Everyone packed into the living room as quickly as possible. Students had already squeezed onto the couches and armchairs surrounding the coffee table, so I plopped down on the rug with Chris and Kate. Blake and Danielle stood to the side, near the staircase. They were so involved in conversation that their heads nearly touched. Blake had his back to me, but I could see the irritation on Danielle’s face. I wondered what they were fighting about—and if fighting was something they did often.
Once everyone was inside, Darius shut the porch doors and looked around the room. “I would have liked to stay outside and watch the comet for the entire hour, but obviously that isn’t going to be possible,” he said, clasping his hands in front of him. “So we’re going to move on and discuss what occurred during the meditation. Did any of you notice a change in energy underneath the power of the comet?”
About half of the room nodded, and a senior guy with shaggy, light brown hair whose name I remembered was Patrick spoke up. “It felt like there was a lot more energy,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t explain it, but there was a difference. Like it was easier to access.”
“Good.” Darius nodded and looked around again. “Anyone else?”
“I finally felt some of the energy,” a freshman girl said from one of the couches. “It wasn’t much, but it was definitely more than normal.”
“That’s wonderful.” Darius smiled at her, and she sat up a bit straighter. “Hopefully you’ll be able to take what you learned tonight and apply it to future lessons,” he said. “Would anyone else like to volunteer what they experienced?”
I looked over at Kate. I’d assumed she would relish the opportunity to share our experience with the class, but she studied the rug, combing through the tassels. Danielle and Blake both leaned against the wall, not appearing like they were going to say anything, either.
Chris finally spoke up. “We got an electric jolt,” he said, bringing his fingers together and pushing them apart to imitate a jolt of energy. “Everything was normal, then all these colors connected us together, and then BOOM—electric shock. It was pretty cool.”
Darius furrowed his eyebrows. “What did the rest of you feel?” he asked, looking at Kate and me and then back to Blake and Danielle. “Was it like Chris said? A jolt of energy?”
“Yeah,” Danielle said. “He pretty much covered it.”
Darius looked back at me, and I nodded, as did Kate and Blake.
“Interesting,” he mused, bringing his fingers to his chin and gazing out the window.
“Was that … normal?” I finally asked.
“The Olympian Comet hasn’t come around for three thousand years,” he said. “There’s no knowing what’s ‘normal.’”
I pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Wasn’t Darius supposed to understand this stuff? The Elders were in charge, and if Darius—who was an Elder himself—didn’t know what to expect, then we might never understand what had happened tonight in our circle.
I’d thought that coming here tonight would give me answers.
Instead, I was left with more questions than ever.
CHAPTER NINE
We talked for about an hour longer, then Darius ended the discussion and dismissed the class. Danielle didn’t waste any time before marching over to Kate, Chris, and me, fire blazing in her eyes.
“Way to bring up what happened in front of everyone,” she said to Chris, crossing her arms over her chest.
Chris stepped toward her, sticking his chin out. “What’s the big deal?” he asked. “Darius asked us to talk about what we’d experienced, so I did. Aren’t you curious about what happened, too?”
“Of course I’m curious.” She rolled her eyes. “But we don’t even know if we did anything or not. The last thing we want is everyone asking us questions.”
Blake walked over to us before anyone could respond. “Hey, guys.” He looked around at all of us, his eyes stopping on mine. “Are you all coming to the party tomorrow night?”
“What party?” I asked, surprised by the sudden change of subject.
He looked at Danielle and furrowed his eyebrows. “You didn’t invite them yet?”
“She hadn’t gotten to it.” I doubted that Danielle had planned on inviting me anywhere, but a party was exactly the sort of break I needed from this witch stuff. It would be nice to do something normal for a change. “But I’d love to go.”
“I’m in, too.” Chris pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and flashed a boyish grin at Kate. “What about you, Kate?”
“Maybe.” She shifted her feet and held her elbow with her hand. “I’ll think about it.”
“Great.” Danielle didn’t hide the sarcasm from her tone. “The party starts around eight. At my house.”
“Sounds good.” I stood straight and smiled, determined not to back down. “Thanks for the invite.”
“We’ll see you all tomorrow night.” Blake turned to Danielle, who was standing as still as a statue, and rested his hand against her back. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes cold as ice. “We’ll see you all tomorrow.” She turned on her heel, threw her hair over her shoulder, and stomped after Blake as he walked out the front door.
“That girl has some serious issues,” Kate said after they’d left.
“Understatement of the year.” I laughed.
She laughed along with me, but then her eyes turned serious. “You don’t actually plan on going tomorrow night, do you?”
“Why wouldn’t I go?” I asked, even though I could think of a few reasons—the main one being that it was at Danielle’s house and she clearly didn’t want us there. But after whatever had happened between the five of us under the comet, I felt less afraid of Danielle than ever. “Blake invited us. The party will probably be fun, and it’ll be easier for me to get to know people there than at school.”
“I don’t know …” She pressed her lips together and held her elbow with her hand.
