Traitor (32 page)

Jamie’s eyes were bright. “Someone’s here.”

Liam shrugged. “Well duh, someone’s here. Have you seen the stands?”

“No, no, no, you dolt, I don’t mean just anyone. Someone like
us
is here. We can feel it when there’s magic. Someone is here.”

Liam and I both stopped in our tracks. I squeezed Liam’s hand. “What do you mean, someone? Are they on our side?”

Jamie shook her head. “I don’t know. We can’t feel that usually, unless they’re extremely one way or the other. You know, good or bad sides, if you will. We can just feel the surge in the air.”

“Well, crap,” Liam said. “Ash, we need to leave. We shouldn’t be here if there’s a chance you could get hurt.”

I let go of his hand and looked at him. His bright blue eyes shone with concern, and I couldn’t be mad at him for that. “I’m not leaving, Liam. This is my school. This is all I have that’s normal. No one is going to start something with this many people around. Besides, maybe they’re just curious as to why there’s so much magic in the air here. I probably would be if I was someone just wandering. You guys don’t usually make it a habit to hang out with humans, do you, Jamie?”

Jamie’s lips turned down in distaste. “No, not at all.”

Liam’s tone became hard and sarcastic. “Sorry you find our company so terrible.”

Jamie turned to look at him. Her skin was turning slightly green; that was the cue she was getting mad. I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “James, it’s not worth it. He didn’t mean it like that.”

Her skin slowly took on a more human color, and she took a deep breath. Neither of them broke their stare. “Liam, I’m here because I want my brother back. You were in a similar situation not too long ago, I recall. Don’t be so quick to judge what company I find to my liking. Ashlyn is the only friend I have.”

That took me aback, but I wasn’t going to say it aloud. Jamie’s face told me what she was saying was true. It almost made me feel bad for her.

The loudspeakers began to crackle to life again, and all of a sudden we found ourselves surrounded by football players running back to the field. Out of nowhere I got bear hugged, and I knew it was Reese, even before hearing his excited voice. “Ash, did you see that first half? I’ve never felt better in my life!”

I laughed as he twirled me in a circle before putting me back down. “Yeah, well, you better be careful this half. Roslin’s going to string you up by your toes for your dunking display in the second quarter.”

Reese’s laugh boomed and echoed off the tunnel walls. “Don’t sweat it. She won’t do anything to me. I gotta go, but can you feel how electric this place is? Man, I love the crowd!”

Before I could say anything else – warn him about why he might feel the way he did – he shot off like a rocket to catch up to his team. He leapt into the air and slapped the tunnel ceiling as he ran out of the archway, whooping as he went. What a guy.

We all sat in the front row this half with Memaw, Roslin, and Jamie continually scanning the crowds. They searched for the unknown cause of their discomfort, but they couldn’t find the person behind it. Mary and Liam sat on either side of me as we all shared a massive bag of popcorn, and Mary got me up to speed on her summer vacation.

That’s when it happened.

The microphone screamed a high-pitched wail and caused everyone in the stands to duck and cover their ears. I looked out to the field to see if they’d heard it, but they were in the middle of a play. Reese was running the ball downfield. He was in the clear when he disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris.

An explosion as loud as a bomb going off erupted from the right side of the stands. I instantly turned to look, and that side had been blown apart. Cement rubble and aluminum bleachers soared through the air. Crashes from falling debris sounded in the parking lot and the field.

It was pandemonium. People screamed and ran in all directions. Liam wrestled Mary and my mom to the ground, trying to keep them safe. I looked to Jamie and Roslin, who were looking directly across the field.

Then I saw her.

MaKenna.

Her calm voice came over the loudspeakers, though she didn’t have a mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, please form orderly lines and return to your homes. If you don’t, I assure you that you’ll regret it.”

I
SWAYED IN
my spot, too shocked to take my eyes off of MaKenna. It was like my stomach was filled with lead. There was no way she could really be bad. No way she could turn against her own mother. Her family. She had to be mistaken.

Jamie and Roslin yanked me to the ground. Rozz shouted over the madness to make herself heard. “Who’s that bitty, and what’s she playing at?”

