The Fairytale Curse (Magic's Return Book 1) Read online

  I ran into one of Ashleigh’s friends.

  “Have you seen CJ?” I had to shout it three times before she could hear me, but then she shook her head.

  I covered the whole ground floor. There was white carpet in the formal lounge room. Well, it had started out white. I shuddered at the state it was in. Josh Johnson’s parents were not going to be happy with their little boy when they got back from Europe.

  At the bottom of the stairs I hesitated. Maybe I should go back outside and check? We could have missed each other in the crowds. It didn’t feel right to go poking around people’s bedrooms.

  But the bathrooms would be up there. I shrugged and started up the grand curving stairs, feeling like an extra from Gone with the Wind. These people had serious money.

  There were party-goers sitting on the stairs too. I had to step over them on the way. At the top the sound of girlish laughter led me down the hallway to the master suite, where a group of girls from my English class were primping in front of an outsize mirror in what was probably known as the “powder room” or something posh like that. Or maybe “the room for people who really like staring at themselves”. There were mirrors on every wall.

  “Have you guys seen CJ?” I asked.

  “Sorry.”

  I went the other way, and found the queue for the main bathroom.

  “Anyone seen CJ?” I asked. “Or Ashleigh Redmond?”

  “Ashleigh just went downstairs,” said one girl. “She was looking for CJ too.”

  Damn. Time to try the bedrooms.

  The first door I came to was locked. I pounded on the door, yelling to be heard above the noise from downstairs.

  “CJ! Are you in there?”

  “Get lost!” yelled a girl’s voice. Not CJ’s. I moved on.

  The second door I tried was not locked, but definitely should have been. I caught a glimpse of naked bodies before I slammed the door shut.

  “Sorry!”

  I could feel heat rising in my face. Please let me find CJ soon.

  I opened the next door more cautiously, but the people inside were fully clothed—and one of them was CJ. Unfortunately the other was Josh Johnson, and this was evidently his bedroom. Though why any boy his age needed a king-sized bed, I didn’t know. And now he was lounging on it with my drunk sister. Colour me unimpressed.

  I shut the door behind me and folded my arms over my chest. “Time to go home, CJ.”

  “Can’t go now, Vi. Josh’s got a special drink for me.”

  Josh held up a bottle. “Absinthe. The green fairy. Fancy some?”

  “That’s the one with crushed beetles or something equally gross. The one that kills people.”

  He poured a small glass and held it out to CJ. “Not any more. That was years ago.”

  Something about him seemed off. Maybe he was drunker than he looked. An odd smell lingered in the room—not marijuana, something sweeter. It reminded me of making toffee as a kid and overcooking it until it burnt and stuck to the pan. Could they have been smoking something?

  I didn’t like the avid way he watched as CJ tipped her head back and downed the glass in one go. His eyes shone like a cat’s in the dim room. Somehow he seemed more adult, more dangerous now than he had outside.

  “Whoa!” She swallowed a cough and shook her head. “That’s got a real kick to it.”

  I advanced on the bed. “Okay, now you’ve had your drink, let’s go.”

  “So soon?” She lay back against Josh and pouted. Her pupils were huge. There was hardly any blue left in her eyes. “The party’s just getting started.”

  “That’s right, gorgeous,” said Josh. “And now that you’ve drunk up like a good girl, I’m going to give you a present.”

  I bristled. “No offence, but she doesn’t want anything you’ve got.”

  He smiled, idly stroking CJ’s bare shoulder. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “Saying ‘no offence’ doesn’t stop an insult from being offensive, you know.”

  I smiled back, poisonously sweet. “I know.”

  “I’m happy to give you a present too. In fact, I know just the thing.”

  I pretended to consider. “Gosh, let me think … no.”

  CJ made impatient shooing motions at me. “Go away, Vi. You’re spoiling the fun.”

  “Yes, go away, Vi, there’s a good girl.”

