Entangled (26 page)

“I don’t need protecting. I can project myself!” Gray rose from her seat.

“Sit down!”

Did Raj really just issue a command? To her? Gray’s nostrils flared. “If you think you can boss me around, McKenna, think again.”

“Charlene plans to purge you.”

Gray’s mouth opened. Her ass hit the chair with a thump. “What?” She blinked several times.

“Shay confirmed it. During Gathering all she could think about was how to extract you from her body for good.”

“I thought I told you I didn’t want Shay Baxter messing in my affairs.”

“What do you have against Shay? She broke a personal oath to take a look inside your sister’s head… to help
you
.”

Now not only was Gray frustrated, but she felt like a jerk on top of everything else. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just stressed. I don’t know how much time I have left. Do you have any idea how Charlene plans to purge me?”

Raj frowned. “No, but that’s because Charlene doesn’t have any idea how to do it at this point, which is a good thing.”

Gray tapped a finger against the table. She pushed her mocha aside.

“Gray… can I ask you a question?”

Gray looked into Raj’s eyes.

“What happened? How’d you die?”

“I don’t know.” Gray shrugged. “Something called SUDS.”

“I find that hard to believe. I remember driving myself mad thinking if somehow I could speak to you, you’d be able to tell me what really happened.”

“I don’t know. One day I went to sleep and the next I woke up and found out I had been dead.”

“Think, Gray.”

“My mom already had the coven look into it. There were no mystical circumstances surrounding my death.”

“They’re certain?”

“Yeah.”

“So think harder.”

Why was he being so hard on her? She’d died, for crying out loud, and now her own sister was trying to purge her from existence. A little compassion please.

“I don’t even remember dying!”

“What events do you remember leading up to your death?”

Fine, that wasn’t too difficult. In her head that’d only been a week ago.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. I went to school. Came home. Did some homework. Snacked. Hung out in my room. Had dinner… God, what a lame last day of my life. It’s sad.”

Raj rolled his hand in the air impatiently. “Had dinner?” he prompted.

“Then went to bed.” Gray shrugged.

“Did you feel okay before you went to bed?”

Gray wrinkled her nose. “No, actually, I felt sick to my stomach.”

“What did you have for dinner?”

“Salad, but that’s a moot point. I started feeling ill before dinner.”

“What else did you eat?”

“I was fine after lunch. Then I came home and ate some chocolates.” Gray’s eyes widened.
Chocolates that Charlene made.

“What?” Raj asked.

“I need to go.”

Raj stood up after Gray. “What is it? What do you remember?”

“It was Charlene,” Gray gasped. “Charlene killed me. She didn’t mean to, but she did.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Raj asked after he pulled up next to Gray’s car in McKinley’s parking lot.

Gray stared forward. School was still in session. It seemed so insignificant compared to everything she’d been through. Charlene had tried to kill Stacey… twice. She’d succeeded in killing Gray instead and now she was trying deliberately to purge her from existence forever.

“I want to talk to my mom alone.”

Raj nodded.

Gray felt a sudden urge to reach for his hand, to squeeze it, a human connection. How long would she have that? “Can we meet up later?”

Raj swallowed. “Yeah, of course, but first I’m going to see Adrian.”

“Adrian,” Gray repeated blankly as though she’d never heard the name before. Then she snapped out of it. “I’ll go with you.”

Raj’s shoulders lifted and dropped. “You should talk to your mom. Let me deal with Adrian. If I do some work for him he’ll play ball.”

“Fine.” Gray made like she was going to exit the car then leaned over the seat and kissed Raj on the lips. Then, in a flash, she got out of his car and headed home.

“Mom!” she cried as soon as she entered her house. “Mom!” Gray rushed into the kitchen: the scene of the crime. No sooner had she stepped in, she froze. There was a note on the countertop. Her heart began that wild beat that made her feel halfway between a stroke or fainting episode. She leaned over the counter, her hair falling over her shoulders as she did so.

Girls:

Got the call.

Hope to be back soon.

Love you both.

Mom

That was good news, wasn’t it?

If so, then why was there a lump the size of Texas in Gray’s stomach?

To think she’d worried that Charlene would want to kill her for slapping Blake. She already had killed her! And that weasel Nolan was helping her now.

That’s it. If Charlene was going to play dirty then so would Gray. She snatched the keys to the Beetle and stormed out of the house. It was time she met Adrian the Avenger face to face. Gray had some serious avenging to do.

Gray pulled up in front of the sign announcing Hedrick the Healer. Locating Adrian had been ridiculously easy. He was listed in the Yellow Pages.

A bell tinkled when she walked through the front door. She stepped into a cramped room. There was a small round table covered with a cloth in the center. All that was missing was a crystal ball.

Raj was pacing, a large text in his arms. He looked up abruptly. “Gray? What are you doing here?”

“My mom’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“She heard from her contact.”

Raj was about to speak when a young man pushed through a curtain and entered the chamber. Adrian Hedrick Montez might not have his powers, but his presence reeked of supremacy. He was built like a fireman—one who started rather than put flames out.

A smile spread over Gray’s face even as Adrian looked at her as though she were trivial. “Who’s the skirt?”

“No one,” Raj said at the same time Gray said, “Graylee Perez.”

“Well, Graylee Perez, your boyfriend and I have work to do so if you don’t mind…”

“I’m not here to see Raj. I came to see you.”

“Oh, really?” Adrian studied her with renewed interest. Mostly he stared at her chest and legs. His eyes ping-ponged between the two.

