Its springtime of senior year, and psychic sleuth Daisy Giordano is preparing to say goodbye to Nightshade High. But no college acceptance letters have arrived yet, and shes beginning to worry about where shell end up come falland if it will be anywhere near her boyfriend, Ryan. But thats not the only uncertainty Daisys dealing with. Theres a vamps-versus-shifters war going on in Nightshade, and things are so tense that there is talk of canceling the prom. The conflict is carrying over to the Giordano home, since Rose and Daisy are both dating werewolves and Poppys new boyfriend is a vampire.
Can the paranormal community in Nightshade finally find peace? And will Daisy and her friends survive graduation? All of these questions and more are answered in the latest explosive installment in the Dead Is series.Praise for other Dead Is books: "[Perez] delivers a wise-cracking, boy-lusting, determined sleuth of a high school protagonist . . . this quick, lighter-than-air spoof of the undead, cheerleaders and popularity is pure pleasure."--Publishers Weekly "A hit . . . grabbed me with the first page and didn't let go."--Julie Kenner, author ofThe Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even "A fun ride from start to finish. Perez's smart and sassy style soars."--Mary E. Pearson,author of The Adoration of Jenna Fox "[A] quick, lively romp. . . . Teens looking for a breezy read will find plenty to like here."--Booklist "This super supernatural murder mystery is sassy, romantic, and spooky-fun!"--Cythia Leitich Smith, author of Tantalize
Dead Is the New Blackis an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult ReadersMarlene Perez is the author ofDead Is the New Black, Dead Is a State of Mind, Dead Is So Last Year, Dead Is Just a Rumor, Love in the Corner Pocket, andThe Comeback. She lives in Orange County, California.Visit her website at www.marleneperez.com.
Chapter One
I was haunting the mailbox. It was already late
March and I should have been receiving an acceptance letter
anytime, at least thats what I hoped. I had applied to three colleges,
but UC Nightshade was my first choice.
It might seem weird to want to stay in the same small town
where Id always lived, but my father, through no fault of his
own, had been away from the family and hadnt been back
home that long. I couldnt bear to disappoint him by leaving.
Besides, my two older sisters already went to UC Nightshade,
so Id have the benefit of their advice. And more important,
my boyfriend, Ryan, was applying to UC Nightshade too.
On my way home from school I spotted someone in a blue
uniform standing in front of our mailbox. The postal carrier!
But when I rushed up I was surprised to see it wasnt our usual
carrier. Instead it was a strange woman with light brown hair
who was standing with one hand in our mailbox.
“Wheres Mr. Johansson?” I asked. Hed been our mail
carrier for years.
The woman turned, startled, and I noticed a purple
birthmark on her face.
“Vacation,” she mumbled, and hurried off.
I was disappointed to find the mailbox empty. The anticipation
was going to kill me. My whole family had noticed my
frequent trips to the mailbox, and Poppy sometimes messed
with me by hiding the mail.
Moms car was in the driveway, which meant she was home
already. I walked through the front door and into the hallway.
“Daisy, the mails on the kitchen counter,” Mom called from
upstairs. It was unusual to find her home before me on a weekday.
It must be a slow day for crime. Mom was a psychic investigator,
and she helped local law enforcement agencies with
their cases. It made life interesting, since Nightshades chief of
police was the father of my boyfriend.
Ryan and I seemed to have inherited their taste for crime
solving, since with his help Id solved several crimes in Nightshade.
You know what they say: The couple that solves crimes
together stays together. Well, they dont really say that, but they
should.
I thumbed quickly through the pile of mail. Bills, junkmail,
and a thick envelope for my father, but there wasnt anything
for me.
“Mr. Johansson says hello, “Mom continued.
“The mailman? I thought he was on vacation,” I said.
“What did you say?”Mom hollered.
“Never mind,” I replied.
Just then, my cell buzzed. It was Ryan. “Did you get anything
yet?” he asked.
“Nothing. You?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a
moment. “Nothing,” he eventually replied.
I sighed.
“Cheer up,” he said. “Theyll be here soon.”
“Im getting tired of waiting,” I said.
“Me too,” Ryan admitted.
The unspoken tension between us was caused by one question:
What would happen between us if we ended up at different
colleges?
Not to mention that my boyfriend was a werewolf, which
might be difficult to hide at the dorms. Hiding my psychic abilities
would be comparatively easy. The existence of paranormals
was starting to be known and accepted in Nightshade,
but not everyone in the world had that attitude.
The thought sent me into such a deep funk that I almost
missed Ryans invitation.
