Unfaithful (25 page)

Peter nodded, unable to speak for hilarity. “He wanted to make Jeneane jealous but instead he made her pee herself laughing!”

“I won’t ask how he found out it wasn’t a girl.”

“That’s the funniest part!” he said, throwing his head back. “They danced all night long and then went off behind a tree and he tou—”

“Okay, okay, no need to go into detail!” I said quickly. “I wish I’d seen his face.”

“He couldn’t look us in the eye for two whole days.”

“Poor Brandon. I’ll try to go easier on him,” I said, happy I’d erased the sadness from Peter’s eyes. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t begin to erase the sorrow he carried in his heart, I was sure of that. His hand accidentally brushed mine and our eyes met awkwardly. We both stopped laughing. Embarrassed, I nudged him. “Sounds like you had a good time.”

“Yeah, it was fun.”

I felt a sudden flicker of selfishness in my heart. Who was I to keep Pet from getting on with his life? I’d spent the most wonderful time in my life while he was off camping, so why did the idea that Peter was pulling away bother me? It wasn’t like me. What was happening to me?

A jingle in my pocket startled me. My phone. I didn’t need to check it to know I’d gotten a text. My stomach in turmoil, I slid my fingers into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled it out.

Evan. My heart skipped a beat and the expression on my face didn’t escape Peter. “That him?” he asked, his tone flat.

I stared at the ground as guilt gripped my throat. “We’d better get back to the others,” I said, hoping we could drop the subject. Deep in my heart, I was bursting with impatience to find some isolated spot where I could read the message from Evan, on the other side of the world.

“We haven’t gotten enough firewood yet,” he said.

I could see in his face how much he wished to keep me there with him and by extension, keep me away from Evan as well, just this once, but it was a wish I refused to grant. “The others have probably found enough for all of us,” I said, prodding him to go back.

We walked back into the clearing just as the rest of the group emerged from the trees on the opposite side. Jake and Brandon carried logs for us to sit on and arranged them in a big circle. Jeneane held a handful of twigs, careful not to ruin the decorations on her nails. Faith and Ginevra’s faces, on the other hand, were barely visible behind the huge armfuls of firewood they carried. They dumped them into the center of the circle and brushed off their clothes.

“Nice work,” Ginevra told Faith, high-fiving her. Faith had also collected dry pine needles to use as tinder. She’d once explained that her grandfather, a beekeeper, used them as a natural fuel in the smoker. They emitted a thick, white, sweetly scented smoke that helped placate the bees when he was working with the hive. Their fear of fire made them fill up on honey until they were sated, which calmed them down.

“Who’s got a lighter?” Faith turned to Brandon, who searched his pockets. “I thought you smoked.”

“I was sure I brought one. It must have fallen out along the way,” he apologized, looking around.

“Do I have to do everything myself?” Ginevra complained, making the whole group look at her.

“What are you going to do about it?” Peter said. More than a question, it was a provocation. He smiled at her sardonically and Ginevra gave him a crafty smile.

“I never reveal my secrets,” she said, shutting him up. Peter turned his back to her.

I watched silently as Ginevra patiently waited for Jake to stack the wood, leaving a space in the center for air and scattering clumps of dry pine needles that would instantly catch fire.

“Gin, what are you—”

She winked at me and I left the question unfinished. Leaning over the pile of wood with a haughty little smile on her lips, she grabbed a small stick and pretended to rub it between her palms while the others waited, full of curiosity.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Peter scoffed immediately. “There’s no way you’ll ever light a fire with that!”

Ginevra ignored him and shot me a fleeting glance, her lips moving quickly. “Distract them,” she murmured, her tone firm, so fast I was amazed I’d been able to understand what she’d said.

I obeyed without hesitation. “Brandon, isn’t that your lighter down there?” I signaled vaguely with my finger. Like marionettes, they all turned their heads to look where I was pointing. Everybody except Ginevra, who was concentrating on the fire. I watched her, fascinated, as the green of her eyes lit up, producing a spark.

“That’s just a rock,” someone said. By the time they turned back, the fire was burning.

“Wow! How the hell—” Brandon stammered, the first one to feel the warmth spread over his face.

