“What language is that?” I asked, unable to hold in my curiosity. I had so many questions. None of this made sense. I narrowed my eyes and scanned the rest of Tegan’s group with suspicion. It was obvious that Tegan was close with them, but who were they? “I am so confused.”
Tegan sighed. “I know…”
“You show up late at night with a group of strangers, none of whom are your father, needing a place to stay? That’s weird, dude.” I pointed one hand toward Emersyn, the other toward Tennessee. “You being with Emersyn again is even weirder. But with Mr. Hottie, too? Dude, that’s too much weird for me.”
“Bettina, it’s a long story…”
I scoffed. “Like I care? We’ve apparently got all night.” And I was going to get answers.
“Hey, beautiful.” That pretty blond guy with the purple eyes grinned at me. “I’m Deacon. You’re a great friend for taking us all in tonight. We owe you one, but we’re all exhausted right now and need to sleep. Do you care where we crash?”
I blinked then got to my feet. Wait, wasn’t I standing? I shook it off. It’d been a weird twenty-four hours. I pushed my hair back and smiled. Something about this guy had a very smooth effect on my thoughts. He was giving me a task. They needed a place to sleep, literally.
“We don’t mind the floor,” the hot guy said softly with a warm smile.
I nodded. “No problem. We’ve got two couches here and a big chair, then at least one air mattress upstairs in the closet. C’mon, Tegan, help me get the blankets and stuff. You can tell me this long story while we’re at it.”
“Hey now,” the pretty boy with purple eyes said with a wicked sparkle in his eyes. A red light from the television flashed over his face. “No story telling without us.”
Chapter Five
BETTINA
The second my eyes opened, I wished they hadn’t. I’d had a great dream. Tegan had shown up on my doorstep, with her new friends. And they were all nice and friendly, like maybe I could be friends with her new friends, too. Especially Emersyn and Tennessee—
Wait. Tennessee. The hot guy from The Gathering. We hadn’t known his name then.
I gasped and shot upright. It wasn’t a dream. My living room was packed full of teenagers. Emersyn was curled up on my dad’s recliner chair. The pretty blond with purple eyes was sharing the couch right beside her with his dark-featured look-alike. On the floor, an air mattress was doing its best attempt to stay inflated with the two other girls and Mister Serious with the buzz cut.
Oh yeah. I remembered it now. Tegan had shared this couch with me— Hey wait, where is she?
As silently as possible, I got to my feet and headed to the kitchen. Every time Tegan slept over, I ended up finding her in the kitchen the next morning scrounging for food. Girl was always starved. I pushed the door open—then smiled.
Tegan sat at the kitchen table with a box of Fruit Loops in front of her and two bowls. She looked up at me and grinned. “It’s like you have some internal clock. For years now, you find me in the kitchen just as I sit down.”
I chuckled and moved to sit across from her. “Girl, you’ve got lots of explaining to do.”
“I know. Trust me, I know.” She sighed. “I’m sorry about Labor Day, by the way.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Would’ve been cancelled anyway. I’m currently grounded for a month.”
Tegan sat up straight. “What? Since when? For what?”
“Since Friday night, after I snuck out to go to a party.”
She narrowed her pale green eyes. “A party? You?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I was trying to make new friends since the one I had left me.” The second the words escaped my lips, I regretted them. It wasn’t Tegan’s fault her dad made her move. And I was glad she’d made new ones already. “Tegan—"
The back door swung open, and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding sauntered in like a jungle cat hunting his next meal. And judging by the way he looked at my best friend, I had a good guess what he wanted. She didn’t look up at him, but the look in his eyes suggested he wanted to push her up against the kitchen counter and kiss the ever-loving shit out of her. Tegan still hadn’t looked at him.
I cleared my throat. “Morning.”
He nodded at me then slipped back into the living room. The second he was out of sight, Tegan groaned and buried her face in her hands.
I turned back to my best friend with my jaw dropped. “Spill it. Now.”
