Something Witchy This Way Comes (9 page)

“Yeah, let’s get you to your meeting.” He rose from the chair.

I rose too, watching him surreptitiously as he gathered the rest of his things. He glanced at me while reaching for his backpack. When the strap jumped into his hand, I jumped too. Surely, I was seeing things. Inanimate objects didn’t move by themselves. Or did they? If Hayden had powers like me… No. Mr. Linton would’ve detected him, like he detected me.

Unless he got a false negative.

My mind must’ve warped from all the stress.

No. I knew what I saw. He didn’t notice the jumpy strap, because when he’d reached for it, he’d been looking at me.

“What’s wrong?” Hayden asked.

“I’ve been up late every night. Sleep deprived.” I couldn’t tell if he bought the excuse or not. Regardless, he couldn’t force the answer from me and I’d never tell him that I saw his backpack move on its own. He’d think I was crazy.

* * * *

“So have you had a chance to practice reading and blocking?” Fawn asked.

“No. Between classes, tutoring Hayden and work, I haven’t had any time to myself. I got in a little bit the day before though.”

“And tonight?” Mr. Linton asked.

I scrunched up my face, knowing I looked like a slacker. “I’m going to a Halloween party.”

She smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You have the weekend, right?”

“Yeah. Hey, I have a question.” They looked as if they were waiting so I plowed on. “As a Detector, you can get a false negative, right?”

Mr. Linton nodded.

“So could there be other Movers or Readers here at this school?”

“I doubt it. We’re very rare. It’s extremely unlikely to find two in the same city, much less the same school.”

But not impossible. They could have spotted me and quit looking. “It requires a Detector to detect them, right? Which means Fawn wouldn’t have known about me if you hadn’t told her.”

She shook her head. “At first, yes. But you’re completely open to all of us now.”

“So…” I struggled to wrap my head around that. “How does it work?”

“You’ve been opened up, your power released so we sense it,” he said.

“Like a can of tuna.” Fawn smirked. “You don’t smell anything until you open the can.”

“You’re comparing me to tuna?” I cocked my head. “I don’t love your analogies.”

She grinned.

* * * *

Fawn and Mr. Linton had me practice sensing them and their energy. I thought they were crazy at first, but after a few experiments, I was a believer. A witch’s entire body perceived the energy, as though it permeated our skin and seeped into our blood.

They had taken me to the school office where teachers and staff still worked. I closed my eyes and gave them the location of every worker. When Ms. Phillips or Mr. Linton approached, I felt the shift as though they were on a different wavelength.

Even better, as a non-witch neared me, I saw his or her pictures and knew who they were. I’d forward the picture to Ms. Phillips and Mr. Linton who casually hung nearby. They’d tell me I was right. It was surreal.

After practice, I couldn’t help but smile when Hayden handed me his keys. Hopefully, he wouldn’t get me addicted to the damn car. That seemed to be a trend for me these days — addictions. First Hayden, then his stupid car. What next — his kisses?

The drive home would’ve been a perfect opportunity to see if I could detect anything from Hayden. Unfortunately, I couldn’t concentrate on maneuvering an eighty-thousand-dollar car and chew gum at the same time. I’d wait until the party to see if Hayden was one of us. At least it gave me a reason to go.

If I had an excuse to delay my arrival at home — an errand or something — without looking like I was taking advantage of him, or worse, that I wanted to spend time with him, I would have used it. Instead, I drove us directly to my house.

“’Bye.” I climbed out of the car.

He popped out the other side and rounded the hood to stand beside me. “I’m not sure what condition I’ll be in when you get to Christina’s tonight.”

“Yeah?” Why was he telling me that?

“Remember, I’m giving you self-defense lessons tomorrow?” He shoved a piece of paper into my hand. “That’s my address with directions on the back. Tomorrow morning, park in the driveway, then walk to the end and you’ll see a smaller house on the right. That’s where I live.”

“You don’t live in the main house?”

“No, my parents got tired of the noise, so they kicked me out. I usually only go to the main house to eat.”

Nice.” I was more than a little envious.

“In case I don’t hear you knock, go ahead and come in.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll see you at the party later.”

“Uhm. Okay.” My eyes darted away. “Well… see ya.” I turned and dashed inside.

* * * *

Around eight, Nadia and Corinne arrived as I was about to tuck Bree into bed. “I’ll be here a few more minutes if you need anything. Okay, Cutie?”

Bree smiled a toothless grin. “Love you. ’Nite.”

I bent over to kiss her forehead and she closed her eyes. I left the night light on and slipped out of her room. Nadia and Corinne met me in the hallway. I wondered what they had in store for me. Whatever it was, I needed to entice Hayden to stick around long enough for me to sense if he was a sorcerer.

 “C’mon. Let’s go to my room,” I whispered, closing Bree’s door.

