by L. J. Smith
Cassie laughed again and a sudden warmth came to her cheeks.
“Do you feel like dancing?” Nick asked.
Cassie hesitated.
An air of mischief crept into Nick’s face. “I’m only asking because I know you, Cassie Blake, came here with a very specific mission to have some fun tonight. I couldn’t let you go home a failure.”
“Then how could I possibly say no?” Cassie allowed Nick to lead her onto the dance floor.
Whatever song the band was playing was loud and boisterous, nothing Cassie recognized, but it felt good to let her guard down and just enjoy the music—to enjoy the simple pleasure of being a girl at a dance. Nick skipped and bopped about trying to amuse her. She knew he actually hated dancing and that this was all for her benefit. Cassie appreciated the effort and followed his lead, synchronizing her steps to his until together they were making quite a scene.
From the dance floor Cassie saw that Adam had returned with her punch, and Diana was behind him with a glass for herself.
Nick dashed for them, took the cups from their hands to set them aside, and then pulled them onto the dance floor, too. Deborah and Suzan were quick to join in, and before Cassie knew it, Nick had single-handedly altered the energy of the whole group. They were all being silly, rambunctiously bumping into their classmates on the dance floor, infuriating them in the process. It made Cassie remember when she and Nick were together, and how sometimes his refusal to take anything seriously was just the thing she needed to get out of her own head and start having a good time.
Then the music changed to a slow song—one of Cassie’s favorites. She looked at Adam, hoping he would ask her to dance, but she noticed his attention was elsewhere. He was watching someone.
“Max is here,” he said. “Act natural.”
“Whatever that means,” Nick mumbled under his breath. He turned around and cut through the crowd toward the punch bowl. Their merriment was nothing more than a lingering memory.
“It’s supposed to be our night off,” Suzan said, pouting. “Remember? No policing tonight.”
But Cassie knew it was only a matter of time before the Spring Fling became about Circle business, just like everything else. Come to think of it, she was surprised it had taken this long. The group dutifully exited the dance floor and gathered near the back wall.
Max sauntered over to them with his usual air of confidence. He was dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and a necktie as brilliantly green as his eyes. “Hey,” he said, greeting Diana first, as always. “Is Faye around? I can’t find her.”
“Didn’t she tell you?” Diana said. “Faye’s got a terrible cold.”
“Oh,” Max said, disappointed. “No, I didn’t know. She hasn’t answered any of my calls.” When Max pouted, his features softened, bringing out the boyish charm to his face.
Diana frowned sympathetically. “Don’t take it personally. She’s been knocked out on decongestants since yesterday. I bet she turned her phone off.”
Cassie couldn’t tell if Max was buying Diana’s story or not. She thought he looked more confused than skeptical, but Diana must have sensed some suspicion in him because she didn’t stop there.
“Just because Faye’s not here doesn’t mean your night should be ruined,” Diana said to him.
Max cracked a sideways, hopeful smile.
“Dance with me,” Diana said. And before Max could even react, she grabbed him by the arm and hurried him to the dance floor. The band was still playing a slow song, so Diana clasped her arms around the back of Max’s neck and let him hold her lower back.
Max gazed into Diana’s eyes as if he couldn’t believe his good fortune. All his arrogance and swagger had given way to a sturdy modesty, and he held Diana with care. Faye was the furthest thing from his mind, Cassie was sure of that.
“I know we want to keep an eye on Max,” Adam said. “But this is ridiculous.”
Cassie noticed Adam’s jaw tighten as he watched the couple dance. Diana was laughing, squeezing Max close, having what appeared to be a pretty good time. Cassie wouldn’t dare say so to Adam, but she couldn’t help but sense Diana wasn’t thinking about the Circle anymore.
A few minutes later, Chris, Doug, and Sean turned up at Cassie’s side.
“Do you see what I see?” Chris asked, and Cassie followed his gaze to the opposite side of the gym.
