Bewitched (Betwixt & Between #2) - Darynda Jones Page 0,47

thing, but if the girl’s message was radiating light like a glow stick made of sunlight, something else had to be going on. I thought about enlisting Annette’s help, but it was past eleven. I didn’t want to bug her if I didn’t need to.

I made up my mind. I’d just drive by. See if anything felt amiss.

After changing into warmer clothes, I hurried to the front door. The front door that was no longer visible. Percy had covered every inch of it in vines and dark roses and razor-sharp thorns that could easily open a vein.

“Percy.” I put my hands on my hips. “I’ll be safe. I’m just going to drive by and get a feel for what’s up.”

He still didn’t budge.

“Look.” I held up my phone. “Help is just a phone call away.”

The vines shrank back slowly, and I stepped to the door. “Thank you.”

But when I put my hand on the knob, he wrapped a vine around my wrist. At first, I thought he was going to lock me there, but then the vine broke off. I looked down at the tiny delicate buds that decorated it, black with a deep crimson underlay, and wondered if he were still in control of the cutting.

I got my answer when the vine tightened softly around my wrist then relaxed. I smiled up at him as though he’d just given me a diamond bracelet, only this was so very much better. Diamonds had nothing on enchanted roses.

I ducked out before he changed his mind and climbed into the bug, my vintage mint green Volkswagen Beetle. She started up on the first try, Goddess bless her.

Thanks to the wonders of the modern smartphone, I easily found the address. It sat on a quaint side street that had close neighbors on either side. An old blue Taurus sat in the driveway along with a yellow panel van. Apparently, Mr. Thomas owned a janitorial service.

The house had white siding with dark trim, the color I couldn’t quite make out, both in bad need of a fresh coat.

But that wasn’t what captured my attention. It was a feeling, a niggling at the back of my neck, that kept me from stopping in front of the house. I cruised down the block and parked in front of a small colonial.

“Ready?” I asked the vine on my wrist. It tightened again, and I wondered just how much of the vine was Percy. Like, could he be two places at once? Could a part of his ghostliness, his essence, break off and still be conscious? And how was even a part of him able to leave the house? I thought the salt kept him locked inside.

Not that any of that mattered at the moment. I had a glowing message to investigate.

Exiting the bug, I kept my head down and crept toward the house until I realized how creepy and suspicious I must look, so I straightened and walked like a normal human bean.

Something told me not to knock on the front door. It was probably the sign that read, Do not knock on this fucking door.

Okay, then. How did they feel about light rapping?

At least I knew what kind of person, or people, I was dealing with. I couldn’t imagine Clara’s mother putting the sign there, but who knew? I would totally put that sign on Percy’s door if I thought it wouldn’t get me kicked out of the neighborhood. Well, faster than I was getting kicked out anyway.

I used the flashlight on my phone and walked around the house, curious if I would feel anything or see anything or hear anything. Who the hell knew how these magics worked? Not me. That’s who.

The scent of rain and fireplaces filled the air. W and wet leaves insulated my footsteps, but the sound still seemed too loud no matter how softly I tried to walk.

Sure enough, when I got to the back of the house, I felt something. Two somethings, actually. A darkness and a pull. The pull was one of innocence and fear, and I knew instantly something was very, very wrong.

“Any thoughts?” I asked Percy.

In a movement full of grace and beauty, the tip of the vine formed a question mark against the paleness of my skin.

“This is officially the coolest bracelet I’ve ever owned.”

He squeezed again.

I kept walking until the pull grew stronger. So strong, in fact, it felt like I’d been ensnared in the Death Star’s tractor beam. But the hot spot, the area