Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  “I saw Mason at the party,” she said. “He was wasted.”

  It was an act, I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud. I didn’t want to get started talking; I wasn’t sure I’d be able to shut up.

  Natalie leaned over the table to Sarah. “So you went to this party, too?”

  Sarah nodded without taking her eyes off me.

  “Oh,” Natalie said, her tone hurt. She leaned back in her chair and shared a glance with Scott, then spent the rest of lunch glaring at me, as if somehow her difficulties with her best friend were my fault. I hadn’t told anyone to leave Natalie out of the Friday night adventures. In fact, I wished everyone had left me out.

  “So I guess you and Josh didn’t get everything worked out,” Ally said. She turned to Sarah. “This time Laney was ignoring him in English class.”

  “I think I’m done,” Natalie said loudly and stood up. “With lunch, that is.” She snarled at me and walked off.

  Sarah looked after her, surprised. Scott jumped to his feet. “Oh. Well, I guess that’s my cue. I’ll catch you guys later.”

  “She’s upset that you didn’t invite her,” I said quietly to Sarah.

  “I don’t want her anywhere near any of this,” Sarah hissed. “Besides,” she said in a more normal tone, loud enough for Ally to hear, “She was going out with Scott after the game.”

  “So you’re not speaking to Josh?” Andrew asked, his eyes avid.

  Ally rolled her eyes. “Spare us, Andrew,” she said. “You know she’s not interested in you.”

  He turned bright red. “I guess I’m done with lunch, too,” he mumbled, and hastily left.

  “Thanks,” I said to Ally, my tone harsher than necessary. “Now you’ve run off everyone else who might be friends with me, too.”

  Ally looked unrepentant as she applied lipgloss, one eyebrow raised. “Not my fault you’ve got everyone all riled up.”

  I sighed. “Look. All I want to do is get through the rest of this school year without any . . . incidents.”

  She laughed out loud. “Then maybe you shouldn’t disappear with two guys at parties,” she suggested, as she gathered up the remains of her own lunch and headed after her other friends. “Or at least come up with a better cover story.”

  I stared after her. “What did she mean by that?” I demanded of Sarah.

  She shrugged. “She doesn’t believe you. None of us do. What were you really doing Friday night? Why did you blow us off and disappear like that? Where did you go?” Her voice got more intense as her questions multiplied. “Why won’t you tell me what’s going on? What did you find out? What did Bartlef mean when he called you that ya-whatever thingy? Does it have anything to do with Quentin?” Her tone turned plaintive when she asked the last question.

  I winced. In my own misery I had completely forgotten Sarah’s personal interest in the demons of Fairy, Texas. “I don’t really know, Sarah,” I said. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “But you do know something,” she said.

  “Yes,” I admitted reluctantly. “A little. A very little.”

  “He’s dead, isn’t he?” she asked in a tiny voice.

  “I think so, Sarah,” I said softly. “I’m not sure, but I think so.”

  A sob escaped her, but she quickly tamped it down. As she gathered up her belongings, her eyes filled with tears. She dashed them away with the edge of her hand and walked off without looking back at me.

  At least I’d ducked the question about what Bartlef meant by “Yatah.”

  I sat at the lunch table all alone for another moment. When I stood up, Kayla smirked at me from across the room and waved.

  I ignored her and left the cafeteria.

  * * *

  In history class, Natalie and Scott chose seats on the opposite side of the room from our usual spot. Sarah hesitated for a brief moment, then sat down behind me. Natalie turned pink and stared down at her history textbook, blinking hard and fast. Scott put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

  “You should probably go sit with them,” I said to Sarah.

  “Probably,” she said. “But Natalie’s been pissed at me before. She’ll get over it. And she doesn’t get to pick who my other friends are.”

  I stared at her levelly. “So we’re friends?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But I think you’re the best chance I have at finding out what happened to Quentin, so you’re stuck with me for a while.”

  I couldn’t decide whether or not to be happy about having her as something of an ally in this. She’d be better off if I made her go away, but I couldn’t figure out how to do that.

  Andrew ignored me in Spanish class, too, though he didn’t move to another seat. I sighed. It wasn’t my fault that everyone else had seen him give me The Look, too. But apparently I was the one getting blamed for it.

  By the time I made it through the day and got to yearbook class, I was fuming.

  “Come on,” I said brusquely to Mason, who was talking to another boy—Billy, I remembered. “Let’s go sell ads.”

  Mr. Carlson looked up at my tone. “You okay, Laney?”

  I forced myself to speak in a more cheerful voice. “Just tired,” I said.

  He nodded, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe me. Still, he just bent back over his gradebook and made a mark in it. “Okay, then. I’ve got you both recorded as here today. Go sell some ads!”

  Ah. Bless you and your determined, cheerful ignorance, Mr. Carlson, I thought.

  Mason followed me out of the building and into the rain. I pulled the hood of my windbreaker up over my hair. It blocked my peripheral vision, so I didn’t see Hazel Biet until she stepped out right in front of me.

  Then again, maybe she really did pop in out of thin air right at that moment, since demons can do that and all.

  “Hello again,” she said quietly.

