by Sarra Cannon
“Cute boots,” Allison said. “Did you go shopping last weekend?”
“There's definitely something different,” Lark said. “New conditioner?”
“Not exactly,” I said. I raised one eyebrow. I didn't want to come right out and say that I'd used a glamour. Not with Allison right there.
It took her a second to figure it out. “Oh,” she said, finally realizing what I meant. “Nice.”
“What?” Allison said. “I don't get it.”
Lark made a move toward the building, ignoring Allison's comment.
“Aren't we going to wait for Brooke?” I asked.
Lark turned. “She told us not to wait for her in the mornings anymore,” she said.
“Since when?”
“Since after you went into the hospital.” She shifted the strap of her backpack and nodded her head toward the building. “Come on, let's go before we miss the bell.”
I jogged to catch up with her. “Wait a second,” I said, matching her pace. “You can't just drop a bomb like that on me and expect me to forget it. Did something happen? Did you guys get into some kind of argument?”
A guy I didn't know whistled as he passed by us, looking me up and down. I cringed and shook my head. That was weird.
“Not an argument, exactly,” she said. We stopped by her locker and she twisted in the combination on the lock. “She's just different now. You know, ever since she turned eighteen. It's like she gets initiated into the Order and suddenly she's too good for us trainees.”
Allison finally caught up with us. She leaned against the locker, slightly out of breath. “Geez, you guys training for a marathon or something?”
Lark rolled her eyes and pulled open her locker door.
“What are you guys talking about, anyway?”
“Brooke,” Lark said.
“Oh.” Allison crinkled her nose. “I don't get her these days. She's really been absent, you know? I think it's all those late-night sessions talking to her boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Man, I really had missed a lot in the week I'd been out.
“The governor's son,” Lark said. “For years, all Brooke could talk about was how much of a major crush she had on Foster and how she wished he and Tori weren't together. Then, the second she gets him to fall for her, she dumps him like he's trash and goes after the governor's son.”
“It's like, suddenly she's all about politics and getting into a good school where she can study foreign affairs or some crap.”
I thought about Brooke's birthday confession to me that she'd always wanted to work with horses. Sometimes I wondered if being a member of the Order meant giving up everything you wanted out of life. Did Brooke really have a choice about her own future? Or had they decided it for her?
Lark slammed her locker door shut. “It doesn't matter,” she said. “We've still got each other, right?”
I smiled at her and nodded. “Of course,” I said. “I don't plan on changing anytime soon.”
A group of guys I recognized from the basketball team walked by and a few of them said good morning to me. I raised my hand in a slight wave, confused. I'd been in school at Peachville High for months now and those guys had never once said hello to me. Heck, I didn't even know they knew my name.
“Maybe you've already changed,” Lark said.
Her comment stuck with me for the rest of the day. Maybe she was right. I mean, sure, I was wearing different clothes today because of the glamour, but new clothes shouldn't be making this much difference. Even my teachers were paying more attention to me. A few of them even let me slide on the assignments I'd missed the week before.
In each of my morning classes, I caught several people turning in their seats to look at me. I was kind of a sit-in-the-back kind of girl and most of the time people ignored me. Being part of the Demons cheerleading squad earned me a little bit of popularity, but in class, I tended to blend in. These people had all grown up together and had been in the same class since Kindergarten. I couldn't compete with that. The novelty of being the new girl wore off weeks ago, and I became just another body to fill the seats.
But today was different.
I felt like a magnet that was attracting all sorts of attention. Teachers called on me for my answers in every class and complimented me for my “astute observations” or my “unique take” on the subject. In the hallway, heads turned as I walked past. It was definitely weird. I even made three extra trips to the bathroom to make sure I didn't have something weird smothered all over my face or something stuck in my teeth.
Before lunch, I ducked into the girl's bathroom one more time, just to check. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The glamour was in place. No flaws that I could see, anyway. My hair was more bouncy and full than normal, and of course, the clothes were nicer, but none of that accounted for the drastic change in everyone's behavior toward me.
It was my eyes that were most different. Normally, they were just a plain chestnut brown. Nothing special. But today, there was something about them. They seemed to sparkle. I leaned closer to the mirror to get a better look.
The brown was infused with golden flecks and my eyes seemed lighter than usual. I couldn't quite put it into words. It was as if someone had filled me up with some kind of sparkling energy.
And power from their demons.
I shivered. As fun as it was to suddenly be popular, I knew it came at a price. One step closer to being Prima meant one step closer to losing myself. Hadn't they already changed me enough? Where would I start to draw the line?
And when would it be too late to turn back?
Just Do It
“Today, we're going to be changing into our gym clothes and sneakers,” Mrs. King announced as soon as we walked into after-school cheerleading practice.
Everyone groaned. Usually, we spent our time working on our magic. It was just as easy to create an orb of light in jeans as it was in shorts and a sports bra.
“Why?” Lark asked, voicing the one question on all our minds.
“We're going to practice,” Mrs. King said with a smile.
