House Of Ivy And Sorrow Part 4

"As long as I don't have to-"

Gwen's face appears between us. "Can we come, too?"

Winn laughs. "If you want."

I roll my eyes, knowing too well why she wants to. Winn has older brothers-cute older brothers-who will definitely be home for planting, what with school ending in a few weeks. "Because you love farmwork," I say.

It is a known fact that Gwendolyn Lee is the most unfarmy farm girl ever born. Even as a toddler, her parents couldn't convince her dirt was a fun thing. She's like a city girl without a city. It's kind of adorable.

Gwen shrugs. "I love parties."

"You mean you love hot boys working," Kat says.

She laughs. "That, too! It's everything I ever dreamed of."

Winn shakes his head. "Wow, I had no idea my farm was that exciting."

"Well, exciting is relative," I say.

"Ouch." He b.u.mps my knee with his. "You're not good for my ego, Jo."

I roll my eyes. "You like it."

He leans in to whisper. "I do."

I can't seem to stop smiling. I don't care if I look like an idiot-Winn's freaking holding my hand, and Nana isn't cursing either of us for it! Finally. Then the pearl comes to mind, and for a second everything is horrible again. I put my hand over my jean pocket to make sure the little bead is still there. Nana would kill me if I lost it.

When we get off, Winn follows me to my locker, as if he's part of the group now. I thought Kat and Gwen would disappear, but they seem to be enjoying this as much as I am.

"One rule," Kat says as I gather my books.

I raise an eyebrow. "Rule?"

"Don't make out in public. I will slap you both if you do."

My face burns as I glance at Winn. "Can you be more awkward, Kat?"

She puts her hands up. "It's only right to give warnings when violent punishment is involved."

"Rule noted." Winn rubs the back of his neck, and I kind of want to die. "We're, uh, gonna go to art now."

"Yes." I grab his hand. "I don't think I've ever been this excited for cla.s.s."

He laughs. "Me neither."

The rest of the day goes like the bus ride, flitting between elation and dread. Eyes train on me at every turn, and this is not a day I want to draw attention to myself. I have a dark job to do, one that no one can see.

Soon enough, we're all back on the bus, and Winn says, "You know, you've never been to my place."

"I haven't?" I know this very well, since I've daydreamed about it more than I will ever admit to him. "We should remedy that sometime."

"Yes. I think you'd really like it. It has a magical quality to it."

The word makes me bristle, even though he couldn't possibly know. "Magical? Who says I like magic?"

"Who doesn't? Okay, maybe I'm hyping it up a little so you'll want to hang out with me this afternoon. We can do homework, and I can drive you home later."

I pout. How I wish I could say yes.

He tilts his head. "You can't?"

"I'm sorry. Nana wants to go bug catching, since it's warm enough that they're coming out. She likes to see how they mature over the summer." Most people think Nana is a retired entomologist, which explains at least some of the strange behavior.

"Ah, okay. Just tell me when you can hang out, then."

"Of course."

The bus stops at Winn's long dirt driveway before it gets to town, and he waves as he gets off. Gwen takes his spot. "I hate how adorable you guys are. You totally belong together, even if I'm kinda jealous."

"It's disgusting," Kat says from behind. "Seriously," I say. "I disgust myself."

They both laugh.

I get off at my usual spot, just two houses down from mine, but I don't go home. I head for the only place where visitors stay overnight: s.h.i.+rley's Bed & Breakfast. Taking a deep breath, I pull the door open and find Mrs. s.h.i.+rley perched behind a tall desk. I wave at her, making sure to give my best and most innocent smile.

"How can I help you, Josephine?" she asks.

"Has a man named Joseph Johnson been staying here, by any chance?"

Her eyebrows disappear behind her curly hair. "Why, yes! How did you know?"

I shrug. "Has he left?"

She flips open a book, which I a.s.sume is filled with visitor information. Her finger stops, and she reads the line for what seems like forever. "Looks like he paid for a couple days at first, but Mr. s.h.i.+rley wrote down *indefinite' yesterday."

That makes me tremble. "Do you know where he might be?"

"I believe he's here. Would you like me to get him?"

I nod. "But don't say my name, please. It's something I need to tell him."

She gives me a funny look. "Okay, hon."

As she walks off, I take slow, deep breaths to calm my heart. I grab the pendant around my neck, three circles that look a lot like a Venn diagram, telling myself I'm protected. The shadows won't get me. Nana's amulets are airtight.

My pep talk works until he comes down the stairs, his eyes locked on mine. Everywhere around him is darkness, as if he's standing in a place void of light, and yet he smiles like nothing is wrong. I don't know what to feel, pulled in by the fact that my father is right there and repulsed by the fear of what's inside him. I wait for him to come to me.

"How did you know I was here?" he asks.

It takes me a moment to find my voice. "Only hotel in town."

"Ah." He points to the sitting room. "Can we talk here? You have no idea how much I want to speak with you."

The darkness reaches for me, like black tentacles, and it's all I can do not to scream. They creep forward, frantic with desire to have me. I take a few steps back. "How about we go for a walk?"

He glances at Mrs. s.h.i.+rley, as if he thinks she's the reason I don't want to discuss things here. "That sounds great."

