by Kat Cotton
But I wasn’t so sure. We were a bunch of kids playing with things we didn’t understand. I wished Mr. Norton was here with us to give us guidance.
“I saw the photos of your parents in your room,” he said. “I’m sorry. It’s okay you took those files. I have no photos of my mother, either.”
We’d both been screwed over by this. Other people manipulated us for their own benefit. All of us. Not just Ren and I, but Angela and Farran and even Polly and Ari. Because a stupid bunch of adults wanted to play stupid games. It made me so angry.
Tarragon and Polly returned with herbs and candles and books.
We moved the table aside and they laid a black cloth on the floor.
After drawing a circle on the cloth with chalk, they lit candles and asked for the lights to go off. I expected someone to actually flick the switch but the lights went out all on their own. Even after the things I’d seen, but that sent a shiver down my back.
“Is that the summoning spell?” I asked. Those herbs smelled pungent and I tried to wave the smoke away from me.
Tarragon shook his head. “We can draw her spirit here but she’ll guide us. Her power is much stronger than ours.”
Polly got Farran’s ring out of her pocket. The red stone in the center of the ring glowed in the candlelight. I guess that was the power of it.
She placed it in the middle of the circle. There’d be no turning back now.
Chapter 38
A WHITE LIGHT SHOT from the ring to the ceiling. The floor beneath me hummed and the smoke from the burning herbs thickened, swirling around the room until it became overpowering.
The four of them — Britney, Tarragon, Polly and Ari — chanted. I almost wanted to laugh, it sounded so strange, but the way Polly’s eyes rolled back in her head stopped the laughter. Was she supposed to look like that? I’d never seen anyone do serious spell work like this before.
The smoke lessened and the light in the middle of the room turned from white to purple.
“She’s here,” Polly whispered.
A shiver ran through me. This was what I’d wanted, to find Mrs. Worthington, but something about it seemed wrong.
What would happen now? Would she emerge in the middle of the room, fully-formed? Where had her body gone anyway, if she was non-corporeal?
A force slammed into my chest, hard enough to knock the breath out of me. I had just regained my footing when it happened again, this time stronger. Heaving me off my feet and throwing me across the room.
My back slammed hard into the wall, almost smashing me into Mark.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think so.” I checked if Ren had been thrown too but he sat at the edge of the circle, unaware of what was going on.
“Get her away from here,” Polly screamed in a voice not like her own.
Me? She meant me.
Had that message come from Mrs. Worthington or were they drawing more demons to this world?
I leaned against the wall, well away from the circle, as the others kept chanting. I wanted to warn Mark. We’d need to be on our toes if this spell went wrong. Any kind of demon could be drawn here. We hadn’t thought this through very well.
Coldness hit me, cold like I’d never felt before, and I’d known a lot of coldness. The chill tortured my body like a million pinpricks. I shivered, curling into myself to get warm.
Mark grabbed a blanket from the store cupboard, wrapping it around my shoulders.
A screeching started as the purple light grew more vivid. A purple so bright it became painful to look at. I could no longer smell the herbs but violets. So strong. It was like the whole world became a field of violets. Cloying and intense.
This wasn’t right. We had to stop it. No matter what Ren had said.
He had to feel this too. The wrongness.
But Ren just smiled.
The smell of violets became suffocating, the floor rocked so hard that the fold-up chairs crashed to the floor. The windows shuddered and the chanting continued.
“Stop...” the words spluttered out of me, my throat seeming to close over. “Stop.”
But they’d never hear me over the chanting, and anyway, they seemed dazed. All of them, except for Mark and Lucas.
I tried to stand but couldn’t move, a strange heaviness weighing down my body.
Lucas put his arm around me, trying to help me to my feet but he couldn’t lift me. He struggled with all his might until I waved him away in case he hurt himself.
“This is strange, right?” I asked him.
“You’re noticing it too?”
I nodded. Why were we the only ones not affected?
The wall vibrated against my back. Lucas’ gaze kept flitting to Britney as though he wasn’t sure if he should get her out of here. I wasn’t sure either.
Heavy pounding on the door interrupted us. The operatives.
“Let us in,” one of them shouted. “We need to help.”
“I knew this was wrong.” Lucas hung his head but made no attempt to open the door. “We need to stop it.”
I would if I could.
The room lurched, knocking Lucas off his feet.
The light seared my eyes, bringing on the head pounding and body jerks I knew only too well. I put my arm over my eyes, screaming but not sure if the screams only reverberated inside of me.
“Stop!” Desperation forced the word from me.
No matter what Ren wanted, no matter what anyone wanted, we had to stop.
But, when I took my arm from my eyes, that woman stood in the middle of the room. Long, brown hair flowed down her back, and her brown eyes were the same as Ren’s. She wore the same purple dress she’d been wearing in the sunflower garden.
I smiled, tentatively, but her face twisted with hate.
Then she turned to Ren and helped him to his feet, her expression softening into a smile. “My baby. You've grown up so handsome.” She stroked his cheek.
The others stared at her in awe. Even Lucas’ mouth hung open.
