Dead Is Just a Dream - [Dead Is - 08] (7 page)

“Remember, if anything happens,” I said, “try to imagine something else. Something that makes you happy.”

“Did you seriously just tell me to go to my happy place?” she asked. “The only thing that would make me happy right now is sleep.”

“Go ahead,” I said. “I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

“I’ll try,” she said. She plumped up her pillow and in seconds was out.

Moonlight shone through the window and I went to pull down the shade.

I looked down and saw a shadowy figure standing in the yard. The person seemed to be looking up at me, but instead of a face, there was only blackness.

I stepped back. My heart was beating so loud that it seemed it would wake my sleeping friends. When I looked again, the shadowy figure was gone.

Then there was a thump above me. Like something heavy had landed on the roof. Poe started squawking, but I shushed him with a cracker.

The noise came again. It sounded like someone was walking on the roof. “It’s probably just a squirrel or a bird or something,” I said to myself.

“That’s a pretty big bird,” Raven said.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“I was,” she yawned. “But that thumping woke me up.”

The noise stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

I crossed to the window and looked down. A clown stood under the streetlight. There was blood dripping from its mouth. I screamed.

The sound woke up the other girls and brought Eva’s mom dashing into the room. “What’s going on?”

I couldn’t tell the truth. Mrs. Harris would think I was crazy.

I moved away from the window. “Sorry, I had a bad dream. I didn’t mean to scream.”

“Did you girls watch
Dawn of the Dead
before bed?” she scolded. “I told Eva that would lead to nightmares.”

“No,” I said. “But I had one of those dreams where I showed up to school without any clothes on.”

“I’ve had those dreams before,” Raven said.

Eva’s mom seemed to believe my excuse. “Well, go back to bed, girls. You have school in the morning.”

After she left the room a groggy Eva said, “What really happened?”

“I saw a freaky clown with blood dripping down its face.” I hated clowns more than anything. “Clowns scare me.”

“Me, too,” Eva admitted.

Raven ticked away on her laptop. “Actually, fear of clowns is a phobia.”

“What’s it called?”

“Being human,” Andy said dryly.

“It’s called coulrophobia,” Raven said. “But Andy’s right. A lot of people are afraid of clowns.”

“Eva, did you dream while you were sleeping?”

She shook her head. “That was the most sleep I’ve had all week.”

“Speaking of which,” Andy said, “We have to be at school in five hours. I suggest we all try to get some shuteye.”

Eva yawned. “Sounds good to me.” Within seconds, she was out cold. The other viragoes dropped off, but I couldn’t sleep. The vision of the creepy clown smirking up at me stayed with me the rest of the night. I finally dozed off at dawn.

Andy drove us to school the next morning. I was too tired to bother with my hair, so it stood out wildly. Raven and I sat in the back seat and Eva rode shotgun.

“Nice hair,” Andy said. Her blond curls weren’t much better.

I grabbed a rubber band and quickly braided my hair into one long plait. “There. Better?”

“Much,” Raven said. “Now do mine.”

“Eva, do you want me to do your hair when we get to school?”

She was staring out the window, in a fog. “Eva?” I repeated.

“Can we stop for coffee and doughnuts?” she finally said. “I think some sugar and grease will do me good.”

“We can make a quick stop at the Donut Hole,” Andy said. “But we have to hurry. I don’t want another tardy.”

The doughnut shop was busy and Andy had a hard time finding parking. She circled the block once and we got lucky when Raven spotted an open space. Andy turned on her blinker to pull in, but a flashy black sports car cut her off and nabbed the spot. A guy with dark shades and an attitude got out of the car.

“What a jerk!” Andy said.

“That’s Mr. Martin,” Eva said. “Maybe he just didn’t see us.”

“Yeah, right,” Andy snorted.

We pulled into a spot two spaces down and entered the crowded shop. Andy kept checking her watch until it was time for us to order.

“How can an art teacher afford a car like that?” Raven whispered.

Eva shrugged. “The marionettes he makes sell for a lot of money.”

“They would have to be pretty expensive to afford that car,” I said. “It’s at least a hundred thousand dollars.”

“How do you know?” Eva asked.

