Midnight Kiss

by Sarra Cannon

  We silently made our way back through the tunnels, up through the grate of the storm drain, and back to his truck. Neither of us said a word as he drove us back to his house.

  Is This It For Us?

  I got out of the truck and waited.

  Where did I go from here?

  Could I really go back and pretend that everything was okay? That I hadn't just come close to becoming another pawn in the Order's horrible game? That these girls who had pretended to be my friends weren't my worst enemies?

  And what would happen to John? Would he continue to come into the coffee shop, ignoring me as if we hadn't been through so much together?

  I couldn't bear it.

  John came around the side of the truck, his eyes lowered and his shoulders tensed.

  “I don't know how to thank you for what you've done,” I said. “I'll never be able to repay you.”

  “You're free from the Order now,” he said. “Make a life for yourself where you can be happy. Don't live in fear. That's all I want for you.”

  My heart tightened. I wanted more.

  “What do I do about Phoebe and the others? If I distance myself from them, they'll know something's wrong,” I said. “But I can't be friends with those people.”

  “My guess is that once they realize the tattoo didn't reveal you to be the girl they were looking for, they'll slowly begin to distance themselves anyway. They'll move on to their next task and leave you alone,” he said. “Next year you'll be given a different dorm assignment and you'll be able to blend in and live a normal life.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Normal? Did you see what I did back there in the tunnel? I'll never be normal,” I said. “And I'm not sure I can just turn my back on all the other trainees who have been abducted. What's going to happen to them?”

  He swallowed and looked away. “Nothing good,” he said. “But if you start looking for them, you'll only put yourself back on the Order's radar. This is your chance to be free of them.”

  “And what about you?” I asked. “Why are you on campus, studying us, looking for clues about the Orders plans? Why aren't you free of them?”

  His eyes met mine and I could see decades of sadness lurking there. “The Order has killed or enslaved everyone I ever cared about,” he said. “I'll never rest until they are destroyed.”

  My hands trembled at my sides. I wanted to tell him that I would fight with him. With a good teacher, maybe I could join this war against the Order and really make a difference. Maybe I could save some of the other girls who had been taken. Girls like me.

  But I wasn't sure how to ask him to teach me.

  “John?”

  He had already turned back toward the large old mansion, but at the sound of my voice, he slowly angled back toward me.

  “Yes?”

  “Is this it for us? This one night?”

  “What else could there be? Did you expect me to come with you to your frat party or whatever?” he asked with a hollow laugh. He looked down at his feet and cleared his throat. “I've lost too many people I love to the Order. I know you wish there could be more between us, but I can't risk getting hurt that way again, Allison. I don't let anyone get close to me anymore. All I care about is destroying the Order of Shadows.”

  Regret and yearning tugged on my heart. “That sounds like a lonely life,” I said. “It seems like kind of a waste to have us both be alone, fighting the same fight.”

  He looked up, surprised. “This isn't your fight, anymore. You need to move on.”

  “You know I can't do that,” I said, the tears welling up in my eyes again. I stubbornly stomped my foot and wiped at the tears on my cheeks. “Dammit. This is at least the third time you've made me cry today, John Pierce.”

  He laughed and glanced at his watch. “It's after midnight. It's a whole new day.”

  I sniffed and smiled through my sadness. “And I'm still here, thanks to you.”

  “I'm glad I could help,” he said. He shuffled his feet and looked away. Were there tears in his eyes, too? “You’d better get going if you're going to make it back to that party tonight.”

  I nodded and started making my way across the street to my car. “Goodnight, then,” I said with a half-wave.

  “Goodnight, Allison Wonderland.” He smiled.

  I laughed, but it came out flat and sad. I was already feeling the loss of his friendship, even though I'd only had it for a few hours.

  He made his way up the front steps of his house. I wanted to call out to him and tell him thank you again. There was no way to say it enough. Things between us felt so unresolved, like, it couldn't just end there. Could it?

  I slid into my car and as soon as I started it up, my phone began to ring. I rolled my eyes. That stupid phone would be the death of me.

  My mom's number flashed across the screen and I remembered with a strong pang of guilt that I had forgotten to call her and let her know I was okay.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said, picking up. “I'm sorry, it's been a crazy night. I'm okay, though. Everything's fine.”

  “You were supposed to call me, Alli. I've been frantic,” she said. “I tried to call you right before midnight to make sure you didn't forget the potion and you didn't answer.”

  I almost laughed. Man, if she only knew how terribly inconvenient that call had been. I had so much I needed to explain to her, but now wasn't the time. I didn't have the energy. I just wanted to get this night over with so that I could wake up fresh tomorrow and figure out how to move on with my life. How to fight back in my own way.

  Everything always looked better in the light of day.

  “I'm sorry, Mom. A lot has happened tonight. I'll call you tomorrow and explain, but I gotta go, okay?” I felt bad for rushing her when she'd obviously been so worried. “I love you, Mom. I'm safe, I promise.”

  She sighed in relief. “That's all that matters,” she said. “I love you, too. Have some fun with your friends. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, Mom.”

  “Night, sweet girl.”