Grace Worthington was incredibly beautiful. A beauty I’d not realized in my memory. She hugged Ren to her. The two of them clinging to each other, sobbing.
Maybe I’d been mistaken about that look. She had no reason to hate me and she’d probably been a bit disoriented, moving through that veil from the crazy place.
Okay, this family reunion was awkward as. I wondered if it would be best for the rest of us to leave the room.
I tried to stand again and, this time, made it to my feet. I inhaled. Standing felt good.
Lucas rushed to Britney to check she was okay and I stumbled closer to the circle.
So, not much left to do here. I needed to get that ring back before Polly remembered it. I wasn’t very impressed with her grabby hands. Luckily, I’d never had anything worth stealing when I’d shared the dorm with her.
Then, when Ren and his mother got over their teary reunion, we could call that lawyer and get all the business with the Worthington estate settled. I had the lawyer’s business card in my room somewhere. Mrs. Worthington could move back into that horrible house, Ren’s fortune would be restored and we’d all live happily ever after.
I picked up Farran’s ring and put it on my finger, where it’d be safe until I could fulfill my part of the bargain with Mr. Quiller.
“You!” there was no mistaking the hatred in Mrs. Worthington’s eyes this time. Her gaze became hate beams directed right at me.
I stumbled back. Why did she hate me? There was no reason at all. “You remember me, right, Mrs. Worthington? You were friends with my mother.”
“You must die!”
Huh? That didn’t sound crazy at all.
“Hey guys. I’ve found the message.” Nova stood up.
I’d forgotten he was even here. Had he been messing with Mr. Norton’s phone the whole time?
“Is it important?” I asked. I mean, needing to save myself from the crazed hatred of my friend’s mother seemed a bit more important.
>
“Seems so. This guy found part of the prophecy and translated it. The sun and the star will save the world.”
I knew that part already.
Grace Worthington’s voice joined with Nova’s as he read the next part of the message. “To save one, the other must die.”
Chapter 39
“WAIT... WHAT?”
Mrs. Worthington loomed over me, all hate eyes again, her hair swirling around her head in a way that defied gravity. That purple glow gleamed around her.
I took a step back, wanting to get out of her way but I needn’t have bothered. She raised her hand and sent me flying across the room again.
“Oof.” The air forced out of my lungs as I hit the wall.
“You need to settle down.” Britney stared at Mrs. Worthington.
She wasn’t wrong about that but Mrs. Worthington ignored her, too wrapped up in her reunion with Ren.
Britney squatted beside me. “Do you think she’s dangerous?” she whispered.
“Buddy, she wants to kill me.” I scrambled to my feet. “So, yeah, I do think.”
“But is she a danger to anyone else? Maybe she has some kind of PTSD. She might settle down when she gets her bearings.”
“I’m not banking on that. We need to sort this out. Now.”
This situation was far more complicated than fighting any demon. We couldn’t just attack and kill. She was Ren’s mother and, technically, human.
I looked around the room, assessing the situation. Ari cowered in the corner while Polly stared, wide-eyed.
“We need to get Polly and Ari out of here,” I said. “Even if they don’t get hurt, they are freaking out. And we might need to fight... They’ve seen too much already.”
Britney nodded.
Mark and Lucas still guarded the door. They were closer to Polly and Ari than I was. I gave Lucas the signal to clear the room.
I gulped. “I’ll distract Mrs. Worthington while they do that.”
Britney pulled me back to the floor. “No. You stay low-key. I’ll try to calm her. If that doesn’t work, we can try a spell to sedate her.”
Mrs. Worthington had her arm around Ren. I don’t think she realized that he wasn’t still the little boy she’d left behind. And, to be honest, Ren wasn’t helping. He seemed... not like himself.
Britney walked closer while I tried to stay as low to the ground as I could.
“Mrs. Worthington.” Britney used her soft, calming voice. “Things must be unsettling for you right now.”
I clenched my fists. This might work, but if that woman even looked like she’d harm Britney, I’d fight her.
Lucas guided Polly and Ari to the door.
“We’re never getting our money off her,” Polly said as she left.
Like that was a priority right now. They probably shouldn’t be allowed out of the room without their memories being wiped but no time for that. Their safety had to come first.
Nova mouthed “sorry” as he slipped out behind them.
Britney kept approaching Mrs. Worthington, slowly, using her calming voice.
Lucas stood near the door, his muscles as tense as mine. We both held our breath. The last thing we needed right now was for him to turn wolf.
Britney reached out and put her hand on Mrs. Worthington’s arm, her movements slow and gentle. Mrs. Worthington smiled.
This might work. Maybe Britney was right and she just needed to calm down.
Then Mrs. Worthington slapped Britney’s hand away.
“Little girl, don’t try to interfere with my plans.” Again, she let out a metallic screech that might almost be considered laughing.
I took a deep breath. Would she hurt Britney?
But Ren stepped between them, and Mrs. Worthington seemed to forget the rest of us existed.
The calming spell. It’d have to work. But if it didn’t...
My fingers twitched. I had my phone in my pocket. If only I could call Mr. Norton to ask for advice. Or someone, anyone. I didn’t think those operatives would be much good, but maybe, if we got desperate...
