The Mephisto Covenant (25 page)

But I have the

After Brett shut down the computer, he went to the dresser and pawed through her things. He took the amethyst drop her dad had brought back from Russia, the pearls her mom had given her for her sixteenth birthday, and her money.

She was verging on hysteria. “Jax, what am I going to do? I need money to apply to college.”

“I’ll give you money, and after he’s gone, we’ll get your things back. Whatever he dreams up to do to you, I can fix.”

“What if he turns me in for being an illegal alien?”

“They’ll laugh at him. Right this minute, the records Luminas are working on your papers. By midnight, your birth certificate will be on file, and there’ll be a record of your U.S. citizenship with the government. Trust me, Sasha, there’s nothing he can do to you that we can’t undo. Just be patient, and soon he’ll be gone.” He looked down at her and squeezed her hand again. “Don’t let him get to you.”

He was the unlikeliest hero, but ever since last Thursday night, he’d been there to save her from one catastrophe after another. Meeting his dark gaze, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Jax.”

“Don’t be sorry. All you did was tell the truth.” “So what happens now?” “You’re in the line of fire, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you, so you’ll just have to put up with me until Bruno and the others are gone.”

His hand around hers was strong and warm, and in spite of her confusion and hesitation, she never wanted to let go.

eleven

jax took her to the school and went with her to get
Chris’s book, then left her at the entrance to the gym before he headed off to the locker room to suit up for
the game. She was surprised by
the number of people already there. Teachers, parents, and lots of kids, even small ones. Younger siblings, she guessed.

She hadn’t eaten dinner and her stomach hurt, she was so hungry. There were no concessions, but it wouldn’t have made any difference if there were. She had no money.

The team was warming up, basketballs flying, and she had to duck a few as she walked across the gym floor. She searched for Amanda in the crowd but didn’t see her. Erin and Rachel were waving at her to come sit with them.

As soon as she sat down, Erin said, “We were just talking about why Brett’s turned into such a douche.”

Rachel nodded. “He’s turned into a creeper, and I don’t get why.”

Sasha could tell her why, but Rachel wouldn’t believe her.

“It’s that stupid Ravens thing,” Mason said from above them in the stands. He went to sit behind Rachel, who sent an Oh-myGod look to Erin. “Ever since he joined, he’s like
a different person.
East, too. And Julianne.”

Erin whispered to Sasha, “Wrong. Julianne’s always been a bitch.”

“If being a Raven means you turn into a douche bag, why does anyone want to join?” Rachel asked.

“They tell you they’ll get you whatever you want,” Mason said.

“I don’t want anything that much,” Erin said, watching the players on the court, specifically Thomas. “I heard you have to give up God and promise to follow some guy named Eryx. Reminds me of a cult.”

Rachel said, “I had a cousin who joined a cult, and my aunt and uncle had to spend a boatload of money to get her out of there.”

“Blows my mind what people will believe,” Mason said, glancing at Sasha. “Sorry about what happened. What’s up with that? I mean, he’s your cousin.”

Sasha shrugged. “He wanted me to join the Ravens, because he gets bonus points for everyone he brings in, so he made up that story and said if I’d join, he’d admit it was a lie and make like it was a big joke.”

“Some joke,” Erin said. “Now the joke’s on him because everyone thinks he’s a loser.”

Amanda came through the door with her dad, and Rachel said, “Wow, check out Amanda. She looks . . . different.”

“She looks great,” Erin said. “I can’t believe she came to the game. She never goes anywhere.”

“I asked her to meet me,” Sasha explained, waving at her. She watched them cross the gym floor, her dad stopping to sit with some teachers, while Amanda continued on to climb up to where they sat. She noticed Brett was staring at Amanda, and she wanted to stand up and yell at him to leave her alone.

Amanda was unaware of his attention, thank God, and she smiled at Erin and Rachel before she took a seat next to Sasha. “I was almost late because Dad took forever to get ready. He’s all excited, probably because he gets to talk to Rose.”

“Does he have a crush on her or something?”

