by Sarra Cannon
“That's when they discovered a spell that could open a portal between our world and the shadow world. They call these portals demon gates.”
I thought about the strange blue pool of light on the floor in the ritual room.
“All over the world, there are places where magical energy is naturally strong and the fabric between our world and theirs is weaker. The Order of Shadows spent centuries locating these magical places and opening demon gates in each of them.”
“So Peachville isn't the only one?”
“Not by a long shot,” she said. “There are thousands of demon gates all over the world. The Order of Shadows is extremely powerful.”
“I had no idea,” I said. “The way Mrs. King talks about it, I thought the Order was just a local coven of witches.”
“That's what they want you to believe,” she said. “The Order's goal in opening these demon gates was to harness the power of the shadow demons. Not by mating with them and passing the power on to their daughters, but by making them slaves inside each witch's body.”
“I've seen it,” I said.
She turned to me, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
“Brooke,” I said. “She was initiated into the Order this past weekend.”
“And they let you watch? That can't be right.”
“No,” I said. “They didn't know I was there.”
Morgyn studied me, then laughed. “Maybe I've underestimated you, cheerleader. I definitely want to know how you managed to pull that off, but first, I need to tell you the rest of the story. As with all magic, there are rules involved in the opening of the gates and maintenance of the portals. When a gate is opened, a virgin witch with strong powers is chosen to be the first. The Prima. She is bonded to the the first demon called through the gate. This demon cannot be a lesser demon. In order for the portal to open, the first demon through must be a powerful shadow demon.
“The Prima is also more than just one girl. Her entire future line is bound to the same demon. When one Prima dies, the next girl in the family line is then bound to the first demon.”
“And that's what I am?” So much was going through my mind. A vision of the lady in white from my dreams. She must have been the original Prima. My great-great-grandmother or something like that.
“Yes,” she said. “And you are the only one left of your line. Without a reigning Prima, a demon gate is much less powerful than it could be. That's why you're so important to them, Harper. You already have a connection to Peachville's first demon, but it's nothing compared to what it will be when they take you through the final initiation ceremony. When the true spirit of the first demon enters you, you will become more powerful than you could ever imagine. But even more than that, every witch who has ever been bound to a demon from the Peachville demon gate will become more powerful.”
I sat back in my seat and stared down at my hand. The scar on my hand was a test. Somehow they must have tested my blood to see if I was the Prima. But how had they found me in the first place? And what had happened to my mother?
“Is that why my tattoo took the form of a demon?” I asked.
Morgyn nodded. “Yes.”
“So are you also a Prima?”
She gave me a half-smile. “You're smart, Harper. You catch on fast. Yes, I am a Prima. They brought me to Shadowford when I was only ten years old with the purpose of finding out if I was their Prima. When they gave me the tattoo, it came out a demon, but it wasn't the right one. I am a Prima, but not for this demon gate.”
“So where, then?”
Morgyn lowered her head. “Far from here,” she said.
“Why don't you just go home, then?”
“It's not that easy,” she said. “There are rules, remember? I have already been marked by the wrong demon gate. In order to go home, I have to complete my service to the Order here in Peachville.”
“What kind of service?”
She sighed and looked out the window. “You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”
I sat quietly, letting the information she'd given me so far sink in. I felt like a starving man being kept alive with tiny drops of water. I never quite got the entire truth.
“So why tell me all of this if you hate me so much?”
“I don't hate you,” she said. “I envy you. You're going to have the entire world at your fingertips.”
I shook my head. “I don't want this,” I said. “I don't want any of it.”
“Then you're a fool,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Look, I just came here to tell you that you need to be careful who you talk to and what you say. You have no idea the danger you face.”
“Danger?”
“If the last of a Prima's line is killed, the demon gate closes and every demon who came from it is instantly killed as well.”
My eyes widened. “Wait. If I die, every witch who was bound to a demon from Peachville's gate would die too?”
“Exactly,” she said. “And there are people who want you dead.”
I shivered. “Who?”
“The Others,” she said. “A sect of witches who believe that all demons are evil and have no place in our world. The Others believe our power comes from God, not demons. They believe the Order is corrupt. It's a conflict that's been around for centuries. They're always watching, Harper. And if they figure out who you are, they'll come for you.”
I thought of the woman in black who was staring at us in the mall and shook my head. “It isn't fair,” I said. “I didn't ask for this!”
“Neither did I,” she said. “But it's who we are.”
“What do I do? I can't just stay here and let them put a demon inside of me. And I certainly don't want to die.”
Morgyn sighed and looked at her watch. “Your path is your own,” she said. “The important thing for now is that the Others don't know who you are yet. It's important they don't find out. I'm sorry, Harper, but I have to go. If my grandmother finds out I talked to you, she'll kill me.”
“Wait,” I said. “You can't just drop all this shit in my lap and walk away.”
“I'll try to find another time we can talk,” she said.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “I've already stayed way too long.”