She chuckled and pushed her long black hair off her face. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink and her eyes sparkled. She grabbed the box of Fruit Loops and poured herself a bowl. “Oh, Bettina…”
“So, what’s the deal with him?” I asked as she slid my bowl toward me. We didn’t eat it with milk, so I dug right in.
“It’s complicated. Very.” She shoved a huge spoonful into her mouth then chewed.
“I’m listening…”
She leaned forward. “I promise I will tell you later, just not here.”
I frowned. Tegan never kept secrets from me, so if she was, then there had to be a reason.
I nodded and whispered back, “Okay. But you’re crazy about him, right?”
The smile she gave me was all the answer I needed. She glanced at the door he’d gone through. “He’s my soulmate,” she said just loud enough for me to hear.
I laughed. Soulmate. Tegan had always been a hopeless romantic. I had no idea why they weren’t a couple, especially since he seemed to be just as invested, but I’d wait patiently for the answer. After embarrassing her the night before, I figured I owed it to her.
“So, your turn.” Tegan waved a spoon in front of me. “Party. Spill it.”
“Dean Hoover’s. You remember him, right? Works at the animal shelter with me.” She nodded, so I continued. “Anyway, huge party at his house way down south of Broad Street. Chandelier the size of my car in their foyer.”
Tegan rolled her eyes. “You know I know this chandelier was not the most exciting part of your evening.”
I grinned. Tegan had a special skill for knowing. It seemed I rarely had to tell her things. She always just knew. But right now, I didn’t want to talk about what went down with that Ouija board. Which was probably a mistake since I actually had her in front of me. This might have been my only chance to talk about it. Yet…I couldn’t bring myself to. I wasn’t sure why. It’d scared me to my core.
The Gathering hadn’t been about me, but that spirit in Dean’s candle room? It literally said my name. I wasn’t ready to dive into that just yet. I still wanted to pretend it didn’t happen. So, I deflected. “Well…I met the most gorgeous boy last night.”
Her eyes sparkled. “YES. Tell me more. Name, address, social security number.”
“You’re not stalking him.” I laughed. “His name is Jackson Lancaster. He’s British…”
About an hour later, I was walking across the parking lot of the animal shelter I worked at with Dean strolling beside me. Tegan and her friends needed a car to catch up with her school group they’d gotten separated from, but my parents had taken both of theirs before we got up. I cringed just remembering the voice mail my mother had left me on her way to work. I was in big trouble. I just hoped she’d forgive me for last night when she found out the circumstances.
“So Tegan moves away, then a few weeks later, after barely speaking to you, shows up at your door with a squad of friends needing a place to crash…and you don’t ask questions?”
“Oh, I asked a ton of questions. I just didn’t get an answer yet.”
Dean frowned down at me. “And you don’t find that weird?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s weird for a guy to have a room lined with candles, pentacles drawn in the floor, and a Ouija board…”
Dean paled and scratched the back of his head. “Listen, about that—”
“Not now.” I shivered and waved my hands. Last night was still too fresh, too raw. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. “Anyway, Tegan’s been my best friend sinc
e I was five. I trust her. She promised to tell me everything later.”
“You’re a really loyal person, aren’t you?”
I liked to think I was. As we walked up to Tegan and her group, I smiled and gestured beside me. “Hey, guys. This is my friend Dean.”
Dean smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Which made me think maybe he was trying to be loyal to me, even though he was suspicious of them. He waved. “Hi. So, I hear you’re trying to get into the mountains this morning…but…uh…her dad’s van didn’t want to start an hour ago when I tried to move it. We can try again, though.”
My dad’s van, aka his beat up old van from the 90s that he’d donated to the animal shelter. I’d had the idea for them to borrow it since it wasn’t really needed. It was just a backup.
Wait, it didn’t start? That was strange. Dad’s van always starts. That thing was a legend here.