It was Mr. Boylan, standing with his arms crossed in a finely cut dark suit, his gaze locked on Max and Diana on the dance floor.
“He looks like he’s about to kill someone,” Doug said. “What should we do?”
Just then Mr. Boylan turned the other way and stormed out of the gym.
“Follow him,” Cassie said.
The three of them—Chris, Doug, and Sean—bolted toward the exit without a moment’s hesitation. Cassie saw from the look on his face that Adam was anxious to join them.
“This is my chance to search Mr. Boylan’s office,” he said. “For his relic.”
So much for a night off, Cassie thought. But if Adam could steal Boylan’s relic from him it would be the equivalent of robbing him of his power. He couldn’t perform the killing curse without it.
Cassie grazed Adam’s cheek with her hand and nodded. “It’s a good idea, but you shouldn’t go alone. You’ll need a lookout.”
“We’ll go,” Deborah said. She and Suzan stepped forward, a little too anxiously. “We’ve been itching for something interesting to happen all night. Or at least I have.” She acknowledged Suzan, who was still sulking about being pulled from the dance floor.
“Be careful,” Cassie said, as if it were an order. She was still a Circle leader, after all. “I’ll keep an eye on Diana and Max.”
Adam gave Cassie’s hand a squeeze and then took off. Deborah and Suzan followed him toward the hallway that led to Mr. Boylan’s office. Cassie allowed herself a moment to breathe, to remind herself that though everything was suddenly happening so fast, it was all under control. Her control. Then Nick materialized from the crowd with another glass of punch for Cassie.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not spiked,” he said. “But at this rate I think we can both at least count on a sugar high.” Then he noticed the expression on Cassie’s face. “What’s going on?” His dark brown eyes darted back and forth. “Where is everyone?”
“Chris, Doug, and Sean are tailing Boylan. Adam, Deborah, and Suzan are searching his office.”
“I thought we were here to take it easy,” Nick said.
“Change of plan.” Cassie scoped the gymnasium for Diana’s blond hair and Max’s broad shoulders, but they’d gotten lost in the swarm of students. “Do you see Diana anywhere?”
Nick inspected every couple on the dance floor then shook his head. “It’s too crowded. But I have an idea.” He ran to the punch table and, to the dismay of the servers, climbed up on top of it for a better view. He scanned the room back and forth and then he froze in place. His sharp features turned deathly serious.
“Cassie,” he whispered, and jumped down. But before he could utter another word, Cassie caught sight of a wild mane of dyed-red hair. It was no hallucination this time. No paranoia. Right in the center of the crowd was Scarlett.
Nick looked ready to pounce, but he didn’t move a muscle. “She’s casting a spell,” he said.
Scarlett’s arms were rigid at her sides and her eyes were as black as marbles. She was muttering something under her breath, obviously some kind of dark magic.
“We have to get you out of here,” Nick said. “Right now!”
Cassie was smart enough not to argue. She and Nick rushed toward the nearest exit, but suddenly everyone around them started to act odd. Their necks went soft and their heads drooped down. Their classmates had all fallen into a stupor.
Nick shot a look at Cassie. “What the heck is going on?” He positioned himself between Cassie and the nearest group blocking the exit.
Whatever Scarlett was doing seemed to be affecting everyone but Cassie and Ni
ck. But it soon became clear that their classmates were simply collateral damage. With them out of the way, Scarlett now had a clear shot at her intended target. She redirected all her wicked mumbling straight at Cassie:
Spirant ultimus spiritus
Ultimus spiritus vitae
Suddenly all the air rushed out of Cassie’s lungs and she couldn’t inhale any more in. It was like a clamp had fastened around her throat, blocking her breath. She brought her hands to her neck and turned to Nick. There was no breath to enable a scream.
Nick ran to her as if it were a simple piece of food lodged in her throat, as if the Heimlich maneuver could save her—but there was nothing he could do. And with their stupefied classmates crowding every exit, there was no way to escape.
Cassie’s head spun from the lack of oxygen. She reached out for Nick as she fell to the gymnasium floor.
