Chapter 8
8
Ashley
A shley used both hands to turn the knob of the doorbell, maintaining a steady stream of ringing. It only took three minutes of persistence before the door wrenched open.
August, with his tingling cloud of magic, stuck out his head. “Hey, that’s an antique!” He spotted Ashley, and his frown deepened. “Dammit, it’s you.”
“Let me in, witch.”
“Pass.” He slammed the ancient door in her face.
She went back to ringing. Five minutes passed before the door flung open again.
“What do you want?” August asked.
“Invite me in.”
“Not going to happen.”
“I’ll bring your aunt here next time.”
His eyes narrowed. “That’s a bluff. She hasn’t been here in years.”
“Years mean nothing to her. Besides, it’s no fun hassling you from the windows.” She put on her best pleading face, as though she hadn’t threatened his life only a week ago.
A week of following the witch to and from his one evening class then staring through the window like some sad puppy looking for a home while he twiddled endlessly at his computer. It was the most boring week of her life, and she was now convinced that Hannah was just being paranoid when she’d assigned Ashley to keep an eye on him. The witch did nothing with his life. Even when she yelled through the window, demanding he be more exciting, the most she could get out of him was a glower and an extra burst of his annoying magic for her troubles. She’d entertained herself by singing show tunes and tapping on his windows until he growled and sulked upstairs where she couldn’t follow him. Hannah’s request to be subtle no longer seemed important when she was so bored.
“Are you kidding me?” There was that higher register in his voice that was her daily goal to reach. She didn’t even bother hiding her smile. “Are you planning on trying to kill me?”
“I wouldn’t try. I would do . Do or do not, and all that jazz.” She added jazz hands to emphasize her point.
“As Yoda sagely proclaimed.” He opened the door farther and turned back inside. “Fine, you can come in, but take off your shoes and don’t touch anything.”
“Yay,” she trilled, following after him and kicking her shoes at the corner just to watch him cringe as they smacked the ugly blue wallpaper. She hadn’t expected demanding entry to work. Maybe all that singing had finally worn him down.
“I regret this already.” He sighed, snapping his fingers to turn on the lights in the next room.
“The light switch was literally right next to you.” She pushed the off button, demonstrating her point.
“Hey!” He snapped the light back on again. “What did I say about touching things? That’s an antique.”
“They’re all antiques.” She flailed her arms, indicating the room at large. “You literally live in an antique.”
“That’s why you can’t touch any of it. Do you want me to rescind your invitation? It’ll be entertaining to see you magically flung from here.”
“Is that a thing?” Ashley paused mid-tapping a portrait of a tightly buttoned woman with a cat on her lap to lay slightly askew. She checked his expression for sincerity.
“Care to find out?”
She thought about it. Being magically flung sounded pretty cool, but something told her he wouldn’t try it. Whatever changed his mind about letting her in wasn’t going to change in the first five minutes. To be nice, she played along, opening her eyes wide and blinking playfully, the picture of innocence. He scoffed and took a seat in his gaudy sitting room.
“So why do you live in an antique anyway?” Her fingers trailed along a console, leaving a line in the thin layer of dust.
“Easy. My parents retired to Florida and left me the house since I’m the only Platt left in town.” He shifted Cat Lady back into a mostly straight alignment.
Ashley moved on to a bowl of glass fruit, picking up and inspecting each one individually. “Yeah, but you could move. Sell this place and get your own wherever you want, with light switches and doorbells from this century.”
He looked at her like she’d suggested dancing naked in the street. “This is a bicentennial house. A historical landmark.”
“I didn’t suggest murder.” She realized she was shaking a banana at him and put it back.
“Hey, August,” called a voice from upstairs. “I think I found your weird cookbook.”
The stairs creaked with the familiar sound of someone descending, and a tingling sensation like magic coursed down Ashley’s spine and through her fingertips in anticipation. She knew today was Esther’s work day, but in the past, she always stayed in the attic. Should Ashley leave and avoid her? She glanced to August and a look of panic crossed his face. Something was afoot. Well, she had to stay to find out what that was about. Was Hannah actually right about him?
They both called up the stairs, yelling over each other.
“What cookbook?”
“Wait there. I’ll be up in a sec.”
Ashley met August’s gaze for a split second before darting for the steps. Vampire speed and the fact she was standing gave her the obvious advantage. But she only made it to the bottom step before her ankle snapped out of place, and she tumbled to all fours. The damn witch had dislocated her ankle. August tried to climb past her, but she grabbed his leg and pulled him down. He wasn’t getting by that easily.