“Come on, Kate,” Chris said. “Give the party a chance. You’ve lived here your whole life, and barely anyone knows you. It’s about time you broke out of your shell.”
“No one would force you to stay,” I added. “If you get there and hate it, you can always leave. But isn’t it better to go and see what happens than to stay home by yourself?”
“Fine,” she gave in, shaking her head in defeat. “I’ll go for a bit. But only because you guys insist.”
CHAPTER TEN
Kate grudgingly allowed me to help her get ready for Danielle’s party. Once we were finished, she looked amazing. The forest green top that was too tight on me fit her perfectly, the shimmery gold shadow I’d applied on her lids brought out the already enhanced green in her eyes, and her hair glowed after I’d taken my straightening iron to it and finished it off with some shine spray.
Once finished with her makeover, I gave my outfit a once-over in the mirror. The tight white dress accentuated the pale blondeness of my hair, which I’d styled in casual, beachy waves. I just hoped we wouldn’t be outside for too long, or else my legs and arms would freeze.
Also, like the four others in the comet-watching group, my eye color had been enhanced, too. They were sharper, and more silver. It was striking, and I liked it, although I couldn’t help feeling startled every time I caught sight of them in the mirror.
Kate had never been to Danielle’s, so she took her time driving down the street, scanning the addresses on the mailboxes. It didn’t take long to find it—mainly because of the cars packed in the driveway and along the street.
Our mouths dropped open when we saw Danielle’s house. It looked like it belonged on the Athenian Acropolis instead of in a small town in Massachusetts. Two-story columns surrounded the double door entrance, and the triangular roof with engravings on the front made it look like the Parthenon infused with the White House. The door was unlocked, and Kate and I let ourselves in, stopping in our tracks as we looked around.
The huge foyer ma
de me feel like I’d been transported into a Grecian temple. A staircase with a light blue rug running up it curved around the side, and a giant crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. The top forty radio station played from speakers all over the house, loud enough to enjoy, but not so loud that it made it impossible to have conversations. There were clusters of people everywhere—some that I recognized from school—hanging out and chatting.
A handful of people said hi to Kate, but for the most part, no one noticed us. We wandered into the living room, hoping to find at least someone else from homeroom. A big group sat in the couches around a coffee table, and I smiled when I spotted Chris with them.
He waved Kate and me over and scooted to the end of the couch. I perched on the armrest, and Kate took the space next to him.
“For a minute I thought you guys weren’t going to make it,” Chris said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “You know Stephanie and Patrick from homeroom.” He pointed to two others that I recognized. I smiled and said hi, and then Chris turned to the couple on the sofa across from us. “And this is Anne and Matt. They’re in Spanish with us.”
I nodded, since what he really meant was, “they’re not witches.” Kate had explained to me earlier that while Danielle wasn’t fond of humans, she invited them to her parties—at least the “popular” humans—so the party wouldn’t look empty.
I answered the normal “new girl questions”—where I grew up, why I moved, what classes I was in, etc. Once finished with all that, I listened to their conversations, joining in whenever there was something to add. It felt so normal, and it was nice to get away from all of the witch talk.
But I still hadn’t seen Blake. Figuring that he must be around somewhere, I wanted to walk around to try finding him. Casually, of course. I didn’t want it to be obvious that I was looking forward to seeing him.
I hated that despite knowing he had a girlfriend, I hadn’t been able to get him out of my mind. I didn’t want to have these feelings for someone who was clearly off-limits. But Blake had invited me to the party, so saying hi and letting him know that I was here wasn’t wrong. It was simply being polite.
At least the excuse made me feel not as terrible about these feelings for him that I couldn’t control.
“I’m going to get a drink,” I said when the conversation lulled. “Do you all want anything?”
Chris and the others already had drinks, and Kate shook her head no.
I headed for the kitchen, weaving in and out of clumps of people talking. Danielle’s kitchen was huge—it would have been bright and airy if it weren’t packed with people. Everyone seemed to be helping themselves to drinks, so I walked over to the fridge and browsed my options. The only sodas left were those old-styled glass bottles with the aluminum tops that are impossible to open, so I grabbed one in the hope that there would be an opener nearby.
“I was wondering if you would show.” The smooth voice behind me was unmistakably Blake’s. Just hearing him speak made my heart race, and I turned to face him, trying to keep my face relaxed so he wasn’t aware of how flustered I became in his presence.
He held his gaze with mine, his eyes full of so much intensity that I almost forgot to breathe. Before I realized what he was doing, he grabbed my drink, popped it open using the side of the counter, and handed it back to me.
“Thanks.” My hand shook when I took it back from him, and I took a sip to calm my nerves. “Of course I showed. The last few days have been crazy, so it’s nice to be able to do something normal for a change.”
He leaned against the counter, resting his elbows on top of it. Some people started cheering about something at the other side of the kitchen, but he kept his focus solely on me. “It’s been crazier than usual with the comet yesterday,” he said, his arm only inches away from mine. My pulse quickened, and I had to remind myself to breathe. “Plus it’s not every day that someone new transfers into our homeroom. Especially someone with no training, who has no idea about our history. I think some people are jealous about how quickly you’re picking up on everything.”
