by Ariella Moon
"Open it!" Evie said.
I tore open the envelope and tipped the contents onto the table. Out slid an oversized paperback book. The words Advance Reader Copy angled across the upper left corner. A sticky note attached to the front said, "Thanks for a memorable solstice. Hope you enjoy my latest book. Mac."
A business card had been paper-clipped to the title page, where I discovered Mac's familiar handwriting. "For Ainslie Avalon-Bennett. See you at Columbia! Sean Mackenzie, PhD."
My legs liquefied. I slid the business card from the paper clip and gaped at Professor Mackenzie's telephone number and Columbia University email address. "All this time…"
Evie leaned forward. "What?"
The alarm on my phone chimed. "Shoot. My parents are here." On a hunch, I flipped over the card. On the back, Mac had written, "Email me when you apply. You can use me as a reference."
I almost bounced out of my stilettos. I slid Mac's business card and Jett's present into the zippered compartment of my purse. "I gotta go. Oh!" I pushed a pen and the envelope toward Evie. "Give me your email address."
Evie's expression brightened. She hurriedly wrote the information in neat, artistic letters, then handed it back to me.
"Thanks!" I slid Mac's book into the envelope. "Happy holidays!"
"Happy holidays!"
I rushed back onto the sales floor, feeling as though I had just gained a sister and a ticket to college. A quick glance around the store confirmed Aunt Terra and Uncle Esmun were busy helping customers. Had they known Mac's true identity? Since I was running late, I decided to wait and tell them my good news on Christmas morning.
Thor and my parents waited by the front door, ambushed by Betty and Arthur.
"There she is, dear." Betty patted Arthur's arm.
He tipped his fedora to my parents, then took my arm and ushered me aside. "I know you need to dash off," Betty apologized to Thor, Mom, and Dad. "We'll just keep her a moment."
"What's up?" I asked when Betty joined us.
"It has taken us a bit to recover from the big event." Arthur's voice trembled.
"But we saw something distressing in the crystal ball the other night, and we thought we should tell you," Betty added.
I hugged the enveloped to my chest. "Was it something about me?"
"Not exactly, dear."
Arthur stepped forward. "We were given a message. We think it was meant for someone your age. Maybe Jett. I don't know."
"What did you see?" I prodded.
Betty glanced up at Arthur. "A girl with long, dark hair. She stared at us through the flames and said, 'Find me.'"
The room whirled. I teetered in my shoes. I felt Thor's gaze wrap around me like a lifeline. "Did she say anything else? Give you a name?"
Betty and Arthur exchanged a puzzled look. "No," Arthur said. "Just those two words."
"Was there anything unusual about her appearance?"
"The image was pretty small," Arthur confessed.
"There was one thing." Betty made a fluttering motion near her neck. My heart skittered. "Maybe it was a blemish in the crystal. But she appeared to have a large scar or skin discoloration on her throat."
"I remember now," Arthur said. "A vertical scar."
I staggered backward.
Thor rushed to my side and cupped my elbow. "Ainslie? You okay?"
His voice sounded like wind rushing between mountaintops. My vision shifted, growing keener. Invisible wings tugged between my shoulders.
Sophia is alive.
The End
About the Author
Ariella Moon writes about magic, friendship, secrets, and love in Spell Check, Spell Struck, and Spell Fire, the first three books in The Teen Wytche Saga from Astraea Press. After a childhood spent searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia, Ariella grew up to become an author and shaman. Extreme math anxiety, and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred Ariella’s teen years. De-spite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. She now lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary daughter, shamelessly spoiled dog, and an enormous dragon.
Also from Astraea Press
Chapter One
Please don’t let him be here today. Please don’t let him be here today.
He was there.
Of course he was there; he was always there. Trey didn’t miss class. For a few seconds Scout debated on backing herself right out the door and skipping class, but Kylin shoved past her, nearly knocking Scout into the wall. Scout gritted her teeth but bit back a reply. Getting in a fight with Trey’s girlfriend right before her first class of the day? Not a great way to start her morning.
