Crushed

by Kasi Blake

“It’s the only answer, dear. If it’s true that he isn’t under a spell, removing it won’t matter. If he is, then you need to remove it because something has gone terribly wrong.”

  Kristen wished it were that simple. “I wanted to remove the spell a long time ago, Grandma, but Brittany won’t let me.”

  “Just exactly how is she stopping you?”

  “She won’t let me enchant anyone else, and I’ll lose the game.”

  Grandma Noah shook her head. “I don’t know what is the matter with you three girls, but this nonsense needs to stop now. Tell your sisters I know about the game, and I am going to end it if you don’t. I mean it. If I have to, I’ll have a very revealing talk with your father.”

  “There’s one more thing.” At her grandmother’s increasingly red face, she blurted out, “I need something for protection.”

  “Protection from what?”

  Kristen swallowed hard but didn’t answer. She couldn’t tell her grandmother that she was afraid of Brittany. The well-meaning woman would lock them in the same room until they worked it out, which wasn’t going to happen. “Uh, if there’s a new witch in town, I need to protect myself. Right?”

  “There’s no sense in getting worked up over something that might happen.” Grandma Noah shrugged. “I have something you can use, but it’s in my safe-deposit box at the bank. I’ll get it for you sometime this week, and you can come back for it.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless there’s a reason I need to retrieve it now.”

  If she showed her grandmother how freaked out she was, the woman would insist on hearing the whole story. Kristen knew she had to keep her mouth shut. Hopefully, Brittany (or the new witch, if one existed) would wait for a while before attacking her again.

  ###

  On the drive back to Sol Moreno, Kristen blasted rock music in the car’s dark interior. Led Zepplin played one of her favorites. She sang along while navigating the winding road. There was a hill to the right and a deep plunge to the ocean on the left. Every time the singer got to the best line in the whole song, she added her voice to his.

  “And she’s buying the stairway to heaven.”

  Kristen shifted gears like a racecar driver, enjoying the feel of all that power at her fingertips. Her dad’s car handled better than hers. An expensive sports car, it had three times the power under the hood. She loved driving at night, just her and the open road. As she drove, she replayed the long conversation with her grandmother. If they didn’t drop the game by the next time she spoke to them, she was going to have a talk with their father.

  Their dad had no idea they were witches. He didn’t know about his mother, either. She had kept it from him because there was no sense in upsetting him when he didn’t need to know. Daniel Noah was a hardline, by-the-numbers guy. He didn’t have time for foolish fantasy. Hearing that not only were witches real but also that he was related to four of them would give the poor guy heart failure.

  Lost in thought, Kristen didn’t notice the owl until it struck her windshield, cracking the glass on impact. She screamed and wrenched the steering wheel to the right without thinking. Lines stretched across the windshield from the center point of impact, forming a spiderweb design. Brakes squealed, and the car started to skid out of control.

  Her car zoomed off the road and just missed a tree. She stomped on the brake, desperate, and jerked the wheel in the other direction. There were too many trees to avoid. Everything moved past the windshield in a dizzying blur. It happened too fast for her to think logically, too fast for her to figure out the best way to save her life and her dad’s car.

  That was her last coherent thought for a while.

  She slammed into a thick tree trunk.

  An explosion of noise deafened her. Twisted metal, breaking glass, and a loud scream filled her ears. The airbag deployed, smacking her in the face with the force of a speeding train. It knocked all thoughts from her head but one. She was going to die.

  After things settled, she sat there, stunned, unable to think or move. She tasted blood. A few pieces of glass fell with soft, clinking sounds. She took a couple whiffs of air, paranoid that the car was about to explode, but she didn’t smell gas or smoke. That was a good sign. When she moved, it was slow and cautious, an inch at a time. She wiggled her fingers. They seemed to be okay. She slid a hand from her throat to her legs, checking for broken bones.

  Bruises and cuts, but nothing broken. Later she would be in a lot of pain, but for now the adrenaline from the near-death experience had her feeling she could get out and walk without any trouble.

