Past Perfect

By Amy Martin

Book 4 in The Perfects series

Mean Girls + Freaky Friday + Sabrina, The Teenage Witch = The Perfects

Rachel, Dani, and Janey were best friends until Dani’s pursuit of popularity and perfection drove them apart. Now that they’ve discovered their family ties and the significance behind them, rekindling their friendship is the easy part.

But dealing with their family and all that it entails—the special powers, the bitter enemies, and the mistakes of previous generations—won’t be so easy. And setting things right with their town and with their rivals after years of secrets and lies could have devastating consequences for the girls, for their allies, and most definitely for the Perfects...

Join Rachel, Dani, Janey, and their friends and family on the final adventure in The Perfects series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Martin
• Release date: Sep 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463212523

Amy Martin

Amy Martin wrote and illustrated her first book at the age of ten and gave it to her fourth grade teacher, who hopefully lost it in her house somewhere and didn't share it with anyone else.The first book she published as a grown-up, In Your Dreams,was a semi-finalist in the Young Adult category of the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition. She has published four books in the In Your Dreams series, and she is also the author of The Perfects series.Amy lives with her husband and a ferocious attack tabby named Cleo. When not writing or reading, she can usually be found watching sports, drinking coffee, or indulging her crippling Twitter habit (and, sometimes, doing all three at once).

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Past

Perfect

Past Perfect

Copyright © 2019

Smashwords edition

Amy Martin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, with express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Photo credits: pixabay.com (user: darksouls1)

Other books by Amy Martin:

In Your Dreams (4 book series)

The Perfects (4 book series)

Want to be the first to know about Amy Martin’s new releases? Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, check out her website at www.theamymartin.com, or sign up for her mailing list.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Epilogue

Other Books by Amy Martin

About the Author

Chapter 1

Thursday, February 10

To most people in Ridgeview, Missouri, Smiley Joe’s is nothing more than the local coffeehouse, a good place to grab an espresso or a sandwich after a long day at school or work. It’s also one of Ridgeview’s most popular places for couples to go after a movie or a dinner date at one of the restaurants lining the town’s quaint Main Street.

But to the members of the extended Clairvoix family, Smiley Joe’s isn’t simply a late afternoon hangout or a date night destination. It’s one of only a few sanctuaries in a town that long ago rejected their kind. It’s one of the few places where they can truly be themselves.

And tonight, the sanctuary welcomes a new member—Alissa Lofton, who only last night found out she was one of the youngest generation of Clairvoix, an extraordinarily powerful family of witches.

Alissa and one of her best friends, Dani Maguire, drive past several open spaces in front of the coffeehouse and pull into a space down the block and across the street. The two of them rush over to the opposite sidewalk, putting up their hoods and hunching down into their coats in the cold. Alissa, her brunette curls flopping into her face, turns toward Smiley Joe’s front door once they’re in front of the coffeehouse, but Dani’s voice stops her in her tracks.

Lis. Hey. We can’t go in through the front. Remember? This whole meeting is supposed to be a secret.

Alissa whips her head to her right so she can see her friend around the edge of her coat hood. Yeah. Sorry. It’s kind of a habit, you know? she says.

I get it. Dani slides a comforting arm around her friend. Guess this is all hella weird for you, huh?

Like, you have no idea, Alissa says, hunkering down further into her puffy black coat.

They round the side of the building to the alley behind. Janey said she’d leave the door open for us, Dani says, confirming her statement by pulling on a door at the rear of the coffeehouse that nearly blends into the dark brick surrounding it. The door opens on a storeroom, the metal shelves against the far wall lined with institutional-sized cans of food and other restaurant supplies. The sizzle of a grill and the clank-clank of pots and pans banging around ring out from behind a door just in front of them, but Dani heads to yet another door off to their left.

Come on, she tells Alissa, opening the door and tilting her head in an invitation for Alissa to enter ahead of her. Everyone should be down here.

Down here is a dingy basement with boxes and tarps and broken furniture against the walls underneath a dim light. Before last night, Alissa didn’t even know Smiley Joe’s had a basement. But when she caught her other best friend, Lexi Grayson, threatening nerdy Janey Douchette in the art room at school, Janey insisted she could explain everything if Alissa would come with her to Smiley Joe’s. Something told Alissa she should go, even though she’d never had a full conversation with Janey before. And then Janey and Dani brought her into this basement and, along with Rachel Lord and Ellie Stengel, revealed to her the news that would change her life…

Alissa is a witch, a member of one of the most powerful covens around, and Rachel, Dani, and Janey are her distant cousins.