It was zoology, and it would have been her favorite period if she didn’t have the privilege of sharing it with Trey and Kylin. Scout pushed her light brown waves over her shoulder, straightened her spine and stalked in, choosing a seat as far away from her ex-boyfriend as she could.
It wasn’t that she minded Kylin. The problem was that Kylin minded Scout. It made things a tad awkward when they shared a class. Happily, Scout and Trey were both content to pretend the other didn’t exist, so she didn’t have to deal with him much.
Mr. Zornes, the teacher, breezed into the room. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, refusing to give in to the whole stuffy ‘teacher’ thing. “Morning, guys. Get comfortable, we’ve got tests to go over.”
Almost the entire class groaned. Scout didn’t groan because she was fairly confident she did well on the test. And if she had to guess, she’d say Trey didn’t groan either, but she refused to look at him to check. They were battling over the highest grade in the class and leaving everyone else way behind. Scout planned it that way — because when Mr. Zornes assigned partners for the science fair, he would assign the highest grade with the lowest. That was the way he’d always done it. Scout was making sure there wasn’t a snowball’s chance she’d get stuck with Trey. Never mind the fact she loved every second she was in the lead. Was she bitter about their breakup?
Not at all.
They’d broken up over a year ago. She didn’t care. She wasn’t still in love with him. She wasn’t still devastated over his complete and absolute crushing of her heart.
Not at all.
“Scout, not surprisingly, got the highest in the class with a 98%. Congratulations.” Mr. Zornes winked as he dropped the test on her desk, and she smiled. She had worked her tail off studying for that test. Mr. Zornes passed the rest of the tests out without comment; he wasn’t cruel, and he didn’t want to draw attention to someone who hadn’t done well.
“So.” Mr. Zornes leaned on the edge of his desk, scanning the room. “I’ll give you a minute to go over your tests, and then we’ll go through them together. That will leave us with just enough time to assign partners for the science fair.” The class buzzed as they went through their exams. Scout flipped through hers and found the two questions she’d missed. Mentally she shrugged because they were hard questions.
It was Mr. Zornes’ policy to go over every test and show them the correct answers. He believed they learned better that way. He might have been right, if anyone actually paid attention. Scout tuned out and popped back in when he got to the two she missed, taking notes so she could study for the final. She had to beat Trey on the final. It was still eight months away. She didn’t care.
“So, the bell’s gonna ring any minute. Let’s hurry and get you paired up. We’re doing things a little differently this time.” He grinned like he should be congratulated, but Scout’s heart started hammering in her chest. “In the past, I’ve always done pairs according to percentages — highest with lowest, hoping that the student with the higher grade could have an opportunity to help teach their peer. But it’s occurred to me that this isn’t the way things are happening.”
Scout saw where he was going before he got there. No, no, no, no, no, her mind begged. But he ignored her telepathic pleading.
“So thi
s year, we’re going to pair you with the person closest to you in percentage.” Scout felt like someone had karate-chopped her in the throat. “Scout and Trey, you two are together on this one. Given how you are both excelling at this class, I’m excited to see what you will come up with.” Across the classroom, a book slammed to the laminate floor, the echo bouncing off the walls. There were approximately four seconds of frozen silence, and then as one the entire class turned to stare at Kylin. She glared at Scout like somehow this had been her nemesis’ diabolical plan all along.
“Kylin, please pick up your book.” Mr. Zornes sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he had anticipated this. Kylin slowly reached down, doing as she was told, but her stormy eyes never left Scout’s face. Scout contented herself with staring back mildly, wondering if Kylin ever ate. The girl was stick-thin and angry. All the time. In Scout’s opinion, she just needed to eat more and her entire countenance would improve.