  Her entire body quaked in the aftermath of the crash, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She lowered her head against the steering wheel for a moment. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed uncontrollably. She didn’t know what to do. Then, she remembered her cell phone. It was in her purse.

  But where was her purse?

  It had fallen under the seat. Kristen leaned forward, holding her breath as sharp pain stabbed through her core. Her hand caught the strap, and she raised the purse back up to the seat. She opened it with one hand, rummaged around, and pulled the phone out. Another problem hit her.

  Who was she going to call?

  Feeling like she might puke at any second, she pushed the door open and fell out of the car. She hit the dirt with a hard thud. Her cell phone landed next to her hand.

  Pebbles embedded themselves into her flesh. The ground was covered in broken sticks, small rocks, and dried leaves. Her arms scraped against the stuff as she tried to push herself up. The adrenaline was wearing off now, and she experienced the first wave of true pain.

  She sat on her knees and looked at the car. It was a total wreck. The champagne-colored hood was bent in half. The thick tree trunk was almost in the center of the engine. There was a ton of damage. Her father was going to kill her.

  What if the cell phone didn’t get reception out here? She picked it up and checked for bars. There were five. She kissed the phone but didn’t use it. Not right away. She had no clue who she should call for help. She could call one of her sisters, but they were both super pissed off at her. What if they didn’t want to come get her?

  She could try Zach, but it was a little early in their relationship to be calling him for favors in the dead of night.

  Of course, she couldn’t hide the damage to the car from her dad for long. He was going to eventually find out. Maybe she should tell him while he was out of town, give him some time to get over his homicidal feelings. She needed to call him. Mind made up, she pushed a button.

  A shriek from above alerted her to danger.

  The owl had returned.

  It dove down and knocked the phone from her hand. The owl gracefully turned in the sky and came back for her. If it weren’t for the danger it posed, the owl might have made a beautiful sight. It wasn’t a regular owl. A witch was controlling that enormous bird. She was sure of it.

  Did Brittany hate her enough to kill her?

  Kristen took three steps backwards, then spun around and ran as fast as she could in the other direction. Fear made her legs pump harder than usual. She was going to beat the thing, reach safety somehow—if she couldn’t outrun it, then she would grab a stick and knock the thing out of the air. Even if it had a witch controlling it, it was only an animal. If she could think clearly, she could come up with a spell to use against it.

  Then, her trouble doubled.

  A silver wolf came out of nowhere, blocking her path. With an angry snarl, it raced to meet her. There was nowhere for her to go. It leaped at her. She ducked, going down on hands and knees. The wolf leaped over her. She turned her head and watched in awe as the wolf jumped into the air a second time, paws raised, and struck the owl. The gigantic bird almost went down. Regaining balance, it flew away, disappearing in mere seconds. Kristen found herself alone with the wolf. It watched her through crystal blue eyes.

  Kristen grasped the end of a large stick and lifted it high. She would need a weapon if it tried to att
ack her. Every inch of her body ached. Her neck hurt when she turned her head. She wasn’t sure she could fend off the furry beast by herself, but she was sure going to try. Afraid to move, afraid to breathe, she stared at the wolf, waiting for it to make the first move.

  It did.

  The wolf turned and ran off as if a noise only it could hear had startled it. Relieved, she closed her eyes and lowered the stick. A familiar voice called her name. She climbed to her feet and yelled for Cyndi. She hadn’t had the chance to call anyone, yet there her sisters were like a tiny miracle.

  A tearful Cyndi ran to her and gave her a quick hug, saying, “I am so sorry. I hate it when we fight.”

  “Me too.”

  Cyndi sobbed. “I loved Jake, and I wanted to marry him.”

  “I know. That’s why I couldn’t tell you he was cheating.”

  “I understand why you crushed him. I just wish you hadn’t. It makes me sick to my stomach that I kissed him after he’d already kissed Gina. You should have told me.”

  Tears pricked the backs of Kristen’s eyes. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t deserve you.”