In my room, Nadia flung a pair of patent leather pants on the bed, then a matching tank top cut way too low. I grimaced.

“We’re not done yet.” Corinne emptied a bag and a pair of knee-high boots tumbled out.

“I’m going to be a hooker?” I asked, my mouth curling up.

“No,” Nadia answered without looking up. “Better.”

I laughed. “What could be better than that?”

She tossed a can of spray and a pair of dark sunglasses on the bed. “First, try on the pants. We don’t want to put that in your hair if the pants aren’t right. They should be good though, since you and I are the same size.”

“You’re going to spray that in my hair? It’s temporary, right?” I picked up the can and examined the label. “Black? Who am I supposed to be?”

“Try them on first,” Corinne said.

I stripped down, then squeezed into the pants.

“Wow. Those are magical or something.” Nadia put out her hand for a high five from Corinne. As if they alone were responsible for the shape of my body.

“Uhm… Okay. So who am I supposed to be?”

“We’ll tell you when we’re done.” Corinne grinned at Nadia.

For the next forty-five minutes, I allowed them to order me around. They sprayed my hair black and fussed with it until it looked messy, but in a good way.

“You’re going to be perfect,” Corinne said as she helped me with the boots.

When they’d finished tweaking and abusing me, I stood in front of the mirror. “What, no gun? So what am I supposed to be?”

“A fallen angel.” Nadia snickered. “You were sent to help, but got exiled for falling in love with the wrong guy.”

 “That’s sending Hayden the wrong message, don’t you think?” My mouth gaped.

“Depends on how you look at it. One thing’s for sure, Hayden won’t be able to take his eyes off you.” Corinne gave a sly smile.

Though I wanted to look into Hayden’s supernatural abilities, if any, this costume went way beyond what I needed to accomplish that. It could get me in a lot of trouble. Butterflies wrought havoc in my stomach, rioting as if at war. My only hope was that Hayden would be too preoccupied with another girl to come over and make me more nervous. If luck was truly on my side, he wouldn’t show up at all.

* * * *

Nadia, as the devil’s helper with horns and red boots, and Corinne, as the slutty nurse in her flimsy low cut white dress, walked with me up the narrow path to Christina’s house.

“Remember, Hayden invited you. He wants you here. So there’s no reason for you to be nervous,” Corinne said, just before we got to the door.

“Plus, you will be the hottest girl here. And he’ll know it.” Nadia turned the doorknob and paused. “Act cool. If you’re not feelin’ it, don’t say anything and everyone will assume you’re stuck up. Which will look like confidence to them. It’s a good thing.”

“If it’s so easy to blend in with those people, why haven’t you done it already?” I asked.

“I did.” Nadia laughed and threw open the door. “I’ll tell you about it another time.”

We plunged into the dark, smoky room reeking of over-privileged indulgence, expensive hair products and designer labels. People covered every possible surface, even tabletops. It amazed me how many could fit in the room. Visions assaulted my mind of kids making out in even darker rooms. Which meant there probably weren’t any adults around.

I didn’t belong there. I shouldn’t have come.

“Relax, Tessa. Let’s get you something to drink.” Nadia tugged on my hand.

“I can’t. I’m the designated driver, remember?” I said, stumbling behind her.

She paused, unable to pass through a throng of partiers. “Corinne and I decided that this is
your
night. I’m driving. All you need to worry about is having fun and luring Mr. Muscles to the dark side.”

I gave a pained laugh and glanced around the room. “Oh, I didn’t realize that was my only purpose for coming.”

I knew when Hayden spotted me because his view of me flashed in my head. Somehow, I knew the picture was seen through his eyes. And I instinctively knew where he stood. When my eyes found him, he was already moving toward us, his gaze locked on mine.

He stopped in front of me and grinned. “Wow. Nice. What are you supposed to be?”

“Fallen angel.” I dropped my gaze, tucking some hair behind my ear.

“We’ll be right back.” Nadia dragged Corinne away. Hopefully, Hayden didn’t notice how they purposely left me alone with him.

My eyes were drawn to his bare chest. The dude worked out and had the abs to prove it. Add his well-defined arms and he seemed a little older. Yum.

“You look hot.” He sent me a devilish grin. “I’m going to have to steal the keys so you can’t leave.”

“Haha.” Not wanting to appear as though I liked him, I focused on the dangling chains attached to thick metal bands around each of his wrists. A thicker, wider metal band adorned his neck. “Stripper?”

“Hell no.” He laughed. “Slave.”

I stared at him blankly. “Don’t slaves wear shirts?”

“Love slaves don’t. If I were your love slave, would I be fully clothed?” His mouth t
witched.

Yep. That was the perfect costume for him alright. The idea of being his master and ordering him to do anything I wanted made me all tingly. But I couldn’t get sucked into possibilities, because Hayden’s costume was just that — a costume. He’d never belong to any one girl.