No one had seen MaKenna since she was a baby. No one would know who she was.

No one except Jamie.

I wrenched my head to the other side, the cement scraping along my chin from where they had me pinned to the ground. “Jamie,” I grunted out the side of my mouth. “Jamie! Can you take care of her?”

Jamie looked at me and shook her head. “Ankou trained her. He made her what she is. She’s a witch. Literally.”

“What?”

Jamie pressed down on my shoulder as she pushed off. She shouted back at me as she hurdled over the rail lining the stands. Her blonde hair whipped around her. “No time to explain if you don’t want everyone dead!”

Rozz hooked her arm around me and dragged me backward toward the tunnel, where Liam had taken Mom and Mary. She propped me against the wall and shoved a finger in the middle of my chest. “Listen here, missy. If you know something, you better be spilling it.”

I glanced in Memaw’s direction. She was standing over Mom and Mary, making sure they were okay. I minutely shook my head. Then before Rozz could stop me, I hopped up and took off toward the football field.

Reese was out there, and I needed to find him.

I dodged the writhing masses of people. They pushed against me, all of them trying to get away. There were only a few of us that wanted to get closer to the carnage.

“Ashlyn! Ashlyn!”

Liam was catching up with me. I pushed harder to put distance between us. I gripped the railing with two hands and threw myself over the top. I stumbled as I landed on the field, but kept going.

Jamie’s tangle of blonde hair wasn’t too far away. Beams of light erupted from her hands and met MaKenna’s at full force. They exploded into what looked like fireworks, illuminating her face.

She looked like Memaw, except for the hair. That was the same as mine.

A few strands of her auburn hair stuck to her cheeks. Her bright green eyes were narrowed in deep concentration. Ankou hadn’t made her a Changeling. Good.

According to Jamie, she was just a witch. Great.

Her voice boomed over the loudspeaker again. “Assassin, I’ve come for the Trimulus. Give it to me, and I’ll leave. Give it to me, and your beloved humans will be spared.”

Jamie aimed another burst of light in her direction. I ran behind her. “I thought you weren’t a witch?” I shouted.

She grunted out a response. “Not a witch, but every faerie has magic. It’s just different than hers. It’s not enough to beat her, just enough to distract her. Now get Reese and get out of here!”

I turned from her and ran the other way, looking for Reese. The force of the next blast from MaKenna propelled me into the air. I skidded through the turf, coming to a rest beside a massive chunk of cement.

Reese was lying beside it, helmet lost and a shoe off.

I panicked. Crawling on all fours, I got to him as quick as possible. “Reese! Oh my God, Reese, are you okay?”

He stirred at the sound of his name. He looked up at me and shook his head a little, as though he were getting his bearings. “Man, that was a hit. Where’d that guy come from?”

“That wasn’t a guy; that was part of the stadium. Now get up! We gotta get out of here!”

The news seemed to stir him into action. “Wait, what? What’s going on?”

“We have a witch on our hands.”

His eyes grew as wide as half dollars. I thought it was because of what I told him, but then he pointed to the stands. “What in the world?”

A light so bright I had to look away poured from the press box. A voice boomed louder than MaKenna’s had. It was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman. “There is no place for you here, witch. Return to your master.”

Following the declaration, a hurricane level wind whipped around the football field, then zeroed in on MaKenna. She screeched and covered her face with her hands. When the mini-tornado dissipated, MaKenna was gone.

Jamie fell to the ground, panting. Reese and I ran to her, where Liam finally caught up to us. “What the hell was all that?”

Reese clucked his tongue. “Why do I have to get knocked out when all the good drama goes down?”

We all looked at him and laughed. Memaw ran out to the field, touching each of us and making sure we were physically fine. She’d returned to her warrior state, which was just fine by me. She’d be more help that way. “Do any of you know who that was? Or how she knew of the Trimulus?”

Jamie and I exchanged a look, but Jamie shook her head. “I don’t know, Emily. I think you should explain the Trimulus to Ashlyn, though. I have some holes to fill in with it, too.”

