“I’m going crazy!” Tommy said. “I can’t stay here, but life at Neil’s flat-out sucks!”
“I’m sorry,” I said, hating the pain in his features.
“I’ve even been praying about this. Not that it’s helped.” He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. “I’d thought that meeting God face-to-face might count for something, but apparently he’s not taking my calls.” He sighed. “Have you talked to my mom yet?”
I wished I had better news for him. “I did go to see her.” I told him about the nexus, and the lethal amounts of otherworld energy pouring through the house. “We have to get your mother out of there,” I said. “She can’t stay.”
“But she won’t leave. If I even
mention
the possibility of moving, she barricades herself inside.”
The sound of the front door opening interrupted our conversation. I quickly left the bedroom and met Jas who held two bags full of greasy, fast food. Seeing me, she glared. “Can I have a word with you?”
Tommy had followed me into the living room, and the two of us exchanged anxious looks as Jasmine handed him the bags and dragged me off to the kitchen.
“What the hell is this?” my stepsister demanded. She pulled several, small packets from the pocket of her jeans.
It took me a moment to realize they were the samples of the HotGel
©
Corrine had given me. The one Jasmine held out was called Cinammmmon.
“I found these things on the countertop in the bathroom,” she said. “Is this supposed to be a joke? Because it’s not funny.”
“No joke,” I promised. “Only a gift from Corrine. She’s trying to convince me to host a Naughty Nancy party.”
Jas’s face relaxed. “Okay, good. Because did you see the label on this stuff?” She held the packet close to her eyes and, squinting, read, “Warning: may cause irritation, or in rare cases, chemical burns. People with sensitive skin or known skin allergies should avoid this product. Wash all areas thoroughly after using.” She tossed the packet into the trashcan. “I thought you were trying to tell me that my love life sucks so much I should set my lady parts on fire.”
I laughed. “I would never do that to you.”
She started to smile, too. “That also explains the cheesy dominatrix costume.”
My eyes widened. “The
what?
”
Jasmine took a package from the kitchen table. “I found this outside the front door today.”
On the package was a picture of a model wearing a black bustier and brandishing a whip. Corrine had stuck a note to it: “This could be your hostess gift if you agree to have a party!” I groaned.
“Is that from Corrine, too?” Jas asked.
I nodded. “I may have to take out a restraining order against her.”
Jas wrinkled her nose. “Why on earth would she send you a dominatrix costume? Sexy librarian, maybe.” She considered. “No, forget that. Plain librarian would be better.”
I glared at her.
“Well, anyway, I feel a lot better now.” Jas sucked in her cheeks and dropped her eyes. “I keep worrying there’s still something between you and Tommy.”
“He loves you and only you,” I said. It was the truth of course, but inwardly, I cringed as I remembered the tattoo. If my stepsister ever saw it, she’d never forgive either of us.
While Jasmine gathered silverware and ketchup, I went back into the living room where Tommy waited anxiously. “I think you were right about needing to move in with your mother.” There were a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t mess with Doris’s head, but there was one compelling reason to act: Tommy and Jasmine’s future depended on it. “I’ll talk to her.”
A spark of hope lit his eyes. “That’s terrific! Thank you.”
He might be relieved, but I remained very, very worried.
Although I put on my pajamas and slipped into bed, I was too agitated to drift off. Seeing that Ariel’s book still lay where I’d dropped it, I started to read. I had thought it would bore me to sleep, but after a few pages, I’d lost myself in the story of the little girl who found a magical pathway through the old wardrobe. The snowy woods, the lamp post, the faun’s cave – I could envision it all. When Lucy’s brother, Edmund, entered Narnia and ran across the White Witch, I gasped. There was no mistaking Helen Spry. The writer had perfectly captured her terrible, manipulative cruelty.
At the part where Aslan the lion put himself at the mercy of the White Witch, I couldn’t bear to read further. If the lion died, I would have been devastated.
Ariel had been right about one thing: Edmund was despicable. Every bad thing in the book hinged on that boy’s obsession with the devil’s candy.
As I turned off the reading lamp and pulled up the covers, I realized Helen had never once offered me candy. Tea, yes, but never candy.
Tea.
The tea I’d given to my father.
Oh, shit.
Because it was long after midnight, I figured I could slip into my dad’s house, get the tea, and throw it away without him ever knowing. I hated to steal from my father, but it was for his own good. The stuff had already stirred up potent memories of my mother. If he kept drinking it, who knew what other damage it would do.
But before I could enter the otherworld, a frisson of uneasiness shivered along my spine. Someone I loved was in trouble. Mentally, I reached out to Grace, but she was fine. Likewise with Ariel and Jasmine. I concentrated harder, my heart pounding.
My dad.
Alarmed, I called my father’s house. Evelyn immediately picked up. “Lilith?” She sounded wide awake.
