Twisted Magic (26 page)

“Look here, Hope.” She pursed her lips, the anger seething from her as she looked me over. “Things have been quite fine without you running around trying to ruin things.”

Slade grabbed hold of Audrey’s arm
keeping her at bay and unable to pounce
. Kidd and Oz both came to stand next to
us;
they too were concerned with the showdown.

“Audrey lay off, Hope.” Kidd told her, a disturbed look on his face. Karsen was just as horrified.

Audrey laughed
at everyone
, her pretty white teeth sparkling against the sunlight. She pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and concentrated on me again, tugging her arm free from Slade’s grip.

“
Back off,
”
s
he hissed.

I stepped closer. “You back
off, h
doesn’t want you. Why don’t you find someone who
does? It
would make things a lot
easier."
Now I was the one being grabbed. Karsen pushed me back.

“You leave Hope alone or I will stomp a hole in your ass,” Karsen threatened, ready to take
on Audrey,
so I didn’t have to
.

Audrey focused her attention on
Karsen
now. She
shook her head slowly. “I think someone needs to be taught a lesson.” She raised an arm preparing to
strike.
Kidd pulled Karsen away
trying to protect her from whatever it was Audrey was about to do
.

“Everyone knock it off. Karsen has nothing to do with your infatuation with Slade. You leave her alone or so help me.” He growled.

Audrey’s expression fell. Had she realized she was unable to work her magic? Did my spell work? I wasn’t sure.

Audrey’s eyes flashed with anger. I fell backward
doubling over in pain
, shocked. She wasn’t any less strong then the last time I had been around her. She dropped her head. I clutched mine
,
dropping to my knees in horrible pain.

I clutched my head, pain searing my
brain
like a
razor-
sharp knife
.

“Stop,”
Slade yelled
,
jumping between us. He pulled me from the ground, his touch ending
whatever she was doing to me
. He slipped a hand around my waist and lead me to the Rv. “I am done for the day, let the next band go.” He slammed the
Rv
shut.

I sat down at the table, rubbing my temples. The memory of the
intense
pain still lingering even now after it was over. “What was that?”

“Audrey. She’s going to kill you. If you don’t stop pushing
her,
she’s going to kill you and there will be nothing I can do about it.” He filled a glass with water and sat it down in front of me on the table.

“Because your part of her
coven,”
I asked
,
ignoring the water.

“Because she’s a crazy
bitch,
and I can only do so much.”

I
sighed. The
spell hadn’t worked. Or so it seemed. Or maybe it did and that was why I was still alive.

“I think I know a way to help,” I said. I knew now was the best time to say something. And like Hutch said, if I cared
,
go
ahead, it didn’t mean they would accept my help or his though.
However,
it was worth a shot.

Slade
waited
for an
explanation. He
took a seat across from me.

“If you can break the connection between yourself and the coven
you might
have a chance to get away from them for good.” I looked
off,
afraid to see his expression.

“What are you saying?”
h
e asked, confused.

“I’m saying I know someone that is willing to help us do
that, all
of us, even Kidd, Oz, Lucy and Erica.”

Slade slipped out of his seat. “You need to go.”

“What,”
I asked,
shocked.
“You want me to go?”

Slade nodded.

I slipped out of my seat and grabbed his arm, desperate for him to understand. “I am trying to help you guys. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to
any of
you.”

He blew me off. “Is it the guy you were eating lunch with?”

I nodded; I wasn’t going to hide anything else from him anymore. If he was asking I would answer. “Yes. He’s a witch
,
from a long line of them. And he says he will help all of us if we want him too.”

“All the bad already happened to
me, w
are you going to figure that
out?
” He pulled away from me. “This is my
life. It's
this or nothing. I could be
dead. I
could be buried in the
ground,
and then you wouldn’t have to deal with this at all.”

I turned away hurt by his words, sad even.

“
You
could be dead. You don’t seem to appreciate what I did for you or this coven. All you see is evil.” He turned me to face him. “I don’t want to be
saved;
I just want a life that is fucking tolerable. Whatever I have to do to get that is fine by me. I thought you understood that.”

I blinked back tears. “The only thing I get is
how
these feeling I
have
for you are disappearing. Because I can’t be what you want me to be. What you made me become
. I will never be dark and evil.
I have too much to live for.”

Slade caught the tear that escaped me.

“I want you. But I don’t
want this,
” I whispered, burying my head into his chest. He wrapped his arm around me.

“I want you and I want my life
, Hope
.” He kissed the top of my head. “I think you should go home.”

I pulled away.
I didn’t want to look at
him,
so I quickly took off out the door.