“Dammit, witch,” she said. “What are you hiding?”
“Let me go!”
“Are you two okay?” Esther stood on the landing, a large leatherbound book tucked under her arm, staring down at them like they’d both lost their marbles. Her gaze snagged a second longer on Ashley, sprawled across the stairs.
Ashley pulled August’s body in front of her while she snapped her ankle back in place with a pop. “Perfectly fine.” Speaking over the sound of her ankle snapping into its socket, she ground her teeth into a smile to hide the pain. “What have you got there?”
August interrupted Esther’s response. “Platt business. Nothing for you to bother with.”
Ashley scowled at him and caught Esther with a similar expression.
Esther held up the book, and August’s shoulders slumped. It was bound in dark leather, almost black, with silver decals on the corners and a matching lock fastening it shut. Embossed on the cover were the phases of the moon aligned in a circle.
“If I had to guess,” Esther said as she flipped the book to inspect the back, “I’d say this isn’t exactly a cookbook in the traditional sense.”
“A grimoire, huh?” Ashley stood, dusting herself off. “What would the Platt family be doing with a grimoire? In New York of all states?”
“I don’t know what being in New York has to do with it, but it’s fascinating. Based on this binding, it’s quite possibly the oldest piece in the collection.” Esther continued to look over the spine while descending the stairs. “Do you know if your family had a history of collecting objects from the occult?”
“You could say that.” August stood as well and gestured for Esther to pass him the book.
“Let me see it.” Ashley grabbed the book from August’s outstretched hand, ignoring the stupid smirk on his face. She fiddled with the latch.
A red heat nipped at her fingertip.
“Ouch!” She dropped it like a hot potato.
“Ashley,” scolded Esther. “It’s fragile.
“Dammit, August!” Ashley said.
But he was too busy laughing to pay attention to her scolding. Ashley popped her finger in her mouth and glared at him.
“Here, let me see it.” Esther gestured for Ashley’s hand, but Ashley shifted out of her grasp and away from Esther’s gaze that always noticed a pattern. “Do you have a metal allergy? This is the second time you’ve reacted like this.”
Too late .
Ashley hadn’t dropped Anthropology 101 like she’d promised herself. There just wasn’t another class at such a convenient time. And until now, Esther hadn’t said anything about her rushing off into the night like a weirdo. She’d successfully cut back her Esther-watching from longing gazes to an occasional casual look. Okay, maybe it was more like stolen glances, but a girl couldn’t help herself. When she fixated, she Fixated.
“Sure.” August huffed a laugh. “A metal allergy .” He used air quotes around ‘metal allergy.’
Ashley raised a choice finger at him. “Shut up, August.”
Esther snatched Ashley’s hand while she had it raised and gently pried open her fist. Inside, they found a perfect cross christening her pointer finger.
“Well, at least your other rash is gone.” Esther gently trailed her fingertips down the length of Ashley’s palm. Her expression remained absent, as though she didn’t even notice the effect she had.
Ashley wanted Esther’s hand to continue its gentle stroll everywhere on her. And strangely, she wanted to know what holding Esther’s hand was like as well.
“Probably for the best.” Ashley pulled her hand back, attempting to laugh off her overactive feelings. “My hand was looking like a cathedral.”
Right then, obnoxious hamsters started singing. Because, of course, now was the right time for a phone call, and of course, her phone had fallen out of her pocket when she and August had their mad dash for the stairs. August got to it first.
“It’s your mom,” he called, lifting the phone so she could see.
Of course it was her mom. “Tell her I’ll call her back.”
She realized her mistake two seconds too late.
“Hello, Ms. Ashley’s mom.” August reclined onto his chaise lounge. “This is August speaking.”
Total panic followed, and Ashley flashed to his side. “Give me the phone.”
“Her boyfriend?” August rolled off the chaise and out of Ashley’s grasp. “No, nothing as official as that.”
Ashley hissed through her teeth, barely remembering to keep in her fangs. “August, I will end you.”
The front door closed, and everyone turned to Uther in the foyer. “I tried knocking because I don’t know how that doorbell works. I guess no one heard me. What do you mean boyfriend?”
“I’m going to have to let you go, Ms. Ashley’s mom. Here’s Ashley.” He shoved the phone into her hand and walked to the front door while Ashley scrambled to not drop her mom.
“Hi, Mom?” How much damage had August done? Her mom knew she was gay. Why was she asking about a boyfriend?