“Do you want to do something tonight?” he asked.
“I have to work,” I said.
“How about Friday? Well make it a special date.” I was
flattered by his insistence.
“Of course,” I replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“I just want to see you,” he said.“Youve been so busy lately.”
Id been busy, it was true, but I also had been avoiding him,
using work as an excuse. Everyone said that long-distance relationships
never worked. I didnt want to get even closer to
Ryan only to break up when we left for separate colleges, or
later, when distance took its toll. If we both ended up at UC
Nightshade, our relationship stood a chance.
I missed him, though, and couldnt resist temptation.
“Ill make you dinner,” I offered. “Everyone will be out of
the house.”
At least, I was pretty sure they would be. Rose would be
out with her boyfriend, Nicholas Bone, and Poppy had a date.
Shed been out with her new guy, Liam, almost every night.
Even my parents would be out attending some faculty
function at UC Nightshade, where my dad now taught
part-time.
“Why dont we go out to dinner?” Ryan asked. “Theres
something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Why cant he talk to me at home? “Sure,” I said. “Slims?”
“I was thinking maybe dinner at Wilders,” Ryan replied.
Wilders? That was a special-occasion restaurant, not the
kind of place we normally went on date night. I once had a few
cooking lessons from their former chef, although the lessons
were more like unpaid labor than a learning experience.
“Okay,” I said after a long pause, “but I thought you were
saving money for college.”
“Youre worth the splurge,” Ryan said. “Ill make a reservation
for seven.”
We hung up after I realized I needed to be at work in half
an hour. Business had picked up at Slims Diner, so Id been
working a lot, which was helping with my college fund. If I got
into a college, that is.
I went to talk to my sister Poppy about using the car that
night. Both Rose and Poppy still lived at home while they attended UC
Nightshade.My parents were ecstatic at the idea of
me doing the same. Poppy was on the phone, as usual, but she
broke offher conversation to stare at me.
“What?” she said. “Im on the phone.”
“Can I have the car tonight?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. “My date is picking me up here.” Shed
been awfully mysterious about Liam. Wed met him at an
event on Halloween, but she hadnt brought him home and
didnt talk about him at all to us, which was definitely not like
Poppy.
I drove to work, still wondering what Ryan wanted to talk
to me about.
Once there, I went in search of my boss. Slims had red
leather booths, the best cinnamon rolls in the county, and a prophetic
jukebox. Not your average diner at all. And the owner
and his sister were far from average, as well. The head waitress,
Flo, was on her cell phone, in the middle of a very giggly
conversation. Probably with her boyfriend. I decided not to
interrupt.
There was no sign of Slim, but since he was invisible, there
never was. I went in search of him to see what he needed me to
do first. I waited tables or helped out in the kitchen, depending
on the day.
The kitchen looked empty, but I knew enough to doublecheck.
“Slim?” I said into the air.
“Hi, Daisy,” a voice said.
“Where do you need me tonight?” I asked.
“Ive got the dinner menu under control,” he said. “Why
dont you help Flo?”
Flo was still giggling into her cell phone, so I grabbed
some quarters and went to say hello to Lil, the jukebox. Shed
given me a ton of clues during my investigations. A few
months ago, Id discovered that there was a soul trapped in
there. Id promised to help her escape her jukebox prison, but
so far, I hadnt found a way to do so. I wasnt ready to give up
yet, though.
I punched in a few random selections and waited. Nothing.
Lil was miffed, and I didnt blame her.
“Im working on it, I swear,” I said. “But Circe took her
show on the road and hasnt stepped foot in Nightshade since
we found out.”What wed found out was that sorceress and
celebrity chef Circe Silvertongue was responsible for trapping
Lil in the jukebox and turning her fiancé into a pig.
“A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley came on. Lil
was getting impatient.
“Message received,” I told her. “A little more action it is. Ill
try to figure out what our next step is.”
Lil responded with “Inspiration Information” by Sharon
Jones and the Dap-Kings and then went silent.
My friends Samantha Devereax and Sean Walsh walked in
and sat down at one of the smaller booths. I went over to
say hi.
“What are you two doing here tonight?” I said. “Youre all
dressed up.”
Samantha looked gorgeous. She wore a minidress with an
itty-bitty cardigan thrown over it. She had her hair piled high
and wore long sparkly earrings.
“Were celebrating,” Samantha said. “Sean signed his letter
of intent.”
“Congratulations,” I replied. “But whats a letter of intent?”
It wasnt my imagination that they exchanged a meaningful
glance.
