I found standing easier than I thought it would be. In fact, now that I understood the rules, I was calmer, more centered, ready to do what I had to do to save my family.I reached out for Dad and touched his power with mine. He was in agony but shielded me from most of it. I knew it cost him. I pulled back and reached for Jared. I touched the rim of the circle and the vampire blood magic holding me back. I struggled to understand and opened up to let my demon have a look. Through her, we were able to see how we were different, how combined we could break the hold on us. If we only had a source big enough to feed from. That very power source gloated in a ball of light on the other side of the barrier."You can't, Syd, can you?" Batsheva goaded me. "Your demon is tied to your father and he can't defend himself, either. It's over and you know it."She focused her drawing on me. I staggered as she starting pulling my power away. I reached out with my demon. We sliced a thin hole in the
The wailing started and would not stop. It was a horrible, broken sound, full of frustration and despair. It pierced me like a knife.We all came together over the hunched form of Batsheva Moromond. I felt Quaid join us, his face expressionless but eyes soft as he watched his mother, wretched, shattered, shriek her sanity away into the night.As she did, they started to arrive, slowly at first, in ones and twos, then large groups of them all at once, the coven, our family, come to pass judgment on the saboteur who almost destroyed us. None of them approached, leaving us alone, keeping their distance, standing guard over the Moromonds to allow us our moment together.By the time the witches gathered, it was getting close to dawn."We should go," Uncle Frank said to us. Sunny shone beside him. She brushed my face with her fingertips in thanks."Stay," Mom said. "You are welcome here, both of you. From now on, you are always welcome."Frank grinned at her. "Thanks, and any other tim
It's funny how happy endings can leave you feeling empty.I know I should have been overjoyed at the prospect of surviving the whole nasty mess, but it was hard when there was still so much I struggled with.Like my new friends, for example. I was grateful none of what happened spilled out into the normal world so that we weren't forced to move again. I finally had some friends and I was finding I enjoyed that very much. But, the fear lay around the next corner, at the next crisis. I knew we could be forced to run and I would lose them all. I really wanted to commit to them but I held myself back and I know they felt it.Still, I was grateful to Alison for keeping it together and giving me a safe place to go and be ordinary. All of the bullying died off. I was starting to enjoy school for the first time in my life. Imagine that.Then there was the Brad problem. He wanted to date me, but I resisted. How could I possibly take advantage of him knowing the only reason he wanted to be w
Book Two: Witch HuntI had the tune, no problem. It was the words eluding me. The latest pop song to make it to the top of the charts circled around inside my head, the lyrics begging to be recalled and hummed to the catchy melody. He loves my pain? He loves the rain? He lives in Spain? I struggled as my mind wandered, feeling the right words on the tip of my brain. Damn it, what was the line?"Syd."I thought I had the words right by now. I sang it in my best friend Alison's car on the way home. She knew every word, maybe I could call her and have her tell me. Or I could download the video and find out that way."Syd!"It drove me crazy. I hated when I couldn't remember. My mind wanted to make up new lyrics and I refused to be one of those losers who everyone picked on because they sang the words wrong."Sydlynn Thaddea Hayle!"I snapped to attention just in time to lose the wavering shield I was supposed to be holding around the huge red candle in the middle of the pentagram
Funny how an ordinary basement can feel like a tomb. I emerged with a huge sigh from my forced confinement into the warmth of the last of the sunlight flooding the kitchen on the other side of the door. I actually paused for a moment to enjoy it, but not long enough for my mother to catch up, just in case.I heard her first footfall on the step below as someone knocked on the kitchen door. Relieved to have another warm body to use for a buffer against her, I rushed to answer it just as Mom reached the top of the stairs.Alison Morgan, my best friend and rescuer, grinned at me from the doorstep, her normally long, flowing blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, contact-tinted blue eyes sparkling. I can only imagine my expression since Alison laughed at me without me saying a word.Goofy, best bet. And desperate, I imagine.She walked in without asking, brushing past me to greet my mother. I silently prayed she would just say 'hi' and let it go.Why did my best friend have to
When I finally made it to the kitchen, Meira had joined Mom in entertaining Alison. I was met by hushed giggling and forced innocence from all three of them and knew whatever they discussed wasn't for my benefit. Still, Meira was only nine, so how naughty could it be?I flushed just thinking about Brad.Alison's grin told me she knew exactly what brought on my rosy cheeks and that she planned to torture me with it for the rest of the evening.Some best friend.Fortunately, I was saved further humiliation by the arrival of Uncle Frank and his girlfriend, Sunny.I'm not sure what Alison thought when the pair emerged from the dark basement, but the smile on her face became a little strained and I could tell she was nervous. She always acted that way around them, especially Uncle Frank. But I never knew if she did because he was so boyishly handsome or because she picked up on his undead vibes.Uncle Frank and Sunny were both vampires. The fact they slept in fancy cupboards in our ba
I officially decided I hated field parties.What was it about my age group and their belief they needed to get drunk, stoned and stupid in order to have a good time? I dodged a puking sophomore just in time to save my shoes and kept moving. At least this time I wasn't responsible for the throwing up, but somehow knowing it didn't make me feel any better.Alison made sure I stood in the thick of things from the moment I arrived, immediately hooking me up with Brad so she could wander off. Having Beth and Simon hanging from me kind of put a damper on our greeting, but I could tell Brad was really happy to see me and had a momentary glimmer of guilt that power drew us together. I discovered the previous fall Brad had a latent talent, born with the goods but no way to access them. Because of that, he had no involvement with magic but was, it turned out, instinctively drawn to me and my demon. I felt bad when I wasn't with him. Only then did I understand I was somehow taking advantage of
"Traitors!" Suzanne shrieked so loud I felt like I'd been slapped. But it was the burst of power following her scream that caught my attention.Quaid and Brad were suddenly minor hiccups in the grand scheme. In fact, nothing that happened tonight was important anymore. My demon and I were so hyper- focused on Suzanne, the rest of the world just faded.The disheveled cheerleader looked dirty and unstable, jacketless, her short-sleeved t-shirt filthy, jeans torn at the knees and stained with mud, as though she collapsed many times and still dragged herself up from the dirt. She must have done some hard drinking and falling since our encounter at the fire. Her blonde hair hung limp, half-free of the low pigtails she artfully began the evening with. She stood in front of the bonfire, swaying, alone, a beer clutched in one white-knuckled hand. I instinctively took a step toward her, Quaid right beside me as the power I felt when I first arrived flowed outward from her, weak and stringy, b