Spells Trouble
Page 29
Hunter plucked a white clover flower and rolled the stem between the thumb and forefinger of her bandaged hand. Clover dotted the grass like patches of green fog. When the rains left and the summer sun arrived, the clover would be the only lush green in the entire park. She dusted her chin with the puffy flowers. That’s what this field should be. Clover. A big, fluffy, green mattress of clover that stretched from the palm tree all the way to the playground. Hunter’s neck ached as she leaned over and dropped the flower on Jax’s stomach while children’s laughter drifted on the breeze like faraway church bells. The scene was postcard perfect.
Hunter instinctively ran her fingertips along her sternum where Tyr’s pendant had once been. Where Amphitrite had reached through her. She swallowed and dropped her hand into her lap. Well, the scene was almost perfect.
Mercy leapt to her feet and bounded over to Jax. “Go long!” she shouted as she stole the football and ran toward the playground. Mercy had finally gotten rid of Kirk, but no one could get rid of football.
Jax popped up. The clover flew off his shirt and landed next to Hunter’s wounded hand.
Mercy jumped up and down and triumphantly waved the ball overhead. “You, too, H!” she called and added a butt wiggle to her victory dance.
Jax tapped Hunter’s foot with his own. “Up and at ’em … or is it Adam?” He jutted his chin and scratched his sideburn.
Emily leaned back onto her elbows and cocked her head. “But who’s Adam?”
“Hey!” Hunter practically heard her sister stomp her foot as Mercy cupped her hand around the side of her mouth. “You guys are taking a million years!”
With a groan, Hunter picked up the flower and got to her feet. “Doesn’t Em have to play?” She tried to hide how much her muscles still ached and how much tension now hung in the air between her and her sister.
Emily scooped Mercy’s giant bag onto her lap and fished out a pair of paisley-rimmed sunglasses. “I’ll be the referee.” She slid on the glasses and set Mercy’s purse back on the blanket. “Or the cheerleader.” She crossed one ankle over the other and pointed and flexed her toes. “Whichever one makes it so that I don’t have to get up.”
Hunter yipped as Jax launched into the air and his hip smashed into her. The sudden thwack of the ball against the tree was the perfect sound effect to Hunter’s crash onto the grass. This time, she couldn’t hide her pain.
Mercy rushed to her. “Sorry!” she squeaked, her shadow merging with the one the palms cast across the grass.
Jax offered Hunter his hand and pulled her to her feet. “H, I am so sorry!”
“I just can’t stop getting beat up.” She offered a heartless half smile as she glanced down at the crushed flower and brushed her hands off on her shorts.
Emily was the only one who chuckled.
Mercy clapped her hands and lifted onto her toes. “I didn’t know I had such a great arm. I should be the Mustangs’ QB.”
“Yeah.” Jax snorted and headed toward the ball. “Kirk wouldn’t lose his mind about that.”
Hunter rolled her eyes and trailed after Jax and Mercy. “Isn’t most of it gone already, anyway?”
Emily pushed the borrowed sunglasses onto her head as she entered the palm’s wide shadows. “It’d be really sad if what we’ve seen so far is him operating at one hundred percent.”
Mercy stuffed her hands into the pockets of her dress. “I used to think he was smart, but when I look back, I’m like, goddess, he was a total oaf.”
Emily lifted her hands into the air. “Finally, she sees the light!”
Hunter draped her arm over Mercy’s shoulders and pulled her in close. Mercy had not only seen the light—she’d taken a piece of it and pressed it into her heart. She glowed from the inside out. Hunter was glad to have her sister back, though Mercy’s nearness no longer filled Hunter with warm fuzzies.
Jax bent over to pick up the ball and jerked to a halt before his fingers grazed the pigskin. He craned his neck and looked up, up, up. “Uh, Mag…?”
Hunter stiffened. She slid her arm from Mercy’s back and followed Jax’s attention up one of the palm’s five trunks. Cracks spiderwebbed the bark like antique porcelain.
Jax stepped back as Mercy crouched down at the base of the trunk. The football had made a divot in the tree, like a fist through drywall. Mercy sucked in a breath, pressed her fingertips against her lips, and shook her head back and forth.
Hunter’s heart clicked against her ribs as her swallow lodged within her throat. “What—” She cleared her throat and started again. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Freya!” Mercy closed her eyes and tilted her chin toward the crown of the tall palm stem. “I can barely feel it breathing.”
“But we fixed them.” Hunter groped at her chest for the pendant, but she’d discarded it when she threw away her god. It wasn’t bad enough she’d lost her mother. She’d forsaken her god as well. But at least … “We healed the trees. We healed the gates. We fixed everything.”
Mercy’s dark hair slipped from her shoulders as she reached out and pressed her hand to the trunk.
The elephant-gray bark cracked like dry earth. Hunter shielded her face as the long stem of the doum palm turned to ash and snowed down around them.
