Now, possessing Darcy's body, she had a weird mix of both. Her power seemed intact, if her effect on Esmeralda and Jenny's dad were any indication. At the same time, she had a huge store of past-life memories—jumbled together, not linear or organized at all, but they were there. The past-life memories gave her insight into her past relationships, and into her own power, and into the powers wielded by Esmeralda and Tommy.
And the horrific power wielded by Jenny.
Ashleigh found the diary under Darcy's bed, a pink journal decorated with kitten and puppy cartoons. It was full of Darcy's bulging handwriting.
She began to read. Darcy had seen Jenny stagger into the pond at Ashleigh's house. She'd been shocked to see Jenny alive and well at school.
From her past lives, Ashleigh knew what that was about. Seth, if he was really determined to come back, could sometimes heal his own dead body and return to life—if he was fast enough. And he'd healed Jenny's body, too, to restore her to life.
Opposites, when close to each other, had the effect of amplifying each other's power. That was why Seth had been able to come back, and why Jenny had been able to unleash hell on Fallen Oak.
There were other issues, too—something called “cross” powers, and “complementary” powers, a whole tangle of information that was jumbled inside Ashleigh's head. She would have to think long and deep to figure it out, if she needed to.
The main thing, though, was finding your opposite. Your opposite could be a powerful ally, or a dangerous enemy.
Ashleigh read on. Darcy described a conversation with a CDC doctor, to whom Darcy had tried to explain about Jenny.
The squeaky sound of Darcy's dad's wheelchair approached. After only a day of pretending to be Darcy, she had already learned to hate that sound.
Darcy's father arrived at the open door to the bedroom. She had to keep it open all the time, or Darcy's parents would knock and demand that she open it. The Metcalf household was a semi-fascist state.
“Darcy!” he shouted. It seemed easier for him to shout than to talk normally.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Your cousin Heywood just got promoted to assistant manager,” he said. “Over at the Taco Bell in Vernon Hill.”
“That's...great.” Ashleigh wasn't sure if she was supposed to be excited. Maybe this represented a huge step forward in life for Cousin Heywood.
“He says he can get you a job,” Darcy's dad continued. “You got to start working nights at the drive-through, and then work your way up. I bet you could make assistant manager in a couple years.”
“Um...can't it wait until after graduation?” Ashleigh asked.
“Jobs don't wait, Darcy!” he shouted.
“But I have finals coming up. I need to study.”
“I don't see why. You ain't going to college no more. You got to earn some money and take care of that baby.”
Ashleigh thought it over. She had no intention of working at Taco Bell, or anywhere else. That was Darcy's problem, not hers. Just like Darcy's pregnancy. Darcy's mother insisted she take prenatal vitamins, but Ashleigh secretly spat them out, because they made her feel sick.
“If I graduate with good grades,” Ashleigh said, “Maybe I can go to college later, when the baby's older—”
“Yeah,” Darcy's dad snorted. “And maybe Santa Claus gonna come down on a flying carpet and make you shit diamonds and gold.”
“Okay.” Ashleigh heard the wonderful sound of her beloved caramel Jeep rolling into the driveway. She dropped Darcy's diary into Darcy's big canvas purse to take with her. “Well, I gotta go.”
“Where you goin’?” he shouted as Ashleigh squeezed past him.
“Out!” Ashleigh hurried to the front door.
Outside, she climbed into the passenger seat of her Jeep. Tommy was driving, and Ashleigh gave him her biggest smile. He was nearly immune to the enchantment of her touch, but he mostly did what she wanted, anyway. They'd been married several times, in other lifetimes. Ashleigh had murdered him several times, too, but happily, he didn't remember any of it.
He was cute in this lifetime. She especially liked his eyes.
“Hi!” Ashleigh said. “Let's get the fuck out of here. I've always hated Darcy's family.”
“You got it.” He stomped the accelerator and peeled out as he left the driveway, leaving smoking rubber tire tracks behind him.
Darcy's father glared at them through the screen door as they roared away.
“Where's our pet necromancer?” Ashleigh asked him.
“She's watching TV back at your house.”
“Damn it, Tommy, you can't let her out of your sight like that. If she gets control of herself, she can knock me out of Darcy's body anytime she likes. And if she runs off—”