"Okay." I make for the door probably too quickly, but I want distance between those shadows and me. The amulet can only stand so much. There's no sense letting them at me so soon. There's still a lot to do, and I must save the magic I have stored since I can't go to the house.

The afternoon is perfect, warm yet breezy. The world is in full spring mode, with tulips and daffodils and ranunculus decorating every flower bed. The cherry trees are pink and fluttery, and the willows are bright green with new leaves. The sun s.h.i.+nes overhead. And still, it doesn't penetrate the dark.

"It's a lovely day," he says. "I didn't expect it to be so pretty here."

"Iowa always gets c.r.a.p, but I love it. Where are you from?"

"California."

"Really?"

"Yes. The Bay Area."

He drove halfway across the country to get here? I expected something like Chicago at the most. "Wow."

"It's not as exciting as it sounds."

I don't know what to say. I need to keep him with me, but if Nana is right about the spying spell, our enemy could use any words I speak. Or anything he mentions. It's best to get to the willow tree and get this over with.

This particular willow is a favorite place of mine. I've spent hours there with Gwen and Kat, hanging from the branches or sipping lemonade in the summer heat. It grows right at the edge of town, near a creek we'd put our feet in to cool off. It's huge, like a natural house complete with heavy vine curtains. And unbeknownst to my friends, there is a little bit of magic there. Not like our ivy-covered home, but enough to help in my task.

"Where are we headed?" he asks as we step into the field. The darkness trembles with excitement, as if it thinks I'm about to reveal a great secret. It sickens me, but I force myself forward.

"To the tree. Somewhere private."

"Oh." He looks at his feet. The ground is still muddy from the last rain, and some of it has found its way onto his expensive-looking leather shoes.

Great, my dad's a pansy.

"C'mon." I keep walking, hoping that he will follow despite his ruined footwear. The world under the willow is cool and damp and dark. I breathe in the magic, knowing my stores will be depleted very soon.

My father puts his hands on his hips, taking in the giant tree. "Wow, this is pretty cool."

"Yup." I smile, despite the darkness creeping toward me, and pull the pearl from my pocket.

He squints at it. "What's that?"

I take a few steps toward him, the shadows finally licking at my heels. They hiss as they try to touch me, angry that they can't enter. "This will fix you."

And with that, I grab him by the neck and shove the pearl into his eye.

EIGHT.

He screams, his hands instinctively going to his face. His fingers grab at mine, strong despite their shaking. The shadows curl around me like a thousand snakes as they try to break through the amulet. Blood trickles from his eyes as he crumbles to his knees. I follow so my spell will stay inside him. The mossy dirt is spongy, and soon my jeans are wet. My father pushes against me, trying to throw me off balance.

As awful as I feel, I hold my ground. I have to. Already the darkness is leaving his body, his eyes being purged of the black curse on them. Shadows fight to enter me, to stop me from removing them. If it weren't for Nana's amulet, I'd be consumed by their power already.

"Why?" he moans, and all my insides shrivel up.

"I'm sorry. It'll be over soon."

The darkness has nearly left my father, but now it's everywhere. It saturates the air so much that I can hardly see him in front of me. All is black, heavy, and endless like death. I take in a sharp breath when the first of the shadows breaks through. It's cold and power and hate, and it makes me tremble. This amulet won't last long enough, not against this.

My dad goes limp, but the battle has just begun. I stand, my legs brittle like raven bones, and concentrate on pus.h.i.+ng the darkness away from me. It jumps back, but it's strong and persistent. I'm not sure I'll have enough magic to get rid of it all. And worse, I swear it knows me. I don't know what that means but I don't like it. Without a noise, it tells me how badly it wants me.

It wants to consume.

It wants to hear me scream.

It will enjoy every second it tortures me.

No. Scare tactics won't work on me. I'm the one with the power here. Taking deep breaths, I draw on the magic in the tree and force the black away from my body. Slowly, slowly, it retreats. I can see my father on the ground, the soft swinging of the willow branches, the light peeking through the vines. The darkness swirls in front of me, like a storm cloud twisted up on itself.

And then it opens its eyes.

That is so not normal.

Limbs begin to form from the cloud, and I stand there, terrified and unsure of what to do. This was not in the plan. We thought my dad had a spying curse, not whatever this thing is. And by the way it looks at me, its hunger depthless, I have a feeling it's . . .

"Get back!" Nana cries from behind me.

I whirl around, relieved to find a door to our house standing there under the tree. Nana rushes forward, a dagger in hand. Not your normal dagger, of course, but one made from the jaw of a lion and dipped in white rose oil.

The darkness laughs-at least that's what I think the crackling sound is. Now it almost looks human, but not quite. It's more like the shadow of a person, if a shadow could stand in front of you and feel as heavy as iron. It lunges for Nana, but she ducks and shoves the dagger right into its belly.

Poof.

Not a scream or anything. It just poofed, as if it wasn't a threat at all. I let out a breath, feeling lighter now that it's gone. Nana puts a hand to one knee, panting and trembling from the loss of magic. I feel the weakness in my bones, too, but she must have used much more magic than I did, casting whatever spell that was.

I go back to my dad. He looks awful, his eyes b.l.o.o.d.y and his clothing covered in dirt. I kneel next to him and put my hand on his cheek. It's warm and p.r.i.c.kly and not at all dark anymore. "You're safe."

Nana clears her throat. "Josephine. We have another problem."