House Of Ivy And Sorrow Part 15

"I don't know." I wrap my arms around myself. "Trusting him seems like a really stupid idea, doesn't it? He has magic when he shouldn't, and we don't know anything about him but his name."

"And the fact that he sounds like a total jerk," Maggie adds. "He almost killed Kat. How did he even know she was bound to you? That is super fishy, if you ask me."

Nana sighs. "He could have sensed it. If he can sense Josephine's magic, it must be a skill of his. Maybe that's how these men have been able to hunt down witches for centuries. And I do not like how he said he doesn't take what isn't offered . . . why would a witch offer to be Cursed? It makes no sense."

"Nothing makes sense anymore," I say.

"I know, dear." Nana looks so sad, so filled with regret. "But that boy has answers. I think he does know who killed Carmina, and he certainly knows how the Curse works. We need that information desperately to even stand a chance."

Levi's smug grin flashes in my mind. "I think he knows that, too."

"Certainly."

"Which means there will be a steep price to pay if we risk seeking his help." I put my head in my hands, unsure of how much I'm willing to sacrifice to survive.

TWENTY-FIVE.

Friday evening, Gwen rummages through my armoire as I carefully apply a layer of eyeliner. I don't wear it often, but it's my first real date with my boyfriend. It seems like I should kick it up a notch. She pulls out my blue sundress, the one I was wearing when Winn saw me at the county fair. "You have to wear this."

I blink several times, my eyes itching from the extra makeup. "I don't know. Isn't that a little cheesy?"

"A little?" Kat sprawls out on my bed and opens her notebook.

Gwen puts her hands on her hips. "I think it would be romantic."

"It's stupid."

"Is not!"

Kat rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

I head over to Gwen. "It doesn't matter, because it's not what I want to wear anyway."

She hangs it back up with a huff. "Then what do you want to wear?"

I stare at my clothes, pursing my lips. "I don't know."

"Well, you better decide soon, because we have fifteen minutes to take out those hot rollers and get you ready." Gwen pulls my shoe organizer from under my bed. It kind of sucks not having a closet in my round room, but it has helped me learn organization. "Maybe picking shoes will help you narrow it down."

"I'll know it when I see it." I scan my clothes yet again, and nothing seems good enough. I wish I could have bought something new and perfect, but the closest mall is too far outside the barrier to risk. At least I have internet now-h.e.l.lo, online shopping. "Why are all my clothes so ugly?"

"They aren't!" Gwen holds up gold flats and red sandals. "Which ones?"

"Gold. I think?" I put my hand on my head, only to get burned by the curlers. "I don't know! I'm freaking out here."

"You two are ridiculous." Kat slams her notebook shut and stomps over to my armoire. She pulls out a pair of apple-green leggings and a short black dress, then points to Gwen. "With the gold flats."

I raise my eyebrows. "I . . . love that, actually."

Gwen folds her arms, probably hurt that I picked Kat's choice over hers. But Kat kind of has an advantage, since she can basically read my mood. I throw on the clothes and plop down in my vanity chair. "Gwen, please make my hair look good. I beg of you."

She sighs, though I'm sure she's happy to oblige. That is one thing she'll always beat Kat at. Gwen has magical powers with hair, I swear. She can curl it, straighten it, pull it up in fancy braids, and it always looks perfect.

"Your hair really does have a mind of its own, doesn't it?" She fiddles with a wayward curl, and it miraculously goes into place.

Seeing her do that makes me ache. I don't want to keep the grief in and ruin my date, so I take a deep breath. "My mom used to do that. She could always flip my curls and they'd fall the right way, as if they thought she was the boss."

Gwen smiles as she fixes another one, seeming appeased by the comparison. "Now I'm the boss."

I laugh. "That's for sure."

The doorbell sounds, and I can barely contain myself. As I head for the stairs, Gwen follows just behind. She tugs on my hair so hard I squeak. "That hurt!"