They looked each other down for a moment, then Memaw gave in. She motioned to Mom and Mary, who both looked winded and shell-shocked. Poor Mary, she had no clue what she was into. “Fine,” Memaw said. “We’ll meet back at our house. Jamie, can you make sure that Mary gets home safely?”

Jamie nodded in assent, and started off. Memaw called out to her. “In a
normal
manner, Jamie. We need at least one human out of the loop for their own safety.”

A hand waved in acknowledgement; otherwise Jamie ignored us as she headed toward Mom and Mary. Memaw turned back to us. “Liam, Reese, Roslin, get Ashlyn home. I’ll get Sarah squared away. We’ll call your mother, Reese, and let her know you’re fine.”

Reese lost a little color in his face. “Mom…how do you know she’s okay?”

“Because I got her out of the stadium while you guys were on the field,” Liam chimed in.

Reese’s head jerked to Liam, surprise etched in every feature. “Wow, okay. Okay. Thanks, dude. Seriously.”

Liam shrugged and avoided Reese’s grateful gaze. “You’d do the same for me.”

Memaw waved her hands to regain control of our group. “Wonderful, we’re all giving a group hug now. If you don’t mind, why don’t we get out of plain sight so we can figure out what’s going on? Two witches running around is nothing to be trifled with.”

Roslin nodded in agreement, but I was confused. “Two witches? I thought – “ I stopped myself before I said MaKenna. “I thought the one on the field was our only issue.”

“Oh, no,” said Memaw. “No, no, no. Whoever was in the press box is a very powerful witch. We’ve got two on our hands.”

Reese looked between all of us. “Well, whoever that was, they’re on our team if they’re taking out the psycho one, right?”

It was Roslin who answered this time. “No, Reese. No witch is on our side. Witches aren’t to be trusted.”

I’d heard that from Dalbach about faeries. Apparently no one was trustworthy.

A
LL OF US
stood transfixed around the TV as we watched the nine-o’clock news. The whole explosion was caught by someone on their phone, and now the news was playing it over and over again.

“What we don’t know,” the news reporter continued through the muffled screams on the shaky video, “is what caused the explosion. We have been assured by the school district that the stadium was up to code. They’ve given us no further comment at this time. While authorities claim there are no casualties, there are five confirmed in the local hospitals, with one in critical condition. For now, the superintendent has postponed the beginning of school until next Wednesday. He was unavailable for direct comment. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”

Memaw clicked the power button on the remote control, causing the TV screen to go black. “No one is safe here. We need to leave.”

Liam straightened up from the wall he’d been leaning against. “And where do you propose we go? You’ve moved us all halfway across the world and Ankou is still after us.”

His eyes burned as he looked around the room. He put his arms out, beckoning anyone to challenge him. “Does anyone have an idea? No? Because I do. He doesn’t want us, Emily, he wants you. He wants you, and he wants whatever curse you put on him lifted. I can’t blame the guy, honestly. I’d be pretty cheesed off if someone cursed me, too.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Liam, stop. You’re just mad – “

“Hell yes, I’m mad, Ashlyn! This all needs to stop! None of this would have happened – none of it: not Aiden, not your dad, nothing – had Emily just minded her own business however many years ago it was. None of us would know this crap even existed. I’m sick of having to run.”

No one spoke. Desmond and Reese were sitting on the couch, suddenly very interested in the wallpaper on the wall across from them. Mom and Tess were standing in the doorway to the kitchen, both open mouthed. Jamie sat cross-legged against the couch, and even she looked shocked. Aiden was silent in the hallway that joined the living room.

Liam spun back to me. “Well, what do you think? Do you think it’s fair that you have to be thrown into this mess for sins your grandma committed? Do you think it’s fair that Desmond, Issac, Reese, and I have committed our lives to protecting people for a cause we don’t really understand?”

I opened and closed my mouth, not sure what to say. Reese commented before words could escape from my mouth. “Good for you, Liam. You’ve actually got a spine.”

That was the point I decided my mouth would probably never be able to close again. Reese pushed off the couch and stalked toward Liam. “Last time I checked,
mate
, you were relieved of your duty. You don’t have any reason to be mad. You’re free to do what you want. If you want to stay here, fine, but shut your mouth and try to help the situation instead of causing more drama.”