The Dolls(38)

“But you made my bangs grow,” I say in astonishment.

“Oh for goodness’ sake,” Peregrine says. “Get your big girl pants on. This is nothing.”

“I think you look pretty,” Chloe whispers, meeting my eyes in the mirror.

“All right, Cristof,” Peregrine says, waving a hand at him. “Do your thing.”

“Of course!” Cristof says, sweeping over to us dramatically with a pair of scissors. He reaches for my long bangs and holds them up. He lightly snips the ends and lets them fall gently back on my forehead. “Now, let’s get a conditioning treatment on you.”

He smears a gel that smells like lavender all over my head and then rolls a big hair dryer over. It looks like a giant helmet, and he instructs me to sit under it for five minutes while the conditioning treatment warms up. “Then we’ll rinse and work some magic,” he says, winking. “Well, stylistic magic.”

He heads toward the velvet curtains in back, leaving me alone with Chloe and Peregrine.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to practice zandara in front of people,” I say as soon as he’s gone.

“Cristof is one of us,” Peregrine says.

“Sharona too,” Chloe adds.

“They have powers?”

The girls laugh. “No, silly,” Chloe says. “But they’re both members of our mothers’ sosyete. It’s fine to work magic in front of those who are part of the sosyete because they’re sworn to secrecy, punishable by death.”

Peregrine adds, “Not that it’s ever come to that. The sosyete members don’t have powers of their own, but they’re in on the Secret of Carrefour, and they help increase the queens’ power as they channel the power of the spirits.”

“So if the sosyete members don’t have their own powers, what are they there for?” I ask.

“The spirits like to know they have humans who will do favors for them,” Peregrine explains. “So only the queens can call upon the dead or use the power they give us, but the sosyete members can enhance our strength during ceremonies just by chanting or dancing along with us. Plus, when they allow themselves to be possessed, the spirits are more likely to help us.”

“So in our sosyete it’s us three plus Arelia, Margaux, Pascal, and Justin,” Chloe adds. “Oscar and Patrick, who you’ll almost never see, work with us sometimes. Oh yeah, and Caleb Shaw.”

I can feel myself flush at the mention of Caleb. I look away as Peregrine raises her eyebrows at me.

“Everyone in our sosyete is a descendant of people who have been involved with the Secret of Carrefour for generations,” Chloe goes on. “Once we’re a little older, we get to add a few new members too, people we pick and choose. But that doesn’t happen until after we’ve all turned eighteen.”

Cristof reemerges from the back room then, brandishing a pair of scissors. “Ready to be transformed, Eveny?”

I take a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”


Forty minutes, one zandara-charmed facial mask, and one cut and blow-dry later, I look like a different person.

My frizzy hair is gone, replaced with shiny waves that cascade over my shoulders, down to the middle of my back. My bangs sweep perfectly to the side and frame my glowing face. My pimples have all vanished, and my skin looks like it’s lit from within. Even my eyelashes, which usually need multiple coats of mascara, have turned dark and lush, and my lips have become pinker and fuller.

“Not bad,” Peregrine marvels.

I just stare at myself in the mirror as Chloe squeals, “Eveny, you’re gorgeous!”

“I don’t even look like me,” I say.

“Exactly the point,” Peregrine says smugly. “Now, we’ve taken the liberty of picking out some shoes and accessories for you. The way you’ve been styling your school uniform”—she pauses and shudders—“just won’t do. They should be at your house by the time you arrive home.”

“Oh,” I say awkwardly. “You shouldn’t have done that. What do I owe you?”

“It’s our treat,” Peregrine says. “Now, let’s work on that charm and see what you can do.”

They lead me behind Cristof’s purple curtain, where several candles flicker in the corner of a small room. Sheer gold scarves are draped over lamps, and incense burns from a small pot on a coffee table. I see three tiny bells, each hanging on a long piece of string, sitting on a chair. Beside them is a cluster of various flowers and herbs.

“Aren’t you excited?” Chloe asks. “Think about it, Eveny. You have the power to give yourself anything you want.”