The news was a lot to absorb. The witch stuff was weird enough, but finding out she was related to two girls she’d barely spoken in all the years they’d been in school together was even weirder. Rachel Lord and Janey Douchette, along with Ellie Stengel, used to be Dani’s friends until Dani moved into Alissa’s neighborhood in middle school. Alissa and Lexi Grayson were the prettiest and most popular girls at Ridgeview Middle School and had no trouble accepting Dani—a gorgeous blue-eyed blonde with just the right amount of confidence and spunk—into their little group. By the end of freshman year, the three girls were practically in charge at Ridgeview High School, joining all the high-profile extracurriculars and dating the hottest junior and senior guys. Classmates started calling them The Perfects behind their backs—and sometimes not behind their backs—and the nickname stuck.

Alissa’s been barely aware of Dani’s former friends for most of high school, joining in when Dani and Lexi would make fun of Janey’s thrift-store clothes or Ellie’s purple hair and punk attitude, but otherwise not paying them much attention. Half the time, Alissa couldn’t be bothered to remember their names—except for Rachel, who coordinates most of the volunteer activities at Ridgeview High through the service club and always seems to be making an announcement about something at an assembly. Dani’s old friends were never worth knowing before.

But now they’re not just Dani’s old friends. They’re family—they’re Alissa’s extended family.

And they’re all witches. All but Ellie, anyway. Alissa’s not entirely clear on why Ellie gets to be in on the secret, but whatever. Everything’s still so new to her, so she doesn’t understand all the rules.

While Alissa already knows the girls from school, she’s met only one other person in the group gathered in the basement—Charlotte Maguire. Charlotte is Dani’s mom, a statuesque blonde who’s probably a good indicator of what Dani will be like in twenty years since they almost look like they could be twins now. Charlotte strolls over to Alissa when she and Dani reach the bottom of the stairs and surprises Alissa by gathering her into a hug. Dani’s mom had never struck Alissa as being the hugging type, but then again, Alissa’s quickly discovering everything she’s believed about some people in Ridgeview has been totally wrong, so…

Alissa, Charlotte says, stepping back but keeping her hands on the girl’s shoulders. We’re so glad you could be here. We have a lot to discuss. She moves her gaze past Dani and Alissa to the stairs. Did your mom come with you?

No, Alissa says, lowering her head. She…she’s…kind of not interested. I mean, I told her about this meeting thing, and I told her about all the witch stuff, but…

Alissa’s voice trails off and she ends her sentence with shrug rather than an explanation for her mother’s absence. Looking past Mrs. Maguire, Alissa sees two older women sitting in the back corner of the basement on two of the few non-broken chairs, both of them eyeing her with worried expressions on her news about her mother. One of the women appears to be a regular grandmother-type straight out of a movie—brown hair losing its battle to the gray and white hairs taking over, polyester navy slacks, and a heavy turtleneck sweater. But the other woman stands out to Alissa as wild and crazy, her chin-length gray hair unruly as if she hasn’t brushed it in forever, her jeans faded and dirty, and her flannel coat like something a hunter would wear out in the woods. The two women whisper to each other as if they’re talking about her and, unsettled, Alissa focuses on Mrs. Maguire.

Sorry I couldn’t talk her into coming. I told her it seemed kind of important.

It’s okay. Dani squeezes Alissa’s hand as she answers for her mother and doesn’t press Alissa for additional details as to why Alissa’s mom would be blowing them off when she’s a Clairvoix, too. Um…I guess there are a lot of people here you don’t know, so you should probably meet everyone. Dani links her arm through Alissa’s, and as they walk off toward a group of three people standing in the corner near the stairs, Alissa feels someone slide up on her other side.

Hey, Janey Douchette says in a quiet, whispery voice, her blue-tinged brunette curls flopping in her face. I’m glad you’re here.

Me, too, Alissa tells her as a man with red hair and a smile even warmer than Janey’s reaches out a hand to her. Alissa, this is my dad, Janey says. Dad, this is Alissa Lofton.

Mr. Douchette pumps Alissa’s hand and although she politely says, Nice to meet you, she’s confused. She could have sworn the girls explained to her last night how the ability to do magic passes from mothers to daughters, so she’s surprised Janey’s dad would be allowed to attend the gathering. Um, are you a witch, too? Alissa asks, wondering if maybe she misunderstood the rules.