“I’m in need of your services.”

This earned a look in the eye. Adrian swept his hand over to the small round table in the center of the room. “Take a seat. What ails you, my dear?”

“This body,” Gray said as she settled onto the hard wood chair.

Adrian’s eyes roved her once more. “I see nothing objectionable about the one you have now. Don’t tell me Raj has told you otherwise—a breast enhancement, perhaps?”

Raj snapped his book shut and stepped forward. “That’s enough.”

Gray put a hand up and it stopped him. It wasn’t even a spell. She didn’t break eye contact with Adrian. Gray made a steeple with her fingers then folded them over her hands and set them flat on the tabletop. “Flattering, Mr. Montez. This isn’t my body. I’m borrowing my twin sister Charlene’s body at the moment and I wish to extract her… permanently.”

“Gray…” Raj’s mouth dropped at the same time a smile spread over Adrian’s face.

Gray ignored Raj. “Can you help me?”

Adrian leaned forward. “So you’re the one who needs a body transfer, are you? The question is: Where is your own body, Miss Perez?”

“My body’s not an option.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s decomposing at the cemetery.”

Now Gray had his full attention.

“You mean you died and were brought back?”

“That’s correct.”

Adrian looked at Raj. “How could you keep this from me?”

Raj crossed his arms. “It’s on a need-to-know basis.”

Adrian looked back at Gray. “I’ll do it, but I don’t want money. I want to know how the spell was performed.”

Gray snorted. “It didn’t even come out right.”

“Is that all you can think about? You were brought back from the dead. Death is final.” Adrian leaned in closer. “I wonder, why you?”

Right, ’cause Gray was nothing extraordinary. That’s what Adrian was implying, wasn’t it? She narrowed her eyes. “Sorry, can’t help. Don’t know a thing about it.”

Adrian leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. “What’s in it for me?”

Gray stretched out of her chair and ran the tips of her fingers along the table as she circled to Adrian’s side. “Poor Adrian. Can’t perform magic anymore.” She came to a stop beside him.

Adrian shot her a menacing look. “What do you know about it?”

Gray squatted so that she was eye level with Adrian. “I know what it’s like have your powers blocked. All we need to do is find the responsible party and then…” Gray paused for emphasis. “We put a fissure in their spell.”

Behind her, Raj sucked in a breath.

Adrian’s eyes glittered.

Raj wasn’t just flicking his Zippo open and closed, he was slamming the palm of his hand over the lid to snap it shut.  They stood on the walkway just outside Adrian’s shop. “Why did you promise to unblock his powers?”

“He’s not much good to me if he can’t perform the purge or whatever it is I need to do to keep on existing.”

“There are other options. We can still do a transfer, just not to your body. Adrian could have instructed me. I could have performed the transfer!”

Gray didn’t like the way Raj raised his voice with her. He wasn’t her boyfriend. She didn’t need to listen to this. “I’m running out of options, Raj! And I’m running out of time.”

“So your only plan is to stoop to your sister’s level? You might want to think about the consequences before you rush in.”

Gray’s mouth flew open. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for my sister!”

“I don’t like where this is leading, Gray.” Raj shook his head.

First her mom deserted her and now Raj. It was too much. Did they expect her to just lie back and let her sister take the life force out of her? No thanks, she’d already done that once. “Then walk away,” Gray bit out. “And let me deal with the dirty work.”

Raj stopped flicking his lighter. He grabbed Gray’s hand so suddenly she gasped. “What are you…”

“You want to play dirty…” Raj said. He grabbed the handle on Adrian’s storefront roughly. “Let’s settle this once and for all.”

Adrian grinned as they walked in. “Back so soon?”

“First we try a transfer,” Raj said. “And if that doesn’t work we move on to the purge.” When he looked at Gray she nodded. “It’s most likely someone in the coven blocking Adrian’s powers. Probably Holloway. What do you suggest, Gray?”

Both men looked at her. She felt like shrinking under the weight of what she had to do; instead, she straightened her spine. “Truth spell. Does anyone know how to do one?”

Adrian grinned. “My Nan practically invented the truth spell.”

Gray rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?” She looked from Adrian to Raj. This time Raj was the one to nod. “I’ll give it to Marc Phillips, he’s Holloway’s second in command. And then… I’ll get the truth.”

“I’ll have Nan make you up a potion. She doesn’t give out her spell.”

“Fine,” Gray said. “Just get it to me soon. Time’s running out.”

“Give it to me and I’ll get it to Gray,” Raj said.

“Or I could bring it to Gray direct.”

Raj’s jaw tightened. “No.”

Adrian smiled. “Very well, McKenna.” He turned to Gray. “You do realize that if we transfer you into an ungifted body you’ll keep your powers, but you can’t pass them on to your children?”

Gray lifted her chin. “Sign me up.”

Adrian bowed slightly. “Miss Perez, a pleasure. I look forward to exchanging services.”

Gray lifted her chin. “Just get Raj the potion, stud.”

“Charlene?” Marc Phillips raised a brow when he saw Gray standing on his doorstep.

It was dark out by this time, but at least Adrian had gotten the potion to Raj that same day. Actually, it turned out to be a powder, not a potion, sealed inside a tiny plastic bag. The white powder looked like crack.

Mr. Phillips was looking over Gray’s shoulder. “Ryan’s at Paul’s house playing video games.”

“Do you mind if I come in for a moment, Mr. Phillips?”