CHAPTER 8
Nick screamed Cassie’s name. He was bent over her, trying to get her to breathe, but Cassie could feel herself losing consciousness with each second that passed. The yellow gymnasium light, their comatose classmates, and even Scarlett’s wicked voice had blended into a soft, shadowy haze. Then Nick stood up and raised his arms with outstretched hands.
No! Cassie tried to cry out—the worst thing Nick could do right now was perform magic out in the open—but no sound escaped her gaping mouth.
Nick centered his energy, closed his eyes, and made his voice deep:
I call on the Power of Air, the element from the East, I call you from the atmosphere to Cassie’s lungs.
He repeated the spell three times, louder each moment, but Cassie continued to fade out of consciousness. The whole world diffused; sound ceased. There was nothing. And then all at once she gasped like a drowned woman resuscitated, reclaiming her life with one greedy breath after another.
Her vision sharpened with each inhalation, and she climbed to her feet just as Nick raised his hands to call out another spell—this time not at Cassie, but up at the ceiling:
Motion of heart, current of soul, spark to my hands, at the speed of light.
His face took on a lustrous glow and electricity seemed to pass through him, up from his feet and out of his fingertips.
The overhead bulbs flashed and then burst, raining down spectacular long-tailed sparks like fireworks. Then the gym went black as night.
“Run,” Nick said, grabbing Cassie’s hand.
Their stupefied classmates panicked in the sudden darkness. Cassie could no longer see them, but she could hear them grunting and groaning. Their elbows and knees knocked against the gym floor as they tumbled over one another in a massive stampede.
Cassie and Nick raced through the maze of bodies, heading for the emergency exit, without once looking back to see what had become of Scarlett. They stormed through the fire door out to the side parking lot, where they ran straight into the rest of the Circle.
“Are you all right?” Diana asked in alarm. “What just happened in the gym?”
Nick and Cassie hurriedly explained the situation and Diana’s mouth dropped open. “Scarlett’s here?”
Both Henderson brothers bolted back to the gym to find her. Cassie screamed for them not to, but they were already gone.
“Someone has to stop them,” she cried out. “They’ll get themselves killed.”
“I’ll go,” Deborah said, taking off in the same direction as the Hendersons. Suzan followed just behind her.
Diana searched Cassie for any sign of an injury. “Are you sure you’re okay? You aren’t hurt?”
Cassie nodded. “I’m fine. I think we got out just in time. Where’s Adam?”
“Right here.” Adam walked up to the group, looking pale. His hands were trembling slightly and they were empty of Mr. Boylan’s relic. “Cassie,” he said. “Have you been out here long?”
“I’m okay,” Cassie said to reassure him.
Adam appeared more shaken than she was. His breathing was heavy and his forehead was soaked with sweat. He scanned the surrounding area with apprehension.
“Scarlett’s nowhere to be found,” Chris called out as he and Doug exited the gym to rejoin the group. Deborah and Suzan were alongside him.
“The lights are still out, but everyone in the gym is back to normal,” Doug said. “Which is too bad, really. I kind of liked the idea of them all being zombified.”
Cassie looked at Nick, happy he was okay. He was so quick to react, and he’d saved her life, but she never intended for him to be in danger like that. Especially with Mr. Boylan and Max around.
Nick returned her gaze. He seemed to understand exactly what she was thinking and he smiled reassuringly for her. It was just then that Cassie saw something glisten on the sleeve of his leather jacket. It was dim at first, but once she noticed it, it appeared to shine more clearly. It was the hunter symbol.
“Nick,” she said, but that was the only word she could get out.
He registered Cassie’s expression and then watched everyone else’s face fall into the same shock.
“What?” he asked. “Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“Your sleeve,” Diana said. “You’ve been marked.”
Cassie went to him, but Nick shook her off. He searched his jacket and located the mark. He concentrated hard on it, squinting as if trying to understand it, but had no other reaction.