“Intent to play,” Samantha said.“Seans going to play college
baseball with the University of California, Irvine.”
Letter of intent? Shouldnt Ryan be signing one of those letter
thingies?
“I think Slim has some sparkling cider in the back,” I
said, “left over from Nightshades anniversary party. Ill bring
some out.”
“That would be fabulous,” Samantha said.
Samantha wasnt angsting like the rest of us. She already
knew where she was goingUC Nightshade, where her dad
was a big-deal professor. Where my father used to be a big-deal
professor and now was a part-time instructor. Big difference.
He had a lot more time on his hands now. Maybe that was why
nowadays getting the mail was the highlight of his day.
My dad didnt seem to mind that Mr. Devereauxs book
was doing very well, even though it was based on research he
had done with my dad. But Mr. Devereaux didnt have much
money after a pricey divorce from Sams mom.
“Slim, is it okay if I comp some of that sparkling cider we
still have in the cooler? Sam and Sean are celebrating,” I said. I
explained the occasion, just in case he thought I was trying to
score freebies for my friends without a good reason.
“Of course,” he said. “And Ill whip up some special appetizers
on the house.”
“Thanks, Slim,” I said. “Im going to borrow one of the
linen tablecloths and some candles, too.”We used those on
the rare times Slim catered an event.
I knew Sam and Sean were dining at Slims instead of
somewhere fancier in order to save money. But there wasnt any
reason I couldnt make their celebration extra special.
Five minutes later, the cider was chilling in a fancy silver
bucket, the linen tablecloth hid the scarred tabletop, and
Samantha and Sean were gazing into each others eyes. They
were too love struck to even notice when I brought out their
appetizers. Mission accomplished.
Lil even cooperated. She broke into a series of slow,
romantic love songs. The diner slowly emptied out, but Sam
and Sean lingered over their dinner.
Flo was sitting on her favorite stool at the counter, eyeing
the clock.
“Why dont you go?” I said. “Ill lock up.”
“Are you sure?” Flo asked, but she was already pulling on
her jacket.
“Sure, go ahead,” I said.
After she left, I stuck a Closed sign up and locked the door,
then handed Samantha the check. She and Sean were still
holding hands.
I was refilling the syrup containers when there was a knock
on the door.
I went to explain to whoever it was that we were closed,
but then saw it was Natalie, Slims girlfriend. Natalie was a
witcha real one.
She had been at a coven training course in Salem for the
last few months, and Slim had gone out to visit her a couple
of times. Her absence had stymied my efforts to free Lil from
the jukebox. Natalie was the only witch I knew, at least the
only competent one. Penny Edwards didnt count.
I unlocked the door and let her in.“Welcome home!” I said.
“Hi, Daisy,” she said. “Im glad to be back in Nightshade.
Although I learned so much while I was gone.”
“Slim will be so glad to see you,” I said. “Hes been mopey.”
Natalie beamed. “I missed him too.”
“Hes cleaning up in the back,” I said. “But do you have a
minute? I could use your help.”
Natalie wasnt nearly as powerful as Circe Silvertongue,
but she was my only hope, especially since Circe had taken her
pig and run. Maybe Natalie could at least point me in the right
direction.
“Id be happy to,” she said. She shot a longing look toward
the kitchen but gave me an encouraging smile just the same.
“Youve heard my theory about Lil?”
“That shes really Mrs.Wilders missing sister Lily? Yes. It
seems reasonable.”
“And Im pretty sure that Circes pet pig, Balthazar, is really
Lily Varcols missing fiancé, Bam Merriweather,” I added. “I
want to try to break Circes spell. Can you give me any idea
about how to do that? Besides getting Circe to do it herself.”
“Thats pretty advanced magic,” Natalie said.“But if its the
kind of spell Im thinking of, she might have used objects that
were important to the victims to change them.”
“She did have this pen she used every day,” I said. “It had
Bam Merriweathers initials engraved on it.”
“Let me look into this,” Natalie said. “Most of my grandmothers
books are stored in the attic of her house. Ill take a
look there, and I might be able to ask some of the more experienced
witches.”
Natalies grandmother, Mrs. Mason, had died in a fire that
destroyed her greenhouse. Shed been helping the Scourge
when she died. She hadnt been a nice person, but shed been
the only relative Natalie had. Fortunately, Natalie had moved
in with Slim, and the Mason house stood empty. The gardens,
however, were full of gorgeous flowers, fruits, and vegetables,
due to the combination of Mrs. Masons residual magic and
Natalies hard work.
