Chapter 2
When Emily knocked on the front door, Miles had been waiting there nervously for several minutes.
“Hey. Thanks for getting over here so quickly.”
“No problem. It was raining at practice, so I’d have taken any excuse to leave early.
” She scanned him curiously. Her backpack was slung over one shoulder, and she was wearing a puffy marshmallow jacket, her green soccer jersey visible around the collar.
“I was surprised to hear from you, to be honest. And you were… concerningly vague.”
“I know, sorry. I’ll explain everything in a minute.” Miles could hear footsteps in the kitchen coming their way. “If we make it past my mom.”
On cue, Sarah stuck her head through the open kitchen doorway, brushing blonde hair out of her face. “Who are you—?” Her gaze found them and widened. “Oh! Emily, hi. I didn’t know you were coming over.”
Miles could’ve paraded a herd of elephants through the house and she would’ve been less surprised.
Emily gave her a sheepish smile and a wave.
“Hi, sorry, I should’ve called first to make sure it was okay, but I was headed home from soccer practice and remembered Miles mentioned he had Mr. Wilson last year.
I’ve got this huge test tomorrow that I’m totally freaking out about.
I was hoping he might have leftover notes I could borrow. ”
She sold it perfectly, not even blinking beneath his mom’s scrutiny. Clearly, Emily either had more experience lying than he did, or she was a natural.
He nodded. “Yeah, I think I’ve got my old math tests and stuff in my desk. If not, I can help you go over the study guide, see if I remember anything.”
Sarah frowned, clearly conflicted.
“Oh. Sorry. I forgot.” Miles gave Emily what he hoped was a believably apologetic look. “I’m not supposed to have people over right now.”
She took his cue flawlessly. “Oh no, sorry, I knew I should’ve called first. Sorry, Mrs. Warren, I didn’t mean to—”
“No, no, it’s fine!” Sarah rushed to reassure her.
“It’s just that I was about to head to the store…
” Miles didn’t know if her hesitation was because she was taking his grounding seriously, or she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to snoop.
“But this is a special circumstance, your grades are important. Stay as long as you need.”
Emily’s face lit up, so bright Miles had to blink. “You’re a lifesaver, thanks so much. I’ll leave as soon as I’m done, I promise.”
“Don’t worry about it. And if you’re going to stay through dinner, let me know and I’ll set an extra plate.
” Miles could practically see the gears spinning in his mom’s head, the matchmaking ideas forming with terrifying speed.
Even her righteous anger at Miles couldn’t outweigh her desire to set him up.
He gestured for Emily to head through the living room to the stairs. As he passed his mom, she mouthed, “Door open.”
It was so absurd, he didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry.
Upstairs, he led Emily down the narrow hall, floorboards creaking underfoot. “That was perfect,” he whispered, not bothering to hide his awe. “You killed it.”
“It’s the dimples. They make me look trustworthy, like a big innocent baby.”
He laughed. She wasn’t wrong.
Charlee was waiting for them in his room, her curls restrained in fresh twin braids and her knit quarter-zip done up to her chin. She looked like she meant business. On the floor, she’d spread a blanket over their séance setup, hiding it from view.
“Hey.” She gave Emily a stiff nod. “Long time no see.”
Emily grinned and crossed the room, pulling Charlee into a quick hug. “I missed you at the Bryant party the other week.” She leaned back and studied her. “You look great. How’ve you been?”
“Fine.” Charlee’s cheeks were pink beneath her freckles. “Did you guys have any trouble getting past Aunt Sarah?”
“Not really. She’s making a store run, but I doubt she’ll be gone for long, so let’s be quick.”
Emily perched on the edge of Miles’s bed. “So who’s going to tell me what this is all about? It must be juicy if we’re lying to your mom.”
“Juicy is one way of putting it,” Charlee muttered.
Miles sat in his desk chair, straightening a stack of papers. He didn’t know where to start. “You remember Gabriel from the party?”
“Hard to forget him.” She didn’t say it with any real bite. “You two are friends, right?”
“We… yeah. I’ve been helping him with something, but he’s gone missing.”
Quickly, Miles explained what’d happened since his first visions of mirror-Gabriel.
Running into Gabriel at the Hawthorne party, him showing up at school, the second vision and the ones that followed.
He told her about Jocelyn, Florence, the grimoire, and the Hawthornes’ unnatural gifts.
How he and Gabriel had banished Florence and thought his death was averted—until Jocelyn’s warning.
