Dead Is Not an Option (8 page)

He exhaled slowly. "Hot chocolate sounds good."

As we heated up the milk, I vowed that I would eventually find out who had done so much harm to my father's psyche. And I'd make them pay. Somehow.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A few days later,
my cell phone buzzed in my backpack. I dug it out but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Daisy, it's Natalie. I thought you'd want to know what I learned about, er, what you asked me about. Can you meet me later?"

She must have been somewhere very public because she was being deliberately vague.

"I found out some stuff too," I said.

"I've got to get to class now," she replied. "But maybe we can meet later? My last class ends at four."

We agreed to meet at Slim's and hung up.

"Want to come with me?" I asked Sam.

When I told her what I was trying to find out, she was all for tagging along.

Natalie was already there when Sam and I arrived. Sometimes I felt like I practically lived at Slim's, but when Natalie suggested it, I couldn't say no. She wanted to spend time with Slim and she was doing me a favor. Besides, I needed to check in with Lil.

I slid into the booth where Natalie was sitting. I almost sat on Slim, but the laughter on Natalie's face gave it away in time and I managed to catch myself.

"Sorry, Slim," I said. "I didn't see you there."

Natalie giggled and I made a face at her.

"Time for me to get back to the kitchen," Slim said. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'd love an order of fries when you get a chance," I said.

"Make that two," Sam said.

"Do you want anything, babe?" he asked Natalie.

"Not anything from the kitchen," she teased. I didn't think it was possible to watch an invisible man blush, but I had no doubt that's what Slim was doing.

Natalie's giggles followed him all the way to the kitchen.

After she finally stopped laughing, she turned to me and said, "Okay, this is what I found out."

She pulled a large notebook out of her bag and flipped through it until she found the page she was looking for. "I finally found a precedent for this situation. Back in 1815, a witch trapped her rival in a grandfather clock. But the rival's coven managed to undo the spell."

"That's great news!" I said. "Do you think you'll be able to break the spell on Lily and Bam? What do we need to make it happen?"

"If I have the gist of it, it helps to know the emotion behind the act. You know, greed, gluttony."

"Jealousy?" I asked.

"Why, yes," she said. "Why do you mention that emotion in particular?"

"Circe had a thing for Balthazar Merriweather, but he only had eyes for Lily Varcol."

"We don't have anything better to go on," she said.

"Actually, we do," I said. I filled her in on the conversation I'd overheard between Circe and the count.

Sam, who had been completely silent during our conversation, finally spoke up. "What else do we need?"

"We need the items she used to enchant them," Natalie said. "And the presence of all enchanted parties, of course."

I was regretting my promise to Lil, just a tiny bit. It seemed like a tall order, especially since Circe wasn't cooperating and she was unlikely to hand over her precious pig. I glanced over at Lil. I hoped she hadn't heard our conversation. It wouldn't help to upset her any more than she already was.

"Circe said the second item had been confiscated," I said.

"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Sam asked.

"Maybe," I said. "She didn't know I was listening in. At least, I don't think she did."

Slim came back with the fries and a pitcher of ice water with three glasses. "Natalie gets dehydrated easily," he said.

"He takes such good care of me," she cooed. I was happy for them.

After he left, we continued our conversation.

"What happens to Lily and Balthazar?" I said. "Assuming we find the objects and reverse the spell?"

Natalie looked startled. "They go back to being human."

"Lily's been trapped in the jukebox for a long time," I pointed out. "And Balthazar has been a pig for just as long. Mrs. Wilder is Lily's younger sister and she's quite—"

"Ancient?" Sam said.

I gave her a dirty look. "Elderly," I continued. "It seems tragic that even if we do restore them to their human forms, they—"

"Might not survive the reunion?" Sam finished my sentence. "That doesn't seem fair."

We turned to Natalie with pleading looks.

She sighed. "Don't get your hopes up," she said. "But I'll see what I can find out about that too."

"I owe you one," I said. "That reminds me. Do you have any time to tutor a young witch? Her parents are norms, so she doesn't really have any family information to help her out."

"I'm still an intermediate myself, so I don't know how much help I'd be," Natalie said.