“Ashley? Who was that friend of yours? He sounds handsome.”
So much damage.
“People don’t sound handsome, Mom. That’s not a thing.” She kept her voice low, but one look at August’s smug face, and she knew he’d heard. “Actually, he has a very unfortunate face. I’m really only around him out of obligation.”
“Is he an intern at the lab?”
Okay, she couldn’t talk about fake Romania in front of everyone. Time to change the subject. She put extra cheer in her voice so her mom wouldn’t infer correctly that she wanted her off the phone. “Was there something you wanted, Mom?”
“Just calling to gab. I was talking to your father about Thanksgiving plans. Apparently, your aunt called dibs on hosting. After what happened last year, you’d think she knows it’s too much for her to handle. So now I’m offering to help with food prep, and we’ll have to be quicker on the draw for next year. Maybe I’ll say something at dinner.”
“Yeah, that’s great, Mom. Listen, now isn’t a great time for me to talk.”
“Oh, I won’t keep you long. I know you have a busy schedule. What was your research on again?”
“A certain mushroom. I’m kind of in the middle of something, so I’ll have to let you go.”
“Sure thing, honey. Did you think any more about Christmas? I know it’s still early, but your father and I are hosting. You know, since your aunt got Thanksgiving. We can keep it low-key since you’re coming in from so far off. Just the aunts and uncles and cousins.”
“So, the usual crowd?”
“Well, our neighbor Colleen was talking about a get-together for the neighborhood, but I think we’re going to do that earlier. You know, before people leave to go be with their families.”
How was she still on the phone? Hadn’t she tried to hang up five minutes ago?
“Okay, cool, well I’ll see you then, Mom.”
“So, you’re coming? Dale!” By the sound of it, her mom had moved the phone the smallest fraction from her face before bellowing across the house.
Ashley moved the phone away from her ringing ear. What had she done?
“Ashley says she’s coming for Christmas! Dale! Did you hear me?” Quiet mumbling, presumably from her dad, followed, then her mom was talking again. “He’s thrilled honey. We both are. Just let me know how much plane tickets are, and I’ll send you some money through that online website you were talking about. PayPal? Was that the one you liked? I’ll find the email where you explain it. I know I saved it somewhere.”
“It’s not a— You know what, yeah, look up the email. But also, you don’t have to pay for my ticket. I’ll be fine.”
“Bring that boyfriend of yours too, honey.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend, Mom. Remember?”
“Sure, sure, honey. Listen, I’m going to go call everyone and let them know we’re on board for Christmas. You can bring your special someone , but I’ll leave that up to you. I’ll talk to you later, dear. Love you, bye.”
The phone clicked before Ashley had a chance to process what had happened. Had she just agreed to Christmas with her entire family? How would she possibly pull that off? She should call her back and shut this down. Her mom didn’t know she was a vampire for the same reason Ashley still hadn’t faked her death and cut ties with her parents. She didn’t want them to worry. It wasn’t rational, but neither was her mother-daughter relationship.
But this was her year—the year she passed the Family’s test and they finally accepted her as an official member. It also meant this was her last year to cut ties with her parents. Her last Christmas.
“Well, I’m done for the day. You ready to go, Uther?” Esther’s words brought Ashley out of her panic spiral.
“I can walk you home, Esther.” Ashley needed something to take her mind off of this Christmas debacle.
“Oooh!” the boys said in singsong from the foyer.
Ashley glared at them.
“Oh.” Esther adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag, looking between Ashley and Uther. “I mean, Uther came all this way. I don’t want to put him out.”
Right. In her need for distraction, she’d completely forgotten she was supposed to give Esther space.
Uther waved Esther over. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
He opened the front door, and they both walked out to the porch, leaving Ashley and August alone in the house.
“That was weird, right?” Ashley turned to August for confirmation.
“So, you and Esther, huh?” His gaze was on his nails, but his tone said they weren’t the focus of his attention.
Ashley narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She wasn’t sure why she was talking to the witch. She went back to leaning against the wall and waiting for Esther.
“She’s cute. I get it.” He’d stopped playing with his nails, done pretending to be uninterested in the conversation he’d started. “The brooding goth girl. Plus, she’s a hottie. Who isn’t into that type?”
“Watch yourself, witch.”
August held up his hands. “Hey, hey, no worries. I’ve made my peace with that. Set my sights elsewhere, if you will.”
Ashley huffed. She would not.
“I was just going to say…I don’t know. Are you sure?”
