Bitter Demons

by Sarra Cannon

  Lark raised her hand in a wave as I walked out the double doors. I just waved back and kept moving. The wind blew my hair all around, and I pulled my jacket tighter to my body. I stood in the courtyard for a moment just to be sure I wasn’t followed, then slipped behind the building.

  Jackson was already there waiting for me, leaning against the brick wall just like the first time we ever talked. That day seemed like years ago now, when Tori was still alive and everything was so different. I wanted to run into his arms, but restrained myself and tried to pretend like I wasn’t completely overjoyed to see him.

  “You got my note,” he said.

  “Sneaky,” I said, unable to hide my smile. “They told me you agreed we shouldn’t see each other anymore. They said they’d send you away.”

  Jackson laughed and shook his head. “They said that? Don’t listen to them, Harper. They can’t keep us apart.”

  My heart skipped a beat. I stepped closer to him. “I don’t want us to be apart either.”

  Jackson’s green eyes searched mine. He leaned forward and placed his palm against my cheek. My mouth felt dry. My breaths were shallow and quick as he brought his lips to mine. I flattened my hand against his chest and felt his heart beating just as fast as mine. We melted into each other, our bodies pressed close together.

  The kiss deepened, and I felt his tongue slide across my bottom lip. His hands moved down my sides and hooked into my belt loops, pulling me closer. The warmth of his lips, his body, his hands brushing slightly against the bare skin above the waist-line of my jeans, had the world spinning. No one’s kiss had ever made me feel so unhinged.

  I pulled away, out of breath and heart racing so fast I was sure he could hear it pounding against my ribcage. I lifted my fingertips to my lips and smiled, warmth rushing up my neck to my cheeks. I ducked my chin, embarrassed. God, a guy like Jackson had probably kissed a hundred different girls. Me? I’d been kissed before, sure, but never like that.

  Was it possible he really did care about me?

  “When can I see you again?” My voice came out like a whisper, like I still didn’t have complete control of my senses.

  “They might be watching you a little closer for a while,” he said. “We should probably stick to meeting here or in the barn for now. Just so they stay off our back.”

  “They threatened to put me in seclusion,” I said. “For training.”

  Jackson’s jaw clenched. “I know,” he said. “They told me the same thing, but I don’t think they really want to pull you out of school. It’s important for the people in town to see you and get to know you as a leader. I think putting you in seclusion is a last resort at this point.”

  “That would seriously suck,” I said.

  “What would suck is if whoever hurt Caroline comes after you next,” he said. “We have to find out who conjured those roses.”

  I explained to him that I thought the crow was a witch who could shape-shift and he agreed that it was definitely possible.

  “I also need to show you something,” I said. “But you have to promise me you won’t go crazy.”

  “Let me see it,” he said.

  I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and brought up a picture of the box of black roses.

  Jackson grabbed the phone from my hand and studied the picture, frowning. “Someone sent you black roses?”

  I nodded. “Before I even found Caroline,” I said. “They were delivered Saturday morning and I figured it was another present from Drake so I just tossed the box under my bed. Then, Sunday when I was cleaning my room, I remembered the box.”

  “Those roses aren’t from Drake,” he said, pacing. His shoulders tensed and he gripped my phone so hard I was afraid he was going to crush it.

  “I know,” I said. “But they aren’t the same as the roses I saw near Caroline, either. They’re just regular black roses, like from a florist.”

  “Someone was trying to threaten you,” he said. “Where did they come from? Which florist? Maybe they have a record of who sent them.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “There wasn’t a name on the box or anything. But how many florists can there be in a town this small?”

  “Good point,” he said. “I’ll go this afternoon and check it out, see if I can dig up any information on who sent the flowers. Can you meet me in the barn tonight at midnight? Or do they have someone watching you still?”

  “I think I can make it,” I said. “Zara’s still technically watching out for me, but she doesn’t stay in the room or anything. She sleeps down the hall. I can sneak out the window.”

  “The window?” he asked. “And then what? Jump two stories?”

  I smiled and flipped my hair. “I learned some new tricks.”

  Jackson laughed and his smile lit up his whole face. He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the cheek. “Be careful Harper,” he said. “See you tonight.”

  The bell rang and he disappeared around the side of the building. I waited a full minute and a half, then headed back to class.

  Since You’re At The Top Of The Pyramid Now

  “Anyone seen my sneakers?”

  I opened my locker again and rummaged through the extra set of clothes and the books in my bag. No shoes.

  “Seriously, this isn’t funny,” I said.

  The girls around me just shrugged. Lark came up and peered in my locker. “Are you sure you left them in here?” she asked. “When did you last see them?”

  “I last saw them at the game on Friday night,” I said. “When they were on my feet. And then I took them off and set them right there on the bottom shelf in my locker. Now, they’re gone.”

  “You should tell Mrs. King,” she said. “Maybe she’s seen them.”

  But Mrs. King was already in the gym with some of the other girls. I told Lark to go on without me. I’d keep looking. If I didn’t come out in five minutes, she could ask Mrs. King about them. Our sneakers were the most important part of our uniforms. Misplacing them wouldn’t exactly make me look like the most responsible girl on the squad.

