Duplicity (Spellbound #2) (2 page)

“Let’s worry about it later.”

He tried to find her eyes. “Lee, what’s going on?”

As though Lee had something to do with this. She knew what was happening. Well, not really, but alarm bells were ringing. She’d disappeared. What was next? Total annihilation? She didn’t have much time.

“Kiss me!”

Raj’s eyes widened. “What?”

Lee threw her arms around his neck.

“Kiss me.”

He did as she commanded. While he was thus distracted, Lee took the opportunity to place her hand on his heart. It thumped against her palm. The dark hairs on his torso made him look more man than high schooler. Lee was surprised by how soft they were. She stroked his chest. Raj breathed a sigh into her mouth, then kissed her roughly. He broke away with a groan when Lee’s hand slid down his backside.

“Lee, we can’t.”

“Why not? I’m naked. You’re naked. Obviously, the powers that be think we’re ready. Seems to me they’re trying to give us a little nudge.”

Raj pulled Lee’s arms off his body. “I’m not doing anything unless I’m in full control.”

“What if something happens to me? What if I fade away all together?”

Raj yanked the throw off the end of Lee’s bed and wrapped it around himself like a sarong. Lee wasn’t sure how he found her, but somehow he’d gathered her in his arms. “You aren’t going anywhere, Lee. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Halfway around the world—in Amiens, France, to be exact—a second Graylee awoke in Charlene's body.

At first, she couldn’t see. She couldn’t speak. But she
could
feel—and all she felt was anger.
Hatred
for Ryan, for Charlene. The memory replayed in her mind, fresh and raw: Ryan teleporting her home, casting her from her body on what she knew had to be Charlene’s orders.

Ryan had told her to go to the light. Well, when she found him, she’d make him see lights all right.

He’d extracted her from her host body, and she hadn’t been able to stop him. Extraction was akin to watching someone get hit by a car. She’d wanted to shout, to step forward, but her body locked up. It couldn’t really be happening.

Noises returned before her sight could. Scraping sounds filled Gray’s ear as though the razor claws of hell were dragging her down to the inferno.

“No!” Gray shrieked.

The clatter abruptly stopped.

Her eyes flew open. All heads turned toward her. As soon as Gray felt the weight of her body, she took a quick glance around. She was seated at the end of a long cafeteria table. The room appeared to be a cellar encased in gray stone slabs. Forks hovered in midair, drinking glasses suspended below curious, but calm, expressions. Gray’s hair covered the sides of her face when she lowered her head and stared at the plate in front of her. It was filled with salad and a side of veggies.

She didn’t breathe till the students went back to eating.

A girl with a flawless complexion and dark brown hair stared at Gray from across the table.
“
Que s’est-il passé? Ça va, Charlene?
”

Right. Three problems.
Number One: The chick was speaking French. Two: Gray had the distinct impression she was actually in France—not French class, but France the country. And three: The girl had called her Charlene.

Not again.

This was different. For one thing, she was fully clothed and it was the middle of the day. Noon, to be exact, according to Monique, Gray’s lunch companion.

Monique’s brows pinched together. “Why can’t you remember French?”

Nice how easy it was to find a foreigner who spoke English. Even in English, Monique’s accent was thick and required Gray’s undivided attention to follow.

“I don’t know. I must have blacked out,” Gray said.
But for how long?
Long enough for Charlene to hop a plane to France, obviously. Had it been by choice or had Mom learned of Charlene’s treachery and banished her? Perhaps their coven had kicked her out of the country.

The green salad centered between Gray’s arms was evidence that Charlene had been present moments before. The food held no appeal. What Gray really craved was a cigarette. She looked into Monique’s brown eyes. “I can’t remember anything. I don’t even know how I got to France.”

Monique pursed her lips. “I don’t understand.”

“What is this place? How long have I been here?”

Several girls at the table were staring.
“
Monique, qu’est qu’il se passe avec Charlene?
”

Monique shook her head. “
Elle me dit qu’elle ne parle pas français.”

“
Vraiment? Pourquoi?
”

“
Je ne sais pas
.”

“Excuse me,” Gray said. “I wasn’t kidding about not speaking French.”

Monique stood from the table.
“
Viens, Charlene. Je t’emmène à l’infirmerie.”
She took her plate and walked off.

“Hey!” Gray said, leaving her own plate behind. “I said I don’t speak French. That means I can’t understand it either.”

She had little choice but to trot after Monique, who was swift on her long stick legs. Gray followed her up a stone stairway into a courtyard surrounded by a two-story stone structure, squaring them in. It resembled a fortress.

Beyond the brick walls, a veil of clouds covered the courtyard. Her first time in a foreign country and the sky looked no different than the Pacific Northwest.

“Am I in prison?”

Laughter trickled from Monique’s lips.
“
Non, tu es au lycée.”
At least she was amused enough to stop and allow Gray time to catch her breath.

“What’s a
lycée
?”

Monique grinned. “High school.
Pas tout à fait une prison mais pas loin
” Monique laughed again.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette, would you?”

A smile spread over Monique’s lips. She reached into her back pocket and extracted a pack of Virginia Slims. Gray took the one she offered. Monique stuck a second in her mouth then pocketed the pack. Clearly, she wanted Gray to lean in and light up with her over the Bic flame she produced.