  Cyndi wiped her damp face as she laughed. “Well, he’s got what he deserves now. Gina is a bigger witch than all three of us put together. She’s going to drive him nuts. So, I guess you get your wish for prom this year.”

  “Wish?”

  “Yeah, you know, you wanted the three of us to go together. No boys. We can do it now since we’re all guy-free.”

  Kristen nodded. “That’s right. I wanted to go to the prom with my sisters.”

  A flash of Zach’s smiling face nearly blinded her mental eye. Until Cyndi spoke of going to the prom together, Kristen hadn’t realized she was hoping to go with Zach. They hadn’t talked about it, but she desperately wanted to go with him. Now what was she going to do? Brittany would kill her for even suggesting it, and poor Cyndi would stay home, missing the prom completely.

  “How did you know I was here?” Kristen asked, changing the subject so that maybe they could both stop crying.

  “Grandma Noah called,” Cyndi said. “She was worried about you.”

  “How did she know I was out here?”

  “She had a vision after you left, and she told us exactly where we could find you. Grandma’s never wrong.”

  “We?” Kristen looked past Cyndi to find Brittany standing in the background, hands in pockets.

  Brittany casually closed the gap between them. She playfully punched Kristen in the arm. “Glad to see you’re still breathing.”

  “Thank you.”

  Cyndi beamed at them both. “Are you two making up? Please tell me you’re making up.”

  “I don’t know.” Brittany shrugged. “I wanted to kill you earlier, but then when I thought you were actually dead, I felt kind of bad about it. So we’ll wait and see how I feel tomorrow.”

  Coming from Brittany, it was practically an apology.

  Kristen hugged her with one arm and raised the other for Cyndi. Cyndi stepped into the embrace. The three of them shared a rare group hug. They usually kept mushy moments to special occasions, but Kristen remained shaken by her experience. Thrilled to be alive, she didn’t care if her sisters thought she was a crybaby.

  Brittany ordered, “Fix the car so we can go.”

  Cyndi went to the damaged vehicle and did her thing. With a wave of her hands, she fixed the smashed car, and Kristen felt like kicking herself for not remembering her sister’s ability to un-break things. She should have called on Cyndi first thing. Instead, she had been planning to call their dad. That was a confrontation she was glad to have missed.

  “Thank you.” Kristen hugged her sister again.

  “What happened?” Cyndi asked. “Did someone run you off the road?”

  She shook her head. “It was that owl again. That thing is being controlled by a powerful witch, someone who wants to seriously hurt me.”

  Her eyes went to Brittany.

  Brittany shrugged. “Guess you should watch who you piss off.”

  Both Kristen and Cyndi did a double take. A moment ago, Brittany had waved the white flag. Now she was doling out veiled threats. What was happening to her? She was back and forth, hot and cold, calm and dangerous. Kristen had the feeling she was looking at the powerful witch behind the owl.

  Cyndi took a step in her twin’s direction. Her brows drew together over stunned eyes, and her face paled. When she spoke, her voice quivered. “Britt? Your aura is black.”

  Later that night, when the girls were safely at home, they gathered in Kristen’s bedroom for a family meeting. Brittany joined them with obvious reluctance. She plopped down on Kristen’s bed with a heavy sigh, and Cyndi sat next to her.

  Kristen paced over the red area rug in bare feet while trying to explain her fears about Zach. When she gave them the list of possible reasons why he might not be under her spell, Cyndi gasped at the title of vampire, but Brittany seemed more concerned about a powerful witch being in town.

  Kristen finished her story and stood off to the side, waiting for the consensus. She twisted her fingers in nervous agitation. When neither of her sisters spoke, she added, “The spell obviously didn’t work on Zach. One minute he’s doing everything I ask, and the next, he’s ignoring me.”

  Brittany snickered. “Did you actually think he would be easy to control?”

  “I gave him a very simple request. He’s done a lot bigger things than lick a sidewalk. He carried my books and gave me his jacket, and you saw him hop on one foot, rub his stomach, and pat his head in front of everybody. There was resentment in his eyes a few times, but he followed every single command except that one.”

  Cyndi made a face. “You asked him to lick a sidewalk? Why would you do that?”