“Thanks, Natalie,” I said.“Id appreciate any help you could
give me. Is there anything I can do to help? Research stuff,
I mean?”
Natalie thought about it for a second.“Well, you could try
The Nightshade City Library,” she replied.“Maybe theres a text
there that I dont already own.”
I agreed to go take a look. Id comb the dustiest library I
could find if it would help.
I could tell by the way Natalies face lit up that Slim had
come out from the kitchen, so I made myself scarce.
“Its closing time,” I gently reminded Sam and Sean. As they
rose to leave, I overheard a whisper from Sam. “I still think we
should tell her.”
“Tell me what?” I said sharply.
“Oh, nothing,” Sam said. “Just that were nominating you
and Ryan for prom king and queen.”
I made a face at her. “Dont you dare,” I said. “If anyone
should be Nightshade promqueen, it should be you. You were
practically born to be queen.”
“I have plenty of crowns,” she said. “Winning again
would be”
“Awesome,” I interrupted her.
“I was going to say overkill,” she replied.“Cmon, Daisy. Live
a little. It would be fun.”
I shrugged. There was no sense in arguing with Sam when
she got in this mood.
I shooed them out of the restaurant, then locked up and
went home.
To my surprise, all the lights were on at my house when I
pulled into the drive. There seemed to be a lot of noise coming
from the family room, so I headed that way.
My whole family, including Grandma Giordano, was congregated
there.
“Whats going on? Why is everyone still up?” I asked.
My father held out a bottle of champagne. “Weve been
waiting for you,” he said. “Were celebrating.”
“Celebrating what?” I was completely confused.
“My book deal,” Dad said. “I sold my novel.”
“What?” I said. “Congratulations! I didnt even know you
had finished it.”
“Its not finished yet. I still need an ending.”
“Why didnt you tell us you were submitting it?” Rose
asked.
“I didnt want to say anything at first,” Dad said. “I sent
it out to a few places, and it got rejected so fast it made my
head spin.”
“Your father is being modest,” Mom said. “Its brilliant.”
Grandma Giordano chuckled.“Im proud of you, son. Now
pop that champagne.”
A second later, the cork shot out of the bottle and across
the room. Poppy went to retrieve it and then handed it to Dad.
“You should keep it,” she said. “To remember your first sale.”
“Theres sparkling cider for the girls,” Mom said quickly.
“Whats the book about?” Poppy said. “Can we read it?”
A shadow passed over Dads face. “At first I thought I
would write a memoir about what happened to me at the
hands of the Scourge, but I eventually realized that no one
would believe it,” he said.“So I did the next best thing. I turned
it all into fiction. The Scourge, Nightshade, the kidnapping,
everything.”
Something about this made me uneasy, but I tried not to
Show it. I wasnt so sure the Scourge would be happy to be reading
about themselves, even in a novel.“Whats the title?” I asked.
“Nightshade,” he said.
“What?” I said. “Dad!”
“Im just kidding,” he said. “I changed everything, even the
names. And its also based on my research in genetics. It still
needs an ending though. I was hoping I would remember
something about my kidnappers identity.”
Although Dad didnt remember parts of his abduction,
bits and pieces of his captivity were slowly coming back. My
parents didnt talk about it much, but Dad was seeing a therapist
to help him deal with the trauma of his experience.
“What does Spenser Devereaux think of that?”Grandma
asked. “Youll be giving him a run for his money on the bestseller
list now.”
Dad looked startled. “I told him about the book, but I
didnt ask him what he thought of the idea. Spenser took our
research and turned it into a bestselling nonfiction book. Mine
is fiction. Im sure he doesnt have a problem with that. We were
partners, after all.”
“He didnt seem to remember that when he published your
findings,” Grandma reminded him gently. “He didnt even include
your name in the acknowledgments. And everyone knows
that you did most of the actual research.”
“Spenser has been very supportive,” my father insisted. “In
fact, he keeps asking to read it, but I told him that Im keeping
certain chapters under wraps until its published.”
Grandma snorted. “Spenser Devereaux is only concerned
with Spenser Devereaux.”
“Mother, its fine,” he said, but I noticed his hands shook as
he poured her a glass of champagne. “No one knew where I
was. Spenser needed to forge ahead without me. He already
knows Im writing the book. I will tell him my good news
myself.”
Mom picked up on Dads discomfort and changed the subject.
“What else did the editor say about your book, dear?”
Talk turned to things like deadlines and covers. I sipped
my apple cider and smiled at the sight of my fathers face all
aglow from his accomplishment. Things would work out for
him. They just had to.