Mr. Zornes went through the rest of the class, pairing everyone up without further incident or tantrum. The bell rang and they all got up to leave. Scout waited patiently, hoping Trey and his starving girlfriend would go too, but Trey hung back. Scout frowned, glancing over her shoulder at him, which she never, ever allowed herself to do. His thick eyebrows and unruly black hair, the multiple bracelets-but-not-bracelets that boys wore, the thermal shirt hugging his broad shoulders — these things distracted her, made her forget she hated him ever so much.
When he didn’t appear to be in a hurry to leave, she sighed and turned back to her teacher. “Mr. Zornes, can I talk to you?” she asked, hesitating near her desk, her finger absently rubbing a broken heart scratched into the wood.
“Of course, Scout, what’s up?” Mr. Zornes leaned against his desk and gave her a friendly smile. He was her favorite teacher, not because he was young and cool, but because he was nice, and she was counting on that niceness now.
“Can I do the project on my own?” Scout heard a sharp breath behind her, but didn’t risk another glance at Trey.
“That is a fabulous idea. Trey and I can work together.” Kylin rushed to the front of the room, her platform heels clacking against the ugly green fake tile. Scout had forgotten she was even still there.
Mr. Zornes tipped his head, considering Scout and ignoring Kylin completely. “The reason I paired you two together is because you’re my two best students and I was excited to see what you could come up with together.”
Scout shook her head, chuckling, but viciously. “Nothing Trey and I work on together ever turns out well, Mr. Zornes.”
“Wait a sec.” Trey stalked past her, his big arms crossed against his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Scout said between gritted teeth, “that I would work better on my own.” She turned back to Mr. Zornes, forcing a smile. “I want to be a Zoologist. Doing well on this project would look really good on college applications.”
Mr. Zornes opened his mouth to respond, but Trey beat him to it. “And what, you think I’m going to ruin that? Having my help on the project would—”
“He doesn’t even want to be a scientist! He wants to be an architect!” Scout pointed a finger at him like she was accusing him of the worst of sins, because really, she was.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Trey sighed, turning toward her.
“Why are you fighting her on this? Just let Mr. Zornes pair you with someone else!” Kylin screeched like an owl, and Scout winced as her eardrums threatened to rupture. Trey said nothing, just continued to glare at Scout. Mr. Zornes finally cleared his throat. “Scout, I didn’t realize you two had… issues, but I think it would be really good practice for you to learn how to work with those you find difficult.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “Think of it as character building.”
“I am not difficult,” Trey muttered.
Scout bit back a sarcastic reply and nodded, staring at the floor. “Yes sir,” she said instead. Grabbing her messenger bag off her chair, she spun on her heel and stomped from the room.
She fumed about it all day long — Zoology was her first class, and she was still beyond angry when she got to drill practice, her last class. Scout was on the drill team, so she got to school early to practice, and her last class just continued into practice until five p.m.
She’d loved to dance since she was tiny, but since the car accident a year ago, it was more pain and less fun. But she couldn’t quit. Her heart wouldn’t let her, no matter how much her body protested. Stupid body. Besides that, her little sister loved to watch Scout dance. She always had. If it made her happy, Scout would do it.
She tugged on her high tops, glad that they were working on their hip-hop routines. They needed the practice before the football game on Friday.
“Hey Scout.”
Scout looked up from her laces, tangling her fingers in the knot as she did. “Hey Andi.” She smiled at the petite, blonde, blue-eyed girl who was currently swearing at her locker. Andi always had trouble with her combination.
Scout didn’t have close friends. She preferred it that way, after realizing that when she needed them, friends weren’t really there for her. Only little sisters were. But she liked Andi. Of all the girls on drill, maybe all of the girls in the entire school, Andi was probably her favorite.
“Ready for today? Kamille is going to work us like crazy. She wasn’t thrilled with our performance last week.” Andi said as she toed off her sparkly ballet flats and dug in her locker for her high tops.