  My gut clenched in response to her voice. I took a step backwards and bumped into Mason’s chest.

  “Miss Biet, right?” I asked as if I didn’t already know. Calm, Laney, calm, I thought.

  She smiled, but her eyes were completely flat. Dead. “Good to see you up and around today.”

  “I’m sure you feel that way,” I replied. “How are your—” I searched for the right word “—minions today?”

  She trilled out a laugh. “Oh, you’re funny! You know, I have been absolutely zoning over what could have happened to those boys while I was gone. Obsessing, really. But I see that you have a hero.” Her smile grew wider as she gestured to encompass Mason.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, and stepped wide to the right. “If you’ll excuse us, we’re supposed to go sell ads.”

  “Is that what you’re supposed to be doing, then?” she murmured, staring at Mason. He ignored her, reaching out to take my hand. I could feel him shaking. Or maybe it was me. Hard to tell.

  We gripped each other’s hands tightly and walked away, neither of us speaking until we got to the truck.

  “She scares the bejesus out of me,” I admitted once we were both in the cab.

  “Me, too,” Mason said, “and I’ve known her my entire life.”

  “Why do you think she stopped us?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe she really was trying to figure out who killed her boys.”

  “Think she believes it was you?”

  “Maybe.” His face grew pale. “I hope not. She likes having guys around.”

  “Students?” I asked.

  Mason nodded.

  “Like Quentin?” I asked in a flash of inspiration.

  “Yeah,” Mason said. “She and Quent were an item.”

  “Oh, gross!”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “I take it Sarah doesn’t know?”

  “No.” His tone hardened. “And she doesn’t need to know, either.”

  I held up my hands in surrender. “She’s not goin
g to find out from me.”

  Mason glared in the direction Biet had taken. He started the truck and put it into gear.

  “So what’s next?” I asked.

  “We get away from here,” he said. His pickup bounced over the speed bumps, and the tires squealed as we sped out of the high school parking lot. I grabbed the handle above the door and held my breath, as anxious as he was to get away from the school.

  * * *

  “We’re not really going to go sell ads, are we?” I asked as Mason turned onto Main Street and finally slowed down.

  He shook his head. “No. We’re meeting Josh at Sonic.”

  Right. Because no one would ever think to look for us there. I stared out the window.

  “I don’t know who to trust,” I said quietly.

  Mason glanced at me. “I’m really sorry we didn’t tell you everything sooner, Laney.”

  “See?” I said. “That’s my problem. You say things like that, but how do I know you mean it?”

  “How do you ever know if anyone means anything they say?” He shrugged. “You just have to decide what to believe.”

  “I don’t think I want to be that cynical,” I muttered.

  “I’m not sure you get a choice.” He turned the truck into a bay at Sonic. Josh sat at one of the tables in front of the entrance, sipping an enormous Dr. Pepper.

  Mason turned the engine off. We sat in silence for a long moment. Josh stared at me through the windshield without any expression at all. He took a long pull on the straw, then set his drink down in front of him.

  I heaved a sigh and opened the door. “So are we hoping that being in public will keep Biet and Bartlef from doing something horrific?” I asked as I swung my leg over a bench and sat across from Josh at the table.

  “That’s the idea,” Mason said. He started to sit next to me, but I shook my head.

  “Uh-uh,” I said. “I want you both across from me where I can see your lying faces.”

  Mason stepped around and sat next to Josh. “Better?” he asked.

  “Not really, but it’ll have to do for now.” I crossed my arms and leaned on the table.

  “Everything go okay, man?” Josh asked Mason.

  “Not entirely,” Mason said. “Biet caught us on our way out.”

  “Say anything useful?”

  “Called me Laney’s hero.”

  “So she knows.”

  Mason lifted one shoulder. “Who knows? She might have been guessing. Not like a lot of the People are hanging out with Laney.” Again, I heard the capital letter in the word.

  Josh nodded. “Okay,” he said, leaning in toward me. He reached out to touch me. I pulled my arms off the table and in toward my body without uncrossing them.

  “Dad and I’ve been talking,” he said, drawing his own hand back and dropping it into his lap. “We think our best bet right now is to make Bartlef and Biet think that we’re playing their game.”

  “Really?” Mason sounded surprised.

  “As long as they think Laney might still be the Yatah, then she’s safe. We could probably keep them going for a couple of months. Buy some time.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said, holding one finger up in the air. “How exactly are we going to do that?”

  “Well,” said Josh. He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “The idea is to let them think that one of us—”

  “—or both,” Mason interrupted, grinning wickedly.

  Josh nodded. “Or both of us, are . . . you know. . .” His cheeks turned pink. “Trying to fulfill the prophecy.”

  “Right. That doesn’t answer my question of how we do that.”

  “Well,” said Mason, “The easiest way to do it is to put out the rumor that we’re . . . you know . . . doing it.”

  “No,” I said. “Absolutely not.”

  Josh grinned too. “Come on, Laney,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”

  “Fun. Making everyone think that I’m sleeping with one of you—”

  “Or both!” they said at the same time.

