House of Ivy & Sorrow

NINE





Kat and I sit at the kitchen table with heaping bowls of ice cream. It seems like an ice-cream kind of moment, something sweet to take her mind off the impending agony. That, and a good thing to fill awkward silences with, because all I really want to say is, “Are you flipping crazy? You know my grandma’s in there preparing to rip out your fingernail, right?”

But she won’t listen. She’s definitely the most stubborn of our group—maybe the most stubborn person I know, save Nana.

“So, your dad’s alive,” she says between bites.

“Yup.” Even if Kat’s allowed to know about it, I can’t seem to get my tongue moving. I still remember when Mom told me about secrets, about what could happen if my friends found out what I could do.

“They could get hurt, or they could hurt us,” she said. “There are a lot of people out there who think we’re bad, and they want to kill us.”

I knew what killing was at five. It was my job even then to help Mom preserve the animals we used as reagents. “Why do they think we’re bad?”

“Because we can use magic. They don’t understand the difference between controlling darkness and being dark. We Hemlocks will never be dark, Jojo, never.” She kissed my cheeks. “But still, you can’t tell a soul.”

Kat’s spoon clinks against her bowl. “I always thought he died, since you never talked about him, you know? And with what happened to your mom . . . it didn’t feel right to ask.”

“I found out he was alive on Friday. Haven’t technically met him yet.”

She pushes her bangs out of her eyes. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t talk to him—not with that thing in him.”

“What was it?”

“Not sure.” I gulp, the shadow’s eyes coming back. How I wish my gut would stop nagging me about it. “It was supposed to be a spying curse, but I think it was more. Or purging it triggered something else. We don’t know all the details, only that it might have to do with my mom’s murder.”

Kat’s spoon stops moving, and she looks me in the eye. “She was murdered?”

I nod.

“And now whoever did it is after you?”

“Probably.” I can’t say yes, even though I know how much that darkness wanted me.

She leans back. “That’s so evil, using your dad. How can you pretend you’re okay through all this? I’d be a total mess.”

I shrug. I’d never really thought much about it. The dark, lonely nights were part of my witch life, and it didn’t occur to me that I could bring the sadness over to my small corner of normal. Or maybe I didn’t want to. Hanging out with Gwen and Kat has always been a break from all the hard stuff. Why waste it moping?

A splash of cold hits my face, and I look up from my bowl. “You did not just throw ice cream at me.”

“Talk! You’re acting like I’m a stranger. It’s pissing me off.”

“Sorry.” I wipe the ice cream off. “It’s weird, okay? Nana has never done this. Never. It’s always secret, secret, secret. I can’t help feeling like something is wrong. I don’t get why she’d let you know.”

Kat purses her lips. “When I said I didn’t want my memory erased, she told me that I’d always be in danger of dying or being cursed or revealing your secret. I said I could handle it, and then you came in. After that, she said you needed me, and she started telling me about how magic works.”

I nearly choke. “She . . . what?”

“Is that weird?”

“Uh, yeah. Telling an outsider about magic is not done. Everything about this is strange. Not even my father knew Mom was a witch.” I rub my temples, since it feels like a hundred alarms are going off in my head. Nana is planning something so far outside normal witchcraft that I can’t guess.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

I shake my head. “Don’t be. I should be happy about this. No, I am! I’m just worried about the why.”

Because there’s always a payment, and something as good as having one of my best friends know about me must come at a heavy price. I don’t like that Kat’s life will hang on a flimsy thing like keeping our secret.

The ceiling lets out a ghastly moan, and my heart leaps so high it feels like it might burst out of my rib cage. “He’s awake.”

“I’m assuming you want to go alone,” Kat says.

I wince. “I probably should, though I’m kind of freaking out here.”

She smiles as she walks to the living room. “You’ll be fine. I’ll read a book or something.”

I head for the stairs, but I can’t take a breath big enough to calm down. My dad’s in there, and this time I’ll get to say everything I’ve wanted to since I realized who he was. The door creaks in warning of my presence, and he shoots up.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“I can’t see.” His eyes dart back and forth, straining hard against the blindness.

I take a few steps forward, and he tenses like he’s preparing for an attack. “It’ll go away, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take. That’s . . . the payment for removing the curse.”

His brow furrows. “Curse?”

“Yeah. Someone put a spying curse on you, because Carmina? She was a witch, and I’m a witch, too, being her daughter and all. You probably already guessed that. The daughter part. Not the witch thing; you had no idea about that. I mean, we’re really not that—”

He holds his hand up. “Whoa, slow down. So you’re Carmina’s daughter? How old are you . . . ?”

He stalls, clearly waiting for me to say my name. A lump forms in my throat, because the moment I say it he’ll know, and maybe he’ll freak out and run away. I want so badly for him to want me, even if I shouldn’t. “It’s Jo, Josephine, and I’m seventeen. Just barely, like a week ago.”

His face goes slack. “You’re my . . . my . . . ?”

“Daughter? Yeah. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t know who you were until you showed up either.”

He shakes his head. “Is that why she left? Did she think I’d be upset?”

“No, not at all. She didn’t want to leave you. Our kind . . . we don’t stay with our, uh, partners. It’s not safe for them, which you can see. Okay, you can’t see, but that’s kind of the point, right? The only reason any of this horrible stuff happened to you is because you knew her.”

“Loved her.” He puts his hand on his chest. “I was going to ask her to marry me, and then she just . . . disappeared. The police couldn’t find anything. All her records and pictures and possessions vanished. It was as if she never existed. My whole life I’ve wondered what happened to her, hoped to God that she was happy and safe, and she’s . . .”

His tears make my eyes water. “I miss her, too. Every day.”

He motions for me to come over, and I tentatively sit on the bed. Slowly, he holds his hand out. “May I . . . ?” I take it, surprised at how easy it is. For a second, it feels like we’re family. If Mom weren’t a witch, we would have been. He puts his other hand over mine. “I wish I’d known about you sooner.”

“Really? Even though I blinded you?”

It’s the first time I see his smile, and it’s mine. It’s strange to see it on him. I’d never really noticed the non-Hemlock aspects of myself, or at least I never thought about the fact that they belonged to someone else. “Sounds like it was necessary. I had a curse?”

“Yeah, about that . . .”

The door creaks open before I find the words, and Nana comes in like nothing is wrong. “Ah, Joseph, you’re up. Nice to meet you.”

His eyebrow arches. “Who are you?”

“Dorothea Hemlock, your dear Carmina’s mother.”

“Oh, I see. So Josephine lives with you, then.”

“Yes, indeed.” She claps her hands together. “Speaking of, I have to steal Jo from you for a little, and I wanted to ask if you needed anything. Some water? Pudding?”

I put my face in my hand, restraining a groan.

“Water would be great,”

She shakes her head. “Get him some chocolate pudding, too, dear. Chocolate fixes everything.”

“Even blindness?” he asks.

Nana lets out a cackle. “I see why Carmina loved you so much. Make sure to get plenty of rest. Your eyes will need it.”

After getting some food and water for my dad, I head to the apothecary, where Kat sits in front of a small, round table. On the table rests a pair of pliers, neatly placed in the center of a white doily.