  His tone was lazy, but there was a dangerous glitter in his eye. My opinion of him, never flattering, hit rock bottom. He’d invited a girl he hardly knew, who was obviously drunk, into his bedroom and now he was filling her with more alcohol. What a douche. He looked so smug, with CJ’s woozy head pillowed on his shoulder, stretched out on his bed like king of the heap. As if he just had to snap his fingers and everything he wanted would fall into his lap. As if I was powerless to stop him.

  Leave my sister alone with this creep? I don’t think so.

  I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo. “Smile!”

  CJ sat up. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking a picture to send to Mum. I’m sure she’s still awake. She’d love to see what her darling little Crystal Jane gets up to when she’s away.”

  “Vi!”

  I’ve never seen anyone get off a bed so fast. She made a drunken lunge for the phone, but I danced away, back to the door.

  “You wouldn’t!”

  I grinned. “Actually, I think I would.”

  I took off down the hall and back down the staircase, CJ in hot pursuit. Well, she tried hot pursuit, but it wasn’t up to her usual standards. For one thing, she was wearing heels and I was barefoot. For another, and more importantly, I was stone cold sober and she—well, let’s just say she was not in a good way. I looked back as I got to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see her trip over the leg of someone sitting on a step and nearly go arse over apex. She managed to catch herself, but it wasn’t dignified. She sprawled against the bannister, legs every which way. The onlookers thought it was the funniest thing they’d seen all night.

  That’s right, you jerks, laugh at the poor drunk girl. I bet you’d think it was hilarious if she fell and broke her neck.

  I waited for her to limp her way to my side. She winced every time she put her weight on her right foot.

  “What the hell is your problem? You’ve ruined everything!”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. That guy was using you, CJ.” I was glad to be out of there. That nasty little grin of his had been weirding me out.

  “Don’t send that text.” She made a drunken grab for my phone.

  “As if I would. Where are you hurt?”

  “My ankle.”

  “Okay. Let’s get out of here. Lean on me.”

  The fact that she didn’t argue told me she was hurt worse than she was letting on. Her anger seemed to have fizzled out already. We went back to the deck, me looking for a spot to park her while I went to find Zac. My gaze roved across the jacuzzi and I did a double take.

  Josh was in the spa, with the same group of Year 12 girls as before. Cuddled up all cozy and bubbly. What the—? He couldn’t have got there so fast. He’d been lying on a bed fully dressed upstairs a moment ago, and he hadn’t passed us on the way down. Yet here he was, comfortably ensconced in the arms of half a dozen other girls in the spa.

  For that matter, hadn’t I seen him in the spa with these same girls just before I went looking for CJ? Yet his hair was dry when I saw him moments later in the bedroom with my sister—and they certainly looked as though they’d been there a while.

  “Has Josh got a twin?” I’d never heard he did, but it seemed the only explanation.

  CJ followed the direction of my gaze and frowned. You could almost hear the gears grinding as she tried to think through a haze of alcohol, but she got there in the end.

  “How did he get there so fast?”

  “Don’t know.”

  Didn’t care either. I’d be happy never to see the creepy bastard again. The important thing was to get CJ home. I spotted the dark head
I was looking for lurking by the palm trees with the robotics crew.

  “Wait here,” I told CJ. She leaned against the railing of the deck, her face paler than usual. Her ankle must be pretty bad.

  I hurried across the lawn and tugged on Zac’s arm.

  “Oh, hi!” He grinned down at me. For once the dimple failed to work its magic on me. My emotions were too mixed up between anger and worry over CJ. “Come to join the social outcasts?”

  “Actually, I need to ask you a favour.”

  Instantly the grin was replaced by concern. “Sure. What’s up?”

  “My sister’s hurt herself.” I didn’t mention she was also falling-down drunk. He’d probably be able to smell that for himself once he got close. “Would you mind giving us a ride home?”

  “No problem. Where is she?”

  Thank God not all guys were like Josh Johnson. We went back to CJ. Zac raised his eyebrows at me when he saw the condition she was in, but said nothing. He let her lean on him and ended up half-carrying her out to his car.

