The Dolls (31 page)

I feel a surge of annoyance in defense of my aunt. “Maybe she doesn’t feel like it’s her duty to fight your battles.”

Peregrine’s mother looks at me. “Honey, this is your battle as much as it is ours. And she’s your blood. You’d think she’d want to help you.”

Chloe’s mother cuts in. “Or perhaps she just knows things are in your hands now and there’s nothing more she can do.”

I bite my tongue and resist the urge to tell them that maybe if they and their daughters had practiced even a little self-control, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Instead I kiss both of them on their cheeks, just in case. When no lipstick mark shows up, I excuse myself and hurry away.

I spend the next hour greeting everyone with cheek kisses and reapplying my lip gloss every few minutes. I’m sure I look like a crazy person, and I’m beginning to wonder if maybe I am. Maybe it’s madness to have put my faith in an old tube of gloss, but I know Boniface cares as much about the fate of this town as I do, and that has to mean something. Plus, I trust my mom. If she believed this would work, then I do too.

It’s not until nine o’clock that it occurs to me for the first time that the traitor might not even be here, rendering the whole issue of the charmed gloss moot.

“I love that you’re finally loosening up tonight and kissing everyone. It’s very sexy.” Pascal interrupts my thought process by sidling up behind me and putting a hand on my waist. I turn to find him leering at me. “If you’re looking for someone to make out with, look no further.” He puckers up as I roll my eyes.

“I’m here with Caleb,” I say.

“Who, might I point out, is nowhere to be found,” he replies.

“He went to the bathroom ten seconds ago. He’ll be right back.”

“And in the meantime, if you want to make out with me . . . ,” Pascal says.

I grit my teeth and dive in to kiss him on the cheek, which seems to shock him. I’m relieved when I don’t see any red mark develop.

“Seriously, Eveny, if you’re into it, we could slip outside for a few minutes,” Pascal says, his eyes darting around like pinballs.

“Pascal,” I say calmly, “I wouldn’t slip outside with you if you were the last guy on earth.”

“That’s just because you haven’t had any of this body yet,” he says, gesturing proudly to himself.

“That must be it.” I turn to walk away before he has a chance to say anything else. My shoulders sag in relief as I see Caleb coming toward me from across the dance floor.

“How you doing?” he asks, his forehead creased with concern. He puts his right hand gently on the small of my back, and for a moment, it feels like everything is okay. Then, he quickly pulls away like he’s done something wrong.

“I’m fine,” I say, looking at the floor. “Just confused.”

Caleb clears his throat. “About me?”

“About everything.”

“I’m right here,” he says after a minute.

“I know.”

Caleb stays protectively by my side all evening. To anyone who doesn’t know us, who doesn’t understand what’s happening, I’m sure we look like the perfect couple. He keeps a hand gently on my waist or my back all night; he dances with me to the slow songs; he even pushes my hair out of my face when it tumbles over my shoulders.

He’s so close, so
mine
. But none of it’s real.

This year’s Carrefour Mardi Gras king and queen are supposed to be crowned at ten, and just a few minutes before that, I ask Caleb if he’ll step outside with me for a minute.

He hesitates. “Sure.”

We duck out a side door, and as we do, I catch Liv’s eye. She’s slow dancing with Drew, her head resting on his shoulder. She waves, and I force a smile back. Drew turns to look at me too. Liv says something to him, and he gives me a thumbs-up. I’m sure they both think we’re heading into the alley to make out.

“Before you say anything, I need to tell you how sorry I am,” Caleb says once the door has shut behind us and we’re alone. “I know I should have told you everything sooner. But I was afraid you wouldn’t understand. I guess selfishly, I didn’t want anything to change between us. . . .”

“I understand perfectly, Caleb,” I say. “I just hope you can forgive me too.”

His face clouds. “Forgive you for what?”

Instead of answering, I place my right hand on his cheek. It’s warm, and the stubble on his jaw tickles my hand. I look at him for a moment, then I touch the Stone of Carrefour hanging from my neck and ask Eloi Oke to open the gate.

“Lemon balm to release you, saltpeter to change your fate, rue to reverse a charm,” I say quickly, before he has a chance to stop me. “Spirits, please grant the Shaw family a return of their free will.”

“Eveny, what are you—” Caleb begins to say.