“Cheers?” Allison said, pushing her eyebrows together.
“Yes, cheers,” Brooke said, stepping up beside Mrs. King. “And a new dance routine. We have the most important game of the year coming up against Cypress. Another special town, just like Peachville. We want to look our best.”
“Plus, we have our regional cheerleading competition coming up in just a few weeks,” Mrs. King added. “We've come in second place every year for the past three years. I think this year could be our chance to finally win regionals and move on to state.”
“Who keeps beating us?” I whispered to Lark.
“Cypress,” she said. “They're the closest demon gate to Peachville and have kind of been our rival team for a long time. Their squad is amazing.”
“Do we really have a shot at beating them this year?”
She shrugged and headed into the locker room.
Changing into gym clothes presented a unique problem for me. I had no idea if my clothes would change back to their old, holey selves as soon as I took them off or not. The amount of concentration I'd expended on keeping up my appearance all day was minimal, but I needed a little extra juice in order to make sure the glamour stayed put even when I took the clothes off.
I stood in front of my locker and took a deep, calming breath. I blocked the sound of the girls chattering around me and the sound of their shoes squeaking on the floor. I pulled into myself and tapped into that deep well that ran below the surface of my consciousness. When I felt that I was connected to my own power, I quickly pulled off my clothes and stuffed them into my gym bag. Thankfully, they didn't change back while they were still in view. It would be a miracle if they stayed the same all the way through practice, though, so I figured I might have to find a quiet place to re-do my entire glamour before I met with Jackson.
Jackson. Just thinking about him made my stomach flutter. I hadn't seen him aro
und all day even though I looked for him in the halls. I knew he was at school, because I'd seen his bike in the parking lot. I hoped practice wouldn't run late today. With my new seven o'clock curfew, I wouldn't have much time at all.
“Earth to Harper.” Brooke snapped her fingers, and I looked up. She tossed my sneakers at me, hard. “There's no time for daydreams. Everyone's waiting.”
I looked around. She was right. I guess I'd missed everyone heading back into the gym. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
I carried my sneakers with me into the gym and sat down on the bleachers while Mrs. King explained what we were going to do. As soon as I put them on, I realized I had a much bigger part to play in the next routine than anything we'd ever done in the past. I bit my lip. Was I really ready for this?
The way the sneakers worked, it put the memory of the routines into both our minds and our bodies, as if we'd been practicing them for weeks. Unfortunately, wearing the sneakers did not rule out the possibility of messing up. The same way a cheerleader could practice a routine for months, then choke when it came time to perform, a girl wearing the magic sneakers could mess up too. I didn't like the thought of messing up when I was going to be soaring through the air.
I raised my hand. “Um, Mrs. King?”
“Yes, Harper?”
“I think I might have been given the wrong shoes,” I said. “I thought Brooke was normally at the top of the final pyramid.”
Brooke's head snapped toward me. I saw the tightness in her jaw, the anger in her eyes. I'd never seen that kind of look from her before.
“No,” Mrs. King said. “You've got the right shoes. I decided to give you a more prominent role in the new routine. I think you're perfect for the top of the pyramid.”
What? Where did this come from? I hadn't asked for a more prominent role. I didn't want it. It seemed like everywhere I turned today, someone was pushing me into the spotlight.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Lark put her hand on my arm and shook her head. “Just do it,” she said. “You might as well try it once and see how it goes. Besides, Mom told me about last night. Well, not everything, but she told me you know you're the Prima Futura and we can stop keeping it a secret. People need to start seeing you as a leader.”
I swallowed nervously. I'd never thought of it that way. Was that what their ritual was all about? To make me more popular and beautiful so that the town would start to see me as their golden child? Somehow, it didn't feel right. I hadn't earned any of it.
But to turn down the new position on the team might throw up some red flags. Maybe the Order would begin to question my loyalty. I couldn't afford for that to happen, so I just smiled and pretended to be excited about the new routine.
Our first run-through went surprisingly well. I was nervous to be up so high in the air, but once I got up there, my body knew exactly what to do.
“Try to look more confident, Harper,” Mrs. King yelled up to me. “You're going to be fine!”
I steadied myself at the top of the pyramid and lifted my hands into the air with a smile. On cue, the girls below threw me into the air. I tucked and landed safely in their arms, then flipped up onto my feet. The routine was exhilarating. My heart rate soared and I was actually having fun. Just when I started getting into it, though, Brooke bumped into my shoulder.
I cried out and bent over in pain. She'd hit me exactly where the dagger had gone into my skin that night at the old hospital. Mrs. King stopped the music and rushed over.
“What happened?”
I looked up at Brooke's face. She'd plastered on a look of confusion and sympathy.
“I don't know,” she said in a voice so sweet it almost didn't sound like her at all. “Harper went the wrong way on the turn. She bumped right into me.”
I glared at her. What was her problem? If she really cared that much about being on top of the pyramid, she could have it. Damn.
“Maybe I'm not cut out for the lead position,” I said.