No, no, he tells her with a slight laugh, his cheeks burning red as if he’s embarrassed or something. I guess Janey didn’t tell you my mother was a witch. Her powers didn’t pass on to me, of course, but she transferred her powers to Janey when Janey was a baby. I’m the only one left who knows anything about her coven.

Oh, okay. Alissa shakes her head. That’s right.

Alissa’s taken in so much information about witches and covens in the last twenty-four hours, she’s having trouble keeping everything straight and remembering what the girls have told her. Now that Mr. Douchette’s mentioned it, she recalls Dani explaining to her how Janey’s grandmother was part of another coven and used a spell to transfer her power to Janey before she died since she was the last of her coven. With powers handed down to her from two grandmothers, Janey’s one of the most powerful witches around according to Dani, which strikes Alissa as totally bizarre. With her slight build, tiny voice, and worn clothes, Janey’s about the last person anyone would expect to whip up a spell and wreak havoc. But then again, until a few days ago when she saw Lexi threatening Janey, Alissa thought Lexi was nothing more than an occasionally mean person and not downright evil—more evidence everything she’s ever known about people in Ridgeview is wrong.

Hi, I’m Rachel’s mom, says a woman in front of her, holding out a hand for Alissa to shake. As Alissa puts her hand into Mrs. Lord’s, she can sort of see the resemblance between the woman and her daughter standing in the corner talking to Janey and Ellie. They both have warm brown eyes and round, plump faces along with brunette locks, although Rachel wears her wavy strands in a low ponytail while Mrs. Lord’s shorter, straight hair is loose about her face.

Nice to meet you, Alissa says quietly after shaking Mrs. Lord’s hand.

This must be a lot for you take in, Mrs. Lord points out with a warm smile.

Yeah. Kind of. Alissa nearly sighs, grateful for the acknowledgment of at least one of the adults in the room as to how overwhelming all this witch stuff is for her. She’s barely dropped her hand to her side when the final person in the trio of older people goes in for a handshake. I’m Lucy Langlois, the woman says, some of her curly graying locks flopping about her face as she pumps Alissa’s hand. I thought I recognized most of the young folks in this town on sight, but I don’t recall seeing you around much.

Um…

I work at the library, the woman explains. If you’ve ever heard of ‘Hippie Lucy,’ well, I’m her.

Alissa isn’t exactly a fixture at the local library. In fact, Alissa can’t remember the last time she went to the library. Maybe back in grade school when her mom would take her in to find books for the summer reading program? She knows some kids from school go there to study sometimes, but she’d always rather do homework in her room at home, and if she ever needed to research anything, she’d prefer to turn to the internet for help rather than seeking out some dusty old library books. However, despite her lack of time at the library, once the woman identifies herself as Hippie Lucy, Alissa realizes who she is, even if she hasn’t seen her in person for years. Hippie Lucy is a local legend, the always weirdly dressed woman who runs the reference desk at the library and is sort of a Ridgeview history expert. This evening, Lucy’s dressed in voluminous cargo pants and a worn, olive-colored fisherman’s sweater—not too weird, but definitely not the height of fashion. Silver star-shaped earrings with turquoise disks dangle from her ears, and she’s wearing a matching necklace, the star dangling down to her midsection from a black leather cord. Alissa can’t help but think Hippie Lucy seems more mystical and magical than anyone else in the room, and she remembers how her older brother always said the rumor among his friends was that Hippie Lucy was a witch.

So, are you a Clairvoix, too? Alissa asks as she takes her hand from Lucy’s.

Oh, no, Lucy says, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose, and Alissa nearly allows a frustrated groan to escape her lips over being wrong about something once again. I’m sort of the coven’s unofficial historian. My mother and grandmother kept genealogies of the Clairvoix for years and took notes on spells and so forth. The genealogies were how the girls first discovered you were one of them. I’m also training Ellie to take over for me one day. None of us are getting any younger, are we now?

Mrs. Lord and Mr. Douchette chuckle at Hippie Lucy’s words as Alissa files the information about Ellie away and hopes she remembers it later—Ellie’s training to be the coven historian…

Almost as if she’d done a spell and conjured her up—which she didn’t because she doesn’t yet know how—Alissa turns to find Ellie Stengel standing with the two older women who had been whispering to themselves earlier. I’m Lorraine Grantham, says the more traditionally dressed woman who surprises Alissa by going in for a hug rather than a handshake. Alissa lifts her hands and tentatively places them on the woman’s back as their cheeks graze, the woman’s smooth skin taking her by surprise. I’m Rachel’s grandmother, but I’m kind of a surrogate grandmother to all the girls, the older woman continues. Feel free to call me ‘Grandma Lorraine.’