But I cut him off by continuing with the brief incantation Chloe taught me. “
M’lage ou. M’lage ou. M’lage ou
,” I say quickly, the Creole version of
I release you.

There’s a brief swirling wind in the alley, and then everything goes still.

Caleb pulls away. “What did you just do, Eveny?”

“I let you go,” I tell him. “Officially. So you’re not obligated to protect me anymore. You and your family have your life back. And if I die, you still live.”

His eyes get even bigger. “Eveny, no, you don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“But you just broke the bond between us! That means I won’t know where you are if you’re in trouble and you need me!”

I take a deep breath. “I know that. So you’re free now. Get on with your life.”

“Eveny!” he begins again, but I shake my head.

“It’s all taken care of,” I say quickly. “Chloe told you about the lip gloss, right? We’ll find the killer tonight, and then you’ll have nothing to worry about anymore.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Caleb asks. “And what about the future? The threat to you won’t end tonight.”

“But your responsibility to me is over,” I say firmly. Then I steel myself for the lie I’m about to tell. “I don’t need you anymore, Caleb.”

He begins to protest, but I don’t stay to listen.

I run back inside and stand in the doorway for a moment, expecting him to come after me. Although I fully intend to push him away if he does, I’m still disappointed when the door behind me doesn’t open at all.

But there’s no time to think about it, because they’re announcing this year’s Mardi Gras king and queen, and the crowd is going wild. Pascal is already on stage, wearing a crown and a sash that says
KING OF CARREFOUR
. I’m not surprised; apparently he won last year too, and if I were a betting woman, I’d say that he probably asked the spirits for some favors during a possession ceremony.

“And now, it’s time to announce this year’s Mardi Gras queen!” says the announcer, a silver-haired, faux-tanned man in a tux. Someone hands him an envelope, and as he opens it, his expression changes. He looks back at the crowd and says, “Well, this is unusual! For the first time in the history of this town’s Mardi Gras Ball, we have a dead tie for queen. We’ve split the winner’s bouquet in half, but we only have one crown and one sash, though, ladies, so you’ll have to share!”

The crowd laughs lightly and then quiets down again in anticipation.

“This year’s first Mardi Gras queen should be no surprise to any of you, since she was last year’s queen too,” the man says in his booming voice. “Let’s welcome Peregrine Marceau!”

The crowd erupts in applause as Peregrine glides toward the stage in a slinky black dress and red-soled Christian Louboutin heels. She accepts the small cluster of roses handed to her, as well as a kiss on the cheek from the host.

“So, queen number one, would you prefer the sash or the crown?” The host holds up a sparkly tiara in one hand and a pretty purple sash in the other.

“The crown,” Peregrine coos into the microphone without missing a beat. “I’ve brought my own sash.”

The crowd gasps as Chloe appears at the foot of the stage and hands over Audowido. He wraps himself around Peregrine and hisses at the audience while the host nervously holds out her crown. She laughs and puts it on as Audowido slithers around her shoulders.

“And now, for the announcement of the second queen,” the host says, inching away from Peregrine. I glance at Chloe, because who else could it be? I know the voting is fixed by the sosyete. She’s lingering near the front of the stage, smiling up at the host.

“Drumroll, please!” the host says, and the drummer in the small orchestra acquiesces with a slow snare roll. “Tonight’s second queen is . . . Eveny Cheval!”

For a moment, I’m sure I’ve heard him wrong, but when I look up at Peregrine, she’s smiling at me knowingly, and I realize this is her version of making peace with me. She’s somehow fixed it so that I get to be her co-queen, which she’s expecting will mean a lot more to me than it actually does. As applause echoes around the room, Margaux appears from somewhere behind me and gives me a not-so-gentle shove toward the stage. “What are you waiting for?” she hisses. “Go on!”

My feet carry me through the cheering crowd toward the stage. The announcer squints at me as I walk up. “Are you Eveny Cheval?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say, glancing at Peregrine, who looks triumphant, as if this moment is the answer to all our problems.

The announcer offers his hand to help me on stage, and after ascertaining that I don’t have a reptile concealed anywhere on me, he drops the sash over my head and hands me a bouquet of roses before retreating. Peregrine squeezes my hand and leans toward my ear. I expect her to say something sarcastic, but instead, she whispers, “If I’ve got to share this with anyone, it might as well be you.”