“Nonsense,” Mrs. King said, helping me off the court and onto the bleachers. “You looked perfect up there. Maybe there's something wrong with the memory spell. Let's run it again without Harper and see how it goes.” She turned to me. “You just take a rest and then you can jump back in on the next run-through.”
There were no more problems with the routine for the rest of the afternoon. After my shoulder stopped throbbing, I ran through the routine with the team three more times without bumping into anyone. I knew it was Brooke that went the wrong way that first time, and it wasn't a problem with the spell. She'd done it on purpose just to hurt me.
She really had changed.
She Was Nothing
I groaned as I looked into my bag. My cool new outfit had gone back to its horrible original state. I must have lost my concentration when Brooke hit my shoulder.
I knew I couldn't change with all these people around. I stalled for time as everyone else changed, then, when no one was watching, I slipped into the secret training room downstairs. Luckily, it was empty. I quickly changed into my old clothes and sat down on the hard cement floor. It took me a little while longer to connect with my power than it had this morning. My shoulder was still sore and it messed with my concentration. Pain sucked.
When I finally got the glamour going again, I walked quietly up the stairs. I heard my name in the locker room. I stopped and listened before I went through the wall.
“Harper's new to this town and this squad,” Brooke said. Her voice had an angry edge to it. “What gives her the right to just take over the lead position? I've been waiting four years to be at the top of the pyramid. I finally get there and what happens? Some new girl who's never cheered before in her entire pitiful life takes it away from me.”
I cringed. Part of me wanted to run up there and tell her that I didn't want the position in the first place. But at the same time, I knew that I needed to do exactly what Mrs. King told me to do. If I started falling short of the Order's expectations, there was no telling what they might do to me. I didn't want to find out.
“She's special,” Allison said.
I couldn't tell how many people were up there, but I was glad Allison was kind of sticking up for me.
“She's clueless,” Brooke said. “You saw her when she first got to this town. She was nothing until we invited her into our group.”
I'd never heard Brooke talk so nasty. Her words stung. I didn't know she felt that way about me.
“Brooke, she's the future Prima for God's sake. You have to respect that,” Allison said. “I know it sucks because you totally deserve to be the star of the squad this year. You earned it. But at the same time, she's important. I'm sure that whatever their reasons, the Order is doing what's best for all of us. Including you.”
Brooke made a frustrated sound deep in her throat. “I'll believe it when I see it,” she said. “Besides, she's not even technically the Prima yet. She's only a future. She still has to prove herself in this town. Especially after the disappointment her mother was all those years ago.”
My hands clenched into tight fists. How dare she say those things about my mother. I felt a sick pang in my stomach. Did everyone know more about her than I did?
As soon as I was sure Brooke and Allison were gone, I came through the wall. A sound up in the open window overlooking the locker room caught my attention.
A black crow sat in the window sill. I looked up just in time to see it turn and fly away. I suddenly got the strangest feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe I was imagining things, but I could have sworn that crow had blue eyes.
Aerden
I did my best to shake off the anger I felt after listening to Brooke's rant. Lark was right about Brooke being different these days. She was jealous and snippy and on a complete power trip. Did joining with a demon turn her into that? The question only brought a million more questions to mind. Like, was it the demon who was bringing out the worst in her? I didn't want to believe that. Jackson was a demon of some sort and he
wasn't evil. It couldn't be the demon making her like this. It had to be something else the Order was doing to her.
I grabbed my bag and headed out to meet Jackson. As soon as I saw him leaning against his bike in the parking lot, my entire body felt lighter. My face broke out in a huge smile. He looked up at me, as if feeling my presence.
I watched him as I crossed the distance between the gym and the parking lot. He was wearing worn blue jeans and black cowboy boots. His dark hair was spiked slightly on top. His leather jacket hung open a little and underneath he wore a dark gray t-shirt that clung to him in just the right way.
My pulse raced. How could someone so perfect be interested in spending time with a girl like me? The corner of his mouth curled into a smile, and my knees went weak.
He stood as I approached. There was a book in his hand and he kept his finger inside to hold his page. “Look who decided not to ditch me today?” he teased.
“Haha, very funny,” I said. “Last night wasn't my fault. Believe me I would have much rather been with you.”
He raised one eyebrow, studying me more closely. “You went to see the council?”
“How did you know?” I asked. Then, I shook my head. “Wait, not here. We'll talk about it later. What's the surprise?”
“If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?”
I laughed. Well, more like giggled. He kind of brought out the girly side of me. “I guess not.”
The back of the bike was packed with stuff. There was a blanket strapped on the back, but I couldn't tell what was underneath. A basket of some sort?
He handed me a helmet and our fingers touched. I started to pull the helmet away, but he held onto it, running his index finger along the outside edge of my pinky. I looked up and our eyes met. Everything else fell away from my vision. There could have been a thousand people in that parking lot, and I wouldn't have seen a single soul except Jackson. The look in his green eyes made my breath catch in my throat and my hands go all clammy.