"One second! This one needs help, too."

I bounce like a kid hopped up on Popsicles. "Hurry! If I don't get the door first-" It creaks open, echoing through the whole house, and I freeze. "c.r.a.p it all."

"You must be Winn." My dad's voice carries from downstairs. Despite his convincingly friendly tone, I can imagine Winn's smile dropping right off his face.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Johnson. I hope you're liking Willow's End," Winn says. I can tell he's nervous-he sounds too proper.

"Let me go!" I whine. "I have to diffuse a potential disaster down there."

She pats me on the shoulders. "Okay, you're good. Have fun and tell me everything."

"Of course!" As I bound down the stairs, both their faces go from fake smiles to real ones. I almost hug Winn, but then decide against it. "Please tell me you guys aren't playing out the awkward father-meets-daughter's-boyfriend scenario, because I expected so much more out of you."

"You're about to be sorely disappointed," my dad says. "There's no way around it, because I planned to be cool and totally failed."

Winn looks down, as if staring at me might get him in trouble. "Not doing so hot on this side either."

"Sad." I take Winn's hand, at which point they both turn back into cardboard. "Oh, for the love. I'll be back before midnight, okay?"

My dad manages a nod, and then we head for Winn's truck. He revs the engine, and we're off to the diner, which is really the only place in town for a nice meal. He lets out a low whistle. "Now that I'm sure we're out of your dad's hearing range, you look so hot."

I bite my lip. "Thanks."

When we get to the diner, it feels like everyone is staring at us. I try to distract myself with the never-ending array of stuff on the wall. The place is fairly popular with travelers, since this is the last stop before about a hundred miles of corn to our west. Travelers like stuff on the wall. It's eclectic, authentic, whimsical. At least that's why I think they keep adding old gas-station signs and mini rocking chairs and old tennis rackets.

Mrs. Holman, whose husband owns the place, shows us to our seats. She hands us menus with the most obnoxious "Well, aren't you adorable?" smile. "Can I get you two something to drink?"

We both order our whole meal, since everyone in town knows the menu by heart. That way she doesn't have to keep coming back to check on us.

"So." Winn taps my foot with his. "You think we'll actually get through an entire date with nothing bad happening?"

I laugh. "We probably shouldn't take bets on that. Our odds haven't been good so far."

"We'll still have fun, even if we do get hit by lightning." His smile still takes me off guard with its perfection. I can't wait to kiss those lips. It better be tonight. . . .

Focus, Jo, focus. "Don't go straight to lightning. Let's at least hope for something as trivial as breaking limbs, or maybe . . ." His face darkens, and I turn around to see what he's looking at. My eyes go wide. Even dressed in jeans and a T-s.h.i.+rt, it's easy to spot Levi and all his dark energy.

Levi. In Willow's End. Despite all our magical alarms and barriers. When he spots me, his mouth curls into a wicked smile.

"I'm sorry, but if he comes over here," Winn says, "I might have to beat the s.h.i.+t out of him."

My head whips back to Winn-I have never heard him swear, and it changes something. I didn't see him as the fighting type. When I put my hand on his, his expression softens slightly. "Winn, I appreciate the chivalry, but I can handle him. Without throwing punches."

He puts his other hand over mine. "I don't like how he looks at you. I know guys think you're hot-even Adam and Billy say it all the time-but that guy is different. He's . . . I don't know, but there's something off about him."

I purse my lips and study the sincerity in Winn's stormy eyes. It's as if he knows, on some deep level, that Levi is a threat far past "trying to steal my girlfriend." Only when Winn squeezes my hand too hard do I realize that Levi is standing right next to us. "That's a pretty big booth for two people."

"Go away," I say.

Levi puts his palm on the table, and my free hand automatically goes to my necklaces. "But all the other tables are full."

"Sit at the bar," Winn says.

"I'd really prefer company, and you two are such an electric couple. You light up the whole room, which is pretty difficult considering the loud decor."

