by Patti Larsen
Alison’s room was in the same place as her one at home, far end of the hall. The one she chose for me was just next to her and even had a connecting door. It was smaller than hers, but decorated to perfection. It actually made me stop and gape.
The room was all in blue. My favorite color. All different shades dressed the bed, the windows, the carpet. The bed was big and even canopied with a pale blue mosquito net.
Alison tried a smile, shoulders scrunched up, eyes hopeful. “What do you think?”
I turned and hugged her. “I love it.”
She beamed. “I decorated it myself.” She rushed in then spun and made a face. “Well, I picked everything. And designed the layout.”
“You have real talent,” I said. “You didn’t tell me you wanted to be a designer.”
Her enthusiasm faded. “Well, it’s just a hobby.”
Okay, that was weird. While I tried to come up with a way to ask her what that meant, I drifted to the window and looked out.
“Alison,” I said, almost breathless.
“Yes?” She came to stand beside me as I looked out over the beautiful back yard and the shining lake just beyond it.
“Wow.”
She laughed.
“Whatever. Come on. It’s better up close and personal.”
She dragged me downstairs and through the back of the house into what looked like a living room big enough for a football team and out the glass doors to the yard.
No, not yard. I have a yard. She had a princess garden fairy tale. With giant flowers and perfectly sculpted bushes. Intricate paths made of multi-colored stones. The grass looked pristine. I didn’t dare step on it.
She didn’t stop dragging me, so I kept moving. Within a moment we were standing on a wooden dock looking out over the water.
It was peaceful, the surface glassy. The sun shone across the surface. It was almost enough to make me forget the bank of stormy darkness hovering in the distance.
“The best part.” Alison drew a deep breath and hugged herself before grinning at me. “As much as I hate leaving home in the summer, the lake makes it worth it.”
I agreed with her, at least to a point. If I was like her and had her life, this would totally be my favorite place.
The sound of a boat engine roared toward us. I was sad at the loss of the glass sheet of water as a speedboat cut through the perfection. Alison smiled and waved as a small group of teens yelled her name and waved back. The boat swerved and came toward us.
“Alison!” One of the girls, with dark mocha skin I instantly envied and long, shining brown hair, sat on the front, clapping her hands. “You’re back!”
The boat’s engine cut and the driver, a tanned and handsome brunette, expertly maneuvered it in to just bump against the pier. His hazel eyes met mine and he winked.
Why was I blushing?
The girl leaped from the boat and hugged Alison before giving me the once over. Her eyes were so brown they were almost black and reminded me of Quaid’s while her dark skin definitely aroused my envy. She looked very exotic and stunningly beautiful and it made me suddenly realize I’d barely grabbed a shower and a ponytail that morning before leaving the house.
“Gwen, this is Syd. Syd, Gwen.”
Gwen bobbed her head, flashing me a perfect white smile. “Al told us about you,” she said. Alison rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand.
“Nice things,” she said.
“All nice.” Gwen’s laugh was lovely too. So were the other two girls and the very handsome guys hanging out on the boat. It was like some kind of beautiful people convention.
“Party tonight,” Gwen said. “Regan’s pier.” The charmer at the helm, Regan I assumed, winked at me again.
Really? Okay, it was cute the first time. Maybe still cute. But fading fast.
It’s not like I didn’t know his type.
“Love to.” Alison’s enthusiasm faded a little as she turned to me. “Syd? Is that okay with you?”
Like I was going to make her back out in front of all her summer friends. That term suddenly made me sad.
“I’m in.” Was I nuts? I hated parties. But this group seemed a bit more refined, so I was hoping maybe they would at least not be total idiots. And it would be a good distraction for her if I decided to head back to the house early for a little Internet searching.
Perfect.
Alison practically squealed and hugged my arm. “What time?”
Gwen was already leaping over onto the boat, Regan firing up the engine so she had to shout over the sound.
“Tenish,” she said, waving elegantly at us. “See you then.” She blew us a kiss, her smile still visible as they sped away.
“Thanks, Syd.” Alison beamed at me. “I know you’re not a big fan of the party scene. But these guys are really fun, I promise.”
I was willing to give anything a go. Maybe it would take my mind off of my family.
It didn’t take much to convince Mrs. Morgan. She was already tipsy when we got back and by the time ten rolled around she was stumbling to her room, Rosetta under one arm.
Alison led the way around the lake path while I hugged myself and wished I’d brought a sweater. The night was lit with stars, the bank of clouds holding off, but I knew that could change at any moment and I still hadn’t had a chance to check the Internet for the Chosen’s trail.
A bonfire led us the rest of the way to the party. I had a brief flashback to the field party where Suzanne was possessed by Cesard and almost killed everyone there. But this was just a regular old fire with yet another group of popular kids hanging around it.
Only these ones didn’t know me. Maybe that would make the difference.
Gwen rushed over, hugged Alison first, then me. I was a little surprised by her openness, but hugged her back anyway.
“Come on in, join the party.” There were more people there than I’d seen earlier in the day, easily thirty or so, and the number kept growing. Alison dragged me into the middle of the group, all smiles.
