Crushed (21 page)

Fifteen minutes later, Kristen was sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket with a glass of warm milk between her hands and Zach beside her. He rubbed her shoulders with gentle, circular motions. Deep concern drew his brows together and tightened his facial features. She listened, limbs shaking, while he told her about his fight with Morgan and how she’d trapped him.

Brittany straddled the ottoman on the other side of the living room. Behind her, the wall of windows and the two glass doors looked solid black. Kristen hated to be in the living room at night with a light on because someone could be out there, watching, and she wouldn’t know it. They could see her, but she couldn’t see them. Their dad refused to cover the windows with curtains. He liked knowing the ocean was out there and thought she was being silly about it. They had a private beach, he often reminded her. Kristen didn’t think it would be too hard for someone to climb the gate or walk down from another beach. She kept her gaze off the windows, but they stayed in the back of her mind, refusing to budge.

Once Zach finished his story, she told everyone about her dream.

Brittany scoffed. “Why do you get sent on a secret mission by Grandma, while all I get is a bumper sticker about love and a stupid crystal?”

Ignoring her sister, she told Zach, “It’s the first time I’ve had this dream, but I know it’s important. That same feeling was there, the same feeling I get when I have premonition dreams. It’s going to happen.”

“Your grandmother already gave me the spell to destroy the locket.” Zach pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. “And she gave you the medallion.”

Kristen asked Brittany, “Has she given you a crystal?”

“Of course not. It was just a dream. You still have those, you know.”

“You always say that.”

“Why were you at Zach’s house, anyway?”

Brittany shrugged defiantly. “I was going to take care of that evil witch by myself. No one puts a spell on me and gets away with it.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed. “I thought she popped in on you this morning.”

“She did, but she caught me off guard. I didn’t have the chance to fight the spell.”

Kristen stared at Brittany in silence, freaked out over what could have happened. Sometimes Brittany didn’t think before acting. She was way too impulsive for her own good.

“Don’t try to take her on alone. She’ll give you another order or turn you into a cricket or something. Anyway, I accused Zach at school to get rid of her so none of us would have to deal with her again.”

“Well, no one told me that, so I figured she was at the house, and I guess I was right because she showed up to trap Zach. You should be grateful—Zach wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t rescued him.”

Kristen shivered, and Zach pulled her closer to his warm body. His lips touched the side of her face. For a moment, he nuzzled against her, eyes closed. She drank some more of the heated milk, still shaking from the earlier ordeal. The fact that Morgan was out there somewhere, plotting to kill her, had her totally freaked out. How was she going to survive?

Zach shared an idea with them. “I want you girls to go to your grandmother’s house. She can protect you while I take care of Morgan.”

“How?”

“I’ll get the locket from her somehow.”

“No way.” Kristen shook her head. “There is no way I am leaving you to deal with her on your own. You don’t have powers anymore.”

Zach shrugged. “I can be pretty resourceful.”

“I don’t care. There has to be something else we can do.” An idea came to her. It was a great idea, only one problem—they needed Brittany’s cooperation. Kristen set her half-empty glass on the coffee table, tossed off the blanket, and crossed the room to stand next to her sister. Out of desperation, she asked Brittany, “How sorry are you about the things you did?”

Brittany wore a grief-stricken expression. “You know how sorry I am. I almost killed Cyndi, and I did terrible things to you. I would do anything to make up for that.”

“There
is
something you can do.” Kristen took her sister’s hands, squeezed them hard, and said, “If you sacrifice your powers, we can destroy Morgan.”

Brittany jerked her hands out of Kristen’s gasp. Her shocked expression quickly turned to anger. “Excuse me? I know I didn’t just hear you ask me to give up my powers.”

“You’d be saving lives. You have the opportunity to save Cyndi, Zach, and me. This is your chance to make up for the hell you put us through and redeem yourself. You’d be a hero.”

“No!” Brittany kicked the ottoman out of her way before walking around Kristen. “There is no way in hell I am letting anyone accuse me.”

Kristen looked to Zach for support. With her eyes, she silently told him they were going to accuse Brittany whether she liked it or not. Zach shook his head slowly, obviously against it, but she nodded her head firmly. They were doing it. End of discussion.

Brittany folded her arms over her chest. “I don’t see anyone here for you to accuse me in front of, and I’m not going anywhere with you. Think of something else.”

“Zach gave up his powers to stop her.”

“And look where it got him! She’d already transferred herself to me. What if she’s done it again? Did it ever occur to you that maybe this is her plan? We go around accusing each other until no one has any powers left, and then she wipes us out one by one.”

“She’s got a point,” Zach said. “You need my help, and I’m powerless to do anything. It would be a mistake to take Brittany’s powers, too. You’d be even more helpless. That could be what she wants, a showdown between the two of you.”

Kristen disagreed with both of them. The truth was that Brittany could be dangerous to them. Morgan had been controlling her for weeks. If Morgan found a way to get to her again, Brittany could turn around and kill them all. It would be a lot better for them if Brittany lost her magic.

Brittany said, “I don’t see you giving up your powers. Why should I? It’s your worst nightmare come to life, but you want me to live it. Right. Talk about selfish.”

“I would do it in a heartbeat if it would protect someone I love.”

“That’s because you’re little miss perfect.”

“Don’t start that crap with me, Britt.”

