She jumped, so absorbed in her book she hadn’t heard me approach. “Pais! Oh my God, yes.” She pressed a hand to her chest.“The one I finished last night is absolutely perfect for you.”
Haley was in her paperback era at the moment, deciding she needed the scent of a real book. When she finished a series, shegave me the good ones to read, and to my absolute shock, I’d read at least thirty paperbacks so far this year. I’d discovereda lot about myself at Weatherstone, but nothing more bizarre than my bestie turning me into a book-witch.
Haley rummaged in her bag, and I peered inside to see at least five books; any less and there’d be a real risk of runningout of reading material.
“This one,” she said, thrusting it forward. “Fair warning, the sequel isn’t out yet, but it’s about fae and these powerfulgods who...” She swallowed roughly. “Look, they do this thing with their tongues and have very interesting, uh—” her voicegot very low “—dicks. Anyway. I’m going to need you to read it so we can discuss.”
Trying hard to suppress my smile, I took the proffered book, noting the pretty cover, the title in large typography with glitterysymbols around. “No sequel yet though?”
I’d also discovered I was not a patient person, and the wait for the next books in a series drove me a little insane.
“Just read it,” she snapped, before calming herself once more. “Please.”
I laughed, unoffended. Her passion for books was one of my favorite parts of her personality. “You got it, Hales. I’ll getback to you with my thoughts soon.”
Belle, who had no time or interest for fiction books, tapped her foot impatiently. “You need to get your ass ready, PaisleyHallistar. The event starts in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be ready in twenty,” I promised, and with that I hurried into my room and the girls followed. While they sprawled outon my bed, I rushed to the showers for a quick rinse, brushed my teeth, and slapped on some makeup.
We were nearing the end of my favorite month: October. All Hallows’ Eve was around the corner, where we would not only party,but partake in a mass spelling through the school to raise our collective energies on the night when the veil between theliving and the dead was the thinnest. In a school built by necromancers, it was highly celebrated, and was graduation dayfor us all.
It was hard to believe we were so close to graduation, but for now I was focused on this party.
Dressed in jeans and a tank top, I threw a black leather jacket over top and slipped on my black boots. My hair was left down,and it was freshly blow-dried—thanks to Sara’s air power. She might have taken a while to claim her affinity, but was morethan excelling at all air related activities these days.
“Okay, we good to go?” Belle asked, face lit up with excitement. “I’m ready for a boost.” The blanket wouldn’t stop us absorbing the moon’s energy, but it would stop us doing anything too fun with the extra power. “Oh, and, Pais, I askedabout that book in the library. The one Dad mentioned, and they don’t have any record of it. Did you find out?”
We hadn’t spoken about her father since parents’ weekend. I’d checked long ago with the library and knew they didn’t havea copy. Haley hadn’t been able to find it in the bookstores her family ordered from for her either. It was growing abundantlyclear that this information wasn’t easy or simple to track down. I planned on searching harder when I returned home and couldget to some of my favorite witchy stores.
“Can’t find it anywhere,” I admitted.
Belle’s face fell. “What about the witch massacre he referenced?”
Now that one wasn’t as hard, but it was as equally frustrating. “Found it, but not enough information in the text to makesense. I have all these questions, but the answers are vague and confusing.”
“I hate vague and confusing,” she muttered, and I was right there with her.
“I found it mentioned in multiple historical tomes, but only in the most minute of details. Odd, considering they keep referringto it as one of the largest witch massacres in our history. Witches killed by our kind. Allegedly these witches were dabblingin magic they shouldn’t have, and they referred to them as demon-witches. Then they cut their heads off.”
“Demon-witches...” Haley wrinkled her brow. “What does that mean?”
That was the frustrating-as-fuck part. “I have no idea. I read every single text but there was never more detail than that.”
“We need that book,” Belle said decisively. “I bet that has more detail. I’m going to push Dad over the break.” As much asI wanted to call off her talking to her dad about it, he already had all the information, so we might as well make him useful.
When we were on the way to the festival, Belle’s worried expression eased up as we joined the hundreds of students streamingoutside. This was a night to relax and absorb this moon energy that only flowed once a year. With no threat of monsters hangingover us, we could enjoy this college milestone.
Unless, whoever was behind the creatures, was waiting for a night like this. Waiting to use the preternatural boost of energythat I already felt ebbing and flowing in the air. If there was ever a night for the culmination of a monster plan, it wastonight.
After that terrifying thought, I feltvery relaxed, and didn’t jump at random noises around us.Right.
“You seem jumpy,” Belle said, side-eyeing me when I flinched. A student raced past, already half-naked, eyes glazed from thepower.
“What, no,” I replied in a rush. “Very calm. I... just need a drink.”
Or eight. Regular alcohol would not get the buzz going that I desired.
At a college-sanctioned party, there’d be nothing stronger, so I’d just have to drink hard and fast. Even a small reprievefrom my brain would be better than nothing. Not that I wanted to be pissed off with myself, but why did my mind choose thisyear to start attacking me? The bloom of my magic brought sexy dreams, uneasy darkness trailing down my spine, and wonky magicinto my life. It was a lot—and not enough at the same time.