  When we had her settled in the back seat, he turned to me. “If she throws up in my dad’s car, you are going to die.”

  “I promise she won’t.” I got in the front seat next to him. “Or at least, if she does, I’ll clean it up so beautifully your dad will never know. Scout’s honour.”

  He laughed. “Oh, very nice. Were you ever a Scout?”

  “No.”

  “Thought not. Strangely, I find I’m not reassured.”

  It was only a couple of kilometres. I sat in the dark and watched him drive, wishing that our house was further away, that I could sit here with him all night. His long, clever fingers held the wheel firmly, and he made sure there were no sudden bumps or stops, so we made it home with the contents of CJ’s stomach still where they were supposed to be.

  As soon as we pulled up CJ flung the back door open and staggered out.

  Hand on my own door, I turned to him. “Thanks so much. I owe you one.”

  “Do you need help getting her inside?” He leaned closer. Something in his eyes made my palms break out in a sudden nervous sweat.

  “No, we’re good.” CJ would just have to manage without me for a moment. My hand fell away from the door handle. I couldn’t have gotten out of that car if I tried. Was he going to—?

  “I had fun.” He reached out and brushed a corkscrew curl out of my face. “Maybe we should do it again some time.”

  “Go dancing, you mean?”

  The dimple peeked out, and my heart did the by-now familiar flip-flop. His hand settled on the back of my seat, so close.

  “I was thinking more like movies or something. Less potential for embarrassment. And for stepping on your feet.”

  That hand was playing with my hair again. A shiver ran through me.

  “I’d like that.”

  His mouth was closer. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Gravity seemed to have changed direction, because I was falling into him, and I didn’t want to stop. His breath was warm on my face, his lips so close …

  And then CJ convulsed like a cat with a hairball and spewed into the gutter in front of the car.

  “Oh, my God.” We sprang apart, and I flung open the door. “Sorry. I’ve got to go.”

  My heart was still pounding, and I felt like a fool. Thanks for nothing, CJ.

  “That’s okay.” He looked a lot calmer than I felt. Maybe he hadn’t been going to kiss me at all, and I’d imagined the whole thing? “See you Monday.”

  I dragged my sister out of the gutter. Didn’t bother being too gentle, either. He waved, and the car pulled away from the kerb. I watched its tail lights disappear down the road.

  Monday? I didn’t think I could wait that long.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  It was nearly ten-thirty when I woke next morning. The house was quiet—no surprises there. I hadn’t exactly expected CJ to be bounding out of bed at the crack of dawn after the night she’d had. I peeked into her room as I headed down the hallway to the bathroom, suddenly taken by the thought that she might have drowned in her own vomit in the night, but the snores proved she was still in the land of the living.

  Of course she might wish she wasn’t when she woke up—bet she’d have a cracker of a headache. She was sprawled face down under the sheet, with the pillow over her head, so I closed the door and left her to it.

  Downstairs I grabbed a bowl of cereal and flopped on the couch in front of the TV to eat it, thoughts of Zac—and what might have happened if it wasn’t for my drunk sister—floating through my mind. This morning I didn’t feel so bad about the way the almost-kiss had ended, and I couldn’t wait to see him again. If only I had his number. But phone numbers had been the last thing on my mind once the vomit started flying.

  I found an old black and white movie that had just started, and settled down to watch. I dozed off a couple of times, so I lost the thread of it, but the guy got the girl in the end, so I didn’t care. I loved me a bit of Happily Ever After.

  The movie had finished and I was starting to think about lunch when CJ finally made an appearance. Just as I’d expected, she looked like hell, with dark circles under her eyes and an unhealthy pallor to her skin. The urge to say I told you so was almost overwhelming, but I bravely resisted, limiting myself to an inner smirk at her expense.

  She hobbled down the stairs, the limp still quite noticeable.

  “How’s your ankle?”