She motioned toward the door. I opened it and stepped out into the cool evening air.
Morgyn drove away before I could ask her anything else. I sat down on the blacktop of the school's parking lot and tried to make sense of everything she'd said.
Yes, she had given me some answers, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to ask her about Jackson. Was he some kind of witch? How was he related to the Order of Shadows? What about Shadowford? She said they brought her there to find out if she was the Prima. Was that all Shadowford home really was? A testing ground for orphan girls to see if we were the long lost Prima?
And what about my mother? How did she die? And why did I end up miles away with another family?
I wavered between despair and anger. I never wanted to be special. All I ever wanted was to be a normal girl. Now, I knew I would never be able to leave this town. My choices were bleak. Demons or death. And I didn't like the thought of either one.
You've Got Five Minutes
I finally managed to pull myself together and bike home to Shadowford. All I wanted to do was go up to my room and be alone, but the second I pulled into the driveway, I knew that was going to be impossible.
Drake's car sat in front of the house. In the porch light, I could see him sitting on the swing holding a large bunch of pink roses. I wasn't sure I had the mental energy to deal with him, but what choice did he give me?
I threw my bike down in the front yard and made my way up the steps.
“Hey baby,” he said. “Where have you been? I've been waiting here for like two hours.”
“Sorry to inconvenience you,” I said. I couldn't believe he was trying to make me feel guilty for making him wait when he was supposed to be here to apologize. “I was studying for a hi
story test.”
“These are for you.” He handed me the roses. They were beautiful and probably cost a pretty penny, but roses hardly made up for the way he treated me.
“Thanks,” I said. I moved toward the front door, but he stepped in front of me.
“Wait,” he said. “We really need to talk this out.”
“You've got five minutes,” I said.
“Look, I know you're pissed, okay? I know I was a complete asshole. But I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing.”
“You were really mean to me,” I said. “I don't like being treated that way. You know, I had to find my own way home that night thanks to you. I could have been stranded.”
“How did you get home anyway?” he asked. “Foster ended up calling his dad to come get us. I looked for you, but you were already gone.”
“I got a ride with a friend.”
“Who?”
“None of your business,” I said. “Are you here to apologize or to play twenty questions?”
Drake sighed. “Please, Harper. You've got to forgive me. I promise I won't ever act like that again.”
I knew I couldn't forgive him for what he'd done, but I also knew I couldn't break up with him yet either. “If you do, I swear to God, I'll never go out with you again.”
He smiled. “Does that mean we're okay again?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
He grabbed me up in a giant bear hug, lifting me from the ground and squishing my roses between us. “Whew,” he said. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
No, but I have a pretty good idea how much it means to your mother.
“I really need to get inside and finish my homework and stuff,” I said. “I'll see you tomorrow?”
“Okay,” he said. “Thanks, Harper. I really am sorry.”
He leaned down to kiss me, but I turned my head and gave him my cheek instead of my lips.
“So we're still on for this weekend, right?”
I stared at him, confused. “What's this weekend?”
He laughed. “Wow, you must be seriously focused on your schoolwork or something. It's Homecoming silly. It's three days of packed events. There's the mixer on Thursday with the alumni, then the game on Friday and finally the big dance on Saturday night. I already rented a limo for the group and everything.”
I forced a smile. “I can't wait,” I said.
“Great.” He kissed my cheek again, then bounded down the stairs and to his car. “Goodnight, Harper.”
“Goodnight Drake.”
Some Strange Addiction
I had a hard time concentrating at school the rest of the week. Even magic training couldn't hold my attention. There were so many crazy things going through my brain, I couldn't straighten it all out. Brooke still hadn't come back to school, and I was worried about her. Drake was acting like things were back to normal and he'd never done anything wrong. Plus, I had just found out that being the Prima also meant I had zero control over my own future. Even with all that going on inside my head, I was still required to smile and act interested in everyone's plans for Homecoming weekend.
Some committee had put decorations up throughout the entire school, and everywhere I turned, there was a reminder of the weekend's activities. There was talk of famous alumni flying in for the event. I for one wondered just how famous the alumni of a small school like Peachville High could really be, but when someone mentioned the actress Clara Summers, I was floored. She was one of the hottest women in Hollywood. Every movie she was in grossed millions. And she was from Peachville? I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. She was probably a member of the Order of Shadows.
Rumor was that Clara was flying in on Thursday morning and would be at both the mixer and the game this weekend.
“Have you ever met her?” I asked the gang at lunch on Thursday.
“I have,” Lark said. “She came in to town like four years ago to present some award at one of my mom's campaign lunches. But that was before she was as much of a superstar as she is now.”
“Let me guess,” I said. “She was also a Demons cheerleader?”
Allison laughed. “Of course.”