There was someone else. I wasn’t sure if he’d help or even care but, while Mrs. Worthington cooed over Ren, I quickly sent a message to Mr. Quiller.
Britney and Tarragon whispered together near the black cloth, then Britney leaned forward to light the candle.
I held my breath, waiting for the ritual to start.
The purple glow around Mrs. Worthington dimmed. Did that mean something? Her shoulders lowered and her breathing seemed less erratic. Maybe her mind had warped from being in that void for so long. Perhaps she did just need to adjust.
Quietness descended on the room.
I dug my nails into my palms, waiting.
Then that purple glow flared up, the violet smell intensified. Mrs. Worthington screamed then kicked over the candle, swatting at the air as though fighting off bugs.
And then my phone beeped.
No. Not now. Why hadn’t I put it on silent?
“You must die!” The lights flickered as Mrs. Worthington screamed.
“Yeah, yeah. I got all that.”
“Stop.” Ren got to his feet, shaking himself out of his stupor. “You... you want to kill Cherry? No.”
“Only one of you will survive — and she’s a killer.” Mrs. Worthington cackled, a horrible noise like metal scraping against metal.
“But you can’t kill her. I don’t want... I don’t want any of this.”
“I just want you to be happy.” Mrs. Worthington walked towards Ren, her voice soft and soothing. “But you can’t be happy unless this connection is severed. You can’t trust her. She’s not like you, she’s rotten inside.”
Ren wouldn’t seriously believe that, surely. Ren wouldn’t let me die. But something about Mrs. Worthington’s voice put him in a confused state, his eyes glazed, his body limp.
Mrs. Worthington might have strong powers but she was human now. In a frail human body. We couldn’t calm her and we couldn’t use magic to sedate her. That only left one option. I had to attack.
She had her back to me, talking to Ren. I’d never get another chance.
I rushed her, jumping on her back with my hands around her neck. If she passed out, we’d buy some time.
She struggled and roared, trying to shake me off her. I pressed my hands tighter.
Mark and Lucas grabbed her arms, restraining her.
Tarragon quickly relit the candle and chanted something that I assumed would help.
Together, we could stop her. Mrs. Worthington couldn’t win against us all.
Everything moved so fast. We had her on the floor, pinned down, while she thrashed, trying to get free.
My hands stayed around her neck, thinking of no other way to make her stop. Adrenalin coursed through my body. I could do this.
Then Ren pulled me backward. “No! Don’t kill her.”
“Help me, Ren.” Together, we were strongest.
But Ren slammed me down, pinning me to the floor, knocking the breath out of me.
“You killed my father, you can’t kill my mother!”
A gurgling noise came from my throat, the words stuck. He thought that? He really thought it? So much for him believing in me. His mother had addled his brain.
I tried to throw him off me but his knee pressed hard into my chest.
The others had hold of his mother, weakening against her but keeping her out of action.
I tried to catch Ren’s gaze, to implore him to let me go and to work with me.
The look in Ren’s eyes made me recoil. I’d been so used to seeing warmth there that I’d forgotten what he’d been like when I first started at this school. His eyes were cold and harsh and full of hate.
“You are evil, Cherry Love.”
The Ren I saw was no longer my friend. He wasn’t the person I loved. She’d taken that Ren from me and replaced him with the Ren I hated. Ren, the merciless bully.
Chapter 40
THE OTHERS COULDN’T ho
ld Mrs. Worthington down for long. She threw them off, a surge of purple light filling the room.
I cringed away from it, trying to block the light before it burned into my brain. That bright light was my one weakness. With Ren holding me down, it wasn’t so easy to shield my eyes.
The pain hammered into me while my body convulsed. For a moment, there was only darkness, and that darkness felt good. Then I floated, weightless and uncaring. It seemed like that room at the school was a long way away from me. My instinct told me to relax into it, not to fight.
Then I jolted. What had she done? Was she sending me back through that void she’d come from? Was it even possible?
Her crackling laugh surrounded me, amplifying in my head.
I opened my eyes and tried to focus. This place seemed formless and empty.
“Your friends can’t help you now.”
She stood in front of me, the purple light glowing from her body now. Her face twisted and contorted.
Smoke swirled around us, and beyond the smoke, darkness.
I tried to steady myself but, without solidness, I stumbled, unbalanced like I was on one of those giant bouncing castles.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight, though. I dug deep within myself, gathering as much power as I could. If I was going to die, I’d die fighting.
She laughed again, the cackle turning shrill like nails down a blackboard.
My body glowed blue as a frenzy of energy buzzed inside me. I could take her out. She might be powerful but I was no slouch.
I hurled that power straight toward her. All the anger and pain that had built up in me sizzled like a live wire. She tried to dodge but not fast enough. It caught her, full force.
Her purple glow faded, flickering black.
I panted, trying to regain my breath, so depleted that my power would take a while to rebuild.
Ren accused me of trying to kill his mother when she was the one pushing me. She was the one wanting me dead.
I tried to straighten up. I didn’t want to show any weakness.
Her force slammed into me. I screamed but that scream just echoed in the darkness.