  “Maybe you pushed him too far and broke the spell,” Brittany said. “I warned you.”

  Kristen shook her head. “If the spell had been broken, the dust would have returned to my bottle, and it’s empty.” She removed the glass vial from her dresser drawer and showed it to her sisters. “Anyway, Grandma is always right. She told me to remove the spell because if it affected him at all, it’s messed up now. It needs to be undone. I need to un-crush him tonight.”

  Brittany picked up a pillow and absently pulled on a tiny, red bow. “Why? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? You wanted him, and you got him. Is he a good kisser?”

  Cyndi gasped. “You kissed him?”

  Before Kristen could say anything, Brittany went into painful detail over Kristen’s date with Titan High’s rebel. Every word carried an ounce of bitterness with it. Although they had fought many times over the years, Kristen hadn’t felt like her sister hated her until now.

  “Something is really, really wrong here.” Kristen tore the pillow from Brittany’s grasp and set it out of her reach so she would stop pulling on the bows. “I need to remove the spell.”

  “Forfeit the game, then.”

  “This isn’t about a stupid game!” Kristen shouted. “This isn’t about winning some money or a car. It’s over, Britt. There’s something off about Zach, and Grandma is going to tell Dad everything if we don’t stop. Game over.”

  “You are such a little drama queen.”

  “Someone has tried to kill me. Twice!”

  “OMG!” Brittany leaped to her feet. “You are so overreacting. Grandma Noah won’t tell Dad a damn thing. She doesn’t want him to know any more than we do. Less, in fact, since she’s lied to him his whole life; and there’s nothing going on with Bevian except for the fact that you shouldn’t have crushed him in the first place. He’s way too strong for you.

  “If there were something magical about Bevian, I would know. I’ve been paying special attention to him for over a year now, and you’re wrong about him. You just can’t control him because your powers aren’t strong enough.”

  Kristen noticed Brittany didn’t have anything to say about the fact that someone had tried to kill her twice now. She wondered if that meant Brittany already k
new about it or simply didn’t care.

  “What if I’m not wrong?” She hadn’t wanted to tell them the next part, but it seemed to be the only way to grab their attention. “I had the dream again when I fell asleep in the car on the way home.”

  Brittany rolled her eyes.

  Cyndi gasped. “Three times.”

  “Actually, this was the sixth time.” Kristen cringed as she recalled the dream in vivid detail. It had been the worst nightmare she’d ever had. “I saw my accuser’s face.”

  “Who was it?” Cyndi asked.

  “Zach. It was Zach. He accused me.”

  Cyndi covered her mouth with both hands.

  Brittany snickered. “If he does, it’s only what you deserve for crushing him in the first place. By the way, I don’t see why we have to stop the game just because you have a personal problem and can’t handle it on your own.”

  Kristen stared at her sister, incredulous at Brittany’s attitude. True, the girl could be a little self-absorbed at times and was angry with her at the moment, but they were sisters. Blood was more important than lust. Wasn’t it?

  “What is wrong with you?” Kristen asked. “Just because I fell for someone you thought you wanted, you’re mad enough to let me get killed? You don’t even know him.”

  “You did it on purpose. You crushed the guy I liked, stole him out from under my nose, and now you have to live with the consequences.”

  Kristen was shocked by Brittany’s vehemence and her lack of memory. “You told me to crush him.”

  “I was joking.”

  Cyndi stood next to Kristen and said, “I vote she removes the spell.”

  The room went dead silent.

  “You what?” Brittany glared at her twin. “You’re actually taking her side against me?”

  “She’s my sister, too.”

  The statement filled Kristen’s heart with a glowing warmth, but it was short-lived.

  Brittany stormed out of the room without another word. A few seconds later, they heard her bedroom door slam shut. It was dangerous to make Brittany mad. Both girls would need to watch their backs until she calmed down.

  No one could hold a grudge like Brittany.

  Kristen said, “I hope you realize that if you don’t stand up to her someday soon, you are going to be dressing like her when you’re forty.”