Spellcaster (Spellcaster #1) (38 page)

Well, there were plenty of reasons to celebrate.

Verlaine was enjoying being the center of attention for once. “Let’s see. We have a Tex-Mex omelet, some pancakes that look like—Mickey Mouse?”

“Those were me,” Nadia hastened to add.

“—and this.” Verlaine held up a small brilliantly painted skull, not unlike the cheery skeletons that played guitar and danced on the walls of La Catrina. “What is this, a souvenir?”

Mateo said, “Lick it.”

After a moment, Verlaine gave Mateo a look. “You’re lucky I trust you.” Then she held it to her mouth, gave it an experimental taste, and brightened. “Oh, it’s sugar!”

“You guys don’t know much about the Day of the Dead, do you?” Mateo said. He took his place on the bed with them, on the other side of Verlaine. That meant that he and Nadia weren’t next to each other—and right now even a few minutes away from Mateo felt like too long—but Nadia knew as well as he did that what mattered most was making Verlaine feel safe and loved. Though that strange emotional distance remained, suggesting that whatever Elizabeth had done to Verlaine remained as powerful as ever, Nadia remembered how she should feel about Verlaine, and she was going to hold true to it. Mateo continued, “The Day of the Dead is when you’re supposed to go to the cemetery and visit your dead relatives.”

“Lilies, black, yada yada,” Verlaine said.

But Mateo shook his head. “No. It’s a cheerful day. A great day. You don’t go there to cry; you go there to celebrate. To remind yourself what you loved about the people you lost, and have fun with them like you used to when they were alive. People bring chocolate and
pan de los muertos
and sugar skulls like this one.”

Nadia thought about it. “So all the happy skeletons on the wall of your dad’s restaurant—”

“Exactly.” Mateo grinned. “In Spanish,
la catrina
means ‘the rich woman.’ I think the name was originally to kind of make fun of Grandma. But the skeleton of a rich woman with flowers in what ought to be her hair—that’s one of the figures people celebrate on the Day of the Dead. Like all the other ‘happy skeletons.’ They’re reminders that we all die, but even death isn’t the end. Not if people remember you, and remember the love you had while you were still here.”

“I still think it’s kinda morbid,” Verlaine said, but she nibbled on the edge of the sugar skull anyway.

Seize the moment
, Nadia reminded herself.
Better to have loved and lost. At least you can remember
. Even remembering Mom didn’t hurt as much any longer.

And, as she looked across at Mateo—grinning at her over Verlaine’s head—Nadia knew the only way you ended up with any love to remember was by daring to love right now.

She didn’t intend to waste any more time.

Smiling brilliantly, Nadia said, “I think it’s beautiful.”

CLAUDIA GRAY
is the pseudonym of New Orleans–based writer Amy Vincent, the author of the
New York Times
bestselling Evernight series. She has worked as a lawyer, a journalist, a disc jockey, and an extremely poor waitress. Her grandparents’ copy of
MYSTERIES OF THE UNEXPLAINED
is probably the genesis of her fascination with most things mysterious and/or inexplicable. Visit her online at www.claudiagray.com.

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Also by Claudia Gray

EVERNIGHT

STARGAZER

HOURGLASS

AFTERLIFE

BALTHAZAR

FATEFUL

Cover photo © 2013 by Michael Frost

Lettering & cover design by Aurora Parlagreco based on a concept by Angela Navarra

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Spellcaster

Copyright © 2013 by Amy Vincent

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gray, Claudia.

    Spellcaster / Claudia Gray. — 1st ed.

        p.     cm.

Summary: “Descended from witches, high school senior Nadia can tell as soon as her family moves to Captive’s Sound that the town is under a dark and powerful spell. Then she meets Mateo, the teenage local whose cursed dreams predict the future, and they must work together to prevent an impending disaster that threatens the entire town” — Provided by publisher.

     
ISBN
978-0-06-196120-5 (trade) —
ISBN
978-0-06-226438-1 (int’l ed.)

EPub Edition © JANUARY 2013 ISBN: 9780062201300

[1. Witches—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Blessing and cursing—Fiction. 4. High schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction. 6. Family life—Rhode Island—Fiction. 7. Rhode Island—Fiction. 8. Horror stories.] I. Title.

[Fic]—dc23

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First Edition