“It’s Sean’s dream car,” I said. “He has posters in his room and everything.”

We grabbed our doughnuts and left. We almost bumped into Mr. Martin outside, but he ignored us and hopped back into his car. He gunned the motor and took off with a squeal of the tires.

“What a jerk!” Andy said again.

This time, even Eva didn’t argue with her.

We weren’t the only
kids at school who looked like they’d been missing out on sleep. Several of my classmates carried giant cups of coffee or energy drinks. A couple of kids were still wearing pajama bottoms, and I saw my sister Sarah in the hallway wearing her fuzzy slippers.

The entire day consisted of people bumping into each other. There was almost a fire in the cafeteria when one of the lunch ladies fell asleep with the world’s largest lasagna in the oven. Fortunately, Principal Amador smelled something burning and caught it in time.

During lunch, the other viragoes and I interviewed as many kids as possible, but they all said the same thing. They didn’t remember anything but the sound of running and then they woke up screaming.

But I got a different answer when I asked my sister Sarah about it. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“I saw a white horse,” she said. “Red eyes, steam coming from its nose. Weird, huh?”

“Not as weird as you’d think,” I said. She’d always been able to describe her dreams in detail.

Selena Silvertongue came up to me right after the bell rang. “Jessica, I know you can handle this on your own, but I thought I should tell you something.”

I braced myself. “Go ahead.”

“I’ve been hearing rumors about the murders,” she said. “And I think the killer might be using black magic.”

Selena was not only an up-and-coming witch herself, but she was also the niece of a powerful sorceress, so I took her hunch very seriously. “What makes you say that?”

“I’m not an expert, but it’s possible to murder someone without even being in the room using black magic.”

“What does your aunt say?” Circe Silvertongue was not a particularly nice person, but she knew her magic.

“She’s out of town,” Selena said. “She’s in Europe with the count. Liam and his sister Claudia are keeping an eye on me.” Liam Dracul was Poppy Giordano’s boyfriend and a vampire, which made him a pretty good temporary guardian.

“Thanks, Selena,” I said. “It’s a good lead. If you think of anything else, let me know.”

After lunch, Noel Sebastian got yelled at in Biology when he fell asleep and started to snore. By sixth period, Jimmy Garfinkle was doing a brisk business in black market soda.

Eva and I walked home together. “I’m so glad today was an early dismissal day,” she said. She smothered a yawn. There was almost an accident at the corner when a driver nearly ran a red light. Tires screeched as another car tried to stop and narrowly avoided a colli-sion.

“Jeesh,” Eva said. “I think everyone could use a little sleep.”

“You’re telling me,” I said. “We better figure out who or what is causing this before someone else gets hurt.”

When I got home, Daisy’s car was in her driveway, so I headed to her house. I wanted to see if she’d picked up anything, psychically speaking.

“How was school?” she asked.

“Dangerous,” I said. I told her about all the near misses.

“Half the town is walking around like zombies,” Daisy said.

“Been there, done that,” I replied. “Who could be behind this?”

Daisy’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s make some brownies. Baking always helps me think.”

“So this is the secret to Ryan’s heart?” I asked as she got out the ingredients. “Brownies?”

She laughed. “Not just any brownies. Caramel brownies made from scratch.”

“Sounds like anybody would love them.”

She grinned. “We’ll make a double batch. One for Ryan and one for Dominic.”

“I’m not very handy in the kitchen,” I warned her.

“You don’t have to be,” she assured me. “This is the easiest recipe in the world.”

She handed me a spatula.

“What’s it like being a psychic?”

“What’s it like being a virago?” she countered.

“Harder than it sounds,” we said at once.

We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“So Dominic is pretty cute,” Daisy said.

“And so is Ryan,” I replied.

“I used to be nervous about that when we first started dating,” she admitted.

“You? But you’re gorgeous!”

She got out the butter, cream, and sugar. “Have you seen my sisters? Or my mom? They’re truly gorgeous,” she said. “But I’ve learned that it’s what’s inside that matters.”

I was still struggling with the idea that Daisy Giordano didn’t realize how pretty she was. She had electric blue eyes and creamy skin, which, paired with her dark hair, were stunning. But her kindness was probably the most beautiful thing about her.