I fought to keep my voice steady. “Is Dad okay?”
She gasped. “How did you know?” Then she quickly added. “Yes, he’s fine. I thought he was having a heart attack, but the ER doctor called it indigestion.”
“I told you so,” my dad said in the background.
“Hush, Simon,” she told him. “You looked terrible, and I wasn’t about to gamble on your health.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t!” Weak with relief, I sank onto my bed. “I suddenly had this bad feeling, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
“Would you like to talk to him?”
When I agreed, she passed the phone to my father. “I
told
her nothing was wrong,” he grumped.
“What happened?”
“Well, when I got home after our dinner, I felt fine. Oh, and I found your present.”
“Present?”
“The little bag of tea you slipped into my pocket when we were at the restaurant?” He sounded happier. “That was very sweet of you.”
The blood drained from my extremities, and I nearly dropped the phone. That tea could have only come from one person.
“But after I drank a cup of it, I started feeling ill. Evelyn overreacted and dragged me to the ER.”
“But you’re okay?” I asked. “I mean, everything checked out?”
“I’m fine,” he promised. “Tired, but fine. Although, it will be a very long time before I’m allowed to eat fettuccini alfredo or tiramisu again.” He sighed wistfully.
The moment I hung up my phone, I slipped into the otherworld. First, I snuck into my dad’s living room. From down the hall, I heard my dad still grousing about his trip to the ER. Tiptoeing into the kitchen, I grabbed the tea which sat on the countertop next to the stove. Then I went to find Helen.
Helen’s office was dark and empty. Moonlight shone through the open French doors. I walked out onto the bricked patio where dozens of potted roses surrounded a small fountain. Helen knelt in a back corner pruning a rose bush whose blooms were so large and white that they nearly glowed in the dark.
Too angry to speak, I dropped the bag of tea next to her.
“So Simon got my present?” She clipped another limb from the bush.
“You nearly killed him.” My voice trembled with outrage.
“No, I did not nearly
kill
him. Although, I have that right. The are pages of fine print in your contract allowing me to use any means necessary to force you into obedience.” Even kneeling, Helen intimidated me. The wickedly sharp blades of her shears glinted in the moonlight. “The contract protects your loved ones, but
only
if you keep your end of the bargain. Break your contract again, and I
will
kill Simon.” The snick of the blades made me flinch. “And after I kill him, I’ll move on to Jasmine.” Another click of the blades. “Then Tommy and Ariel.” Two, quick clicks. “I’ll save your little girl for last because…”
“Stop!”I begged.
Helen stood. In the semi-dark, her eyes glowed red, like the twin ends of lit cigarettes. “They will not be easy deaths. Not heart attacks, but long, lingering diseases full of pain and suffering. Do you understand me?”
I nodded.
Helen picked up the five blooms she’d cut from the bush and handed them to me, pressing the thorns hard into the palms of my hands. I cried out as the barbs pierced my flesh. “I want all sixty-one of those people tempted.”
Sixty-one. Although the number was staggering, it didn’t compare to the five names she’d just mentioned.
“And I want you pregnant.”
“No!”
She pressed the roses harder into my skin, and I gasped. “Five lives. Which of those are you willing to sacrifice?”
I swallowed. “None.”
“So you
will
get pregnant.”
I nodded.
“Say it,” she demanded.
“I promise to tempt all sixty-one men,” I said.
“And?”
I blinked back tears. “I promise to get pregnant.”
“Good girl.” She patted my shoulder. “I knew you’d see things my way.”
Back home, I dumped the blood-covered roses in the trash. After doctoring my cuts, I went to bed. But while my eyes felt gritty from exhaustion, my mind refused to settled down.
Once again, I cursed Helen for hurting my father. I’d been right about her tea being the Devil’s candy. As my thoughts continued to churn, I wondered what
my
Devil’s candy was. Probably Grace. And what about William’s? What did he desire? I almost fell asleep imagining that. Before I drifted off completely, I considered what Helen’s candy might be. After all, she’d offered plenty of irresistible treats. Surely she had a temptation of her own. What did she love?
The answer struck me with such force that I sat up in bed. I knew what Helen craved! Holy icons. That was her candy.
I scrambled to turn on a light and dug the notebook out of the nightstand drawer. Under my list of goals, I wrote:
-
Bribe Helen with Heaven’s candy
If I wanted to bargain my way out of Hell, all I needed was a holy icon that Helen loved more than her little bit of the cross.
The next morning, Jasmine had left the apartment before I got out of bed. Worried, I texted her, and she immediately texted back.
I GOT THE JOB!!!
Thrilled for Jas, I sent back
congrats
then called my dad for an update on his health. To my relief, he felt fine and had even gone into work despite Evelyn’s suggestion that he stay home. Another text to my ex-husband confirmed that all was well with Grace, too. Apparently, Helen no longer had my family in her crosshairs. For now.