A scream ripped through the night air. It came from upstairs.
Cyndi
! They looked at each other with wide eyes before darting up the stairs. Zach took the lead. He raced up the steps two at a time. Kristen was on his heels with Brittany taking up the rear.

They raced down the hallway to Cyndi’s closed door. Zach thrust it open. There, inside the bedroom she shared with Brittany, was a terrifying visitor. Cyndi stood next to her bed with Morgan behind her. Morgan’s hand was tangled in Cyndi’s hair, holding her hostage. A nasty sneer twisted the evil familiar’s mouth.

Zach shoved Kristen behind him to keep his sister from hitting her with a fatal spell, but that wasn’t Morgan’s plan. She laughed, her dark eyes flashing with malicious humor. In the blink of an eye, she and Cyndi disappeared together. There wasn’t time for anyone to do anything. There wasn’t even time for them to think about doing something. The two girls were gone in a flash.

Brittany shoved Zach and Kristen out of her way. She charged into the room, a startled cry fading on her lips. Standing where the girls had been half a second ago, she looked around. Her eyes widened. She lifted her hand and pointed at the wall. Zach and Kristen entered the room all the way to see the damage. Written on the wall, scratched into the paint by a magical finger, was a message.

School. Midnight. Cyndi for Kristen
.

“Just like in my dream,” Kristen said. “We have to go to the school.”

“She took my sister!” Brittany yelled. “We have to stop that witch
now!
”

Zach shook his head. “We are not doing anything. You are going to stay out of this, and I’m going to take care of Morgan.”

“You can’t do it alone,” Kristen said. “She’s my sister, and I’m going with you. Don’t try to stop me. I’m going, and that’s final.”

“Fine. Stick close to me.”

“I’m going, too,” Brittany said.

Both Zach and Kristen blocked the doorway. Brittany glared at them and tried to push past, but they held her back. Kristen said, “You can’t go. You are still under Morgan’s power. If you want to help, let us accuse you. We can go somewhere public right now and do it. Morgan will die, and Cyndi will be safe. How badly do you want to save Cyndi?”

“Forget it. I’ll do it myself.”

One second Brittany was standing there yelling, and the next, she was gone. Kristen stared at the empty space. For a moment, she thought Morgan had taken Brittany, too. Then she saw the unchanged expression on Zach’s face. Brittany’s vanishing act hadn’t surprised him in the slightest.

Kristen gasped. “What the… how did she do that?”

Zach rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “I kind of told her how.”

“What? Why?”

He quickly filled her in on the rest of his story, telling her how Brittany had rescued him from Morgan’s trap by popping them back home. He told Kristen how desperate he had been to reach her, feeling helpless and certain Kristen would be dead before he got out of there, so he’d told Brittany how to pop. He finished with, “It was the only way for me to get to you.”

“I hope she didn’t go to the school. She’ll wind up killing Cyndi instead of rescuing her.”

“I don’t think she’s that stupid.”

Kristen wasn’t so sure.

###

They spent the next half hour preparing for their life-and-death mission. Zach waited at the bottom of the stairs for Kristen while she finished getting ready. When she finally descended, dressed entirely in black, his breath caught in his throat. She looked incredible in her snug pants, sleeveless shirt, and short boots. She could have been a sexy spy in a late-night movie.

She carried a dark gray bag. Tossing it to the sofa, she said, “It’s my dad’s. There are flashlights, extra batteries, rope, a knife, and a few other things we might need.”

“Good deal.” He grinned and tried to lighten the mood a little because he knew how worried she was about both of her sisters. “Have you done this before? Do you sneak out on secret missions in the middle of the night after doing your homework?”

“You bet.” She tried not to look at him, probably wanting to hide the tears glistening in her eyes, but he saw them.

He pulled her into his arms and stroked her back. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you. I won’t let Morgan hurt Cyndi.”

“How are you going to stop her without magic?” Her jaw tightened, and her hand went to her forehead. Lowering her voice, she added, “I’m sorry. I know you’re only trying to help.”

“And you’re only worried about your sister. I get that. It’s okay. Even without powers, I am going to make sure you get Cyndi back safe.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you.”

More than anything, Zach wanted to comfort Kristen, wanted to make sure she was in the right frame of mind to do this. If she were too worried, she might make a mistake. Morgan would take advantage of that, and Kristen could get hurt. The mere thought nearly drove him to his knees. How was he going to protect her?

Putting on a brave face, he pushed hair out of her eyes. “We can do this. Together. We have something Morgan doesn’t—love.”

“In my dream, Grandma told Brittany that love is her strongest weapon.”

“It’s ours, too. Believe it.”

She nodded, meeting his gaze with a strong one of her own. “I do.”

Zach watched in awe as Kristen straightened her spine and blinked the tears back. In a matter of seconds, she pulled herself together. Her expression turned cool, becoming the professional face of someone who did this sort of thing for a living. She checked her watch before saying, “We should go. If we can get there before Morgan, maybe we can set a trap for her.”

He nodded his approval. “Good idea.”

She bent at the waist to pick up the bag, but Zach got to it first. Slinging it over his shoulder, he followed her to the door. They had to take her car because his was still in the parking lot at school.

Kristen walked out the door. He took one last look around the house, hoping all three girls would return to it in one piece. He made a silent vow. If someone had to die tonight, it would either be Morgan or him.