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Ruric bowed his head. “Done.” He ran toward the kid with the knife wound, passed out in the street.
“Meet you at our club house,” Stasio told them.
“Club house,” Levka moaned.
“Yeah, buddy. I’m afraid the league will want our heads for this. The club house is the only safe place for us until you get strong enough, and we can figure out where to go until things cool down.”
“The girls—”
“Safe. Arman will get them to someone safe.”
“Their memories—”
Stasio shook his head. “You know, even when you’re half dead, you are so bossy just like General Patton was on the battlefield. Let me be in charge for the moment, all right?”
Levka attempted a smile, but the pain in his chest intensified.
“We’ll get you better in no time, Levka. Just keep giving me those evil smirks of yours, and I’ll know you’re going to live.”
“Someone’s coming! And he’s not mortal!” Arman warned.
***
Alicia Howard stalked into Caitlin MacEvin’s bedroom, folded her arms, and glowered at her. “I can’t believe my parents would send you along with me on the cruise.”
Stunned, Caitlin stared at Alicia. Caitlin’s foster parents had no clue she was a witch, although Alicia suspected she could do things she shouldn’t be able to.
But Caitlin couldn’t conjure up her magic over a great body of water. Not that that was the reason she abhorred the notion of going with Alicia on the cruise. She glanced at the new short story she was penning for Teen Writer’s Magazine, that she’d hoped to get done during spring break while her foster sister was away on her cruise.
Alicia’s scowl turned into a mean-hearted smile. “They know how much you’re afraid of the water.” Her smile faded, and she motioned to the door. “Go on. My parents want to give you the good news.” She turned so hard on her stilettos, Caitlin was surprised she didn’t twist them right off.
Then, though she knew she shouldn’t, but once she was on the water, she would have no powers whatsoever, Caitlin silently spoke an incantation, the carpet rippled, and Alicia tripped. A heel snapped off and she went down, landing hard on her hands and knees and cursed a blue streak.
Alicia glanced over her shoulder, glowering, knowing in some deeper way that Caitlin was different, that she’d made her fall, but she could never prove it.
Caitlin frowned with feigned concern. “Oh my. Those were your favorite shoes, weren’t they?”
Then with every intention of swaying her foster parents to allow her to stay home instead, Caitlin hurried past her and headed downstairs, her heart pounding with pent-up worry. They couldn’t mean to make her take a trip on the ocean. Not after what had happened to her and her family.
Smiling at her as if he knew she was thrilled to have the opportunity to go on a cruise, her foster dad, Thomas, motioned for her to take a seat on the sofa in the living room with a wave of his hand, her foster mother, Mildred sitting on a chair, all smiles also.
“Listen,” he said, in his most convincing fatherly voice, the one he always used on Caitlin when he wanted her to see something his way. “You’ve been a good influence on Alicia for the past year, and I know you didn’t want to go on the cruise. But because she stayed out until four in the morning with that Daryl kid last night, I don’t want her going on the cruise unless you keep an eye on her.”
Alicia despised having a foster sister on the best of days, but this would definitely be the worst. Why didn’t they just ground the brat and say she couldn’t go? But no, that would be too much punishment for the princess.
Caitlin was sure Alicia was the reason both Alicia’s parents had turned prematurely gray.
“She doesn’t listen to me, really,” Caitlin tried to explain for the hundredth time. What did they think she could do about a girl who would do whatever she wanted no matter what they said? How did they think Caitlin could get her to mind when she wouldn’t even mind her own parents? Especially when Alicia acted like she hated Caitlin.
“We want you to give us progress reports. We’ve told her that you’ll be with her at all times, so to behave herself. No sex with boys, no drinking, and no using drugs. If she doesn’t agree, she can’t go.”
“What if she doesn’t listen to me?”
“I want you to inform me, and when you reach the first of the Caribbean Islands, I’ll meet you there and take you both home. If she doesn’t behave, she won’t be going on her trip to Hawaii this summer,” Thomas said.
Like that would happen. Another horrible thought occurred to her. Inwardly, she groaned. Please don’t make me chaperone her this summer, too.
“Caitlin,” Mildred said, “you are so responsible and well-mannered. She’ll listen to you. Besides, dear, you need to have some fun. You shouldn’t be sitting around this big old house with nowhere to go. It’s your vacation time, too.”
