Book Four: The Wild Two pairs of judgmental brown eyes rimmed in wrinkles glared at me where I sat. The weight of their stares pinned me to the musty fabric of the stiff and uncomfortable antique wingback. I wanted very much to squirm, to work my way free from the feeling I'd been jabbed through the abdomen like an insect on a corkboard.Estelle-or was it Esther?-Lawrence lifted her gaze from me long enough to flicker her attention to my mother. At least Mom hadn't abandoned me to the un-tender mercy of the powerful twin witches. Though tiny, bony, and almost birdlike, I refused to underestimate them. Known for their ability to strip away the unseen and uncover even the deepest secrets, the Lawrence twins were a force to be reckoned with.Mom sipped her tea from the ancient china cup, the bottom clinking against the delicate saucer like a tiny bell. "As you both are aware," she said, drawing their attention, much to my relief, "Sydlynn has lost her magic."My whole body twitched
The morning dawned fresh and lovely, the sunrise stunning. I only knew so because I was there to meet it. I was almost startled when my alarm went off. A sense of peace had settled over me through the night, something I'd been missing. But the injection of real life was enough to shatter that illusion and slam me right back into the truth.Remembering I was powerless wasn't nearly as bad as realizing it was prom day and I had to pretend to be happy I was normal.No, not all bad. After all, in about twelve hours I would be escorted, in a fancy dress and shoes, to the dance by the stunningly handsome Brad Peters, my boyfriend. Things could have been worse. Then again, they could have been much better. I could instead be spending the evening with the guy I was meant to be with. But Quaid chose to drop me like I'd offended him. I hadn't heard a word from him since my demon left. He'd even avoided me at school and coven functions. Not that I'd been invited to the coven functions. Used to
Chiffon, satin and sparkles fell around my hips and legs in a bouncing, flouncing swirl of blue. I barely noticed. I was too busy trying to breathe inside the form-fitted shell of the bodice, squeezing me so hard I actually looked like I had something called cleavage. Real diamonds glittered in the mostly ignored holes in my ears. Why did I insist Mom let me have my ears pierced when I was ten? This was probably the first time they'd seen earrings since... okay, I couldn't remember when.But the crowning jewel of this whole affair? My long brown hair sat in glossy, elaborate curls, a few dangling down the side of my face while the rest foamed over in a frothing pile on the top of my head.Darling.And then there were the shoes. Shiny silver with more sparkles. Heels adding at least three inches to my height while pinching my toes, making the balls of my feet ache just looking at them.I'd never in my life worn that much eyeliner. Or foundation, blush, bronzer, highlighter, mascara,
Okay, so prom ended up a total waste of time.Dinner was a joke, for one. All the girls ignored me, and it seemed like they purposely separated Alison and I so I'd have absolutely no one to talk to. I was stuck at the end of our table with one of the jocks across from me and he spent the entire dinner either stuffing his face or tearing off blobs of his roll and throwing them at exposed cleavage.His aim was pretty good by the end of it.I didn't eat much. My dress was too tight anyway, despite the rumbling in my stomach. Didn't stop Brad from cleaning his plate and mine. At least the food didn't go to waste. Though as I watched him stuff what amounted to about half a potato into his mouth at once before laughing and spitting most of it out on the table, I quickly lost my appetite.So classy. Why had I not noticed this about him before? The way he slurped his drink, how he grated his knife across the plate when he bothered to cut anything at all? Not to mention the way he ignored m
He didn't take me home like I expected and though I figured I was in for a reaming or at least considerable I told you so's, I was still glad. I couldn't face Mom just yet. She figured I'd be out until at least midnight and I knew it was hours before that.Quaid pulled into the small park down the street from my house and switched off the engine. He slid off his helmet, hanging it from the handlebars, but didn't try to get up.I let go long enough to tug my helmet from my hair, shocked when it came free that the updo still felt reasonably secure.Mom certainly knew what to do with bobby pins.I slid off the back of the bike, dropping my shoes in the grass, letting the now too-long hem of my skirt hit the ground."Thanks for the ride."Quaid watched me as I shuffled my bare feet and tried to come up with something else to say, some defense for my actions. I had none. I'd done the best I could with what was left to me. My silence dragged out so long, mind wrestling with words and e
The kitchen was vacant and for a moment I wished Mom was there to talk to. But reality rushed in and I felt grateful she wasn't around. As much as I loved my mother and knew she just wanted the best for me, I didn't need to go over what happened with her.That I would save for Alison.I heard voices downstairs as I passed the basement door. Mom and Dad. Good, they were occupied. That meant sneaking upstairs without being stopped would be much more likely. They'd been spending a lot of their time down there lately. I figured they were trying to come up with a way to get Dad home safe and sound. Ever since Demetrius, the insane leader of the Chosen of the Light, shattered Dad's statue, he'd been stuck here on the mortal plane with us instead of his own realm of Demonicon. Without his effigy, he was as vulnerable as the rest of us and had no way to go back.I felt bad for him. As much as I loved having Dad around, I knew he had to be missing Demonicon. I'd catch sadness on his face s
Quaid's face shone very white in the low light. "Syd," he said, barely a breath of a word. "No."I wasn't focused on him. Sunny watched me like I'd offered her something she wasn't sure was a blessing or a curse. "This is a massive request," she said."I know." I shook from the thought of it and almost wanted the now silent and hovering Quaid to talk me out of it. "But I'm right and we both know it. The family is going to need all the help they can get. And me on the sidelines isn't serving anyone.""Syd, how can you ask me?" Crystal tears welled in her eyes. Sunny actually trembled a little. "Your mother would never forgive me.""You did it before," I said. "And she forgave you for Uncle Frank."Sunny shook her head, backing up a pace as if putting distance between us would make my words go away. "Not like this. It's not the same at all." She stilled visibly, going into creepy undead sculpture mode. "What if we locate your demon after you've been brought over?" She shook her head
Mom and Dad were gone when I made it back, my crazy but powerful grandmother securely warded in her bedroom. Even Meira was out, probably with the coven. And Sassafras was missing too.Probably for the best. I wasn't in the mood to listen to a lecture from a demon boy trapped in a cat's body.It was a long time before I slept.***A soft breeze blows, carrying the scent of honeysuckle and roses. The garden sways around me, bobbing blossoms dipping to the ground as the wind brushes past them.A lock of my blonde hair slips across my face and, as I lift one hand to brush it aside, my eyes lift and meet his. He is watching me, as he always does, his green eyes full of something I feel stirring in my own breast.I turn my head to the side, unable to contain the small smile lifting my lips, bending to breathe in the luscious scent of a large yellow rose swelling beside me.I feel his approach, welcome it. Turn to smile up at him.She stands behind him, glaring at me, her anger s