I sigh. "What do we have to do to get you to leave right now?"

"Hmm." Levi rubs his chin, though I get the feeling he already knows exactly what it'll take. "If I could have five minutes of the lovely Josephine's time, I suppose I could eat pizza instead."

"Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are?" Winn says.

Levi's eyes narrow. "Do you really not know?"

As they glare at each other, it feels like a fight is about to break out. Something about this does feel weird, but I can't put my finger on why. "Five minutes is fair," I say, trying to diffuse the situation.

Besides, Levi has information I need. If I can get rid of him and learn something? That's worth it right there.

I start to stand, but Winn pulls at my arm. "Jo, I don't think-"

"How else are we going to get rid of him peacefully? You hit him, and we'll be spending the rest of this date at the police station. Not romantic." I try to smile, though thousands of questions run through my mind. "Trust me. I'll be right back."

"Safe and sound," Levi says.

Winn doesn't look happy, but he backs down. "I'm coming outside in exactly five minutes."

"Fair enough." Levi holds out his arm for me. I glare at it, wanting so badly to set it on fire. Stalking past him, I head into the cool night. A nearby willow provides enough cover to keep people from noticing us or overhearing. "How did you get in here?"

He shrugs. "The spells keep out those who plan to harm your family. I don't have any intentions like that."

That can't be right. He had to have used a loophole or broken through the spells. "Perhaps you're so evil you don't see your goals as harming us."

He scoffs. "If that were true, he would have found you years ago."

"He? You mean the man who killed my mother?"

"That would be the one."

I ball my fists. If Levi really had good intentions, he'd tell me what he knows and solve all my problems. "You're sick, you know that? How can you stand here telling me you don't have bad motives when you already threatened to Curse me?"

His c.o.c.ky smile twitches. "Like I said, I only take what's offered."

My eyes narrow. I feel like I'm missing something. "Why would any witch offer to die? That makes no sense."

"I'm not killing anyone."

I let out a wry laugh. "Don't you dare say that. I've seen it. I watched my mother hack up black blood. I watched her grow weaker and weaker until she couldn't even get out of bed, let alone cast a spell."

"Control can be difficult." Levi looks down as if he's ashamed, but I don't buy the act. "But the Curse isn't supposed to kill."

"Control? What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?" I'm breathing way too hard. I try to stop myself, try to calm down. It doesn't work. "So you control the Curse to torture us for as long as possible?"

He rolls his eyes. "d.a.m.n, you're slow. You know what the Curse does, right?"

"Of course. It drains your magic, makes you weak, slowly kills you."

He sighs, and for some reason it seems sad. "And where do you think all that magic goes?"

My jaw slacks as this information clicks into place. No. It can't be. That is the most disgusting thing I've heard in my entire life. "You . . . your kind . . . you take it? That's how you can use magic-you steal it from us."

"I told you I do not steal," he growls.

I cover my mouth, horrified. Some man was leeching my mother's magic for himself? "How dare you claim to be anything but evil? Magic belongs to witches, not to people who murder for it!"

He glares at me. "So you're going to judge me based on what others of my kind did? You think witches never do anything wrong with their power?"

"I didn't say that."

"You basically did, which is incredibly ironic, seeing as you're looking at one of the biggest mistakes your people ever made."

It feels like the wind got knocked out of my lungs. "Excuse me?"

He holds up his hands. "You know what? Screw it. You can find out the hard way. I wanted to help you-I came to apologize for showing up like that on Wednesday-but you're a stuck-up little brat. Find me when you realize you're not any better than I am, oh holy one."

I squeak, but that's the extent of my comeback. Levi walks away as I stand there trying to find the right insult. It never comes.

When I get back the to diner, my food is at our table and probably cold. I sit next to Winn on his side of the booth. Why do they always put couples on opposite sides? It's stupid. I pull my plate over and dig in to the mashed potatoes. "I don't think I've ever hated someone so much in my entire life."