I look at her in surprise just as Pascal slides between us. “Looks like we’re a threesome tonight, ladies,” he says in a Barry White voice as he drapes his arms around our waists.

“You’re truly disgusting,” Peregrine says cheerfully, wriggling out of his grip. I do the same, smacking his roving hand away.

“Well, folks,” the host cuts back in. “Thanks for coming tonight. Please get home safely!”

The band launches into a slow version of “New York, New York,” which makes me homesick, and above us, the houselights come on. “It’s only ten thirty,” I say, puzzled.

Peregrine shakes her head at me. “The ball always ends early so that the controlling sosyete has plenty of time to make it to New Orleans. The rest of the town just thinks it’s because the Main Street district has an eleven o’clock noise ordinance curfew.

“Meet us outside in ten minutes,” Peregrine adds before disappearing into the crowd.

I’m escorted off stage, and I head over to find Liv, who’s been dancing with Drew all night. She’s smiling in disbelief as I approach.

“Congratulations, girl!” she exclaims.

She hugs me, and I hug tightly back. “Thanks,” I say, a little embarrassed. “It’s no big deal.”

“I beg to differ,” she says. “Dude, you just got crowned queen of the biggest ball of the year!”

“Co-queen,” I say.

“A mere technicality,” she replies.

I change the subject. “So where’d Drew go? I wanted to say good-bye to him too.”

“He just went to the bathroom. He’ll be right back. Where’s Caleb?”

I frown. “I don’t know.”

“Did you two have a fight?”

“Something like that,” I mumble.

“Do you need a ride home?”

“Peregrine and Chloe can drive me,” I promise. “But enough about me. So has Drew kissed you yet?”

She looks so excited that I can’t help but smile as she exclaims, “Yes! Totally! And Eveny, he is
such
a good kisser! I think there’s really a future in this.”

I pull her into a fierce hug. “I’m so happy for you,” I murmur. I hold on just a moment longer than I have to, because who knows what will happen tonight? “Thanks for being my friend,” I say.

She pulls away and looks at me with concern. “What’s wrong, Eveny?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

I turn to walk away and collide with Arelia, who’s hurrying in the opposite direction. “What, now that you’ve been voted the queen of the ball, you’re too good to watch where you’re going?” she demands.

I realize that she looks like she’s been crying. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “Are you okay?”

“What do you care?” she asks, sniffling.

That’s when I realize that she’s one of the few people at the ball I haven’t kissed yet. Knowing she’ll think I’m completely nuts since I’ve already seen and ignored her several times tonight, I dive in and give her a quick peck on the cheek. “What the hell?” she demands, her hand flying to her face like I’ve burned her.

But I’m too frozen to reply. That’s because a raspberry red mark has bloomed on her cheek, exactly where my lips met her skin.

“It’s you,” I breathe.

She narrows her eyes. “
What’s
me?”

“You’re the one who killed Glory,” I say, my voice hollow with disbelief.

Her gaze slides away from me. “Oh, honestly, Eveny, haven’t we been through this already? Just because Glory mentioned my name doesn’t mean anything.”

“No,” I say. “But the red stain on your cheek does. You’ve been lying about what happened that night.”

She reaches up and touches her face in confusion just as I spot Caleb across the room. “Caleb!” I cry, gesturing wildly. He looks confused, but he hurries over.

“You okay?” he asks.

“It was Arelia,” I tell him tersely.

He looks at her, and she winds her finger in a circle around her ear to indicate that I’m crazy. “What are you talking about, Eveny?” he asks.

“The red mark from my lip gloss,” is all I need to say to make him understand.

“She’s obviously losing her mind,” Arelia begins to protest.

But Caleb interrupts her, his eyes blazing. “You’re absolutely sure?” he asks me.

“Positive,” I say.

“Okay, I’ll take care of it,” he says, already grabbing her arm. She’s struggling and trying to tell us something, but we both ignore her. The red mark speaks for itself. “Hurry. Go join the others and explain. I’ll be along as soon as I can,” he says.

I hesitate. “Will you be okay?”

“I’m fine, Eveny. Just go. Tell Peregrine and Chloe what’s going on.”

I pause and look Arelia in the eye. “I don’t know what your game is, or what you hoped to accomplish here,” I say. “But it’s over. You’re done.”