“He says no, but I think he does. She’s always going to the market and buying lamb chops from him, and he gives her extra.” “Aw, that’s sweet,” Rachel sai
d, her eyes bright. “Your dad’s
awesome, Amanda.” She leaned toward Sasha and
whispered, “After Dad and I got
home, I had a strange phone call.” She met Sasha’s eyes, looking really uncomfortable. “It was Brett
. He said he felt like an idiot
for what he did, and was really sorry.” Alarm bells went off in her h
ead. Why would Brett call
Amanda, out of the blue? Did he realize she was maybe the only kid at school who might still be interested in him—in the Ravens? “So he called you to apologize, but never said a word to me? Why?”

Amanda looked down at her hands and twisted a silver ring round and round her finger. “He said he tried, but you won’t talk to him, you’re so mad.”

“He’s lying. The only thing he’s said to me since school let out was something rude, and I did ignore him, because what do you say to someone who’s mean and hateful?”

“Maybe he didn’t mean to sound rude?” “Oh, he meant it. Trust me.” “He, uhm, asked if I want to join the Ravens.” Damn. “Please tell me you said no.” “I said I’d think about it.” “Amanda, why?” Amanda looked up, her eyes filled wit
h pain. “You wouldn’t
understand, Sasha. You’re pretty and smart, you were probably überpopular at your old school, and in another week you’ll be all that at Telluride.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but whatever I am, I want you to be my friend. We can hang out, and you could come to the house and see Chris. Don’t do it, Amanda. At least think about it.”

“I will, but I sort of already said I’d go out with him after the game.”

Double damn. “Tell him you changed your mind. I’m going to get something to eat, and I bet everyone else will go, too. Go with us. Not Brett.”

“No, I’m going to go and see what he has to say. He made a big deal about wanting to explain things, and he sounded really upset. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about him, a reason why he’s been acting so weird lately.”

Yeah, there was a reason, but she couldn’t say what it was. Frustrated and not sure what she could do to change Amanda’s mind, Sasha turned her attention to the game.

It was about to start, and she searched the players for Jax, which didn’t take long. He was bigger than any of the other guys. Wearing a basketball uniform, his arms and legs were exposed and she couldn’t help staring—he was put together like nobody’s business. She noticed he had a bandage on his right bicep and wondered if he was hurt, but he didn’t appear to favor that arm while they warmed up. The coach called the team to the sideline and as he went, he looked up, searching the crowd until he saw her. Then he smiled, and her heart skipped a beat.

“I think the new guy likes you,” Erin said. “I heard he threatened to beat up Brett if he didn’t lay off, and I’m thinking he could do it, easy.”

“Wonder where his brother is . . . ?” Rachel asked.

As if on cue, Brody walked into the gym, followed by Melanie and Mr. Bruno.

Brody saw her and made a beeline, while Melanie and Mr. Bruno went to sit with Mr. Hoolihan and his wife.

After Brody said hello, smiling with his calm, sweet eyes, he went to sit next to Mason, which put him behind Erin. One minute later, the brown-haired girl Jenny came to sit next to him, all shy and awkward. Then Bree came in, dressed in black, and climbed up to sit by Amanda. Sasha had to force herself not to gape when a couple of Julianne’s bees made their way over to the other side of Rachel. By the time the buzzer sounded, they had a nice little group. Sasha noticed Julianne was sitting alone. She also noticed Mr. Bruno was looking up, his face creased in a frown. He looked directly at her, and she knew, just knew, that he hated her for screwing up his Raven plans. She looked away from him to watch the game.

Telluride got the ball first, dribbled to one end, and Jax nailed a three pointer. Then Ridgway missed, and it was Telluride’s ball again.

The rhythm of it, the sound of the players’ shoes squeaking on the wooden floor, the cheers and applause from the stands—it was mesmerizing. Jax handled the ball as if he’d been born with it.