“Oh. My. God!” Peter said, his tone caught between amazement and disbelief.

“No. Just me,” Ginevra replied, grinning.

“Great job!” Faith said, as astonished as the others.

“
Magic
,” Ginevra exclaimed in response to the incredulous looks on their faces. Behind her wild, provocative expression hid a smile only I could decipher. She was telling the truth, but no one would ever have guessed it.

The flames rose higher, coming close to Ginevra’s face. Something Evan had once said crossed my mind as if he were whispering it in my ear right now:
Fire is the only weapon capable of annihilating a Witch.
Panic washed over me. “Gin, look out!” I shouted, shoving her away and crashing to the rocky ground as the fire crackled behind us.

“Hey! What’s wrong?” she whispered, not a trace of resentment in her voice.

“Evan told me that—”

Words weren’t necessary. Ginevra burst out laughing before I could finish my sentence. “Thanks for the thought, but there’s no need to worry about me. Don’t you think I can take care of myself?” she said with an affectionate grin.

Softly, so the others couldn’t hear, I whispered in a tone that was almost reproachful, “Aren’t you afraid of burning to death?”

“I certainly can’t be killed by
your
fire!” she reassured me in a low voice.

“But I thought—”

“The fire that can kill a Witch is no different from yours, actually,” she explained, “but it’s only effective if an Angel is using it to purify evil. That’s the only way it can keep its purity.”

Embarrassed by my reaction, I lay back and spread my arms out on the ground. “Evan didn’t mention that!” I said with a smile.

Ginevra lay down beside me and we both stared at the sky, neither of us worrying about dirt on our clothes or hair. Although the sun hadn’t set, a few brighter stars were already shining in the twilight. The air smelled good. The scent of the forest was gradually replaced by the aroma of the campfire.

“I’ll go sit with the others,” Ginevra said unexpectedly, getting up. “That way you can read your message,” she added, shooting me a little smile.

Sometimes her ability to read minds was an incredible advantage. I could never have come straight out and told her to leave me alone even though my eagerness to read Evan’s text tingled beneath my skin, but she’d sensed my wish all the same. I smiled to myself, still impatient. I wanted to wait until I was alone.

“Gin?” I called after her.

She turned gracefully and waited patiently for me to ask the question she’d already read in my mind.

“Was it hard for you to leave your Sisters?” Given the closeness I felt between us tonight I thought it was safe to ask.

“The bond among Witches is ancestral,” she said solemnly, “but love is stronger than everything else.” She gave me a sweet smile, turned, and left.

I took the phone out of my pocket and my heart skipped a beat as I read Evan’s name on the display. I unlocked the screen and it came to life, lighting up the night that was encroaching on the forest. My chest rose and fell with the agitation of my heart.

I miss you to death. I’m on the other side of the world, but my thoughts are captive back there where I left my heart. All I have to do is close my eyes to feel you’re with me. Wherever I am, you’re inside me, my love. See you tonight. Evan.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, filling my heart with his words. Then, opening it to him again, I typed a reply, my fingers flying over the keys.

Holding my breath for a whole day would hurt less than being away from you for this long. But all I have to do is lift my eyes to the heavens and look at my star to know that you’re in my heart. Come back soon. Jamie

“Where’s Gemma?” A distant murmur of concern reached me as I realized night had fallen, surrounding me with darkness without my noticing. In my heart, the sun was shining. When I sat up, dazed by the brightness of the fire I’d been staring at, Ginevra was sitting on a log just far enough away to keep an eye on me. I got up and joined them as the light from the flames flickered on their faces.

“Good news?” Ginevra asked as I sat down beside her.

“You mean there’s something you don’t already know?” I said in a low voice.

“No, you’re right. I tried to mind my own business, I really did. It’s not that I want to listen to your thoughts, but I can’t help it. It’s what I am. Sometimes it’s hard to block them out.”

“Yeah, right. In any case, no one asked you to.” I smiled at her affectionately.

“Well, what now?” Brandon’s voice rose over the crackling flames. “Come on, guys! We’re in the woods, sitting around a campfire. Don’t you think something’s missing?” he said, studying our expressions. “Like ghost stories?”

“Any better ideas?” Faith was quick to say.