“So I have,” he said, in a voice as still and cold as stone.
Adam barely said a word the whole car ride home to Cassie’s. Cassie didn’t take it personally; she didn’t feel much like making conversation either. What was there to say after an evening like this? But when Adam parked in front of her house, he cut the engine and turned to her like he had something to get off his chest.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay on your couch for the night?” he asked. “Scarlett might still be coming after you.”
There was a chill in the air that made Cassie shiver. “Thank you,” she said. “But I’ll be okay. Faye and Laurel are there, and Faye wouldn’t miss the chance to act on some of her anger if Scarlett showed up.”
“That’s true, I guess.” Adam tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
Cassie was wearing his suit jacket draped over her shoulders to keep warm. She went to take it off and give it back to him, but he stopped her.
“Keep it on a little longer,” he said. He made no motion to restart the car’s engine. Something else was obviously on his mind.
Cassie feared she knew what it was. Adam was concerned that Nick being marked would mean he’d have to start spending the night in Cassie’s basement. The two of them would be sleeping under the same roof.
She decided to help him along. “Adam,” she said. “About Nick staying here …”
Adam stared straight ahead. “It’s not that,” he said. “Can I ask you one more time what happened when the lights went out in the school?”
“I told you,” Cassie said. “Nothing happened with Nick while you were gone that you need to worry about.”
“I just need to hear it again.”
Cassie had already given Adam a detailed account of her and Nick’s every move from the moment they spotted Scarlett to their escape. But she repeated the story anyway.
“It’s just so strange,” he said, unable to look at her.
“Adam, what are you freaking out about? I know if you had been there when Scarlett showed up, you would have protected me, just like Nick did. I don’t doubt that for a second.”
Finally Adam turned to Cassie, allowing her to see his tearful eyes. “I felt something,” he said. “An arm brushed up against mine in the chaos.”
“What?” Cassie was confused.
“When the lights went out. I had just come out of Boylan’s office and everyone started running. I was making my way toward the gym when someone grabbed my hand, and it felt like … I don’t even know.” Adam could barely continue, and Cassie began to understand just how upset he was.
“It’s okay
,” she said, trying to coax the full truth out of him. “What did you feel?”
“I thought it was you leading me to safety, but then we got separated. I could have sworn it was you. Because of the sparks I felt.”
“But I was already out of the gym and in the parking lot by that point,” Cassie said. “It wasn’t me.”
There was a moment of silence as it all sank in.
“Oh,” Cassie said, finally comprehending what this meant. Neither of them wanted to say it out loud, but it was obvious. It was Scarlett who’d grabbed Adam’s hand. The sparks he felt were for her.
“It’s you that I love, Cassie. I swear it.” Adam’s voice rose. “This doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means the cord between you and Scarlett must be real after all,” Cassie said. “That’s the only explanation.”
“I shouldn’t even have told you.”
“Of course you should have told me!”
“This doesn’t change anything.” Adam persisted. But the more he swore and pleaded, the more obvious it was to Cassie that he was just as shaken by this as she was, if not more.
“My hand just got confused,” he said. “That’s all.”
“Your hand got confused?” Cassie took an immediate breath to recalibrate her emotions. If she wasn’t careful, her hurt and anger would blow up right in Adam’s face.
“You don’t have to feel guilty,” she said, trying to sound sympathetic. “It’s not your fault. It just is.”
Adam got quiet then. “But I don’t want this.”
Cassie reached over to give Adam a kiss good night. She needed to get out of his car as quickly as possible. “I know,” she said. “Don’t worry too much about it. We’ll be okay.”
“That’s it? Don’t you think we should talk about this?” Adam asked.
Cassie slipped Adam’s suit jacket from her shoulders. It smelled like him, like autumn leaves and ocean wind. She gently folded it and placed it on his lap. Then she put her hand on the door handle.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said, knowing she had to appear strong for Adam in this moment. Adam could always be relied on to reassure Cassie. Now it was her turn.