  I searched every empty locker. The shower stalls. The ritual room. I couldn’t find my shoes anywhere. Then, just when I’d given up, I saw them underneath the bench, pushed all the way to the back. Crap. Did I take them off Friday night and forget to put them away?

  I shook my head and leaned over to pick up the shoes. I checked the inside. Yep. H for Harper. These were definitely my shoes. I sat down and put them on. Cheerleading practice was the last place I wanted to be right now. I thought about Jackson checking with the local florists and wondered if he’d be able to find out anything interesting about whoever sent the flowers.

  “Get it together, Harper.”

  I looked up. “Hey Brooke, sorry, I-“

  Brooke stood in front of me, hands on her hips, staring at my half-tied tennis shoes. “Everyone else is already working on the new dance,” she said, cutting me off. “I had to come all the way back in here just to tell you to hurry up.”

  “Sorry,” I said, quickly tying my shoes the rest of the way.

  “And you’re supposed to be a role model for these girls now,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “You should be the first one here, setting a good example. Since you’re at the top of the pyramid now, you need to be practicing extra hard.”

  “I didn’t ask to be at the top, you know,” I said. I knew it bothered her that Mrs. King had moved me into her spot. “I could talk to Mrs. King and see if she’d switch us back.”

  Brooke rolled her eyes. “Like that would make any difference,” she said.

  “Hey,” I said. I stood and placed my hand on her arm. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything.”

  Brooke pulled her arm away from my touch. “Whatever,” she said. “I worked really hard for four years to make captain of the squad, then you come along and suddenly you’re the most important girl on the team.”

  That was probably the most honest thing she’d said to me in weeks.r />
  “I didn’t ask for this, Brooke.”

  “Yeah, it’s just so hard being the future leader of the Peachville coven.” She stormed off toward the gym, and I sighed.

  Brooke had been acting strange for weeks. It was obvious she hated the attention I was getting from Mrs. King and the rest of the members of the Order. Hey, if she wanted to be the Prima, I would have been more than happy to hand it over to her if I could. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.

  I followed her out into the gym where the others were already in the first formation. With the cheerleading competition coming up in a couple of weeks, I understood why Mrs. King wanted to actually run through the routines a few times instead of doing our normal magic training. On the other hand, I was a little annoyed at how little magic I had actually been taught so far. After talking to the other futures, I realized they all had been in training since they could walk and talk. I was already so far behind on magical knowledge, you would think the Order would have me training non-stop.

  Then I thought about the threat to put me into seclusion.

  I’d take cheerleading practice any day over seclusion. Still, I liked the time I spent with Zara learning how to make flowers grow and watching her shape-shift. Magic was a part of who I was, and I wanted to learn more about how to actually use that power. Backflips and spirit fingers just weren’t cutting it.

  As the music began, I felt great about the routine. Thanks to the shoes and the few times we’d run through it already, I knew exactly where I was supposed to go and which moves to do to the music. But somewhere in the middle of the routine, I started to feel slightly off-kilter. Dizzy. Disoriented. I tripped over my own feet and stumbled a little to the left before I caught myself and tried to make up for it by moving too far to the right. Something was off.

  The bass thumped beneath my feet, but I felt unsure of my next steps. My memories of the routine seemed to be fading. I reached deep into my mind and tried to remember. Mrs. King’s eyes flickered over to me, a worried look creasing her face.

  The squad moved into the pyramid formation, and I remembered this part. Confident, I stepped into Allison’s cupped hands, then raised my arms high in a V as I was lifted into the air. By the time I moved to the top of the pyramid, I was three people high. I wobbled a little on my feet, then steadied and smiled. I didn’t know what messed me up earlier, but everything seemed to be okay.

  The release move was a toss high into the air that had to be timed just right. This release was the main reason Mrs. King wanted us to physically practice this particular routine. So far, we’d never had a problem with it. But today, the second I soared into the air, a blinding light pierced through my memory. The light was so vivid in my brain it was as if someone had literally shined a light into my eyes. Instead of tucking and falling safely into the arms of the girls below me, I flew way too far forward.

  I fell to the ground hard on my shoulder. My leg was bent back behind me and there was an audible gasp from the group. I tried to stand, but the pain in my shoulder was like someone had set me on fire.

  Of course I’d have to fall on my bad shoulder. Perfect.

  Mrs. King rushed over to me. “What happened?” she said, out of breath. “Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “My shoulder hurts and I think I may have sprained my ankle.”

  Mrs. King placed her hands on my ankle and I immediately felt a cool rush of energy flow through my skin and muscles. The throbbing pain went away quickly and she turned her attention to my shoulder. “I’m not sure how much I can do to help here,” she said. “If you keep aggravating that injury, you could end up with permanent damage.”

  I sucked a ragged breath through clenched teeth. Whatever she was doing was making it worse. The rest of the squad gathered around us, everyone whispering. They probably thought I was a complete idiot for messing up the routine. I mean, who forgets a routine when it’s programmed into their stupid shoes?