We whipped up a double batch of brownies, and Daisy slid them into the oven.

“But you have to deal with the whole lead singer thing,” Daisy commented.

“You mean the fans,” I grumbled. “You can say it.”

“Dominic looks at you like you’re the only girl in the room,” Daisy said. “So I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“His ex-girlfriend’s in town,” I said. “And his mother hates me.”

“His mother doesn’t like you?” Daisy asked. “Isn’t she a virago too?”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that she invited Dominic’s ex here just to try to break us up.”

“That’s horrible,” Daisy said. “Ryan’s dad was great. I miss him.”

“Everyone in Nightshade misses Chief Mendez.” Ryan’s dad, the former chief of police, had been killed on his son’s grad night.

There was a melancholy silence before the oven timer went off.

“Did they catch everyone in the Scourge?” I asked. The Scourge was the nefarious agency behind the grad night bomb and the deaths of other paranormal residents of Nightshade. “I know Sam’s dad was the leader, but it’s over now that he’s in jail, right?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think it will ever be over as long as people hate other people.”

My phone alerted me to a new text from Dominic.

“Hey, want to go watch Side Effects May Vary record their first album?” I asked.

“Sounds interesting,” Daisy said. “But where?”

“Teddie Myles has a recording studio at her house,” I said. “And we’re invited.”

Teddie Myles lived on
an estate on a hill near the Wilder property. The house was more modern looking than the Wilders’, and I could see an enormous guitar-shaped pool through the trees. Before she opened the Black Opal, Teddie had been a successful musician, but I’d never realized that she was so rich.

Daisy parked in the long driveway right next to a newer-model BMW. The slick luxury car didn’t really seem like Teddie’s style. The old dusty Jeep, its tailgate nearly covered with bumper stickers, seemed more her speed.

Jensen Kenton got out of the BMW.

“Hi, Mr. Kenton,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t seem to mind my nosy question. “Ms. Myles just bought one of my new paintings. I wanted to deliver it personally.”

He pulled the painting from the car and held it out to inspect it. “Would you mind shutting the trunk for me?”

As I did so, I noticed an open container of miscellaneous stuff that looked like a lost and found box.

“Why are you girls here today?” Mr. Kenton asked as we walked to the house.

“My boyfriend’s band is recording here,” I explained. “They won the Battle of the Bands a few months ago and the prize was a recording contract with Cranky Kitten Records.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“Interesting is one way of describing it.” I was pretty sure we’d run into Talulah Crank, the owner of Cranky Kitten Records. Cranky also described her personality.

I rang the doorbell, since Mr. Kenton’s arms were full.

Dominic must have been waiting for us because he opened the door on the first ring.

Jensen Kenton didn’t bother to say hello, just shouldered his way past Dominic and kept going with the painting through an arched doorway.

“Thanks for coming,” Dominic said to me and Daisy.

“I’ve never been to a recording session before,” Daisy said.

“Me, neither,” Dominic said with a smile.

“Are we late?” I asked.

“No, perfect timing. I’m happy you’re here,” he said. “Don’t freak out, okay?”

“About what?”

“Mom’s here too,” he said. “And she brought Tashya.”

He gave me a quick kiss. “The recording studio is on the top floor. I’ll meet you there. I’ve got to warm up before they record the vocals.”

As he left, Daisy and I exchanged a look. “Don’t worry. You brought a secret weapon, remember?” she said, holding up the Tupperware container full of brownies.

We followed the sound of voices into the living room. Teddie was holding court at a baby grand piano. Her hair was striped green today and she had on a CBGB tee and black leather pants and purple Converse sneakers.

“Daisy, Jessica,” she said. “Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks for letting us observe,” I said.

Talulah Crank stood. “I managed to pull a few strings,” she said smugly. Talulah was tall, with short, choppy black hair and frosty green eyes.

Teddie let out a bark of laughter. “Let me show you where the recording studio is,” she said, ignoring Talulah’s posturing.

“Are you singing with the band?” Teddie asked as she led us upstairs.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I’m pretty sure they don’t want their lead singer’s girlfriend horning in.”