Um, okay.

The other woman, the one who looks like she just stepped out of—or maybe fell into—a hunting magazine, maintains her scowl but manages to scrounge up enough politeness to introduce herself. Sophie Donner, she says, not offering Alissa a handshake or a hug or any kind of contact. I’m one of the last of the Renard coven. Me and my niece upstairs are the only ones left.

Alissa searches her brain for the connection. Me and my niece upstairs…

Marilyn, the owner of Smiley Joe’s, must be this Sophie person’s niece. Janey works here at Smiley Joe’s, and the girls told Alissa that Marilyn was a witch from another coven and, therefore, they were safe discussing witchy matters in the basement of her business. But other than the fact Marilyn and Janey are both witches, Alissa’s a little unclear as to why members of another coven would be playing a role in a Clairvoix coven meeting. Did the girls tell her last night why Marilyn’s scary aunt would be here? She can’t remember…everything was so confusing and didn’t make much sense. She wishes she’d been taking notes or had asked Dani to write stuff down or something.

She kind of wishes she were taking notes now, she’s so overwhelmed. Then again, she reminds herself she’s not too good about taking notes at school when she’s supposed to, so there’s no guarantee she’d get everything down she’d need in order to understand her bewildering new life.

Well, it’s nice to meet you, girl, Sophie continues, her growl taking on less of an edge. I guess now that you’ve met everyone, we should get down to business.

Absolutely, Grandma Lorraine agrees. Mr. Douchette and Mrs. Lord grab some of the unbroken chairs scattered about and arrange them into a circle, and Alissa follows everyone’s lead, sitting down between Dani and Rachel. Once the group is settled in, Janey, sitting on the edge of the circle nearest the staircase between her father and Rachel’s grandmother, begins So… in her usual quiet voice, the sound barely carrying across the room. She clears her throat and tries again.

So… Her voice rings out louder and clearer on her second attempt. I guess the biggest matter facing us is how to get my Grandma Douchette’s spells back from the Bates twins…

The Bates twins. This part Alissa remembers. The Bates twins are Lexi’s cousins from Riverton. Lexi had never mentioned them before—Lexi had never really mentioned anyone in her family other than her mom before last week when she made some comment about having to visit an aunt in the hospital in Riverton. Turns out the aunt is some kind of evil witch who forced her sons, Jackson and Joel, into kidnapping Janey so the aunt could steal her powers. Little did any of them know, thanks to Janey botching a major spell, that they’d really kidnapped Dani, who was trapped in Janey’s body…

I’ve searched through my mother’s spell books and notes to find more information about the power transfer spell, Mr. Douchette says. And everything I’ve found so far –everything I can read, anyway, because a lot of it’s in French—matches what I remember. The transfer spell is very powerful and can be deadly if used incorrectly. The ancient witches devised decoy spells to keep the true spell from falling into the wrong hands—people dabbling in magic, for example. But those decoy spells can be dangerous, too. He gazes at his daughter sitting next to him. As Janey found out. While the decoys aren’t supposed to transfer power, in the presence of real magic, they can do some damage. I’m guessing the spell Peter Manford gave to Lily Roy was one of those decoy spells, and Janey’s abilities in that situation caused Lily’s illness and loss of power.

Lily Roy…Alissa stares at the concrete floor and concentrates. Lily Roy is Lexi’s aunt, the mother of the Bates twins and the leader of the Dumont coven…

Lexi hasn’t been much of a threat so far, Janey continues. "But she could tell yesterday at school when she grabbed me that I was under some kind of protection spell. She probably figures if I’m protected, then we’re all protected against her for the time being. But the protection spells are only temporary… Janey glances at Grandma Lorraine. …right?"

Yes, dear—that’s right, Grandma Lorraine confirms. And the protection spells will become less potent over time, so we can’t keep redoing them into infinity. The sooner we get those spells back from the Dumont coven and figure out a way to make peace with them, the better. We don’t want them finding out they have the true spell that could transfer power from one witch to another.

Alissa can’t help but be relieved about Janey’s confusion over how protection spells work. Janey may be an incredibly powerful witch, but Alissa reminds herself that all this witchy business is relatively new to her, too, making Alissa feel a little less stupid about not knowing anything at all.