Screams ripped through the ashen air, a loud wailing that shook Hunter’s bones and made her heart beat hummingbird fast. Emily gripped Jax’s hand as Mercy wrapped her arms around her sister. Hunter pressed her face against Mercy’s shoulder, and her spit spackled the light green fabric of Mercy’s dress. It was then that Hunter realized she was the one screaming.
“It was for nothing!” Hunter tore away from her sister. “I betrayed Tyr for nothing!” Her knees quaked, but she forced herself to stand. “You made me do it. You fell apart when Mom died because you’ve never had to face anything in your life. You dropped all of it on me. You said I was wrong.” The rage returned. It slid through her veins like magma and cooled around her beating heart. “You’re just like the rest of them.” Hunter swiped the back of her hand against her cheeks. “You think if I’m not just like you, there’s something wrong with me.”
Tears glossed Mercy’s green eyes. “But Sarah’s poem said…” She moved closer to Hunter. Ash billowed with each step. “I thought—”
“It doesn’t matter what you thought.” Hunter shook her head. Papery tree bark fell around them. “What’s done is done.” Her gaze slid from Mercy to Jax. “Get me out of here.” Hunter pressed her fingers against her chest. She wanted her pendant. She wanted her god.
Jax wrapped his arm around Hunter’s shoulders and led her to the parking lot.
She ran her teeth along her bottom lip. It had all been for nothing. She’d nearly died for nothing. She ignored the parents and children gawking and pointing at the cloud of dust where the palm tree had been. She didn’t even look back as Mercy shouted her name. Rock now encased Hunter’s heart. It was better that way, safer. Hunter pressed her teeth into her lip. If she had only been stronger, maybe this would be different. Maybe this would never have happened. Maybe Hunter would have cast off the shadow of her sister and healed the gates herself.
She winced. She’d dug her teeth in too deep and bit through raw flesh. She snaked her tongue along her bottom lip. A copper tang heated the inside of her mouth and ran down her throat in a fiery blaze. A shooting star. She looked up at the blanket of sunlight overhead and pictured the stars just beyond. She hadn’t known her full power before, but she knew it now. Hunter Goode held the cosmos within her blood.
She’d fix the mess that Mercy had made. And this time, nothing would stand in her way. Not even her sister.
Acknowledgments
We owe a debt of gratitude to our agents, Ginger Clark (PC) and Steven Salpeter (KC) for helping us turn an idea and a few sentences into an amazing series. Thank you!
Profound thanks to our Macmillan family. To Jennifer Enderlin, Anne Marie Tallberg, Monique Patterson, Mara Delgado-Sanchez, Sarah Bonamino, and Michelle Ca
shman—thank you for your support and encouragement.
Our personal publicist, Deb Shapiro, deserves accolades and applause for her imagination, innovation, patience, and hard work. You are the best!
Extra special thank-you to Sabine Stangenberg, who not only keeps my (PC) life running, but is also the talented artist who created the Goodeville map! XXXOOO
To our readers, those who have followed us for more than a decade and our lovely new fans—always remember, you are strong and smart and worthy of happiness and respect and love, always love.
Also by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
THE DYSASTERS
The Dysasters: The Graphic Novel
HOUSE OF NIGHT
Marked
Betrayed
Chosen
Untamed
Hunted
Tempted
Burned
Awakened
Destined
Hidden
Revealed
Redeemed
The Fledgling Handbook 101
Dragon’s Oath
Lenobia’s Vow
Neferet’s Curse
Kalona’s Fall
About the Authors
#1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author P. C. CAST was born in the Midwest, and, after her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for fifteen years before retiring to write full time. She is a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Booksellers’ Best Award, and many, many more. Ms. Cast is an experienced teacher and talented speaker who lives in Oregon near her fabulous daughter, and with her adorable pack of dogs, her crazy Maine coon, and a bunch of horses. You can sign up for email updates here.
KRISTIN CAST is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author who was born in Japan and grew up in Oklahoma, where she explored everything from tattoo modeling to broadcast journalism. After battling addiction, Kristin made her way to the Pacific Northwest and landed in Portland. She rediscovered her passion for storytelling in the stacks at dusty bookstores and in rickety chairs in old coffeehouses. For as long as Kristin can remember, she’s been telling stories. Thankfully, she’s been writing them down since 2005. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
About the Authors
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
SPELLS TROUBLE. Copyright © 2021 by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.wednesdaybooks.com
Cover design and illustration by Leo Nickolls
Map by Sabine Stangenberg
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Cast, P. C., author. | Cast, Kristin, author.
Title: Spells trouble / P. C. Cast [and] Kristin Cast.
Description: First edition. | New York: Wednesday Books, 2021. | Series: Sisters of Salem; 1 | Audience: Ages 12–18. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020053265 | ISBN 9781250765635 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250765642 (ebook)
Subjects: CYAC: Witches—Fiction. | Sisters—Fiction. | Twins—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Monsters—Fiction. | Mythology—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.C2685827 Sp 2021 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020053265
eISBN 9781250765642
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2021