She pushed from the wall. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And if I did, it would be none of your business.”
He ignored her statement. “It’s just, you know. You’re you, and she’s…well. Her.”
“I know I’m a vampire. I’m not an idiot.”
“Not that.” He laughed and plopped down on that damn chaise. “I mean you, with your”—he waved his hand at her in a fluttery manner—“sparkly, talk-to-everyone-and-sings-show-tunes-outside-my-window vibe. And she’s Esther, lives and works in an attic and would rather not talk to anyone ever please and thank you. I guess I just don’t see it.”
His shrug was the final straw on Ashley’s self-control. Her fangs came out, and she was mid-hiss when the door opened. Quick as she could, she retracted her fangs and resumed her post against the wall as Esther and Uther stepped inside.
“You may walk with Esther,” declared Uther with a hand flourish. “I have further to discuss with August.”
“Smooth.” Ashley walked to the door, ready to leave everything August had said behind. “That sounded really natural and not at all rehearsed.” She touched Esther’s arm, mostly to hear her heart pick up. “Ready to go?”
“I… Let me grab my bag.” She raced up the stairs.
Ashley had to wait for the creaking to stop before she could be heard. She leaned against the doorway, studying her own nails now. “So, what are you and Uther up to these days?”
“Nosy, much?” August snapped.
Bingo. Two could play at this game of poking into other people’s personal lives.
“August was telling me about this gardening club in Vermont,” offered Uther, ever the excited one. If Ashley didn’t have to focus on vampire stuff, she’d have befriended him weeks ago. She’d seen him once or twice at some of the smaller weekend parties. He gave off strong supportive friend vibes.
The noisy stairs interrupted any attempt to continue the conversation, and then Esther was there. “Ready.”
Ashley gave August a parting glare before following Esther out the door and down the steps to the narrow sidewalk. The sun had long set, the stars shone overhead, and Ashley returned to imagining what it would feel like to hold Esther’s hand.
“So,” said Esther. “You’re kind of different, aren’t you?”
“I like to think I’m exceptional.” Ashley flicked her hair over her shoulder. Was this when Esther noticed her? Dating was a bad idea. But she was feeling a little reckless this evening. Maybe something casual could be okay. She didn’t have to tell Esther anything?—
“No, I mean… Well, the super speed thing.”
Ashley stopped walking. Record scratch. What? Shit-shit-shit .
“What do you mean?” Maybe Ashley wasn’t understanding her correctly. No one noticed her little slips.
“I thought I’d just imagined it after dinner the other night.” Esther looked everywhere except at Ashley. “You were gone so fast. But today when August had your phone, you were on one side of the room and then suddenly the other.” She locked eyes with Ashley. “I know what I saw.”
Crap. This was bad. This was very, very bad. Esther and her beautiful brown eyes missed nothing.
“It’s… I used to do track. That’s all.” Ashley forced a laugh, looking around to make sure none of the vampires were within listening distance. “You must have had a longer blink than you thought.” If anyone heard what Esther was saying, it would be sayonara to Ashley’s chances of joining the Family. And who knew what they would do to Esther. Ashley still wasn’t sure what happened to the last people that found out about her.
She took Esther’s arm and steered them in the other direction. All those times she’d heard Esther’s heart race—was Esther was afraid of her? Maybe she was a monster, and Esther had figured it out.
“No one’s that fast,” Esther said. “I know what I saw. Where are we going?”
“Okay, look.” Ashley stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. “I can’t have this conversation here, okay? So, you have two options.” This was such a bad idea. But things were already bad. She needed to handle the situation. “I can walk you home, and we’ll never talk about this again. I promise. I’ll leave you alone. I can transfer classes or take them online. Whatever. Or…”
Tornado sirens were going off in Ashley’s head. Take cover. Get out of danger .
But like any true and terrible Midwesterner, she studied Esther’s face for any hint at what was going on in her head, her curiosity keeping her on the porch, flirting with danger instead of seeking cover.
“Or I can take you somewhere private,” Ashley said, “and we can keep talking.”
Esther’s attention snapped back to her. “So, my choices are going home and we continue life as though nothing is different, or I come with you and …you reveal some mysterious secret that’s potentially life-changing?”
That about summed it up. She knew Esther didn’t like choices, but there wasn’t a way around it. Ashley didn’t have the fortitude to answer, so she just nodded.
Reflected in Esther’s eyes, Ashley watched the walk sign change from red to white.
“I want to keep talking.”