  We hung up and I suddenly felt like the loneliest person in New Orleans. All alone on a quiet street. No true friends. Miles away from the only person who loves me.

  But all that loneliness was better than being locked away by the Order.

  I didn't want to waste a single day of the rest of my life. I wanted to make it worth it that I had survived, even if those other girls would not. And most of all, I wanted to try to find them. Save them, like John had saved me tonight.

  I sighed and glanced at John's house one last time, but he was already gone.

  From The Shadows

  The party was still going strong even close to one in the morning.

  Loud music pumped from the house and drunk college students clustered in groups, laughing and drinking and smoking. Everyone was dressed up.

  I parked a short distance away, but before I started walking toward the party, I took a second to fix my appearance. Glamours only took a small amount of power, but after the kind of night I had, I was exhausted. I only had enough energy to make my tights look pristine white again and make sure my hair and makeup looked okay.

  I still wasn't sure what I was going to tell the others, but I'd figure it out. All I had to do was convince them that I'd been off with some guy at another party. If I could do that, I'd be in the clear. Whatever suspicions they'd had about me would, hopefully, start to disappear and, over time, they'd leave me alone.

  I stood on the sidewalk in front of the house for a few long minutes, just watching everyone. All these people having fun, with no idea of the dangers that lurked in this horrible world. In that moment, I wished with all my heart that I could be one of them. Blissfully ignorant of witches and demons and the evil that sometimes waited for you in the most surprising places.

  From the porch, someone shouted my name. Heels clicked along the pavement as my friends rushed up.

  “Becca, oh my God, where have you been?” Phoebe asked, t
hrowing her arms around me. “We've been scared to death.”

  My stomach twisted at the sound of her voice and the feel of her arms wrapped around me. She was one of them. She was the enemy. But I had to act like a normal girl. I had to pretend I was one of the oblivious.

  I hugged her back and forced a bright smile, despite the fact that my heart was breaking.

  “Hey,” I said. “I told you, I was with a guy.”

  “You have to tell us who,” Robin said, looping her arm in mine. “I didn't even know you were talking to someone. We want all the details.”

  They pulled me toward the porch, but Charity held her hand out to stop us, her eyes growing wide.

  We all turned simultaneously to see what in the world she was looking at.

  “Holy what, is that him?” she whispered.

  My heart rose up as if it had the wings of a tiny hummingbird, beating furiously at the sight of him.

  John Pierce emerged from the shadows, his dark eyes locked on mine, a smile growing on his face. “Hey, Alice in Wonderland, come back here,” he said. “I told you wait up.”

  My cheeks grew flushed with warmth and my skin tingled as I broke away from the group of girls and rushed over to him. He lifted me into his arms and spun me around. An actual giggle broke free from my mouth as he set me down.

  John brought his hand up to my cheek and pulled me closer. His lips descended on mine, warm, strong, and sure.

  He kissed me the way I'd wanted to be kissed by him from the moment I first saw him. Whatever hesitation he'd had back at his house had fallen away and he was mine. I knew in that moment, with our bodies pressed tightly together, and our arms wrapped tight around each other like life-vests, that whatever may come, we were in this together.

  Phoebe cleared her throat and John's lips smiled against mine.

  “What made you change your mind?” I whispered before we untangled ourselves from our embrace.

  “When you drove away, I knew I'd been a fool to let you go,” he whispered. He ran a finger gently down the side of my face. “I realized maybe there are some things I care about more than the Order.”

  My heart filled to the brim. I bit my lip to hide the wide smile spreading across my face.

  “Let's go have some fun with these girls,” he said.

  He laced his fingers with mine.

  Earlier, John had said that it was after midnight and now my fight was over. The tattoo was gone. My secret was safe.

  But the truth was, as we walked toward these girls who had pretended to be my friends, who all along intended to betray me, I knew my fight had just begun.

  If you enjoyed "After Midnight", I know you'll love Sarra's Peachville High Demons series! A box set of Beautiful Demons Books 1-3 is currently FREE to download!

  About the Author

  Sarra Cannon writes contemporary and paranormal fiction with both teen and college age characters. Her novels often stem from her own experiences growing up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where she learned that being popular always comes at a price and relationships are rarely as simple as they seem.

  She is a devoted (obsessed) fan of Hello Kitty and has an extensive collection that decorates her desk as she writes. She currently lives in South Carolina with her amazingly supportive husband and her adorable son.

  Sign up for Sarra’s newsletter!

  Website: sarracannon.com

  Facebook: facebook.com/sarracannon

  Twitter: twitter.com/sarramaria

  Instagram: instagram.com/sarracannon

  Goodreads: goodreads.com/sarra_cannon

  The Midnight Test

  By

  Juliana Haygert

  Chapter 1

  The force fleeted through me, like a cold wind mixed with an electric pulse, and I gasped. What the …? Dozens of bad words crossed my mind, and I would have spat them if my cell phone hadn’t dinged.

  Amber: So, did it work?

  I sighed. If whatever was haunting this place stopped playing, maybe I would be able to start it.

  Me: Hang on.

