There's something nasty about being woken abruptly twice in one sleep cycle. Not like I was given much of a choice the second time. Hard to ignore my entire house shaking violently while a wave pulse breaking the speed of sound forced its way upward, lifting my bed an inch or two from the ground before dropping it back to the floor along with everything else I owned.Galleytrot yelped in surprise and pain, pawing at his ears as the thunderous boom of the shockwave echoed back. I shook my head, rotating my jaw to try and clear away the resounding thrum of it still bouncing around inside my skull.I reached for Sassafras, but his silver body was absent. Panic took over as the shock of the event passed. I gasped for air, listening to the tinkle and thuds of the contents of the house fall back into place. The faint scent of smoke shattered the freeze holding me in one spot.I threw myself out of bed yet again, hurtling down the stairs, feet slipping from one to the next until they were
I stomped down the hallway, foul humor pushing ahead of me like a wave. My foot was already on the step when something caught my eye. I paused, noticed the back door was open and went to investigate.Dad sat on the bench just outside, looking off into the distance. My heart immediately softened. It wasn't his fault. I was sure Mom connived to keep all of this from me without him knowing. I eased my way out and took a seat next to him, pulling my knees up and hugging them in the warmth of the morning. The sky was super blue, not a cloud in sight, the air still. Perfect summer day.That made the whole thing all the worse. It should have been raining, thunder clouds and sad skies to match his weary sorrow. I could feel it from him, my demon connecting with him easily. Even though he didn't have access to his demon power any longer, the fundamental core of him was still there and it welcomed her even if he didn't."Hey, cupcake." He tried a smile. It hurt so much to see him like this. H
I'd never understood my mom's obsession with her '66 Mustang. The way she took care of it, had it detailed regularly. I was even pretty sure she'd spelled it to protect the paint and interior from damage. Come on. It was just a car.Until she and Dad one happy, sunny morning just a few weeks ago, handed me a jingling set of keys. Squealing in absolute excitement, I found myself staring down the grill of a brand new Cooper Mini. I didn't care it was the same car Mom's best friend Erica drove. Not one little bit. I loved my car immediately with a powerful sense of possession I'd never felt before.I refrained from hugging its cute bonnet only out of sheer willpower, sliding behind the leather-covered wheel into the black seats that seemed made for me. It had been the most incredible gift I'd ever received and I vowed as I turned the key for the first time I'd never let anything happen to her ever.Her. Yeah. I know.The only downside? The color. Mind you, I didn't for a moment let ev
Alison hurried off to her room with me in tow. I paused, seeing Rosetta watching us from a doorway, letting my friend go on without me. I approached the maid, my anger simmering, hating the way she looked at me and the fact she was still a part of my friend's life.Rosetta tried to escape, but I caught her arm as she spun to run down the hall. I guided her into the room from where she'd been spying and eased the door closed. The bedroom was lovely but empty, some kind of guest room for a whole football team from the size of it.I ignored my surroundings, focusing on the frightened yet defiant maid."Tell me," I said at my most menacing, "what has happened to the Chosen of the Light?" The last I knew they were busy tearing Demitrius apart. But having some more information on their current activities would be nice.Rosetta moaned softly, stricken. "We are no more." Tears gathered in her large dark eyes, true sorrow making her pathetic. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. Maybe if he
I retreated to the basement for the remainder of the evening. It had been hard to find time to use the family pentagram with Dad hogging it all the time. I'd been forced to chalk one out on the floor of my bedroom or make one with string in the living room. Now that Mom had my dad confined to quarters after his little fireworks display, I had the whole space to myself.Everything seemed to come naturally lately. Without the constant threat of puking holding me back and the actually pleasant experience it was to open up to my magic, I still had moments of pure terror when my demon's power roared to life or when I felt Shaylee's magic touch me. It was all I could do to keep myself under control, to not shriek like a little girl in a haunted house at a carnival every time it happened.The trouble was I remembered how it felt when my demon took over. And while I knew we didn't have that kind of relationship anymore, it still wound me up."Magic is about the unconscious mind doing the bi
I stepped back from my artful hanging of a handful of balloons and eyed what I'd done. "This okay?"Alison came running over, ribbon ends stuck in her mouth and an armload of some kind of sparkly fabric in her arms. "Mumph mumph!"Um, what? I liberated the ribbons so she could talk."Looks great!" She beamed at me, flustered but clearly in her happy place. "Almost done. Can you help with the bunting?"So that was what bunting looked like. I followed her to the doorway, hopping up on what was surely an expensive chair to support the weight of the fabric while Alison tacked it to the wall. I winced a few times as she hammered the tacks into the trim with the heel of her shoe, wondering what her mother would say when she discovered her perfect home wasn't so perfect anymore.Half of me was proud of Alison. She'd initially asked me to host, switched her suggestion Johnny's, the local hangout, before deciding to have the party at her place."It's time I stopped hiding who I am," she s
I found myself congratulating Simon along with the others despite the look on his face. He did his best to be brave, but I knew that expression, had worn it a few times myself. The look of the newbie about to be thrown to the wolves of a new town.Worse for him was the fact I knew he was only fourteen and going to college. College. I was headed there myself the following year and I still didn't feel ready. I could only imagine how afraid he was.Before we had much of a chance to go beyond our uncertain kudos, we were interrupted. Angela chose exactly then to prove to her daughter embarrassment was the only love language she knew.She clattered her way through the door, a drink in one hand, droplets splattering from the rim to paint the floor. Angela was as perfectly made up as usual, but there was a harsh plastic edge to her that always made me cringe. She smiled at us, the tight expression of a woman who was trying too hard."Hello, children!" Her high heels slid over the wetness
It took Pain some time to pull herself together, and even when she did there was no way I was letting her find her own way home. I left her at her doorway, waving as I walked off, feeling a sense of déjà vu. Hadn't I just done the same for Simon?This day was some major suckage. Thank goodness it was almost over. Dark was falling over Wilding Springs, shadows lengthening before me as the sun set. I breathed in the cooling air as night approached, taking my time on my way home. The streets were quiet, only the odd car driving by to hit me with their headlights. Even that little disruption bothered me.I needed to be alone.The park beckoned, a beautiful, wide expanse leading almost all the way to my door. I crossed it on a diagonal, glancing into a stand of trees, remembering the night Sunny, Quaid and I met to talk about retrieving my demon. Thinking of Quaid just made things worse.I was inside the trees by then, just entering the park, when I felt someone following me. The feelin