Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) (6 page)

I helped Jerica clear the table and
prepare dessert. As we feasted on chocolate cake, conversation
drifted from the supernatural to the mundane. I noticed the
Alexanders kept their explanations fairly brief, but that was okay.
I’d learned enough thanks to Bryce’s scathing comments. I snuck a
glance in his direction and he quickly looked away. Bryce watched
me the rest of the evening when he thought no one else was looking.
I knew he resented my presence and I hated being the object of such
animosity.

“Alisa, we’re having a barbeque on
Saturday if you’d like to come over. Nothing fancy, just family,”
Jerica said casually.

And so began my relationship with the
Alexander family.

Chapter
Six

Rachel

Too fearful to take my morning run, I
slept in an extra thirty minutes. After the incident the day
before, I was afraid to go to school. For the first time in my
life, I actually considered skipping and staying home. What if it
happened again? I couldn’t handle another day of hearing
voices—imagined or real. Nor did I want to spend eight hours
drowning in the emotions of others. I was certain to put on my
necklace, the one my father said would keep my migraines at bay and
keep me safe. Even though I wasn’t usually superstitious, I needed
all the help I could get.

Unfortunately, no piece of jewelry
could protect me from Becky. After our argument, she was sure to
make my life difficult, so I braced myself for a horrible day. I
could still pick up on other people’s emotions and a few stray
thoughts, but it was muted and somewhat manageable.

While in class, I was too focused on
my studies to worry about Becky, but cheerleading practice was a
different story. She used any excuse to criticize me and by the end
of the afternoon, everyone on the team figured out Becky had
excommunicated me from her friendship circle.

After practice, I changed clothes and
sat out on the bleachers, waiting for football practice to end. My
mother had confiscated my car keys the night before because I
hadn’t completed my chores, so I either had to walk home or wait
for Robert to give me a ride. After my morning run the day before,
there was no way I was going to walk home by myself. I was still
too frightened.

The longer I sat on the bleachers, the
more uncomfortable I felt. Even though I told myself I was being
silly, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. I’d never
been afraid of the woods before. After all, I’d grown up playing in
the wooded area behind our house. During the warm summer days of my
childhood, my brother and I used to sit on the bank of the creek
all day holding a fishing pole. We used to swing on the kudzu vines
overhanging some of the taller trees. I’d never been the type of
girl to allow my imagination to run wild, but now I couldn’t stop
seeing things that weren’t there.

My feeling of unease grew
exponentially with each passing moment. I had an overwhelming urge
to put as much distance as possible between myself and the woods.
When I could no longer stand the tingling, prickling feeling on the
back of my neck, I got up and jogged over to the football field.
Robert threw his helmet to the ground at his feet and wrapped me in
a sweaty hug.

“Let me go inside and shower,” he said
as I squirmed away from him. “You gonna wait out here?”

I cast a quick glance toward the woods
and thought I saw movement. “No. I think I’ll wait in the
gym.”

When Robert and I left the gym several
minutes later, I thought I saw something in the trees behind the
main school building. “Did you see that?” I asked, gesturing toward
the back of the school.

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “I think
it was a deer or something.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re probably
right,” I agreed. Robert
was
probably right, but my shoulders still sagged
with relief once we were in the car with the doors locked. By the
time we left the parking lot my fears were forgotten. I ignored the
vibrations in the air that surely signaled changes were coming.
After all, nothing exciting ever happened in our town.

***

Robert picked me up Friday night for a
party. Katie’s parents were out of town, and everyone was supposed
to get together for a night of drunken idiocy. I didn’t drink, nor
did I approve of others doing so, but it was impossible to change
things. I made a lot of noise about not wanting to go, but in the
end, I bowed to Robert’s wishes and allowed myself to be swept
along on a wave of peer-pressure.

He tried to kiss me the moment I
hopped into his car, but I pushed him away when his lustful
thoughts poured into my mind. I couldn’t bear for him to touch me
again, so I tried to stay out of reach by pressing myself as close
to the door as possible. It was going to be tough trying not to
brush up against anyone at the crowded party. Anxiety made my palms
sweat.

“You okay?” Robert asked, noticing my
odd behavior.

“Just a little headache,” I said.
“Mind if I open the window?” Robert pressed the control to lower my
window a few inches.

We rode along in silence. The party
was on the other side of town in one of the newer subdivisions.
Practically everyone in our school was there. Several people called
my name the moment we walked in the door, while a group of football
players shouted to Robert. We went our separate ways for a about a
half hour or so, drifting from one group to another and greeting
friends.

One thing that bothered me was the
fact that I kept searching for Jace in the crowd. I wondered if
he’d been invited. Surely Becky would have asked him to come. Why
did I care so much about whether or not Jace was going to be there?
It’s not like we were friends. I’d never really talked to him.
Becky had already made it clear he was her conquest and therefore
off-limits. That in itself should have encouraged me to steer clear
of Jace. Becky and I might have had a falling out, but I didn’t
need to antagonize her deliberately.

Still, I couldn’t help thinking about
Jace. I had to force myself to stop craning my neck looking for
him. I didn’t want to be obvious by asking about him, so I suffered
in silence. There was something about him I couldn’t put my finger
on. He was different from the other guys. Not just because he was
new to town. There was something else.

I decided not to think about Jace
anymore. Unfortunately, my resolve crumbled after about a minute
when I heard someone speak his name. My hearing zoned in on a small
cluster of people standing by the patio door a few feet away from
me and I eavesdropped shamelessly.

“I asked Jace to come with me,” Becky
said, “but he had other plans.”

“What about Homecoming?” Katie asked,
“Did he ask you yet?”