"She's kind of a loose cannon," I replied. "Any help you could give her would be appreciated."

"Who is it, if you don't mind my asking?" Natalie said.

"Penny Edwards," I said. I watched her, dreading the no that I was sure was forming on her lips.

But Natalie surprised me. "Okay, I'll do it. Give me her number and I'll set something up."

I looked at Sam. "I don't have Penny's cell number."

She pulled out her cell phone and scribbled the numbers down on a paper napkin and handed it to Natalie. "Don't feel bad if you want to wring her neck half the time," Sam said. "We all do. But Penny's not so bad once you get to know her."

Natalie stuck the number in her bag. "Look, I've got to go. Slim and I have plans."

Slim was turning the Open sign to Closed, which shocked me. "I can stay and cook if he needs me," I offered, but Natalie shook her head.

"He's closing the restaurant for a private party," she said. "Just the two of us."

"Thanks for your help, Natalie. I'll just say goodbye to Lil."

I was startled when Lil broke into "Marry Me" by Train. "Oh," I said. "
Oh!
" I repeated as the light dawned. "Come on, Sam, let's go." I took her by the arm and propelled her out the door.

"What's your hurry?" she said as the door closed behind us.

"I think Slim is going to propose to Natalie," I whispered.

"He is?" she replied. "That's so romantic. Are you sure?"

"Lil seems to think so. And have you ever known Slim to close the diner?" I said. "And besides, I saw this little black velvet box in his office the other day."

"Did you open it?" Sam asked.

"Of course not," I said. "But I'm almost sure it's an engagement ring. He's crazy about Natalie."

"That's a big step," Sam said. "Do you ever think about it?"

"Getting married?" I asked. "We're way too young to even think about marriage."

"I know," she said. "But what about someday?"

I shrugged. "Maybe someday. Right now, I just want to make it through graduation."

At the time, I had no idea just how much of a challenge that was going to be.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Saturday morning
meant an early shift at Slim's. Flo had been coming in later and later. She finally explained with a giggle that she wanted to sleep in on the weekends. I pretended it was because she was up late watching her musician boyfriend's gigs and blocked all other thoughts from my mind.

After my shift ended, I went home and baked sugar cookies. I was kicking back in the family room, waiting for the cookies to cool, when I got a text message from Sam.
Look out your front window.

I went to the window and looked out. At first I didn't see anything, but I finally realized what Sam was talking about and fully appreciated the view.

Ryan was on the front lawn, shirtless, tossing a football back and forth with Sean.

Since it was hot out, I was wearing a scruffy old pair of shorts and a T-shirt splattered with dried paint. I rushed upstairs to change into my cutest shorts and a bright yellow top and made a beeline for my boyfriend.

The guys were still playing football, but I saw Samantha lolling on a chaise lounge in front of the Walshes' house, so I went on over. She was wearing a bikini top and shorts.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Getting a little sun before prom," she said.

"You're turning pink," I said. "You'd better flip over."

"Ryan was coming over to see you when Sean grabbed him for a game," she said. "They've been at it for an hour and I'm bored."

"And you knew the sight of my boyfriend would bring me out of the house," I said. "Why didn't you just ring the bell?"

"I didn't feel like getting up," she confessed with a giggle. There was a pitcher of lemonade and glasses on a stand beside her. "Want a glass?"

I nodded. She reached for a small silver bucket of ice and plunked a few cubes in a glass before pouring the lemonade.

The guys jogged over, and my boyfriend wrapped his slightly sweaty arms around me.

"Hey, babe," Ryan said. He nuzzled my neck. "You smell good."

"Vanilla," I said. "I was baking cookies."

"Break some of those bad boys out," Sean said.

I went to the house and came back with a plate of cookies. I handed Ryan and Sean cookies and then waved one in front of Sam's face. She refused it.

Sean's little sister Katie came running out, her lips and hands stained a bright red. For a second, I thought it was blood, but then I realized she had been eating strawberries.

She was followed closely behind by one of his other sisters, Jessica I think. Sean had seven sisters, and it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who. Katie was the youngest and Samantha's favorite. Jessica was not.