I wondered about the glamour Lark had taught me the other day in her room. How far could magic like that take a girl? Could she take herself from an ugly duckling to a real beauty like Clara? Could she make people like her enough to elect her mayor? An uneasy feeling ran though my body. Power like that made it impossible to tell where reality left off and magic began.
Besides, I had originally thought the magic was sort of special to Peachville, but after what I'd learned from Morgyn, I knew I was being naïve.
“I heard the governor of Georgia is coming too. She graduated from PHS like forty years ago and hasn't been back in ages.”
“Governor Davis?”
“Yeah,” Drake said. “She's a good friend of my mom's. I think she's planning to have dinner at our house Saturday night, but obviously I'll miss it because of the dance.”
“Speaking of the dance,” Foster chimed in. “Who is riding with us in the limo? Everyone?”
Brooke was going to the dance with Foster. When I asked him about it, he said she'd called him earlier in the week to confirm she would be there. Her excuse for missing school was that she'd come down with some kind of virus after the party and needed a few days to recover. I knew better, but I was glad she was coming to the dance.
I was going with Drake, obviously. Allison had a date with another guy from the football team. His name was Lance, and I'd only hung out with him a couple of times. Lark had been asked by some artsy guy named Aidan who was a member of the school's photography club and was also president of the debate team. I had yet to meet the guy officially, but I'd seen him around. Lark seemed excited, so I was happy for her.
While the others discussed plans for Saturday night, I casually looked around the cafeteria. I told myself I wasn't searching for anyone in particular, but when my gaze landed on Jackson and Morgyn, I knew I was only lying to myself. Some part of me had known he was there. I could feel when he was near, and it annoyed the hell out of me. He was like some strange addiction I was trying to kick, but couldn't quite lose the longing for.
As usual, he was dressed in faded jeans and black t-shirt. My heart skipped a beat as he turned to me and our eyes met across the room. I held his gaze for a moment, then my eyes shifted to the girl next to him. Morgyn leaned in close to him and whispered something in his ear. He turned to her and took her hand. I wondered if they were planning to go to the dance together.
“What do you think, Harper? Do you like Italian?”
Drake nudged me with his elbow and I brought my attention back to the table. “Huh? I'm sorry, I was zoning out.”
“We noticed,” Allison teased. “I was asking if you wanted Italian food Saturday? Or if we should go to the steakhouse. We need to get our reservations in.”
“I don't honestly care,” I said, looking back toward Jackson. He and Morgyn were deep in conversation, their heads pressed close together at the table.
“Italian it is, then,” Lark said. “I'll have my mom make the reservations for us for five-thirty. Then we'll head to the photographer, and then up here to the gym for the dance.”
Drake leaned into me. “Then back to my pool house,” he said. “I have something really special planned for us.”
I shifted in my seat. If he was talking about sex, he could forget it. This whole thing was just too much pressure. What I originally thought was just a simple dance seemed to be turning into a big serious ordeal. Pictures? Dinner at a fancy restaurant? A limousine? Drake ran his index finger along my forearm and I forced myself not to pull away.
“Sounds like fun,” I said. The lie tasted sour in my mouth.
I Know What I'm Doing
Thursday night was the big meet and greet with all of the returning alumni. All of the Demons cheerleaders were instructed to wear our uniforms with our hair down and curled. I didn't understand
why it mattered so much what we looked like, but our instructions detailed exactly how we were supposed to look, down to the color of polish on our nails and the smiles on our faces.
The event was being held at Lark's house, and despite its enormous size, the place was completely packed. Drake and I arrived at six-thirty and there were already at least a hundred people there. Waiters with blue and white iced cookies and demon-themed snacks walked around the party, passing out food. I grabbed a cookie off one of the guy's trays.
“Wow, that's the best cookie I've ever had in my life,” I said.
“How can you even be thinking about cookies on a night like this?” Drake asked. There was an edge to his voice that I didn't like one bit.
I stared at him, completely confused about what he meant. “Because I'm hungry. And they're delicious.”
He took my arm and led me to the next room. “Look right over there.” He pointed to a man in a gray suit. “That's one of the football coaches at the University of Georgia. And there? That woman in the pink dress? She's the owner of more than sixty fast food restaurants in the state of Georgia. Oh, and over by the punch bowl? That's the Governor of Georgia. This is not just some cookie party, Harper. This is a major networking opportunity.”
“Since when do you care so much about networking?” Hadn't we spent our entire lunch period talking about Homecoming? He'd never once talked about how much tonight's mixer meant to him.
He sighed. “It's always been important to me,” he said. “You're the one who has been so distracted lately. You haven't even been listening to me. Remember how I mentioned that my mom was thinking of running for the state Senate in a couple of years and how she wanted me to do my best to make a good impression on the Governor?”
I nodded. “Oh right,” I said. Truth be told, I had no clue what he was talking about. Had I really been ignoring him? My mind had definitely been on other things this week. “I'm sorry. So what should we do? Just mingle or something? Try to meet people?”