She introduced me to so many people that by the time I was seated by the fire on an old log carved as a sofa the only name I remembered was Gwen’s.
Oh, and Regan’s. He planted himself next to me, bare leg touching mine where my shorts ended. His hazel eyes smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back.
I wasn’t above a little flirting with a cute guy. I was only human.
“Alison says you’re quite the soccer player.” Regan reached into the cooler at his feet.
I shrugged. “Not really playing anymore.” I didn’t want to remember my disastrous last season.
It still pissed me off.
“You’d never know it.” He winked at me. Again. Sheesh, talk about a limited arsenal.
My eyes fell to the can he lifted to his mouth. Beer. Great.
He must have noticed me looking. “Want one?” Regan already had one hand in the cooler.
“No thanks.” I sat back, disappointed for some reason. But why should I think these kids would be any different? On the other hand, I wasn’t a witch anymore. I could drink and not have any ill effects. Like having it trigger a power surge in me that would probably destroy everything in a fifty-foot radius. Why the hell not? “On second thought…”
Regan grinned and handed it to me. I cracked it open and tried a sip.
People drank this stuff?
Ew.
Gwen and Alison collapsed next to us, giggling. Gwen held a joint. I could smell it, almost taste it as the smoke carried toward me. She took a deep drag and handed it to Alison who copied her. I was so shocked I just stared at them.
“Sharzies?” Gwen held it out to me.
This one was a no brainer. I shook my head. I liked my brain cells. I took another sip of my beer, hoping the flavor grew better with time.
No such luck. I tried not to groan as I realized I was the biggest prude I knew. Aside from Simon and Beth. But that wasn’t saying much.
I forced myself to stay even though I just wanted t
o go back to the house and do my research. But I didn’t want to just leave Alison there. Not that these weren’t her friends, but now I was worried. She drank quite heavily and smoked a lot of pot.
I tried not to judge her or the rest of the people there, but it was harder as the night went on. Right about midnight, my still full beer warm in my hand, I decided it was time to go.
Regan had other ideas. His hand slid over my bare knee and he leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“Want to go for a ride on my boat?”
If my demon had been with me, she would have shot so much energy through his offending hand he would have been tossed at least a mile. Then again, if my demon was with me, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place.
Another one I owed her for leaving me.
“No thanks.” Like I was going anywhere with him in his condition, on his boat or otherwise. All of a sudden I wanted Quaid.
I got up and tossed the beer on the sand. Alison whispered with Gwen, but staggered to her feet when I approached. She hugged me, slobbering drunk kisses on my cheeks.
“Syd!” She swayed as I held her up, breath a stinking combo of weed smoke and some kind of hard liquor. “You are so beautiful.” She was serious, standing there with me supporting her, blue eyes barely focused. “I love you so much.” Her arms wrapped around my neck again and I had to pry her free.
“I’m heading back.” I ignored Gwen who now stood next to Alison, just as drunk, holding my friend’s hand.
“Aw.” Alison stomped her foot, almost falling over. She giggled and managed to right herself with my help. “Stay and party, Syd.”
“No thanks.” I stepped away from her and Gwen. “Are you coming?”
Gwen whispered something in her ear and Alison shrugged. “Nope.”
Whatever. I turned away and headed back up the beach to the walkway. I’d go without her.
“Need some company?” Regan waited for me just beyond the edge of the light in a pool of shadow under a large tree. For a moment I felt a snap of anger. Whatever. Then it hit me. I didn’t have any power. If he decided to try something, I was on my own.
For the first time I understood just how helpless I was. My panicked mind tried to remember the self-defense moves I’d learned in gym last semester, but it was all a jumbled heap of nothing. I’d heard the stories, about girls being attacked, trying to fight back. What was wrong with me?
“No thank you.” I hurried past him, felt him lunge for me. I spun, heart pounding, hands up, not sure what I was going to do if he tried to touch me again.
I needn’t have worried. He was as drunk as Alison and when he reached out to take my arm he totally missed. I dodged him easily and left him behind, checking over my shoulder a few times to make sure he didn’t follow.
I hated being so nervous. Hell, scared. I was a witch, the daughter of a demon lord. But at that moment, trapped inside the fear driving me to finally run the last few steps to the patio doors, I was nothing.
It was so time to get my demon back.
***
Chapter Twenty Two
I spent a frustrating hour or so on Alison’s computer trying alternate forms of search and still turned up nada.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Demitrius did a great job of hiding their tracks in the real world, so it was logical the virtual one wasn’t much different. And let’s face it, I was no hacker with the ability to figure this out on my own. I’d already been searching for weeks, hoping a convenient homepage would suddenly pop up. Clearly I was just wasting my time.
Thunder rumbled in the distance for the rest of the night, jerking me out of sleep every time. By the time the sun came up, I was cranky and exhausted, not to mention worried about Alison and how leaving the party might affect our friendship. Talk about awkward if she wasn’t talking to me for the rest of the visit.
I needn’t have worried. She bounded into my room at around eight, as perky as ever and grinning her face off. I wondered how she managed it. From what I saw she had a lot to drink. Meanwhile, I felt like total crap. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around?