Jessica didn't resemble her sisters. The others looked like Katie, strawberry blond curls and big blue eyes, but Jessica had long, straight auburn hair, steel gray eyes, and a chip on her shoulder. She'd be starting Nightshade High after we graduated.

"Katie, let me wipe off your face," Sam said.

"I'll do it," Jessica snapped.

There was a tense moment while the two girls glared at each other, until Samantha finally caved in.

"Fine," she said. She handed Jessica the wet cloth.

"I want Sam to do it," Katie protested.

Jessica gave in and handed Sam the cloth, but not without giving her a dirty look first.

Ryan gave me a quick kiss. "Thanks for the cookies," he said. He tossed the football at Sean and they went back to their game.

"I need your help with something," Samantha said. "It won't take up much of your time."

"What?" I said cautiously.

"Just feeding some yearbook volunteers on Monday," she replied. "You can do that in your sleep."

"I do have a couple of mysteries to solve," I pointed out.

"Please, Daisy," she said. "I want everything to be perfect. It's my last hurrah as an organizer."

Jessica snorted, then it was Samantha's turn to send Jessica a dirty look. I wondered what was up between the two of them. They obviously didn't get along well, although Katie clearly loved Sam.

Jessica led Katie back into the house, and I took the opportunity to grill Sam.

" What's the deal with you and Jessica?" I asked.

"She can't stand me," Sam replied. "Or more accurately, she can't stand it that Katie prefers me to her."

"Katie does adore you," I observed."But you hang out with all of Sean's sisters."

Samantha shrugged. "True, but Katie and I are really close. Jessica is convinced that Sean and I are going to break up when he leaves for college and then Katie will be heartbroken."

"A lot of couples do break up after high school," I said, verbalizing my own fear.

"Sean and I are solid," she said. She picked up on my own doubt. "Don't worry. You and Ryan will be fine."

I sat in the chaise next to her, and we watched the guys play. I thought about what she had said. Would Ryan and I be fine? Or would our relationship be a casualty of distance and diverging interests?

The sun was setting by the time the guys finally got tired and plopped down next to us.

"Hey, have you seen Wolfie in school lately?" I asked them.

"He was out all last week," Ryan said. "Maybe his parents finally shipped him off to military school or something."

"Wolfie probably went off in a huff and will slink back with his tail between his legs," Sean suggested.

"Maybe," I said.

He shrugged. "Things are weird right now."

I sat there running over the options. If Wolfie had disappeared and it got out, there was no telling what the Weres would do. They'd blame the vampires for sure.

Monday, I wandered through the halls of school looking for Wolfgang. Instead, I ran into Penny. "Have you seen Wolfgang Paxton today?" I asked her.

"Why would you want to talk to him?" she asked.

"I wanted to ask him how Elise is doing," I explained.

"I haven't heard much about Elise, but you won't find Wolfie mooning around," she said.

"What?"

"Rumor has it—" She stopped, then smiled sheepishly. "I promised Tyler I'd stop gossiping so much."

Penny must be in love to make a promise like that.

"What did you hear?" I asked. "I could really use a lead on this case."

She lowered her voice. "I heard he's lying low because people aren't happy about who he's dating."

I gaped at her. "What people? Who is he dating? And how do you know all this?"

She giggled. "I still hear things the old-fashioned way. Besides, I'm a witch, remember?"

"Which reminds me," I said. I kept my voice low too. "Natalie Mason will be giving you a call. She's decided to take you under her wing and show you a few spells."

Penny gave an earsplitting squeal of delight. "Thanks, Daisy. You're the best." Her boyfriend, Tyler, came up before I could ask her anything else about Wolfgang.

"Yearbook meeting at Sean's today after school," Samantha said at lunch. "Daisy, you're cooking. I'll buy the supplies, so give me a list."

"Okay, but I'm only making simple stuff," I said.

Sam had volunteered a bunch of her core minions to help with the yearbook staff's "most likely to" picks.

We met at Sean's house. I'm not sure his parents knew what they were getting themselves into by agreeing to let us meet there, but then again, Sam and Sean had been dating a long time.