Tennessee nodded. “Thanks, Dean. Let’s give it another shot and see what happens.”
He held his hand out for the keys, and Dean’s gray eyes widened. He stared at him for a long second, and I could see his brain thinking in his eyes. His jaw dropped, then he wiped his face with his hands.
Tennessee frowned. “You okay, Dean?”
A light flush filled his cheeks, and he nodded. “I was just thinking…why risk getting broken down in the mountains where there’s no cell service and stuff, right?”
“We have to get there, though,” Tennessee said in that velvety voice of his.
I had to admit, this dude was the most intimidating person I’d ever met. Ever.
“Well, I have a van full of supplies that need to be dropped off at our other location. If you promise to drop the van off once you get into town, then I’d be happy to let you borrow it.” Dean pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it out. “Should be right on your way.”
The other location was up in the Smoky Mountains. That was where Dean spent half his school year—living with his mom. It was also how he knew where The Gathering was located.
Tennessee frowned and took the paper. He read it silently, his frown deepening.
Dean cleared his throat, then he bowed his head ever so slightly. “What do you say?”
Tennessee eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then nodded. “Deal.”
Dean smiled, and this time it wrinkled his face around his gray eyes. “Follow me.” Without another word, he turned and walked across the parking lot.
Tennessee waved for his crew to follow. “Let’s get going.”
Going. Already. She’d been here a matter of hours, and now she was leaving again. It was a bittersweet tease. Everyone else turned to follow Dean toward the shelter’s van, but Tegan and Tennessee held back.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving me again.” I looked down at the ground and fiddled with the frayed hem of my jean shorts. I was going to fall apart, just like I had the first time she left.
“Florida is gorgeous in the winter, you know.”
I gasped and looked up. Tegan’s eyes sparkled. Tennessee winked then walked off.
Tegan turned to me then wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “When I get back from this trip, when things are settled, you’re going to come down to Florida. Okay? Dad already said you could. We’ll make it happen, okay? Maybe you can come down all Christmas break. That’d be fun, right?” She pulled back and looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
“Yeah,” I said with my emotions lodged in my throat. “Yeah, let’s do that. Now go, before you get expelled from school or something.”
She grinned and started backing away from me. “You go after that hot Brit, you hear? I expect a whole lot more the next time we speak.”
I rolled my eyes then pointed toward Tennessee at the far end of the lot. “Right back at ‘ya.”
Chapter Six
BETTINA
I hadn’t slept all night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in that windowed room with my hands on the Ouija board planchette. I kept seeing those words. They’re not dead. They’re coming. Joseph. Seek Myrtle. And then there were the ones at the end that didn’t make any sense at all. Why did it know Jackson? And what did it mean by Michael is coming?
It was the same cycle of questions over and over until I thought I was about to rip my hair out. Somehow, the excitement over Tegan’s presence had dulled these thoughts in the far corners of my mind, but the second she was gone, they all came rushing back.
I should have talked to her about it. I’m an idiot.
I paused outside my AP US History class and took a deep breath. Let that shit go. It’s over. Just forget about it and move on. With a whole lot of confidence I wasn’t feeling, I pulled the door open and walked into class.
One of my classmates jumped out in front of me and pretended to hold a video camera. “Blair Witch Project, part two. And ACTION!”
I froze. What did he just say?
“Get it, because your last name is Blair?” One of the football players in the front row laughed. “And you’re a witch.”
I clenched my teeth to stop myself from snapping back. They weren’t worth it. I shook my head and turned to walk to my seat in the back corner. Lauren and Carry-Anne stepped in front of me, blocking my path. When I tried to push past them, they both hissed.
Lauren held her fingers up to form the symbol of a cross, then shoved them closer to me. “No wonder I never see you in church, witch.”
“Touch me, and I pour this holy water on your head,” Carry-Anne spat while holding up what looked like a flask.
“Careful, or she’ll push you out a window like she did poor Ashley,” Stacy said from behind me.
