Bitter Demons (17 page)

Lunch. Meet me where we first talked.

A secret note from Jackson! I had to stop
myself from jumping up and down and squealing with joy. Was it
possible he wanted to see me as badly as I wanted to see him?

The rest of the morning passed by so slowly.
It seemed like every teacher wanted to drone on and on about the
most boring topic all year just to make time move slower. When the
bell rang for lunch, I bolted from my desk and headed to the spot
behind the cafeteria where Jackson sometimes liked to hang out.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.