  I knelt on the floor and resumed drawing a summoning circle. I could feel the ghost—or whatever it was—nearby, as if it were watching me, wondering what I was doing. I looked up, searching for the moon, but both four-story dorm buildings did a great job of hiding it from me.

  It was almost two in the morning, and even though it was Wednesday, most students seemed to have turned in early. Good thing too, because I didn’t need any curious eyes.

  I finished drawing the circle and grabbed a small leather pouch from inside my tote, which was lying on the ground. Careful with it, I opened the pouch and deposited it safely in the palm of my left hand. The red hawthorn berry powder inside it was running low, but I should have enough for this time. I made a mental note to stop by the Midnight Cauldron soon and buy some more.

  Focusing on my task, I picked the red powder inside the pouch with my right hand and deposited it on the ground, forming a big star with each of its six points touching the circle’s line. After making sure there were no gaps in the star, I put the pouch back in my tote and sent a message to my sister.

  Me: Done.

  Amber: Now you place the crystals around it, step in, and call it.

  I rolled my eyes.

  Me: I know.

  Amber: Sorry. Force of habit.

  Her powers manifested when she was twelve, and she started learning magic right away. I was ten then and, even though I still hadn’t manifested, I had sat through her lessons. I absorbed everything. My mother thought it had all been a waste of time when I turned sixteen and still hadn’t manifested.

  Finally, on my seventeenth birthday, a sliver of magic appeared. To my mother’s disgrace, I had been the oldest witch we knew to receive my gift, and also the weakest. However, I knew it all. All the theory, all the history, all the spells, all the potions, and that knowledge, along with my weak magic, made me somewhat powerful.

  Amber: Hazel, did you get it?

  Suppressing a groan, I placed the fist-sized white crystals on the four corners—north, south, east, and west. I looked around one more time, making sure nobody was in the alley or watching me through the windows, and stepped into the circle.

  The energy from the crystals flowed into me and I opened my arms, welcoming that bit of extra magic. It rushed through my veins, bringing energy, life, and power. I smiled.

  “Veni ad me,” I chanted, funneling my power. I sent my magic to all four corners. I felt it when it bumped into the other force, enveloped it, and pulled it to the circle. “Now you’re mine.”

  The force struggled against me, but my magic was strong when backed up by the crystals. The force crossed the circle’s barrier and my magic released it. Immediately, it tried to step out of the circle. I almost laughed at its foolish attempts.

  I channeled my powers. “Apparet.”

  The air shimmered and smoke appeared, slowly forming the outline of a person. It was a ghost. I knew it.

  “Hazel Rose Levine.”

  I snapped my head toward the new voice and lost my grasp on my magic. The power of the crystals faded and the ghost vanished.

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  A tall woman wearing a heavy white cloak with silver embroidery stood a good fifteen feet from the circle. The magic within her was so powerful that I could feel it brushing against my skin, filling the alley, chasing away ghosts.

  I stepped out of the circle. “Yes?”

  She took off the hood, revealing a plain face with sharp lines. Still, she was beautiful in an imposing, strong way. “I’m Lenora, one of the witches from the White Sisterhood.”

  My throat became instantly dry and my hands damp.

  “Um, have you received my request?” The one I had sent two months ago, when I first arrived in New Orleans? Several options had rolled in my mind since then. One, they didn’t get my request. Two, they got it and, knowing how weak I was, chose to ignore it. Three, they got it and were spyin
g on me, waiting to see if I should be granted an audience or not.

  “We did,” she said, her voice grave. “We decided it’s time for us to meet.”

  My heart skipped a beat. I truly wasn’t expecting this. “Really?”

  She went on as if the excitement in my tone didn’t amuse her one bit. “Tomorrow evening. At the appointed place and time.” She waved her hand and an old, rolled parchment blinked into existence right in front of my face. I snatched it. “Don’t be late.”

  Shadows surrounded her, and just like that, she was gone.

  Thrill bubbled in my chest and I reached for my phone from over my tote. I began typing a text for my sister then stopped. What the hell? Who cared if it was past midnight? My mother would want to know this no matter the hour.

  She answered on the second ring. “They contacted you?” she asked, her voice alert.

  I frowned. “How did you know?”

  “Calling me at this time? It better be it.”

  The excited feeling died down and I sighed. To her, that was the main reason I moved from our tiny town of Belmont, Louisiana to New Orleans. No matter how much I wanted to go to college and try living a normal life, since apparently I wasn’t cut out for the witch thing. But she had made me promise, she begged me, to contact the coven of the White Sisterhood, to request an audience so I could introduce myself and also request a position within their midst.

  “It would be the biggest honor,” she had said.

  Yes, it would. With the exception of my mother and Amber, our family was the weakest in our entire region, and I was the weakest of them all. She would love to have a daughter inside the White Sisterhood, the strongest, most powerful coven of white witches in existence. To my mother, I could be there as a maid, she didn’t care, as long as I got in.

  “So,” she asked. “When will you meet them?”

  “Tomorrow.” That was less than twenty hours. My stomach knotted. I picked up the crystals and stashed them inside my tote. “I’ll call you once I’m out.”