged at her coat pocket. “Grrrr.” His mischievous eyes beamed up at her, a Beezlepup grin forming on his cute fox-like face.
 

She tried to smile back at him, but let out a sob instead. Devlin’s smile faded and his face wrinkled up as he whined.

“I’m okay,” she tried to assure him. Devlin sat and waved, a trick she’d taught him over the summer. He followed up with a bark, then walked backwards around her, weaving around her legs before settling at her feet with an
How about that?
expression.
 

Ivy managed a choked laugh. “Thanks. I needed that, buddy.” She reached into her pocket, conjured a squeaky toy from a piece of lint and handed it to him.

Devlin squeaked the toy furiously just as Shayde pulled up to the curb in the Suburban. Through the tinted windows, she could make out someone else sitting in the passenger seat. The window slid down and her eyes met Nick’s. She’d forgotten completely about their date.

“Hey guys,” Ivy said.
 

“Hey!” Shayde said.

“You didn’t forget, did you? Didn’t get a better offer?” Nick asked.

Ivy gave him a puzzled look.
 

“Get in, we’ll talk on the way. As for tonight, I talked to Shayde after I saw you. When it comes to Spike, I figured we could use all the reinforcements we could get.” Nick smiled at Devlin. “I’ve always been fond of Beezlepups. He’s really cute.”
 

Devlin wagged his tail at Nick’s compliment, and squeaked his toy. Glad the subject had turned to Devlin, Ivy hoisted him onto the back seat then slid in next to him.