I didn’t bother looking for Karsen. I didn’t look at
anything;
I just pushed my way through the crowd trying to
escape
Henry Park as fast as I could.

I was lying in the middle of my bedroom listening to music way to loud and ignoring Dad’s warnings to turn it down. I tapped my feet to the beat of the music, getting a kick out of Lily Allen’s lyrics and how they perfectly fit my life.

“Hope
,
the music goes down now,” Dad shouted, pounding against my door—which was locked.

I tossed my notebook and pen to the side and sat up shoving my hair from my eyes. If he wanted the music down I would turn it down
I thought deviously
. I pointed at my
iPod
speakers concentrating for
merely
seconds before the volume rose spreading the sweet sounds of
Lily
through my bedroom
even louder
. It was glorious.

I secured my hair back with a rubber band and
picked up
the notebook. I started to read it over.

Dear Slade,

I find it hard to say what I want to say to you anymore. I no longer feel safe even being around you with Audrey there. So I have employed other means of communicating my bitterness over this newest issue.

You are the most stubborn, insensitive ass I have ever met. Just when I think you care, when I begin to believe maybe you’re going to show me your true self
,
you reject me—again.

I may be young, but I am not stupid. And I have learned one valuable thing from growing up with my parents. What is that you might be wondering?

I learned to know when to throw in the towel. I learned that I am more important than any relationship I could ever have with a guy. And if that guy doesn’t see what he has
,
that’s his loss.

Sure
,
I’ll be sad, depressed even.
However,
those are all things I have lived with for a long time. You’re not the first person to disappoint me, Slade. And I have a feeling you won’t be the last.

When you decide to grow up come find me.

Hope

I tore the paper from my notebook and folded it until it was small enoug
h to fit in the palm of my hand
. Holding it to my chest, I concentrated on Slade and projecting the message to him, just as Hutch
had
told me to do.

***

Nona was at the stove making another dinner for us. Dad sat at the kitchen table. His hair
was
a
mess. He
was still in his pajamas. I wasn’t the only one with
relationship
issues,
I thought to myself snagging a crescent roll
off the plate
from the middle of the table.

“Did you get whatever was pissing you off
out,”
Dad asked dryly. He had been in a bad mood ever since Lynette and
him
broke up.

“Yes. It was very therapeutic.” I chewed carefully. “I feel a ton better.”

Nona spun around, a wooden spoon in her hands. She carefully made it over to Dad. “Taste this and
then,
please explain to me why you’re still in your pajamas.”

I smirked, watching Nona force feed Dad white sauce.

“Because some people have a hard time dealing with their love lives, Mother,” Dad
griped. He
scrubbed his chin with his fingers focusing on me again. “Why are you so
chipper
?”

I raised an innocent eyebrow. “It’s a beautiful day. Who wouldn’t be?”

Nona brought a hand to her hip. “I thought you and Slash broke it off? Maybe
you’re
not related to this man, because genetics would
suggest
you should be miserable and sobbing uncontrollably in your room
right
now
.”

Nona and I started laughing. She
winked
turning and going
back
to the sauce on the stove.

I brushed the crumbs from my hands. “
I don’t think there was ever much to break off. Things just didn’t work out, but I think I’m okay with that. When Slade comes to his senses and maybe matures then things will be different” I stood up.

Dad shook his
head;
he clearly wasn’t used to such words spouting from my mouth.

“So what now,
sweet pea,”
Nona asked.

I shrugged. “I’ll probably hang around for a few more weeks and then head back to school before classes start.”

I headed back into my room. I felt more at peace then I had in a long time. I shut the door ready to plop down on my bed and relax when something caught my eye. I hurried to the window. Sitting on the ledge was a large book.

I picked it up, the only way to hold it was with both hands. I dropped it on my bed and sat down.

“Wow,” I gushed, running my fingers over the
reddish-
brown cover
that displayed a giant tree with no leaves. I slid
my
fingertips over the fine details as if they were
Braille,
and I was blind.

Where had it
come
fro
m? I wasn’t sure, but one look
at it was all it took to see that it was a book of spells. I cracked it
open;
on the first page was
tiny
barely legible writing.

To
Francesca
, with love Georges

I had no idea who Francesca was or Georges. Whoever had left this book on my windowsill probably had some kind of idea. Flipping through the yellowed pages was remarkable, page after page housed spells of every kind
scribbled in delicate black ink
. Spells to banish nightmares, old love letters slipped between every couple pages. It was someone’s personal
keepsake,
and it now belonged to me. I stared at the worn love letters, each ending with—all my love, Georges.