Finally, I opened my hand to reveal a doll-sized silver comb.
There was a moment’s hesitation, during which I wondered if Creep was deciding whether to add the comb to her mysterious attic collection of crap or gouge my eyes out with it for blatantly attempting to bribe her.
Then, to my immense relief, thepitter-patterof tiny feet sounded behind me. I caught a flash of pale porcelain, and the bow and comb vanished from my outstretched hands.
I let out a breath.
Jen gotBooDini the Friendly Ghost.
I got a Victorian murder doll, and I was one hot-headed comment away from waking up to my lips sewn shut and the wordsGET OUTfinger-painted in blood above my bed.
But the first part of the convince-Creep-to-come-with-me plan had gone well, and she’d even left the front door open for me. Heels dragging, I followed Creep into the house and only made it as far as the living room when I stopped dead in my tracks.
Sitting on my couch, as if she owned the place, was Priscilla-fucking-Raisin.
If I weren’t trying to convince Creep to follow me to our temporary new home tomorrow—and avoid spending a month living in a tent—I absolutely would’ve let the witchfire crackling in my palm fly.
“Aren’t you too old to be playing with dolls?” Priscilla said, barely glancing up as she picked at her nails.
“What are you doing in my house, Priscilla?” I asked through gritted teeth.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Creep’s glassy gaze peeking out from between the spindles of the staircase. And as the founder of the We-Love-Priscilla fan club, Creep’s likelihood of following me tomorrow if I didn’t control my temper and I dragged Priscilla out by her hair would drop to zero.
“I heard you were planning on leaving the coven for a while,” Priscilla said breezily. “I can keep an eye on your house if you like.”
My teeth clenched so hard I could’ve sworn I heard one crack.
She was just as bad as her mom, who had attempted to steal my aunt and uncle’s house the first time they’d gone on vacation—but BooDini had simply gone silent, refusing to do any magic whatsoever. The moment Priscilla and her mom stepped outside, it magicked its way over to Headless Hollow to be with its family.
With Herculean effort, I forced a smile.
“Oh, that’s so lovely of you to offer, Pris. But asawesomeas that would be, Creep’s coming with me. We’ve got asuper funtrip planned.”
I shot a glance toward the staircase, where Creep sat with her head tilted in curiosity.
“There’ll be lots of dress-up... and uh...” My mind scrambled for something creepy dolls might like. “Tea parties. It’ll be a great bonding experience.”
Creep’s eyes fluttered wide. She gave a tiny, enthusiastic fist pump before scampering up the stairs and disappearing into her attic.
Great. So, on top of perfecting my magic candy, I was going to spend the next month hosting haunted tea parties.
Yippee.
When I turned back to Priscilla, her eyes had narrowed. Yeah—she’d been hoping I’d snap so the house wouldn’t follow me and she could swoop in and try to steal it, just like her mother had.
I flashed her a sickly sweet smile.
“Well, unless you have anything else deeply valuable to say, Priscilla, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
She flushed the color of hellfire and stormed past me, shoulder checking me as she yanked the door open and stalked off down the street. I lingered in the doorway, satisfaction curling in my chest as I watched her disappear around the corner.
“Hey, Caitlyn!” a voice boomed from my left.
I turned to see a panting Jake—my friend Lex’s younger brother and the only warlock in the coven—jogging up to me, his cheeks flushed with exertion.
“Was that Priscilla who just left your house?”
I nodded, biting my tongue to keep from unloading every curse word I knew. After a beat, I managed, “Yeah. It was.”