Gray mimicked her actions, inhaling when the flame touched the tip of her cigarette. Several coughs out of the way, Gray was taking a drag on the cigarette and blowing clouds as though she were a bona fide smoker. If Charlene wanted lung cancer, that was her problem.

Gray shivered. Her jeans were tight, but at least she wasn’t wearing a short skirt. No doubt she had France to thank for Charlene’s improved sense of style. She quite liked the transparent green scarf with its little reflective circles draped around her neck.

“Is this a boarding school as well?” Gray asked, pointing her cigarette in the direction of the outer wall.

Monique exhaled a plume of smoke. “For some. Like you.”

“How long have I been here?”

Monique cocked her head to one side.
“
Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six
… six months.”

“What day is it?”

“
Jeudi
, eh, Thursday.” Monique began counting in French again. “Nine of February.”

Gray coughed mid-drag.

Monique’s brows rose. “
Ça va?
”

“Can you take me to my room?”

“
Bien sûr
.” Monique took one last drag of her cigarette then flicked it to the stone walkway.

It was a wonder Charlene had lasted this long with a room the size of a cubby. Then again, she probably had no choice.

The eight-foot space between the wall and the door was just enough room to fit a bed, though it left little area for pacing.

Think, Gray. Think!
It was lunch hour in France, which meant it was early morning back home—say, three. Ring any bells?

Mom must have sent Charlene away after she and Ryan purged Gray. But she was back. Ha! There was no getting rid of Graylee Perez.

What had summoned her this time? Another resurrection spell?

Or something else?

Why had she materialized on the day she’d died?

Gray rifled through the purse beside the bed. Wallet. Lipstick. Hairbrush. Virginia Slims. Passport. Where was Charlene’s cell phone? Once her fingers slipped out of the purse, Gray remained crouched on the floor and slowly turned her hands over. Both palms had faint scars etched into the skin. She stood up.

Across from the narrow bed, pushed against the wall, was a tall armoire. Gray lifted her finger to open the door, but nothing happened. Her eyes narrowed. She spun around and focused on a pair of boots in the corner. All attempts to levitate them failed.

Well, that wasn’t fair.

Fortunately, that meant the blocking spell had worked on Charlene. Unfortunately, since Gray shared her body and blood at the moment, it meant she was stuck on a ledge without a ladder or, in witch terms, without a broom.

Gray dug Charlene’s passport and wallet out of her purse. One hundred and twenty euros and a credit card—not bad at all. Gray stopped two feet from the door and turned around. She reached inside the purse and grabbed the pack of smokes. Deeper down, her fingers touched a lighter. Just a throwaway Bic, like Monique’s.

Gray cupped it in her palm and squeezed.

Raj probably thought she was dead. Gray didn’t want to think about the pain she’d caused him a second time. Hopefully he hadn’t given up hope that she could be brought back. Obviously her mother hadn’t.

She sprang for the door.

Gray needed to get home and she needed to do it before the switch.

Lee laughed. She couldn’t help it. Raj looked ridiculous in Mr. Morehouse’s polo and slacks. The pants were a good eight inches too long and hung over Raj’s foot as he worked the gas pedal.

“I’m glad someone finds this amusing,” Raj said.

It was better than freaking out. All jokes aside, there was panic in Lee’s heart. As she’d slipped her own clothing back on each article had disappeared from sight as it covered her body. Again, not her doing.

“Maybe it’s revenge of Mrs. Pritchett.”

Last year, Lee made herself invisible to sneak into English late, and then a few days later, Raj burst open the teacher’s blouse after she humiliated him in front of the class.

“Doubtful,” Raj said. “The only ability Mrs. Pritchett has is to make people cringe.”

“Hey!” Lee said. “You just went through a red light.”

Raj grinned. “I call that a rosy green. It was yellow when I entered the intersection.”

“Somehow I don’t think a cop would see it that way.”

“Yeah, and what would he think if he saw me naked? Who knows how long before these clothes rip apart.”

Lee looked at the striped polo—definitely not Raj’s style.

“The sooner I get home the better,” Raj said.

“Do you think your mom will know what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but at least she might know what to do.” Raj slammed down the brake. This time, the light in front of them was a little too rosy. “You know, it would really help if you turned the lights green.”

“Don’t think I haven’t tried. My powers are useless at the moment.”

As they waited for the light to change, a speck of white drifted in front of the windshield. Silence settled over the car. More flakes descended.

“Is that…” Raj leaned forward. “…snow?”

Lee swallowed.

“I didn’t think it was that cold out. Did you? Lee?” Raj tried to find her eyes. “Lee, what’s the matter?”

Lee’s voice was a whisper, nearly as faint as her physical presence. “It snowed the day before I died.”

“It doesn’t mean a thing,” Raj said.

To Lee it meant everything.

The door to Raj’s house opened before they reached it. Raj’s mother stood there. Puffy red blotches marred Mrs. McKenna’s bare arms and had transformed her usually clear complexion into a hideous display of red welts and open sores. Lee was grateful Mrs. McKenna missed her lips as they curled back.

“Mom, what happened to you?” Raj grasped his mother’s splotchy hand.

“Don’t worry about me. We must help your sister.”

Raj dropped his mom’s hand. “What’s wrong with Aahana?”

“She won’t wake up.” Mrs. McKenna’s eyes darted to Raj’s side when Lee gasped. “Lee?”

“I’m here, Mrs. McKenna. I’m invisible. Not by choice.”

“Not by choice. I don’t understand.” She looked at Raj.