Has Lexi tried anything else at school? Mrs. Maguire asks, her vision darting around the circle.

Not with me, Dani says.

Me, neither, Rachel adds before Janey says, Yesterday was the first time.

"And I’m surprised she took a risk and went that far, Grandma Lorraine says in a scolding voice as if Lexi’s in front of her. Putting a spell on a teacher, threatening Janey…anyone could have walked in and found her out. She’s fortunate Alissa only saw what she did."

Alissa squirms in the uncomfortable wooden chair, thinking back to yesterday after school when she walked into the art room after school to work on her semester project and found Lexi clamping a hand around Janey’s arm. Lexi’s behavior scared Alissa, but only because Alissa had never seen Lexi lay hands on someone before as if she intended to hurt them. Only later when Janey and the other girls told her she and Lexi were both witches did Alissa realize how scared she should have been. The Dumonts believe they possess a spell which could transfer power from one witch to another, and Lexi’s Aunt Lily tried to use the spell to take Janey’s powers, not only so she could make herself the most powerful witch around, but also to help Peter Manford get revenge on the Clairvoix for using magic to drive his chemical plant out of Ridgeview years ago.

So, anyone have any ideas, magic or not, on how we can get those spells back? Janey asks the gathering, and Dani raises her hand like they’re in school and then stands up, glancing down at her mother sitting next to her.

I have a plan, she announces, smoothing down the front of her electric blue mini-skirt and raising her voice just as she does at a student council meetings when she presents senior class business. "I’ve had a plan all along. Jackson Bates trusts me. All I have to do is tell him we need those spells back and I’m sure he’d be willing to help me get them from his mom or Joel or whoever has them. He and Joel didn’t want to be involved in the whole kidnapping plan in the first place. Joel doesn’t even like magic, and Jackson—"

No, Dani, Mrs. Maguire interjects, gazing up at her daughter. We’ve been through this. I don’t want you having anything more to do with the Dumonts or anyone related to them. Think about how much trouble we had bringing your memory back after you were separated from him. I don’t want to put you anywhere in that family’s vicinity where they might have the chance to do something worse to you. She moves her head slowly from side to side. You’ve already made your peace with Jackson. I think you should let things be and we’ll come up with another idea.

Dani lets out a grumble and sits back down, and Alissa can’t help but wonder what Mrs. Maguire means when she says Dani made her peace with Jackson Bates. It almost sounds like Mrs. Maguire’s saying Dani and Jackson had a thing—like, a romantic thing—and they’d had a bad breakup, but if Alissa’s got the timeline straight, Dani would have been with Jackson for only a few days, and even then, she was in Janey’s body. Besides, Dani’s been dating Luke Nostrand for nearly two years and the two of them have always seemed to have a perfect relationship. There’s no way Dani would cheat on Luke with some random guy, and especially not some random guy who had kidnapped her…

Charlotte, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think Dani may be right on this one, Grandma Lorraine says to Mrs. Maguire. As much as we don’t want to put this on the girls, none of the adults in this room have the kinds of connections to the Bates twins that Dani and Janey do. Janey and Rachel are eighteen, so they’re full-fledged witches, and Dani can do magic with their help. We need to trust them to take care of this and confront those boys.

And the Bates twins can’t do magic, Mr. Douchette adds. From what it sounds like, they’re both on the outs with their mother and wouldn’t be likely to betray us to her, or to Lexi and her mom. He pushes his crooked glasses up on his nose and gazes around at the group. I’m in favor of letting the girls go to Riverton. I trust Janey, and I trust she can protect Rachel and Dani if something goes wrong.

Next to her father, Janey twists her thin little mouth, and Alissa wonders if Janey’s so sure she should be trusted to protect anyone.

Kathleen, care to weigh in on this? Mrs. Maguire snaps, aiming a glare at Mrs. Lord, who throws up her hands.

I’m with Tommy. I think we have to trust the girls. And no one else has come up with a better plan…

Mrs. Maguire lifts her hands, palms out, into a surrender pose. Fine, she huffs. I’m outnumbered. The girls can go to Riverton. She drops her hands and folds them in her lap. Just don’t anyone come crying to me if something bad happens.

Tomorrow after school? Dani asks, ignoring her mother and looking back and forth between Janey and Rachel. Before they can answer, Alissa sits up straight in her uncomfortable chair.

The last basketball game’s tomorrow night, she says, happy to be injecting some information into this gathering where she feels like