  Unless someone messed with my shoes.

  I thought back to Friday night after the game. I was certain I’d put my sneakers into my locker just like I always did. Finding them on the floor today was no accident or mess-up on my part. Someone must have taken my shoes out of my locker and messed with the memory spell. Who would do such a thing?

  I searched the group for Brooke. While everyone else huddled around to see if I was going to be okay, Brooke sat alone on the bleachers, typing a text message on her phone. She didn’t look surprised or worried or the least bit concerned about my shoulder.

  Her Blue Eyes

  I left practice early and spent the rest of the afternoon with an ice pack on my shoulder. When her mother and sister left for the evening, I slipped into Caroline’s room to sit and think. Was Brooke the one who sabotaged my sneakers? Or was it another threat like the roses?

  I doubted I would be able to prove it was Brooke anyway. She’d never admit to it. But other than Mrs. King, Brooke was the only one with unlimited access to our lockers. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. It was impossible to tell who was on my side in this town. The second I started to really trust someone, they tried to kill me. Or at least hurt me really bad. The pain in my shoulder was still throbbing.

  I knew Brooke’s jealousy was growing, but I had no idea it had gotten so out of hand. Should I confront her? Or just be more careful about taking my sneakers home with me every night? What if she didn’t stop with the sneakers and turned to something even more dangerous?

  She didn’t want me dead. That much I knew for sure. If I died, she died with me. No, she just wanted her spot back as the head of the squad. I’d have to find ways to put the focus back on Brooke during practice.

  The door to Caroline’s room opened. In the sliver of moonlight coming through the lace curtains, I could see Mary Anne’s pale face and bright blue eyes. She closed the door behind her and turned to face Caroline. When she saw that I was in there, she gasped and backed into the door.

  “There’s no real change,” I said. “She still hasn’t opened her eyes.”

  Mary Anne didn’t say a word. She just turned and put her hand on the doorknob.

  “Wait,” I said. “You don’t have to go. Did you know Caroline?”

  I thought of the night Caroline disappeared and how Mary Anne had been crying. She’d been surprised to see me come home that night, I was sure of it. Now, the way her blue eyes glowed in the dark room, sent chills up my spine.

  “Mary Anne, you can’t keep running away from me,” I said, wanting her to stay and talk to me. “We live in the same house and probably will for the next few years, so this whole avoidance thing is getting old.”

  She took her hand off the doorknob and turned around, but didn’t move away from the door.

  “What happened to your shoulder?” she said.

  “I had an accident at practice today,” I said. I took the ice pack off and shuffled it between my hands. It wasn’t very cold anymore anyway.

  “Oh.”

  The room fell silent except for the rhythmic in and out of Caroline’s breathing. Was it possible that Mary Anne did this to Caroline? The girl was strange, sure, but a killer? I didn’t see Mary Anne being capable of inflicting so much pain on someone else. She seemed too frail. But those eyes…

  “Did you want to sit down?” I asked.

  “No thanks,” she said.

  Silence again. We both stared at Caroline.

  “How come you don’t like me?” I asked.

  Mary Anne’s shoe hit the door, like a nervous tick. “I don’t know you,” she said.

  “You know me well enough,” I said. “We’ve been eating meals together and riding to school together for months. It’s not like we’re strangers, but you never talk to me.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “How about how you ended up at Shadowford in the first place?” My heart beat a little faster. I desperately wanted to know more about her past, but I was afraid I was being too forward. I had no
idea how to get someone like her to open up to me.

  “Same as all of us, I guess,” she said. “Foster homes. School problems.”

  “Where did you live before you moved to Peachville?”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  I paused. I couldn’t very well tell her the real reason I wanted to know. “I was just making conversation,” I said.

  “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  I bit my lower lip. I wasn’t getting anywhere with her. She was the hardest person in the world to talk to. “Is there anything you do want to talk about?”

  Mary Anne opened the door. “I have something I need to do in my room,” she said. She turned to go, but before she left, she said, “It might have been nice to be your friend. If things were different.”

  Before I could think of anything to say to stop her, she was gone.

  I Have A Lot Of Gifts

  Midnight couldn’t come fast enough. I paced the floor of my room in the dark, checking the time on my cell phone religiously. At ten til midnight, I unhooked the latch on my window and pushed the window open. I shivered at the blast of cold air.

  The window was large enough for me to push my legs through and sit on the windowsill without ducking my head. I sat there for a moment staring up at the starry sky. Everything seemed so still and peaceful out here.

  A bird flew from one tree to another in the distant woods and I froze. Was it a crow? It was too dark to tell, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if the crow was watching me, biding its time until it could find me alone and vulnerable.

  I wondered if meeting Jackson in the barn was such a brilliant idea. My heart pumped in my chest, and I glanced back toward the safety of my warm bedroom.

  I took in a deep breath. I could do this. I wanted to know what he’d found out at the florist. Plus, I wanted to tell him about my fall today at practice. If I didn’t show up, he’d get worried and come looking for me anyway. I had to go.