“Wow,” said Harvey severely. “Are all your birds made from souls? Are you aware actual birds exist?”
The Lady stopped smiling.
Harvey was shaking his head. “Will we even know how to fly if you turn us into birds? Or will we just roll around until we get the hang of it? What if someone steps on us?”
Deep grooves appeared on either side of the Lady’s mouth.
I began to grin. “He’s asking legitimate questions.”
“Harvey,” said Roz. “Can you stop pissing off the Lady of the Lake?”
“Why is magic like this,” muttered Harvey.
Eostre, radiant goddess of springtime and starlight, began to look testy. She said, voice cold as the dark stars live in: “This is the place where the mountain was leveled and the angel fell. No place on earth lies so close to hell as Greendale. When the dark paths come clear to you, glimpses of hell will open to your sight. You will see he who dwells in hell, and what awaits for you all. You are children who sleep sharing a pillow with devils. Every one of you is stained, and your leader is the heir of darkness. You come to me pleading for a chance in hell. Maybe you’ll get it. Maybe you’ll be sorry you did. Maybe you’ll all be dead within three days. Tomorrow, your quest begins. Whatever path you take, whatever love you betray, whatever lie you tell … be sure I see you.”
The Lady darted forward, not the movement of a woman but an animal, head thrust out as though she might bite.
Her silver ribbon fell from her lovely face, fluttering down to the surface of the lake. Where her eyes should be was a smooth stretch of clear skin, a terrible vacancy.
We recoiled, and she smiled. Her gleaming form slipped down into the water.
The lake and the clouds dwindled rapidly, as if someone had pulled the plug on magic. Only when the last drop of darkness dissolved in the sky did we relax.
“That was gross,” Harvey said faintly.
Theo let go of my hand and circled around to clap Harvey on the back. “Truer words were never spoken.”
Magic did get gross. I was used to it.
“That lady doesn’t need more birds,” Roz murmured. “She doesn’t seem like a responsible pet owner.”
“She’s not getting more birds,” I said. “We’ve got this. Right, guys?”
They all nodded, but then Harvey glanced at Roz and bit his lip. He let go of my hand and kept hold of hers.
“He turned away from the truth of you ,” murmured the blue-eyed bird on my shoulder. “He chose her instead. Do you ever wonder what hot looks they exchanged behind your back all these years, your boyfriend and your best friend? How much they wanted each other and secretly resented you? How much more do they resent you now, when you lead them into danger? ”
I leaped almost a foot in the air, casting a wild look around. Everybody’s eyes were fixed on their own shoulders. I didn’t dare study Harvey’s or Roz’s faces. Instead, I turned to Theo.
“Guys!” Theo said urgently. “Do you hear your birds talking, or am I having a poorly timed break with reality?”
His buzz cut was growing out. It seemed to bristle, as if Theo was a freaked-out cat.
I was the expert on magic. I had to stay calm. “It must be like when my familiar talks to me,” I said, in as reassuring a tone as I could. “Other people won’t be able to hear. The Lady said the birds could speak to our souls.”
“There’s a play about a quest and birds,” Roz said softly. “In the play, the kids search for the Bluebird of Happiness.”
“But we get the Bluebirds of Self-Doubt?” Theo swallowed. “Sounds like our luck.”
He seemed the most disturbed of all. I wondered what his birds had said to him.
“Come on,” Roz said. “We should get to school.”
“Can’t believe we have to go on death-defying quests and worry about missing first period,” Harvey muttered. “The universe should write us a note.”
We headed toward Baxter High. Billy Marlin met us at the bottom of the school steps.
“Hey, uh, Theo.”
Theo cast him a harried glance. “Hey, Billy. I’m at peace with the fact you exist. That’s as good as you’re getting from me today.”
Billy clearly didn’t see the silver birds on our shoulders, which was a huge relief. We were still the weirdos of Baxter High, but not more notably weird than any other day.
* * *
After school, the Fright Club walked to my house. As soon as Harvey walked through the door, the little-girl ghost materialized in front of him. Harvey almost tripped over her.
“You can just walk through her,” I advised.
“I can’t. It’s rude. Hey,” Harvey said softly to the ghost. “Can I try something?”
He stooped and picked Lavinia up. Over Harvey’s shoulder, her face was small and pale as a cameo with the eyes bored out, but she was smiling.
I wondered how it felt, taking the dead in your arms.
Aunt Hilda beamed when she saw us. “Do you want to stay for dinner, children?”
Roz and Theo murmured unconvincing excuses.
“Happy April Fools’ Day, anyway,” said Aunt Hilda. “You know, for witches the first of April means the beginning of an uncertain time. Any witch who makes a big decision on April Fools’ Day is a great fool who has made a great mistake.”
My friends stared at one another.
“Sometimes I think you and Aunt Zelda could’ve told me more about witchcraft, growing up!” I said in a strangled voice.
Aunt Hilda shrugged airily. “We didn’t want you to disturb the mortals.”
“Yeah,” said Harvey. “Be a shame if we were disturbed.”
Roz seemed worried, but she still kissed Harvey goodbye when she went home for dinner.
“I wish you didn’t have to go first,” he murmured to her.
“I’ll be all right,” Roz promised, but Harvey stood at the door watching her and Theo walk away into the woods, his face creased with concern.
Tomorrow, the quest would begin, and it was Roz’s turn first. Roz was safe for tonight. Tomorrow was another story.
“Who’s that girl?” Lavinia’s voice was grating stones. “Do you like her specially?”
“That’s Rosalind,” Harvey told the ghost proudly. “I love her.”
Sometimes I did wonder whether Harvey ever liked Roz when we were together.
What did it matter? Roz was his favorite person in the world now. She’d never rained horrors down upon him. She healed him after I hurt him. She was honest. Harvey probably wondered what he’d ever seen in me.
Oh, Nick , I thought with despair. If I could see Nick, I’d feel better. He’d made me feel better when the pain of breaking up with Harvey was brand-new. Even saying Nick’s name used to make me smile.
The memory of Nick couldn’t console me now. Whenever I thought of him, I was miserable imagining what he might be suffering.
“Because of you,” murmured the birds on my shoulders, a silver Greek chorus.
I found my mind turning in desperation to my oldest and sweetest comfort, the brightest memories that meant home.
Running past the yellow sign and down the curving path to my house and my cousin. Ambrose would smile his wide, wild smile at the sight of me. I recalled a time I’d fallen and gotten hurt in the playground. Aunt Hilda healed me on the way home, but I was shaken. I’d tumbled through the front door and launched myself at my cousin, arms wrapping tight around his waist.