After the clock wound down the half and buzzed at 0:00, the team walked to the sideline and the coach hunkered down to talk to them. Jax looked up at her, then jerked his head around at something the coach said. He nodded, then looked toward Brett, who was scowling. He gave Jax a look—a glare—and Jax said something that appeared to make Brett even angrier. Sasha was dying of curiosity. What was going on? The second half began, a
nd the game took on a different
vibe. Ridgway was losing, and picked up their effort to close the gap. With the shot clock almost to zero, Brett passed to East, and he missed. Thomas frowned at Brett, and Jax lifted his hands in a WTF? gesture. Sasha didn’t exactly understand why Brett’s pass to East was a big deal, but Coach Hightower was clearly pissed. He called a time-out, called Brett off the floor and yelled at him, arms waving. Looking mad enough to eat glass, Brett shoved the coach, and an audible gasp went up in the stands. Then Melanie stood and shouted something obscene, which caused another gasp in the crowd.

“What is up with your family, Sasha?” one of the bees asked.

It hit her, all of a sudden, that they weren’t her family. She wasn’t related to them at all. It made her sad to know she wasn’t blood kin to Mom and Dad, but knowing she wasn’t related to Brett and Melanie was a silver lining. She answered the bee, “I never actually met them until last Friday. My dad and Brett’s mom didn’t get along.”

“No wonder,” she replied. “Mrs. Shriver . . . wow, I can’t believe she just said that.”

The coach pointed toward the row of chairs, but Brett didn’t go sit down. He stalked away, through the door to the locker room, and the game resumed.

“Man, he’s history,” Mason said to no one in particular. “Nobody shoves a coach. He’ll get kicked off the team for that.”

Melanie also walked out, but not before she flipped off Coach Hightower.

“Classy lady,” the other bee said. “Maybe that’s why Brett’s turned into an a-hole. My brother says she’s doing Mr. Bruno. How gross is that?”

Amanda leaned close and whispered, “See? There’s at least one reason why he’s acting so weird. My mom was crazy like that, always embarrassing my dad and me.”

“Did it upset you so much that you made up horrible lies about your family and spread it all over?”

“Well . . . no, but I was mad all the time. I’m just saying, Sasha, maybe he’s not as awful as you think.”

She looked at her new friend, wishing so much she could explain why Brett was ten billion times worse than Amanda could imagine. But she couldn’t. All she could say was, “Something’s wrong with him. His head isn’t right. Please don’t go with him, don’t try to understand him, and please, please don’t join the Ravens.”

Turning away to face the court, Amanda didn’t reply. Sighing, frustrated all over again, Sasha did the same. As the game progressed, Jax and Thomas built a rhythm, and

the rest of the team took their lead, putting a lot of points on the board. But Ridgway managed to keep up, and the score was tied with five seconds left on the clock. Thomas raced the ball downcourt and dished to Jax, who launched a three pointer. The buzzer sounded just as the ball whooshed through the net, and the crowd went wild, yelling, clapping, high-fiving one another. “Man, he’s good.” Mason was
clearly impressed. “First game
we’ve won this year.” Jax was elated, beaming up
at her as he walked toward the
door where Brett had disappeared. It was all so male ego and normal, she grinned back. “He does like you,” Erin said. Amanda stood and said, “I’ve
gotta catch up to my dad. I’ll
see you guys tomorrow.” Sasha tried to grab her ar
m, but Amanda was already walk-
ing away, then down the bleachers to where her dad was waiting, talking to Rose. She said something to him, he looked toward the locker room door and frowned, then she said something else and left the gym. Mr. Rhodes continued visiting with Rose, then they walked out together. Amanda must have gone to meet Brett, and Mr. Rhodes was leaving.

Feeling out of breath and a little panicky, she startled when Erin tapped her shoulder.

“Hey, Sasha, are you up for the coffeehouse?” “Do they serve food? I missed dinner, and I’m starving.” “They have sandwiches. We’re waiting for Thomas, because

Mason told him we would. Maybe Jack would like to go, too?” “I think so.” She glanced at Brody, who nodded. “Yeah, he’ll