And that now, Gabriel had vanished without a trace.
It was harder than Miles expected to get through, a messy storm of emotions swelling behind his ribs.
“Wow.” Emily blinked a few times when he’d finished.
“I mean, wow. Okay, still processing, but I think I followed every thing. You must be so freaked with Gabriel missing.” She reached across the empty space between them and gave Miles’s hand a comforting squeeze.
Her worry was gratifying, but threatened to release the panic he’d been keeping on a carefully tight leash.
“You really have no idea where he could be?”
He shook his head. “Not a clue. Which is why I asked you to come over. I’m hoping you can help find a spirit who might’ve seen him.”
With a dramatic flourish, Charlee whipped the blanket off their séance setup. Emily’s eyebrows shot from furrowed concern to surprise with lightning speed.
“I’ve never done this without my mom’s help,” she admitted, unzipping her jacket and shrugging out of it. Her jersey beneath was splattered with mud. “But I’ll give it my best shot.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
They sat around the circle of candles and quartz.
Miles placed the scarf and drawing back in the center while Charlee struck a match and lit the wicks.
The sickening scent of vanilla made Miles’s stomach roll.
After this, he was tossing out Charlee’s nasty dessert-scented candles and replacing them with some that were less repulsive.
“Hold hands,” Emily told them, extending her own. Once they were all connected, she took a deep breath. The hairs on Miles’s arms prickled and stood to attention as the air thickened around them, swelling like a storm on the horizon.
“Will any spirit who has recently seen Gabriel Hawthorne please come forth? If you have any information, we’re willing to bargain—”
“I can help too.”
Miles jumped out of his skin, knocking the candle by his knee. Hot blue wax splattered across the hardwood floor and the edge of his shaggy rug.
“Jesus!” Charlee glared at Amy, who was hovering in the doorway, Jenna peeking over her shoulder. “Learn to knock!”
“Why would I knock when the door’s open?” Amy peered at Emily, then the circle. Charlee snatched up the drawing of Gabriel, hiding it from view. “You’re doing a séance, right? I can help if you want.”
They were so screwed. Jenna could keep her mouth shut, but once Amy knew, it was only a matter of time before she blabbed to their mom.
Emily beamed. “Oh my God, you two have grown like a foot since the last time I saw you.”
Amy resented her most recent growth spurt, claiming she’d die before becoming a giant like Miles and their dad, so she scowled like she’d been insulted.
“Don’t be nice to them,” Charlee told Emily. “They’re being snoopy brats.”
If Miles kicked them out, Amy would get their mom the second she was back.
If he brought them in, he’d be testing his already precarious luck.
It was a bad idea on so many levels—but at least if Amy was going to use it to blackmail him for the rest of his life, he could gain something from her first. “Both of you, come here.”
They scurried over, sitting between him and Charlee. Jenna crossed her legs and picked at the frayed cuffs of her periwinkle hoodie. Amy plopped down like she belonged.
“We’re not saying anything until you swear you won’t tell Mom or Dad about this.” Miles made sure Amy was paying attention before continuing. “I’m serious, this is life or death. Promise me you’ll keep your mouths shut.”
Amy and Jenna simultaneously held out their pinkies. “Promise.”
Miles shook them, satisfied it was the best guarantee he was going to get. Charlee put Gabriel’s picture back in the circle.
“It’s Gerald!” Jenna blurted, the tips of her ears going scarlet.
“Yeah. Except… his name isn’t Gerald.”
“Shocker,” Charlee muttered.
Miles ignored her. “Gerald’s real name is Gabriel. He’s a friend of mine and he’s gone missing. That’s why we’re doing this séance—we’re trying to see if any spirits in the area might’ve seen what happened to him or know where he’s gone.”
“Why can’t we tell Mom or Dad? Maybe they can help.”
“No.” Miles didn’t know what his sisters had been told about the Hawthornes. “They don’t like Gabriel’s family. It’s a long story, but he’s my friend and we need to find him.”
He expected more arguing, more pushback, but they both nodded.
“We can help, right?” Amy turned to Emily. “The more mediums you have in a séance, the more power and control?”
“That’s right.”
Amy’s chest puffed so much with pride, it was a miracle she didn’t pop like an over-inflated balloon.
“What about me?” Jenna stared down at her knees. “Should I leave?”
“No way, we need you too,” Emily replied without hesitation. “Your energy will be a big help.”
That earned her a shy smile.