I didn’t look back at her. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. It didn’t matter. The truth never did.
“Or hex you, like Matt Peters?” Lauren sneered. “We all heard you, witch.”
The whole class chanted, “Witch, witch, witch!”
“What the hell is going on in here!”
I spun at the sound of my teacher’s voice, hope filling my chest. My classmates broke off their chanting, but they did nothing to hide their giggling. Or the points. Or stares.
My teacher stormed over, his bushy black eyebrows hanging low over his eyes. “Ms. Blair! Dean’s office, now!”
I flinched as if he’d slapped me. “Wh-what? Me?”
“Did I stutter?” he screamed. “Now!”
“Mr. Tag! I’m not the one—”
“OUT!” He threw his arm out, pointing toward the door like I didn’t know where it was. “I will not have my class disrupted with this kind of tasteless madness! The dean, now.”
Rage surged through my veins. My body burned with heat like they’d just lit me on fire. The whole class laughed and pointed at me. Several of them whispered the word witch over and over. If this had been 1692, I would’ve been sent straight to Gallows Hill with a rope.
“Ms. Blair,” Mr. Tag growled.
I smashed my lips together and took off toward the door. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch something. I wanted to march back in there and tell them all off. For a moment, I wished I were someone else, someone who didn’t care about the bigger picture. Someone who flew by the seat of their pants and did what felt right. But I wasn’t that person. I was smart enough to know better. Everything I wanted to do would only make it worse.
I stormed down the hall with my hands in fists at my sides.
But I was not going to the dean’s office. Over my dead body would I turn myself in like I was the one who’d done something wrong. Nope. Not today, Satan. Instead, I sped down the hall to the bathroom, the one that no one used because it was old and the toilets barely worked. All the other girls used the brand new facilities at the front of the building. That was fine; it meant I had this one to myself.
I could scream my heart out, and no one would hear me.
Just as always when I flew through the bathroom door, I was greeted with silence. I was about to fall apart. My hands tr
embled. The muscles in my arms burned from how tight I held myself. My body felt light and shaky, like my legs might give out any second. It was too much. Too many things happening. My frayed emotions had finally snapped. I didn’t think I could handle anything else.
As tears pooled in my eyes, I moved down the line, slamming stall doors open one by one. I had to make sure I was alone. I couldn’t let anyone else see me fall apart.
Maybe I should I just switch schools. It wasn’t a bad idea. No one at this school liked me. Tegan had left. At least at a new school, maybe I’d have some cool mystery about me that’d make people want to get to know me. It had clearly worked for Tegan.
I stopped outside the handicap stall and yanked the door open—then choked on a scream.
My body turned to ice, frozen in place. I tried to run, but my feet wouldn’t move. My hand gripped the metal handle of the door. A wild tremor ripped through my body. My muscles tightened, like they were trying to break my bones in half. My knees wobbled and knocked into each other, yet somehow I stayed upright. The stall doors rattled, the hinges groaning in protest.
A monster straight out of a horror film was perched on the bathroom sink inside the stall.
It was jet black with eight arms and spikes growing out of its spine. Its two legs were as wide as my body. The thing had to be ten feet tall. It was crouched, looking down into the sink. Maybe it hadn’t seen me. Every instinct inside me screamed for me to run. Fast. I tried to slide my leg back so I could go, but the rubber soles of my Converses made an awful screeching sound. I winced and froze.
The monster’s head popped up, and two massive horns stood tall off its body. My pulse skipped. My breath was shaky. A soft cry escaped my lips. The monster’s face snapped toward me and I gasped. It didn’t have eyes, just two glowing orange orbs where its eyes should’ve been. They brightened when it spotted me. It opened its mouth, and bright orange, lava-like ooze dripped down. The smell of maple syrup filled the stall, so strong I almost gagged. The ooze hit the sink, and the porcelain sizzled then split in half. Smoke billowed from the broken pieces on the ground.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 4