The Dolls(75)

Just as the driver’s side wheels of the truck begin to lift off the ground, and I can feel us starting to flip, I’m hit with a wave of calm and clarity. I can save us.

I touch my Stone of Carrefour and say, “Lemon and wormwood.” I don’t even have to talk to Eloi Oke or think of what I want to ask the spirits, because every cell in my body knows what it wants: to live through this accident.

And then, as suddenly as the car started to careen out of control, it slams back to the ground and skids to a halt with the passenger door—my door—mere inches away from a huge oak tree. Another few feet and I would have been crushed.

We’re silent for a moment as the car’s engine hisses and dies. My breath comes in ragged gasps.

“Eveny,” Drew says, turning to me with a horrified expression on his face. “I don’t know what happened. I—I could have killed you.”

“But you didn’t,” I reassure him in a shaky voice.

We scramble out of the truck. Drew’s hands are trembling as he grabs his phone and calls 911. I hear him tell the police officer that he’s had an accident. “Are you hurt?” he asks me, covering the mouthpiece with his hand.

I do a quick once-over and am astonished to realize that aside from my rapidly thudding heart, I’m physically fine. “No,” I tell him. “Are you?”

He shakes his head and reports to the officer that we’re both okay. He hangs up after explaining where we are. I watch as he sinks to the ground and puts his head in his hands.

“How did you survive that?” he asks in a hoarse voice.

“I don’t know,” I whisper. But against my chest, my Stone of Carrefour is burning. Lemons for protection and wormwood to prevent car accidents, I think, sending a silent thank-you up to my mother for having the foresight to include both of those plants in her herb journal. “Mesi, zanzet,” I add.

“What did you say?” Drew asks, but I just shake my head.

As we wait for the police to arrive, I see a flash of something in the cemetery, and for a second, I’m sure it’s Caleb, out for his nightly run. But the figure doesn’t stop, and a moment later, I have the strange feeling that we’re being watched.





UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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24


The next day, the buzz around school is all about my accident with Drew. Apparently, his truck is still stuck in the cemetery, and lots of people saw the wreckage on their way to school today. Everyone keeps telling me they can’t believe I walked away unscathed.

As for the Dolls, they’re all quiet and on edge, which I suspect is because tonight’s ceremony to disempower the killer inside our gates is a big deal. Even lunch in the Hickories is subdued and mostly silent. It’s only the chatter of Max, Drew, and Liv, all of whom have joined us on the cashmere blanket again, that breaks up the monotony. Caleb glares openly at Drew and entirely ignores me all through lunch.

On the way out of American history, Caleb catches up with me and puts a hand on my arm. “I’m really glad you’re okay,” he says, and the depth of concern in his eyes holds me captive until he turns and hurries away.

After school, I tell Aunt Bea that I’m working on a school project with Liv and spending the night at her place. I’m expecting her to be suspicious, but she’s too shaken up by the accident to guess that I’m lying.

“Eveny, what if someone was trying to kill you?” she asks. “What if someone saw you arrive with Drew and cut the steering fluid line or damaged the brakes of his truck or something?”

“Relax,” I tell her firmly. “It’s just an old pickup truck. Nothing sinister.”

I’m not sure I believe my own words, but I don’t need Aunt Bea freaking out on top of everything else. She’ll never allow me to leave the house tonight if she thinks I’m in danger. “Besides,” I add, “I’m fine. Drew’s fine.”

“Because of a stroke of good luck,” she says.

“No, because of zandara,” I reply. “I used my Stone of Carrefour.”

“Well, it sure didn’t take you any time to become an expert, did it?” she asks. Without another word, she strides out the front door, slamming it behind her. A moment later, I hear her car’s engine rumble to life.

I’m still thinking about Aunt Bea’s reaction when I head down our driveway just after eleven. I arrive at Peregrine’s mansion twenty minutes later, wearing a flowing, gauzy emerald dress of my mother’s that I found buried in the back of my closet. I feel beautiful in it, and I hope it will make Caleb see me that way too.