  As I spoke, I felt the weirdest tingle in my throat, and two little green drops fell from my lips. What the hell? I didn’t normally spit when I talked. One of them landed on my leg, and I looked down to see the green droplet expand like a soufflé rising in the oven.

  Only this soufflé was frog-flavoured.

  Oh. My. God. A little green frog, no bigger than my fingertip, was sitting on my leg. Its bright green back was speckled with raised yellow dots. Adrenalin jolted through me as my heart started to pound. Its tiny orange feet were almost translucent, as if they were made of jelly. They felt real enough pressed against my skin, but they couldn’t be, could they? I stared down at the frog, panic rising in my throat. It stared back out of bulging eyes whose irises were an even brighter orange than its feet, not the least fazed to find itself there.

  My heart pounded. Where the hell had it come from? What was happening?

  Frozen in shock, I couldn’t move. Its long, delicate toes tickled my leg as it shifted, then it pushed off with powerful back legs and hopped down to join its friend, who’d sprung into existence on the couch where the other droplet had landed. There was a flash of purple when it jumped, as it exposed the undersides of its skinny legs.

  “Shit!”

  Horrified, I felt the tingle again, and another droplet burst out with the word. This one was brown, and grew bigger and uglier than the cute little frogs. I scrambled back against the arm of the couch, released from my paralysis, as a hideous toad, all warty and nasty, hopped across the carpet towards CJ. This was insane.

  She shrieked. “Oh my God! What the hell is that? Did that just come out of your mouth?”

  Then she clapped a hand to her own mouth, but it was too late, the drops had fallen, and now something lay scattered at her feet. Not frogs, though—something that winked with reflected light.

  Toad forgotten, she knelt to gather them with a shaking hand, then held them out to me.

  “Are they diamonds?” I breathed, forgetting until—too late—the terrible tingle reminded me. Two more little green frogs hopped off to join their brothers, flashing the purple undersides of their legs.

  “Violet! Will you shut up.” She squeaked and flinched away as one of the frogs got too close, but three more diamonds fell from her lips. “Oh my God, there are frogs everywhere. What is going on? Where are these things coming from?”

  I opened my mouth.

  “Don’t answer that!”

  I got up and fled to the bathroom, where I leaned on the sink, trembling with shock. What was happening to me? To us? I still loo
ked the same. Shaking, I tipped my head from side to side, trying to see into every part of my mouth. Nothing looked different. How could this be happening? It was insane. My eyes filled with tears, and I dashed them away angrily.

  Was this some kind of joke? Was I still asleep and dreaming? I slapped myself hard, and watched in the mirror as the pink imprint of my fingers appeared on my cheek. Well, that hurt. Guess I wasn’t dreaming, then.

  “Hello?” I whispered, my voice shaky. I sounded like a little kid who’d just woken up from a nightmare. How did I wake up from this?

  A lone droplet tingled its way from my lips and landed on the sink. In seconds a tiny green frog looked up at me. It blinked its orange eyes once, very slowly, almost in apology.

  If this was a joke, I sure wasn’t laughing.

  The damn frog looked just as real as I did. Kind of cute, even, with its bright green skin and long, delicate froggy fingers. Moving slowly, so as not to frighten it, I reached out, half-expecting it to disappear as strangely as it had come, but it let me cup my trembling hands round it and pick it up. It felt real too, its skin a little moist but not slippery, its tiny body almost weightless. It croaked once, then settled, quite comfy in my hands. I carried it downstairs and outside. I could hardly leave it in the bathroom if it was a real frog, could I? I nestled it in the garden among the maidenhair ferns. It was almost a perfect match for the ferns’ bright green leaves.

  “Leave the door open,” CJ said as I came in. I thought she’d been pale before; now her skin was paper-white, and she had her arms clutched around herself as if that was the only thing holding her together. “You’ve got to get the rest of these frogs outside. I can’t stand them.”

  A dozen or more diamonds dripped from her lips as she spoke. Why did she get diamonds and I got frogs? How was that fair? Then I saw how she was shaking and felt guilty for thinking like that. Either way, this was horrendous.