Still, I was grateful if a little annoyed she pretended like nothing happened.
The storm had moved off or broken up near dawn. I could only imagine my mom and the coven somehow wrangled the Wild back to sleep again, if only for a little while. The world was still in one piece at least. I tried calling, but no one answered at home. Quaid wasn’t returning my texts, either. That left me without any information and in a very bad mood.
Good thing Alison wasn’t about to let that stop us from having a great time.
She kept me so busy all day I actually started to forget what was going on back home and had some fun. Between horse back riding, trying my hand at water skiing behind the Morgan’s speedboat and practically passing out on the stretch of dock from sheer exhaustion, I barely had time to feel sorry for myself or worry about anything.
I had a moment of concern when Gwen and Regan showed up in their boat, asking us to join them for a cruise around the lake, but Alison brushed them off like she hardly knew them and they quickly left.
I flashed Regan the finger when he winked at me and actually laughed at the startled look on his face.
Alison giggled next to me. “What was that all about?”
I shrugged. “Maybe now he’ll take no for an answer.”
She sat up, a horrified look on her face. “He didn’t touch you?”
Crap. Oops. “It’s okay,” I said. “I took care of it.”
She scowled at the departing boat. “Jerk. That’s it, he’s cut off.” She grinned at me. “Besides, this weekend is about me and my bestie.” She settled next to me again while I lay there with a dumb grin on my face.
At least someone wanted me around.
Alison wasn’t much for lazing by the dock. After about an hour she dragged me around the grounds, showing me the extensive garden and the old tree house her parents built for her when she was little. It was huge and elaborate, with staircases and multiple rooms, big enough for me to live in, practically, if the ceilings hadn’t been so low.
Next came a tour of the main house, room after room of perfection and artwork, pretentious furniture and collections of the rare and near priceless. Alison spent most of the tour alternating between giggling and joking about everything and scowling like it all personally offended her.
We finally ended up in the main living room just as Mrs. Morgan was hanging up the phone.
“Ah, there you are, girls.” She offered one of her fake smiles. She looked so polished, like it was first thing in the morning for her, and I realized I hadn’t seen her all day. “Who was that?” Alison planted herself sideways on a frail and expensive looking sofa while her mother frowned at her. Tried to frown at her. There was so much of nothing going on in the way of movement under her skin, her displeasure really only registered in her eyes.
“Feet down, please.” Alison complied if slowly. “Your father.”
My friend was on her feet, beaming and bouncing on her toes. “What time is he coming?”
Mrs. Morgan’s full lips could pout at least. “He says he’s sorry, pumpkin. Work.”
I wished I could do or say something to help Alison. She looked so hurt. But she only showed it for a moment.
“And I’m off as well.” She checked her gold watch sparkling with so many diamonds it was hard to look at it straight on. “Ladies night. You two can keep each other amused, I’m assuming?”
She floated out without another look at us, the scent of her expensive perfume all that remained and I wished it would just go away too.
Alison stood frozen, eyes locked on nothing, her whole body tense. I approached her, slid my hand into hers. She squeezed hard, looking up at me suddenly with a smile like nothing happened.
“Cool,” she said. “Run of the house. How about movies and junk food?”
Clouds were gathering again by the time we climbed into our pajamas and sprawled in
the media room. I reclined back in the custom made theatre seat, loving the leather footrest and the extra thick padding, not to mention the cup and bowl holders on either arm. We sighed our way through a romance then squealed ourselves hoarse during the latest horror movie.
We both screamed for real when a massive bang shook the house, knocking the power out. I clutched my chest with both hands, heart racing as the electricity came back on.
“What was that?” Alison’s eyes shone huge as she giggled.
I knew. And it shattered my mood completely. We got up together, went out into the hall and down to the end to the big window looking over the lake.
Rain gushed against the glass as a flash of light lit up the back garden followed almost instantly by a jarring roll of thunder. The power flickered again, but didn’t leave us this time.
“Wow,” Alison breathed. “So cool.”
I wished I could enjoy the storm for the beauty of it. All it did was make me anxious. I had to go home! But I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed, not to mention the fact there was still nothing I could do to help.
“I guess,” I said, turning away from the window. It felt like I was turning my back on my family.
Rosetta stood at the end of the hall near the stairs, glaring at me. I saw her make another of her protection gestures and the sight of it instantly infuriated me. First of all, there was no way she could know who I was and second, I wasn’t even a witch anymore.
Alison must have sensed my displeasure because she turned and spotted the maid.
“Rosetta!” Her voice was as sharp as Mrs. Morgan’s.
The little maid scurried off downstairs and out of sight.
We ended up in Alison’s room as the sky grew dark with more than just sunset. The clouds thickened, the rain coming harder and louder. I huddled next to her on her giant bed, feeling the weight of the storm on my chest, threatening me, making it hard to breathe.
“I wanted to thank you,” Alison said, eyes locked on the rain on her window. “For being patient with Mom.”
Mrs. Morgan was the furthest person from my thoughts. “She’s okay,” I said. Lame.