“Not yet,” Becky admitted. “But he
will soon.

“Well, what if he doesn’t ask you and
everyone already has a date?” This question was from Sydney. Bad
move. I turned slightly so I could see the expression on Becky’s
face.

Becky glared at Sydney. “Well, if that
happens, I guess I’ll just go with Justin.” Sydney’s eyes went wide
when Becky threatened to steal her boyfriend. “After all, Justin
has been after me for two years. You were his second choice.” Becky
and Katie giggled as Sydney walked away.

“Why am I here?” I wondered. These
weren’t really my friends. A friend is someone who loves and
supports you no matter what. These girls couldn’t wait to rip
someone apart. I turned away from the group I was standing with and
went in search of Robert. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Becky
any longer.

Robert smiled as I approached. When I
reached his side, he grabbed me around the waist and kissed the
side of my neck. He knew I didn’t like public displays of
affection, but I decided to let it go just this once. I felt guilty
about my waning attraction toward him and didn’t want to embarrass
him in front of his friends by pushing him away. He pulled me into
a close embrace and his thoughts poured into me. Within seconds, I
read his intent to pressure me into doing something inappropriate
as soon as we left the party. Sickened, I mumbled something about
getting a drink and moved away from Robert and his
group.

Stepping outside on the back patio, I
called my mother and asked her to pick me up. After giving her
directions, I took a deep breath to try to calm my churning
emotions. I could tell my mother was curious, but she didn’t ask
why I was leaving so soon. We’d always had a deal—if I felt
uncomfortable in any situation, especially a date, she would pick
me up with no questions asked. She’d probably want to discuss it
later, but I was okay with that. I just wanted to get away from
there as quickly as possible.

Robert had obviously tired of waiting
for my return. He was engaged in what appeared to be a very
intimate conversation with a blond sophomore who seemed to be
pitifully enamored by his attention. When I interrupted them, the
girl blushed and lowered her eyes. Robert seemed irritated to see
me, but when I told him I didn’t feel well and was leaving, he
looked relieved. With a quick kiss on the cheek, he dismissed
me.

Leaving the party, I had an
overwhelming feeling my goodbye to Robert was the end of a chapter
in my life. It was the same feeling of premonition I’d experienced
when I kissed my father goodbye the morning before he was killed.
Lately, I’d been having a lot of strange thoughts and
notions.

As my mother steered the car toward
home, I saw two mocha-skinned men playing basketball in their
driveway. One of the guys looked like Jace. This time, my sense of
premonition was screaming at me, insisting my life was on a new
trajectory. The waiting was over. Something had begun.

Chapter
Seven

Alisa

I woke up too early Saturday morning
and an eternity of waiting stretched out before me. Jerica hadn’t
asked me to bring anything to the barbeque, but I decided it would
be nice to make some chocolate-chip cookies. It would be rude to
show up empty-handed, and besides, baking would help me kill some
time and keep me from going crazy with anticipation.

Later that afternoon, Bryce’s truck
pulled up in the driveway right on time. I grabbed the platter of
cookies, yelled goodbye to my parents, and dashed out the door,
trying to suppress the anxious smile that was spreading across my
face. My smile dimmed when I discovered Jace was not in the truck,
only Bryce. Oh, great.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at
the foil-covered platter.

“Cookies. Can you hold this a second?”
I shoved the platter toward him, climbed into the passenger seat,
and fastened my seat belt.

“Chocolate chip.” He was already
biting into one as he asked, “Can I have one? Oh, these are good.”
He handed the platter to me and backed out of the
driveway.

We rode along in silence for about a
minute. I concentrated on looking out the passenger side window. I
tried to be as still as possible, afraid the slightest movement
would remind him of how much he hated me.

He finally asked, “So, it’s hot out
today, isn’t it?” I guessed Bryce wasn’t any better at small talk
than I was. That was probably the only thing we had in
common.

“Yes, it is,” I replied. “It’s always
hot this time of year. It doesn’t usually cool down until October.
Then it’s nice.”

“I won’t be here in October. I’m
leaving in a few days and I’ll be gone until December,” he
said.

“So, where are you going? I mean, if
you can’t tell me, that’s okay. I know it’s training, so it might
be a secret…” Oh, nice. I was babbling.

“I’ll be out of the country. It’ll be cold
there by October.” His response was polite, but evasive. “Can I
have another cookie?” he asked. The truck swerved a bit when he
stretched to reach the platter. When our hands brushed, a warm rush
of energy traveled from my fingertips to my shoulder. I wondered if
he deliberately shocked me with his magic.

“You don’t have to sit so far away from me. I
don’t bite, you know.” He gave me a sideways glance. “About the
other day…I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but our family doesn’t
associate with normal humans unless we have to. Please don’t make
us regret trusting you.” 

“I won’t,” I replied. It was irritating to be
reminded once again that he thought I wasn’t good enough for his
family. His distrust doubled my determination to prove him wrong.
He thought I couldn’t keep a secret? He had no idea how
closed-mouthed and stubborn I could be.

Bryce pulled his truck into the
driveway and turned off the ignition. “Wait. Let me help you,” he
said, getting out of the truck. He came around to the passenger
side, opened my door, and held the platter until I got out. “The
cookies I ate on the ride here will be our little secret, okay? You
don’t want me to get in trouble with my mom, do you?”

My heart fluttered inside my chest. I
figured it must be the heat or the excitement about seeing Jace. I
knew my heart didn’t just skip a beat. Not because of
Bryce.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t ride over to get
you,” Jace said as he flung open the front door. “Dad said I had to
finish my yard work.”