Sam and I were in the kitchen. She was watching while I warmed up the buttermilk chicken bites. I'd made coleslaw by cheating a little and using my powers, then whipped up a quick spicy barbeque dip for the chicken. She had bought bakery cookies as big as my fist, but I wasn't sure if we had enough food.

Sam grabbed a toothpick and snagged one of the chicken bites. "These are good," she said through a mouthful of food. There was a time when all Samantha ate was an occasional granola bar, but since we'd been hanging out again, she was eating more regularly.

"I had Sean pick up some strawberries," she said. "I thought you could make those little shortcake thingies."

"Sam, everyone will be here in half an hour," I said, exasperated. "I have to run home and get the ingredients."

"I have everything you need," she replied.

I shot her a suspicious look, but she smiled serenely.

"I hope so." I went to the fridge and got out the ingredients. "I'd better get the shortcakes in the oven before everyone else gets here."

The doorbell rang, and Sam went to answer it while I mixed up the shortcakes and put them into the oven.

I had my back to the door when someone came up behind me and put his arms around me.

"Hi, Ryan," I said.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked.

I turned in his arms and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I just knew. I am psychic, after all."

"But you can't read my mind, can you?" He sounded nervous.

"I'll never tell," I said.

He gave me a little peck on the ear.

"Do you realize that this could be the last time you kiss my ear?" I said.

"I certainly hope not," he said. He kissed me again.

"I mean in this house," I said. "It's all ending, Ryan."

"Not everything," he said. "We'll never end."

"You don't know that," I replied. "You'll be hundreds of miles away. What if you meet someone else and break up with me?"

"I won't," he said firmly. "Don't you know? There's no one for me but you."

Despite my moodiness, his words brought a smile to my face.

"I know," I said. "And I feel the same way."

"So there will be no more talk of breaking up," Ryan said.

"Okay," I said. I grabbed his hand and swung it in the air, suddenly feeling happy for the first time in days.

"Besides, you and Sam are going to drive down to see one of our games, right?"

"As many as we can," I said. "I can't wait to see you in that Anteaters uniform."

People started to arrive for the meeting, so Ryan helped me finish getting the food into serving bowls and grabbed the paper plates and plastic cutlery.

"Where does Sam want all this stuff?" he asked.

"There are folding tables and chairs set up in the backyard," I replied.

We carried the food to the backyard and put it in the designated location near a cooler full of sodas.

A bunch of kids from school were already sitting at the tables, but they jumped up as soon as they saw the food. We filled our plates and sat at a table with Sean, Sam, and Rachel and Jordan.

Sam started the meeting. "Okay, let's get started, everyone. First on the agenda, who should be on the ballot for most likely to succeed?"

There was a chorus of boos from the crowd. "Can't we do something more original?" Lilah Porter said.

"Like what?" Sam challenged her.

"Well, let's face it," Lilah said. "Everyone knows that Nightshade isn't like other schools. Why not pick categories that fit who we really are?"

"I nominate Lilah for best swimmer," Reese said.

"How about best transformation?" Jordan suggested.

"Most likely to howl at the moon?" someone else shouted.

"Best cape," another voice said.

"Furriest and foxiest," Penny said. "I'm talking to you, Ryan Mendez."

Everyone laughed at that.

While Sam spent the rest of the time arbitrarily assigning people to the tasks for yearbook, I had fun. My only job was to make sure there was enough food to go around.

A couple of people even asked me for the recipe for my buttermilk chicken bites.

When the meeting ended, Lilah came up to me as I was picking up soda cans to put in the recycling bin. She glanced over her shoulder, which meant that she didn't want to be overheard.

"Hey, Daisy, is Samantha okay?"

"A little bossy sometimes, but she has a good heart," I tossed out without thinking.

"No, I mean about her father," she said.

"What about her father?"

"I didn't want to say anything," she said.

"You're worried or you wouldn't say anything," I replied. Lilah wasn't the type to spread gossip.

"I heard there's some issue with his tenure at the university. And that his publisher didn't buy his new book," she said. "They even canceled his book tour."

"That can't be true," I said. "He's gone all the time."

"Well, whatever he's doing, he's not touring," she said.

If Mr. Devereaux wasn't off doing publicity, what was he up to? And why was he lying about it to everyone?