  “No,” I groaned. I leaned forward and tapped my forehead on the table several times, then left it there. “So my job is to make everyone in school think that I’m the biggest slut in all of Fairy history?” The table muffled my voice a bit.

  “It’s more than a job,” Josh said. “I think it might be your destiny.”

  “And that wouldn’t make you the biggest slut in Fairy history,” added Mason. “Maybe, what?” He looked at Josh. “Third?”

  “Sure,” said Josh. “Third. Maybe even fourth.”

  “Oh well, then,” I said. I raised my head. “In that case, let’s get right to it.”

  Both boys grinned at me.

  “And by ‘it’ I mean planning. God. You are both such guys.”

  Their grins turned to chuckles.

  And we began plotting the demise of what little remained of any chance I’d ever had of a positive high school experience in Fairy, Texas.

  * * *

  Step one involved convincing Kayla that Mason and I were together. I almost felt bad about it, and I’m pretty sure I saw Mason grimace when Josh first suggested it, but he agreed readily enough.

  Now that I had seen them together more, it was clear to me that Josh was the leader of this pair. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, given that Josh had expended a lot of effort trying to convince me that he and Mason were rivals. Of course, Mason had worked pretty hard to make it convincing, too.

  I stared back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out how much of what had happened with each of them had been real, how much part of the fiction I was now helping weave.

  “Laney,” Josh said, snapping his fingers in front of my nose. “Pay attention.”

  I grabbed the finger. “Don’t snap at me,” I snarled. “I’m right here.”

  He took his hand back, and continued in a mild tone. “We already know from experience that Kayla has a big mouth when it comes to you two.”

  “And she’ll take any chance she can get to make sure I stay in trouble with both our parents,” I added.

  “So you two need to make sure she sees you,” he said. “And make it convincing.”

  “Won’t be too difficult,” Mason grinned.

  Josh ducked his head so I couldn’t see his expression. Did it bother him that he was telling me to go smooch on his friend? I couldn’t tell.

  “Then what?” I asked.

  “Then you and I will arrange to be seen, too,” Josh said.

  “Who will see us?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know yet,” he said. “It needs to be someone who will talk about it, too.”

  “Ally,” I said. “She’s totally fascinated with this little triangle.”

  “Good,” Josh said.

  “So what do we say if anyone saw us out here today?” I asked.

  Josh looked around. “What?” he asked, an innocent expression on his face. “You’re seeing both of us? No way! And you were sitting at a table with us both, acting like it was nothing!” He opened his mouth in an expression of mock horror. “No!”

  I had to giggle. The situation was preposterous. “Okay, okay. I get it.”

  “Well, then,” said Mason, “We've got thirty minutes left. Let’s go sell an ad or two, and then go make it . . .” He paused and leered. “I mean, make it look good—for Kayla.”

  “Ugh,” I groaned. “You two are going to be impossible, aren’t you?”

  Mason snickered and Josh grinned. “How much longer are you grounded?” Josh asked.

  “Just until tomorrow,” I said. “For now, anyway. We’ll see how much that gets extended once we start our shenanigans.”

  “So let’s say we have a date for tomorrow night,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  “Perfect,” I said, sighing.

  * * *

  When we got back into Mason’s truck, I discovered that I was strangely nervous. In fact I was more nervous now that I knew we were going to be kissin
g soon than I had been when Josh had warned me that Mason was going to try to seduce me and I had just suspected that we would be kissing.

  “So,” I said, my voice trembling a bit. I hoped Mason didn’t notice. “Where do you want to go first?”

  “Huh?” Mason turned to face me with a jerk. “Oh. You mean to sell an ad?”

  Well. Maybe he was nervous, too. I laughed shakily. “Yes. To sell an ad.” It was easier to contemplate ad-selling than kissing.

  And that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.

  “I think we should hit up your step-dad,” he said.

  “John?” I asked in surprise.

  “Sure,” Mason said. “He always buys a full page.”

  I shook my head. “I’d really rather not,” I said. “Besides, don’t you think Kayla’s probably got the lock on that one?”

  “Oh. Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said. “Then let’s go get one of the gas companies,” he said. “Deirdre Newman’s mom is the office manager at one—I bet she’d buy.”

  When we pulled up into John’s driveway, Kayla’s car was there. Mason turned off the truck, then swiveled in his seat to face me.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

  He took a deep breath. “Maybe this will help,” he said. Then he shimmered, and for just a second I could see through to the gauzy ethereal plane where his dark blue wings spread out behind him. His breathing steadied and he reached toward me. I felt myself drawn toward him.

  “Oh,” I said, my voice full of wonder. “This is a glamour again, isn’t it?”

  “Thought it might help,” he said quietly, his lips only centimeters from mine.

  “It does,” I breathed, and then we were kissing, and I forgot that it was an act.

  Chapter 15

  “Well,” I finally said, pausing to take a breath. “That was convincing.”

  “I’m convinced,” Mason muttered, his breathing ragged. He kept his arms wrapped around me.

  “Think she saw us?” I asked.

  He looked out the window past me. “She’s watching,” he said. “Better make it really good.” He pulled me up almost onto his lap and kissed me again. By the time we stopped, I was dizzy.