“Faith, don’t tell me they scare you,” Peter teased.

“What if they do?” Jake spoke up in her defense. “You’re afraid of snakes, after all.”

Ginevra stiffened, though no one noticed but me. My relationship with her probably wasn’t the only reason Peter instinctively felt so negative toward her.

“What the hell? It’s not true! Who told you that?” he shot back uncomfortably.

“Come on, everybody knows it,” Jeneane said.

“Well, now you know it’s not true! I’m not afraid of anything,” he said in a low voice, almost to himself. Everyone could see the embarrassment on his face.

Ginevra looked at me out of the corner of her eye, a strange little smile on her lips. There was no need to read her mind to understand what she was thinking. I started to shake my head in protest, but she didn’t stop to consider my objection; she seemed to have already made up her mind. Unable to stop her, I buried my face in my hands. A second later, Jeneane, sitting across from us, let out an ear-piercing shriek. “A snake!” she screamed. Peter burst out laughing.

Poor Pet
, I thought.

“You think I’m stupid? We were just talking about it a second ago, Jeneane. You could at least let a few minutes go by before pulling a prank like that. Awesome performance, though, I’ll give you that!” he said, annoyed.

“There really
is
a snake!” Faith burst out, looking horrified. “And it’s moving straight towards you, Peter! Get away from there! It’s a poisonous one!”

“Don’t be stu—” Peter heard the hiss and paled violently before he even looked at the ground. The snake was inches from him.

“This isn’t funny,” I whispered to Ginevra. The smirk she was trying to hide made me nervous.

“It is to me!” she said under her breath.

Peter sat like a statue, careful not to move a muscle. Frozen with terror, the others watched the snake slithering across the ground in Peter’s direction. None of them knew he actually had nothing to fear, but how could I explain that it was just a sadistic practical joke Ginevra was playing on him?

“What do we do?” Brandon whispered between clenched teeth, as if afraid to draw the snake’s attention onto himself.

“Somebody do something!” Jeneane cried, tears in her eyes.

I saw the fear on their faces and didn’t know what to do. Why did Ginevra have to be so vicious?

Peter was petrified. The fire flared, lighting up his face, and I could see he’d broken out in a cold sweat. Seeing him so powerless and panic-stricken triggered something violent inside me. I couldn’t bear to see the terror in his eyes. Ginevra was going too far. I had to do something. I switched off my brain, followed my instinct, and rose to my feet, but Ginevra immediately grabbed my wrist so tightly it hurt.

“That’s enough, Gin!” I ordered her with all the authority I could force into my voice.

A corner of her mouth rose, her expression sly. “I’ll take care of it,” she said aloud so everyone could hear her. She could have made the snake slither away with her powers, but she chose not to. Instead, she moved gracefully toward it as the anxious group stared at her, looking as amazed as they were worried.

“Ginevra, are you crazy?” Jake shouted from the other side of the fire. “It’s poisonous! Stay away!”

She continued to move toward the snake, completely unaffected by his remark, amused by her little game. The flames writhed in the air and her long eyelashes cast shadows on her face.

“Stop, damn it!” Peter shouted, furious because he’d been unable to do anything himself. All of them were powerless, but Ginevra continued to smile as she crouched down until she was face to face with the snake.

Paralyzed in an unearthly silence, we watched Ginevra lock eyes with it as if she were communicating with it telepathically. Actually, she was just showing off. The others watched her with bated breath. The snake responded by interrupting its hostile hiss. The silence was eerie; all we could hear was the ominous crackling of the fire. All at once she snatched the snake up, holding it behind its head and lifting it into the air as a murmur of surprise and admiration rose around the flames.

“He’s just a little creature,” she said proudly. “He’s more afraid of us than we are of him.”

“Funny, none of us are poisonous,” Brandon said, his pride wounded.

“He doesn’t know that,” Ginevra said, raising an eyebrow. “He would never attack except in self-defense,” she added, moving the snake from side to side to show us.

I stole a glance at Peter. He was still frozen with fright, his eyes locked on the snake in Ginevra’s hand. As if she wanted to twist the knife in his open wound, she held it toward his face to show him, then walked to the edge of the woods and let it slither into the darkness. “He’s gone,” she told us smugly.