“She was right not being thrilled. We sucked.” Scout sighed, finally freeing her fingers. She pushed herself to her feet. “See you out there,” she called over her shoulder. Scout knew that she definitely hadn’t performed her best. The pain made her afraid. She hadn’t danced her best since the accident, and the rest of the girls seemed to have been dragged down with her.
“Scout,” Kamille called as soon as Scout walked out into the gym. She was the petite, full-of-energy drill coach, and all the drill girls loved her. Because she was so tiny, she looked more like a high school student than any other teacher in the building. And she was gorgeous — so all the boys loved her too. Besides that, she was an amazing coach, and they all hoped she could get them to the national competition again this year. They had been able to go last year, except for Scout. Because of the accident, Scout couldn’t compete. She had barely been walking again when the rest of them went to California for Nationals.
As Scout jogged over, Kamille said, “I found some stretches that might help your back. I want you to try them out every day before practice and see if it helps.”
“Okay.” Scout nodded, but the football team had started filing in across the gym, and Kamille had lost Scout’s undivided attention. Trey was on the football team. He was a wide receiver. “Why are they in here?” she asked, interrupting Kamille mid-sentence.
Kamille blinked at her before glancing over at the boys filing into the room. “They need to do sprints or something and the field is all muddy.”
Awesome. Scout had already been forced to spend the morning with Trey. Twice in one day wasn’t something she should be expected to endure. She resisted the urge to throw a scathing glare over her shoulder and instead plopped herself on the ground at Kamille’s feet. “Want to show me those stretches?”
****
“The field wasn’t that bad, Trey. Why exactly are we in here today?” Cole asked, spreading his arms wide toward the whole gym. Trey glanced at him briefly, and then searched the room again. There she is. Scout was sitting on the floor, folded in half with her head on her right knee, her long, honey-brown hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. “Oh. That’d be why.” Cole grunted in disgust and shoved Trey in the shoulder, but Trey’s eyes never left Scout.
“Dude, you have a girlfriend, remember? And it isn’t that one.” Kasen said, nodding toward Scout with his chin.
Trey shook his head. No, he’d lost Scout. Now she hated him and he had to resort to sneaky p
lans and extensive plotting to even see her anymore. Which was saying a lot, since he lived only three houses down from her. And he deserved it. Every ounce of hate she threw at him, he deserved it.
“You do this very often, and she’ll rearrange her schedule again so she doesn’t have to see you.” Cole said quietly. Cole was Trey’s best friend, and had been since he’d moved into the neighborhood eight years ago. He was shorter than Trey by several inches, and black, but Trey felt like he was more of a brother than Trey’s actual brothers were. He was also powerful and fast and when he had the ball, no one could stop him. He’d already had several college scouts by to watch him play and they were only a couple months into their senior year. Although the season ended in less than a month, unless they made it to state…
“Trey. Ya in there?” Kasen asked, waving his hand in front of Trey’s face.
“Yeah. Sorry. Thinking about State.” Trey glanced at him quickly before his gaze jumped back to Scout, watching her stretch, wondering if it hurt as she moved, knowing it was his fault. She hid her pain well, but he guessed by the close watch Kamille kept on her, that it was still a major issue. He swallowed the guilt threatening to choke him. “Anyway, I thought we should practice in here because of that weird disease everyone keeps talking about. They think you get it from being outside,” he finished lamely, but neither of his friends believed him. He didn’t believe him, either.
“Hanlin! Davis! Slater!” The football coach bellowed, startling them all. Scout raised her head, watching them jog across the gigantic room, and Trey felt his cheeks burn. Of course he would get her attention now, when he didn’t want it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smirk before switching legs and going back to her stretch.
He tried to focus on his sprints, he really did. When he’d told Coach Cavenaugh that they needed to work inside today, it hadn’t just been so he could see Scout. They needed a good workout, and the fields really were muddy. But the music started and the drill team started practicing, and Coach Cavenaugh pretty much ceased to exist — not just for Trey, either.