“Without Kate, I would be completely lost,” I told him. “She’s helping me study, so I can get on track for the honors classes. I’m picking up on everything much faster than I thought I would. Kate claims it’s because the yellow energy is helping me focus.”
“What we can do is definitely useful,” he said.
“Yeah.” I shivered, thinking about the story Kate had told me—about how Danielle had used her powers to injure that girl. I didn’t know if Blake did things like that as well, but I wanted to make it clear that I planned on using my powers for good. “And who knows,” I added. “Maybe I’ll be able to use my new abilities to improve my tennis game.”
“Of course you’re a tennis player.” He smiled, and I wondered why he seemed so amused. “How long have you been playing?”
“About ten years,” I said it casually, even though I knew it was a long time. “I was on the team back home. I’ve been out for a few weeks because of a knee injury, but my knee got better when I moved here, and I’m more than ready to start again. I figured I would try out for the Kinsley team this spring.”
“You’ll get in,” he said confidently. “Danielle’s only been playing for five years and she’s number one on varsity. Of course, like everyone in our homeroom she has certain … advantages. But I’m guessing you would get on the team even without those.”
“Maybe.” I smiled at the thought of playing again. However, while getting on the team should be doable given my experience, snagging the number one spot from Danielle might be tough. Blake had basically confirmed that she used her powers to help her game. And despite my natural tennis ability, I wasn’t at her level when it came to using our powers—yet.
Blake glanced at something behind me, and a shadow passed over his eyes.
I turned around and saw Danielle heading towards us. She looked like Aphrodite risen from the ocean in her sparkly sapphire dress that clung to her every curve. Her eyes matched her dress, looking even brighter than they had on the night of the comet. In her heels, she towered over me, and I couldn’t help shrinking under her gaze.
“What are you two talking about?” Her icy tone sent chills up my spine. She scooted closer to Blake and rested her hand on his arm, her face hardening in an unspoken message that he was hers and she didn’t want me anywhere near him.
“Nicole was telling me that she played tennis at her old school,” he said. “She wants to try out for the team here.”
“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “Did Blake also mention that I’m on first spot varsity?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, not bringing up that I’d been first spot varsity on my old team before getting injured, too. I had a feeling she wouldn’t take the news well.
“I was about to tell her about the indoor winter team at the tennis club,” Blake continued, turning to me. “Most of the girls on the school team join it to prepare for tennis season in the spring.”
Danielle huffed, and despite her obvious annoyance that Blake was giving me so much information, I bounced at the prospect of playing tennis again.
“When does that start?” I asked.
“Tuesday,” Danielle said coldly. “You could come and ask the coach about trying out, but don’t expect much. She’s strict, and try-outs were in December. She’s already assigned spots.”
“It can’t hurt to try,” I said. “Even if there’s not a place for me on the team right now, I could put a weekly game together at the tennis club, just for fun.”
“Perhaps.” Danielle studied her nails. I had a feeling that if I were looking for volunteers to play with, she wouldn’t be raising her hand anytime soon.
Blake stood perfectly still next to her, his eyes hard. I wanted to continue talking with him, but since Danielle wasn’t budging from her perch, I excused myself and headed back to the living room.
Kate and Chris were still there, now surrounded by a larger group of people. I sat back o
n the arm of the couch and re-joined the conversation, talking and laughing with them as if we’d known each other for longer than a few days.
For the first time since moving to Kinsley, I felt somewhat normal—like I was finally finding my place here.
And I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t going to last.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The moment I stepped inside the tennis club and heard the familiar popping of balls against rackets, I felt at home. I twirled my racket in my hand, and not wanting to waste any time, I walked over to the information desk. A tall, blond man was folding shirts on the counter. While older, he was in good shape, and I assumed he taught some classes at the club.
“Is the coach for the girls team here yet?” I asked, wishing I’d found out the coach’s name ahead of time.
“Martha!” he called toward an open door in the back. “You’ve got someone here for you.”
A stout lady with shoulder-length gray hair walked through the door. “Yes?” she asked, pursing her lips like she just ate a sour candy.
My hands shook, and I tightened my grip around my racket. I’d assumed that Danielle was trying to scare me away when she warned me that the coach was tough, but now I was starting to think that she meant it.
“Hi.” I plastered a smile on my face and tried to appear confident, even though my insides were squirming. “I’m Nicole Cassidy—I just moved here, and heard that you’re in charge of the junior team. I’m a sophomore at Kinsley High, and since I hadn’t moved to town yet during regular try-outs, I was wondering if there was any way for me to try out now?”
She held her pen to her chin and eyed up my racket. It was high quality—a birthday present from my dad. “How long have you been playing?” she finally asked.
“Ten years,” I told her, standing straighter. “I played varsity for my school in Georgia. This year and last year.”
Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows Page 5